(A) Authority to impound vehicles. Members of the Police Department are authorized to remove a vehicle from any city street, swale, sidewalk or public parking facility to the nearest garage or other place of safety or to a garage designated or maintained by the Police Department or by this municipality, under the circumstances provided herein.
(1) When any vehicle is left unattended upon any bridge, causeway or viaduct or in any subway where such vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic.
(2) When a vehicle upon a street is so disabled as to constitute an obstruction to traffic, or the person or persons in charge of the vehicle are by reason of physical injury incapacitated to such an extent as to be unable to provide for its custody and removal.
(3) When a vehicle is found being operated upon the streets and not in a condition to be safely operated.
(4) When any vehicle is left unattended upon a street and is so parked illegally as to constitute a definite hazard or obstruction to the normal movement of traffic.
(5) When any vehicle is left unattended upon a street continuously for more than 24 hours and may be presumed to be abandoned.
(6) When the driver of such vehicle is taken into custody by the Police Department and such vehicle would thereby be left unattended upon a street.
(7) When the removal is necessary in the interest of public safety because of fire, flood, storm or other emergency reason.
(8) When a vehicle is left in violation of a parking control device which informs vehicle operators that the area in which the vehicle is parked is an official tow- away zone.
('72 Code, § 34-104)
(9) When a vehicle has, on at least three prior occasions, been found stopped, standing or parked on any street, alley, thoroughfare or public parking space within the city in violation of a state law or city ordinance, for which parking tickets have been issued or, alternatively, when a motor vehicle has, on at least one prior occasion, parked within the city in violation of §§ 72.140 or 72.141 herein regulating parking in spaces provided for the exclusive use of persons with disabilities, for which a parking ticket has been issued, and to which the registered owner has failed or refused to respond by requesting, in a timely manner, a review of the citation before the Director of the Office of Parking & Intergovernmental Affairs or a court date to contest the parking ticket(s) or by paying the civil penalties indicated upon the parking ticket(s) or otherwise imposed by court order; provided, however, that no such vehicle shall be removed or impounded unless and until the Police Department has complied with the following requirements, as applicable:
(a) No such vehicle shall be removed or impounded unless and until the registered owner has been given notice by mail or otherwise that the provisions of this division will be enforced against the vehicle unless, not more than ten days from the date of receipt of the notice, the owner shall pay the civil penalties for all such outstanding tickets.
(b) In the event the Police Department, after making a reasonable attempt, is unable to obtain sufficient information to give notice to the registered owner, the Police Department may remove such vehicle if, prior to removal, a notice is placed upon the vehicle in substantially the following form:
NOTICE TO THE OWNER AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE ATTACHED VEHICLE. This vehicle, to wit: (brief description) has, on at least three prior occasions, been found stopped, standing or parked on any street, alley, thoroughfare, or public parking space within the City of Hollywood in violation of a state law or city ordinance, for which parking tickets have been issued or, alternatively, has, on at least one prior occasion, parked within the City in violation of §§ 72.140 or 72.141 herein regulating parking in spaces provided for the exclusive use of persons with disabilities, for which a parking ticket has been issued, and to which the registered owner has failed or refused to respond by requesting, in a timely manner, a review of the citation or by paying the civil penalties indicated upon the parking ticket(s) or otherwise imposed by court order. As a result, this vehicle must be removed within 5 days; otherwise, it will be removed by the Hollywood Police Department. The owner will be liable for the costs of removal and storage. Dated this: (date of posting of notice), signed: (name, title, address, and telephone number of police officer).
Such notice shall be not less than 8 inches by 10 inches and shall be sufficiently weatherproof to withstand normal exposure to the elements.
(B) Notice of impounding. Whenever an officer removes a vehicle from a street or public parking space authorized in division (A) above, and the officer knows or is able to ascertain the name and address of the owner thereof, such officer shall immediately give or cause to be given notice to such owner of the fact of such removal and the reasons therefor and of the place to which such vehicle has been removed. In the event any such vehicle is stored in an authorized garage, a copy of such notice shall be given to the proprietor of such garage. ('72 Code, § 34-105)
(C) Authority to remove and impound vehicles standing in violation of certain provisions.
(1) Whenever any police officer finds a vehicle standing upon a street or alley in violation of any of the foregoing provisions of this chapter, such officer is hereby authorized to move such vehicle or require the driver or person in charge of the vehicle to move the same to a position off the paved or improved or main traveled part of such street or alley.
(2) Whenever any police officer finds a vehicle unattended upon any street, bridge or causeway or in any tunnel within this municipality where such vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic, such officer is hereby authorized to provide for the removal of such vehicle in accordance with the provisions of divisions (A) and (B) hereof.
('72 Code, § 34-107)
(D) Towing and storage charges. No vehicle impounded in an authorized garage as herein provided shall be released therefrom until the charges for towing such vehicle into the garage and storage charges have been paid. The charge for towing or removal of any such vehicle and storage charges shall be fixed by the city, such charges to be based upon a computation of all actual expenses entering into the current cost of such services. Such charge, or charges shall be posted for public inspection in any authorized garage.
(Ord. O-79-13, passed 3-7-79; Am. Ord. O-2010-26, passed 7-7-10; Am. Ord. O-2011-28, passed 10-19- 11; Am. Ord. O-2021-07, passed 5-5-21)