When any owner or possessor of an automobile has violated any of the parking provisions contained in this title, and in order to enforce traffic regulations violated it becomes necessary for possession of the automobile to be taken, the procedure shall be as follows:
A. Any police officer is hereby authorized to take possession of any motor vehicle owned by any person who has violated, as to said vehicle, any of the traffic regulations of this city, and has authority to remove such vehicle from the streets, alleys or public places, where the violation occurred, and to store and keep possession thereof until the owner of such vehicle appears and claims the same. The cost of towing or removing such vehicle and the costs of storing the same shall be chargeable against the vehicle and the owner thereof and shall be paid by the owner of said vehicle before the same shall be released. The vehicle may be stored in a public or private place; if in a public place, the storage charges shall be the amount charged for such public storage; if stored on city property, a storage charge will be collected by the city for the time said vehicle is in the possession of the police department.
B. Upon taking possession of any such vehicle, the police department shall notify the owner thereof that such vehicle has been impounded and is being held for the towing and storage charges. This notice shall be given to the person to whom said vehicle is licensed in accordance with the registration list furnished by the registrar of motor vehicles. The notice shall be given by certified mail and a charge for the giving of such notice shall be collected at the time the vehicle is returned to the owner thereof. (Ord. 3177, 6-10-2013, eff. 7-15-2013)
C. The taking of possession of a vehicle for a traffic violation shall not prohibit the filing of a complaint for the traffic violation in addition to the impounding of the vehicle as hereinabove provided.
D. If the vehicle is not claimed and all charges paid within thirty (30) days after the police officer has taken possession of such vehicle an action may be commenced in the municipal court before the judge or in any other court by the city attorney, in the name of the city as plaintiff, and against the name of the owner as defendant for the amount of the charges due and after judgment is obtained in favor of the city said vehicle may be levied upon and sold for the purpose of satisfying the judgment as required by law. Any vehicle held in possession of the police department as a result of a violation of any parking provision of this title for a period of two (2) months, unclaimed by the owner or when the owner is unknown, shall be sold by the chief of police at public auction to the highest bidder after publication of a notice of sale in at least one publication of a newspaper published in the city, said notice specifying the description of the vehicle to be sold, date and place of sale, said date of sale to be not less than ten (10) days nor more than fifteen (15) days from the first date of publication. (Ord. 3121, 1-11-2010, eff. 3-1-2010)