355.05 FAILURE TO ANSWER; PROCEDURES.

   (a)    When a person is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking infraction and the person fails to answer the charge within the time specified by the local authority, the Norwalk Parking Violations Bureau, shall send notifications of infraction as follows:

      (1)    If the person who fails to answer was the operator of the vehicle involved in the parking infraction at the time of the commission of the parking infraction and was personally served with the parking ticket, a notification of infraction 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 infraction also shall be sent to the owner at his 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 infraction shall be sent to the owner at his most recent address appearing in the records of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

   (b)    A notification of infraction shall be sent within twelve months after the expiration of the time specified by the local authority pursuant to section 4521.02 of the Revised Code for the making of an answer, shall be sent by first class mail, and shall contain all of the following:

      (1)    An identification of the parking infraction with which the person was charged and the time and date of the parking infraction, which identification may be a copy of the parking ticket charging the parking infraction 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 infraction that are due;

      (3)    A warning that the person must answer the parking infraction charged in the ticket within thirty days or a default civil judgment in the amount of the fine, penalties, and costs due may be entered against the person;

      (4)    A description of the allowable answers that may be made and notification that the person will be afforded a hearing before the Bureau Hearing Examiner if he denies in his answer that he committed the parking infraction;

      (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 judgment in the amount of the fine, penalties, and costs due may be entered against the person;

      (7)    A warning that the registration of the vehicle involved in the parking infraction, if the vehicle is registered in this State, may not be renewed or transferred if a civil judgment or a default civil judgment is entered against the person until the judgment is paid or until it is otherwise finally disposed of in a manner specified in this chapter.

   (c)    A person who receives a notification of infraction pursuant to this section may answer the parking infraction with which he is charged that is identified in the notification of infraction in any of the manners provided in Section 355.04(a). An answer under this section shall be made within thirty days after the date on which the notification of infraction was mailed, and shall be in one of the forms specified in Section 355.04 for answers to parking infractions charged in a parking ticket, 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 provisions of Section 355.04 for answers relative to parking infractions charged in a parking ticket.

   (d)    If a person who is issued a notification of infraction fails to timely answer, as provided in subsection (c) hereof, the failure to answer shall be considered an admission that the person committed the parking infraction, 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 parking infraction identified in the notification of infraction may result in the imposition of the additional penalties prescribed by this chapter.

   (e)    The sending of a notification of infraction, the filing of or failure to file an answer by the person to whom it is sent, the substance of an answer, the payment of any fine, and any other relevant information shall be entered in the records of the Norwalk Parking Violations Bureau.

(Ord. 96-98. Passed 8-20-96.)