(Amended by Ord. No. 182,516, Eff. 4/30/13.)
A motor vehicle may contain advertising signs that are painted directly upon or are permanently affixed to the body of, an integral part of, or fixture of a motor vehicle for permanent decoration, identification, or display and that do not extend beyond the overall length, width, or height of the vehicle. “Permanently affixed” means any of the following: (a) painted directly on the body of a motor vehicle; (b) applied as a decal on the body of a motor vehicle; (c) placed in a location on the body of a motor vehicle that was specifically designed by a vehicle manufacturer as defined in California Vehicle Code Section 672 and licensed pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 11701, in compliance with both state and federal law or guidelines, for the express purpose of containing an advertising sign. A license plate frame installed in compliance with California Vehicle Code Section 5201 may contain an advertisement on that license plate frame and/or a paper advertisement contained within the license plate frame if the paper advertisement was issued by a motor vehicle dealer. A motor vehicle in violation of this Section may be impounded pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 22651(w), Subsections (1) and (2).
(a) Post Storage Impound Hearing. Section 22852 of the California Vehicle Code applies to this Section with respect to the removal of any motor vehicle pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 22651(w)(1). Section 22852 is incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein and provides, in summary, that whenever an authorized employee of the City directs the storage of a vehicle, the City shall direct the storage operator to provide the vehicle’s registered and legal owner(s) of record, or their agent(s), with the opportunity for a post-storage hearing to determine the validity of the storage. Notice of the storage shall be mailed or personally delivered to the registered and legal owner(s) within 48 hours, excluding weekends, as specifically provided for under Section 22852 of the California Vehicle Code. To receive a post-storage hearing, the owner(s) of record, or their agent(s), must request a hearing, in person, in writing or by telephone, within ten days of the date appearing on the notice. The City may authorize its own officer or employee to conduct the hearing as long as the hearing officer is not the same person who directed the storage of the vehicle.
(b) Violation – Penalties. After the initial warning citation, a subsequent offense of this Section is a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both fine and imprisonment. The City Council may establish from time to time by resolution an increase in the amount of the fine.
(c) Severability. If any subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Section is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Section. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Section, and each and every subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof not declared invalid or unconstitutional, without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.