(a) Police officers are authorized to provide for the removal and impounding of a vehicle under the following circumstances:
(1) When any vehicle is left unattended upon any street, bridge or causeway and is so illegally parked so as to constitute a hazard or obstruction to the normal movement of traffic, or so as to unreasonably interfere with street cleaning or snow removal operations;
(2) When any motor vehicle, including an abandoned junk motor vehicle, as defined in Ohio R.C. 4513.63, is left on private residential property, as defined in Ohio R.C. 4513.60, or on private agricultural property, for at least four consecutive hours without the permission of the person having the right to the possession of the property, or on a public street or other property open to the public for purposes of vehicular travel, or upon or within the right-of-way of any road or highway, for 48 consecutive hours or longer, without notification to the Police Chief of the reasons for leaving such vehicle in such place, except that when such a motor vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic, it may be ordered into storage immediately;
(3) When any vehicle has been stolen or operated without the consent of the owner;
(4) When any vehicle displays illegal license plates or fails to display the current lawfully required license plates;
(5) When any vehicle has been used in or connected with the commission of a felony;
(6) When any vehicle has been damaged or wrecked so as to be inoperable or violates equipment provisions of this Traffic Code whereby its continued operation would constitute a condition hazardous to life, limb or property;
(7) When any vehicle is left unattended due to the removal of an ill, injured or arrested operator, and is unlawfully parked on public or private property;
(8) When any vehicle has been operated by any person who has failed to stop in case of an accident or collision;
(9) When any vehicle has been operated by any person who is driving without a lawful license or while his or her license has been suspended or revoked;
(10) When any vehicle is found for which two or more citation tags for violations of this Traffic Code have been issued and the owner or operator thereof has failed to respond to such citation tags as lawfully required.
(11) The provisions of this chapter shall also apply to the impoundment of any shared mobility device, as described and contained in Chapter 478 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Lyndhurst.
(Ord. 2021-92. Passed 11-15-21.)
(12) When any vehicle is found to be unregistered or non-licensed on any public or private property.
(Ord. 2022-42. Passed 6-6-22.)
(b) Any vehicle removed under authority of division (a)(2) of this section shall be ordered into storage and/or disposed of as provided under Ohio R.C. 4513.60 et seq. Any other vehicle removed under authority of this section shall be ordered into storage and the Police Department shall forthwith notify the registered vehicle owner of the fact of such removal and impounding, reasons therefor and the place of storage. Any person desiring to redeem an impounded vehicle shall appear at the Police Department to furnish satisfactory evidence of identity and ownership or right to possession. Prior to issuance of a release form, the claimant, owner or operator shall either pay the amount due for any fines for violations on account of which such vehicle was impounded or, as the court may require, post a bond in an amount set by the court, to appear to answer to such violations. The pound operator shall release such vehicle upon the receipt of the release form and payment of all towage and storage charges.
(c) No owner or operator shall remove an impounded vehicle from the place of storage without complying with the above procedure. Possession of a vehicle which has been impounded and unlawfully taken from the place of storage, by the owner or operator, shall constitute prima facie evidence that it was so removed by the owner or operator.
(d) The Chief of Police may, from time to time, designate one or more public garages or gasoline stations within the S.P.A.N. municipalities membership area as motor vehicle pounds and fix reasonable charges for towing motor vehicles by the operators of such garages or gasoline stations to such pounds and for storing the same therein. An entry dated and signed by the Chief of Police shall be filed in the Journal of the Director of Safety as executive head of the Traffic Engineering and Safety Division, which is maintained pursuant to Section 406.01, designating such services and charges.
(Ord. 78-49. Passed 7-3-78.)
(e) Any owner or person in control of a vehicle stored on City property as a result of abandonment, unlawful operation or parking, damage or other cause, shall pay five dollars ($5.00) per day commencing on the third day of storage. The Chief of Police shall cause notice of the charges to become due hereunder to be given to the operator and to the owner upon receipt of such vehicle on City premises. Such notice shall be given personally or by certified mail to the address of the owner shown in the records of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and to the operator if known to the police. The cost of such mail shall be charged to the owner or person in control. The cost of towing, if required, shall be charged, at cost, to the owner and operator. The Chief of Police shall arrange for reasonable towing charges within the S.P.A.N. area with operators of auto repair garages providing such service for occurrences within the City.
No person shall fail to pay any storage or tow fee.
(Ord. 2014-34. Passed 6-2-14.)