(A) A pre-tow hearing or a post-tow hearing required by this chapter shall be conducted before a Hearing Officer within 48 hours of receipt of a written demand from the person seeking the hearing, unless the person waives the rights to a speedy hearing. Saturdays, Sundays and village holidays are to be excluded from the calculation of the 48-hour period.
(B) The Hearing Officer shall be someone other than the person who directed the towing and impoundment of the motor vehicle.
(C) The sole issue before the Hearing Officer shall be whether there is or was probable cause to tow and impound the motor vehicle in question.
PROBABLE CAUSE to tow and impound shall mean such a state of facts as would lead a person of ordinary care and prudence to believe that there is or was a sufficient breach of local, state or federal law to grant legal authority for the impoundment and towing of the motor vehicle, or in the case of abandoned or inoperable motor vehicles located upon private property; that the motor vehicle constitutes a public nuisance under the terms of this chapter.
(D) The Hearing Officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. The Police Department shall carry the burden of establishing that there is or was probable cause to tow and impound the motor vehicle in question. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall prepare a written decision in accordance with § 7.15.035. A copy of the decision shall be provided to the person demanding the hearing and to the registered owner of the motor vehicle (if not the person requesting the hearing).
(E) The motor vehicle owner shall have the right to appeal the Hearing Officer’s decision to the Gardner Village Council within seven days following the date of the Hearing Officer’s decision. A motor vehicle owner shall request an appeal on forms provided by the village, and the appeal shall be considered by the Village Council at the next regularly scheduled Village Council meeting, subject to the Illinois Open Meetings Act. The Village Council shall review the Hearing Officer’s decision de novo. Following an appeal, the Village Council’s decision shall be final and the hearing process shall be concluded and immediately enforceable.
(F) Failure of the motor vehicle owner to request or attend a scheduled pre-tow administrative hearing or appeal shall be deemed a waiver of the right to the hearing or appeal as the case may be.
(Prior Code, § 10.16.060) (Ord. VG09-002, passed 2-26-2009)