(a) Admission and Request for Waiver. When a person answers by admitting the parking violation but that admission includes a request that the fine be waived, in accordance with Section 353.04(a)(2) and (b)(2), the Violations Clerk, or his designee, shall, within thirty (30) days, determine whether the explanation and evidence mitigates the fact that the person committed the parking violation and notify the person, in writing, of the determination.
(b) Determination.
(1) If the Violations Clerk, or his designee, determines that the explanation meets any of the conditions outlined in subsection (d) of this section and mitigates the fact that the person committed the parking violation, the Clerk shall eliminate or reduce the amount of the fine arising out of the parking violation. If the fine is eliminated or reduced and the person has previously paid the fine, the amount paid in excess of the revised fine shall be returned to the person; if the fine is eliminated or reduced and the person has not previously paid the fine, the person shall be instructed to pay only the amount of the revised fine, if any.
(2) If the Violations Clerk, or his designee, determines that the explanation does not meet any of the conditions outlined in subsection (d) of this section and does not mitigate the fact that the person committed the parking violation, the person shall be instructed to pay the full amount of the fine arising out of the parking violation.
(c) Timely Payment. If the person has admitted he or she committed a parking violation and the person's fine is reduced in accordance with (b)(1) of this section and the person has not previously paid the fine, or if the person owes the full amount of the fine in accordance with (b)(2) of this section, the determination sent to the person shall instruct him or her to pay the amount due within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice of determination. Failure to pay the amount of the fine due within the ten (10) days indicated, may result in the imposition of additional penalties, as set forth in the fee schedule found in Section 353.12 of this Chapter. Furthermore, the determination and the amounts due shall be considered a judgment and shall be treated as if they were a judgment rendered subsequent to a hearing held pursuant to Section 353.07 of this Chapter.
Statutory Reference: ORC 4521.06
(d) Conditions for Waiver. The Violations Clerk, or his designee, is authorized to waive the parking ticket, or waive the fine, or reduce the fine if the Clerk, or his designee, determines that the explanation provided by the person to whom the parking ticket was issued meets any of the following conditions:
(1) The vehicle was temporarily disabled;
(2) The parking meter was defective;
(3) Emergency parking due to a medical emergency;
(4) The vehicle is a government vehicle parked while the operator is on official government business and that business has caused the vehicle to be parked in excess of the posted time limit or on an expired meter;
(5) The person was cited for a violation of Section 351.05 and provides proof that at the time of violation, the person or the person for whose transport the motor vehicle was being operated had been issued a removable windshield placard that was then valid, or special handicapped license plates that were then valid, or a parking card that was then valid, but the person failed or neglected to display the placard, plates or parking card as required (in such cases the fine may be reduced in accordance with the fees for failure to display required placard, plates or parking card set forth in the City Parking Fee Schedule found in Section 353.12 of this Chapter); or
(6) Any other extraordinary circumstance that mitigates the fact that the person committed a parking violation.
(e) Conditions for Waiver or Reduction for Disabled Parking Space Violation. The Violations Clerk, or his designee, is authorized to waive the parking ticket, or waive the fine, or reduce the fine relating to a parking ticket issued for a violation of Section 351.05 of this Traffic Code in the following circumstances only:
(1) If the person is charged with a violation of Section 351.05(b)(1)A.(i) or (ii) of this Traffic Code and provides a sworn affidavit from a licensed medical professional showing that the person suffered an injury not more than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time the person was issued the ticket and that, because of the injury, the person meets at least one (1) of the criteria contained in ORC 4503.44(A)(1), the fine may be waived.
(2) If the person is charged with a violation of Section 351.05(b)(1)A.(i) or (ii) of this Traffic Code and the person provides written proof showing that at the time of the violation, the offender or the person for whose transport the motor vehicle was being operated had been issued a removable windshield placard that then was valid or special license plates that then were valid, or a parking card that then was valid or special handicapped license plates that then were valid, but the offender or the person neglected to display the placard, license plates, parking card or special handicapped license plates as required, the fine may be reduced in accordance with the fees set forth in the City Parking Fee Schedule found in Section 353.12 of this Chapter.
(Ord. 230(20-21). Passed 6-3-21.)