(a) Notice. When a person is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking violation subject to the jurisdiction of the Parking Violations Bureau and the person fails to answer the charge within thirty (30) days of the date of issuance of the ticket, the Parking Violations Bureau shall send notifications of the parking violation as follows:
(1) If the person who fails to answer was the operator of the vehicle involved in the parking violation at the time of the commission of the parking violation and was personally served with the parking ticket, a notification of the violation shall be sent to that person, and additionally if such person is not the owner of the vehicle, as determined from the records of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a notification of the violation also shall be sent to the owner at his or her most recent address appearing in such records;
(2) If the person who fails to answer was the owner of the vehicle and was constructively served with the parking ticket, a notification of the violation shall be sent to the owner at his or her most recent address appearing in the records of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
(b) Content of Notice. A notification of violation shall be sent within twelve (12) months after the expiration of time specified in Section 353.04(a) for making an answer, shall be sent by first class mail, and shall contain all of the following:
(1) An identification of the parking violation with which the person was charged and the time and date of the parking violation, which identification may be a copy of the parking ticket charging the parking violation that was personally or constructively served upon the person;
(2) An identification of the amount of the fine, penalties, and costs arising out of the parking violation that are due;
(3) A warning that the person must answer the parking violation charged in the ticket within thirty (30) days or a default civil judgment in the amount of the fines, penalties, and costs due may be entered against the person;
(4) A description of the allowable answers that may be made, and the manners in which they may be made, as set forth in Section 353.04 of this Chapter, and notification that the person will be afforded a hearing before a hearing officer if he or she denies in his or her answer that the parking violation was committed;
(5) An identification of the manners in which and the entity to which an answer may be made;
(6) A warning that if the person fails to appear at a requested hearing, a default civil judgement in the amount of the fine, penalties, and costs due may be entered against the person.
(c) Answer to Notice. A person who receives a notice for failure to answer pursuant to this section may answer the parking violation with which he or she is charged by answering as provided in Section 353.04(a). An answer to a notice sent pursuant to this section shall be made within thirty (30) days after the date on which the notice was mailed and shall be one of the answers specified in Section 353.04(a), except that if the answer includes payment of the fine arising out of the parking infraction any penalty arising out of such infraction also shall be paid. The answer shall be governed by the provision of Section 353.04(b), except that any determination of the amount to be paid under an answer admitting the commission of the parking violation with explanation also shall consider any penalty arising out of such infraction.
(d) Failure to Answer Notice. If a person who is issued a notice for failure to answer under this section fails to timely answer the notice, as provided in division (c) of this section, the failure to answer shall be considered an admission that the person committed the parking violation, and a default civil judgment, in the amount of the fine, penalties, and costs due may be entered against the person. Failure to timely answer the notice may result in the imposition of additional penalties, as set forth in the fee schedule found in Section 353.12 of this Chapter.
(e) Records. The sending of the notification for failure to answer, the filing or failure to file an answer to the notice by the person to whom it was sent, the substance of the answer, the payment of any fine, and any other relevant information shall be entered into the record of the Parking Violations Bureau.
Statutory Reference ORC 4521.07
(Ord. 230(20-21). Passed 6-3-21.)