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For the purpose of this Article, the following words and phrases shall mean and include:
(1) Tow Car Firm or Towing Firm. Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or any other group or combination acting as a unit, excepting the United States, the State of California, and any political subdivision of either thereof, engaged in the business of transporting, removing, or storage of motor vehicles, including the owner/operator of any tow car as herein defined.
(2) Tow Car. A motor vehicle which has been altered or designed and equipped for, and exclusively used in, the business of towing vehicles by means of a crane, hoist, tow bar, tow lines, or dolly, or is otherwise exclusively used to render assistance to other vehicles, and as defined in Section 615 of the California Vehicle Code.
(3) Applicant. If a sole proprietorship, any person. If a partnership, at least two of the partners. If a corporation, at least two corporate officers.
(Added by Ord. 21-97, App. 1/24/97)
Application for a permit hereunder shall be made upon blank forms prepared and made available by the Chief of Police, or his designee, and shall state the following:
(1) The name, signature, residence, telephone number, social security number and State of California driver's license number of the applicant. Post office box numbers are not acceptable;
(2) The business's name, business address and telephone number;
(3) The make, year, model, color, license number, registered owner, and legal owner, of every tow car that will be operated by the tow car firm;
(4) A description of the applicant's business plan, and proposed services to be provided, including, but not limited to, days and hours of operation, all storage locations of towed vehicles, and a system for handling complaints that is acceptable to the Chief of Police;
(5) The name and permit number of all employees who shall operate a tow car for applicant's business;
(6) Evidence of insurance at least equal to the minimum established in the Chief of Police rules;
(7) A record of all crimes of which the applicant has been convicted, plead guilty, or plead no contest;
(8) If a partnership, or a corporation, a list of all stockholders holding more than 10 percent, including their names, addresses, dates of birth, and social security numbers.
(Added by Ord. 21-97, App. 1/24/97)
An application shall be accompanied by:
(1) A fingerprinting fee in the amount specified pursuant to Section 8.23 of the San Francisco Administrative Code to cover the cost of fingerprinting, classifying and searching of the records;
(2) A complete set of applicant's fingerprints to be taken by the San Francisco Police Department;
(3) Two front view, clear color photographs, approximately one inch by one inch, taken within one month of application, to be furnished by applicant;
(4) The filing fee.
(Added by Ord. 21-97, App. 1/24/97)
The Chief of Police, upon receipt of an original or renewal application, shall make an investigation without unnecessary delay, hear the application and grant such application unless he finds:
(1) Applicant does not possess or cannot obtain the minimum amount of bodily injury and/or property damage insurance as required by the Chief of Police rules; or
(2) The applicant does not possess the requisite tow car equipment or facilities reasonably necessary to operate a tow car business in such a manner as to adequately protect vehicles of the public that are towed and stored from damage or theft; or
(3) The applicant has been convicted of theft, petty theft, theft of a vehicle, breaking or removing vehicle parts, malicious mischief to vehicle, check fraud, credit card fraud, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving bodily injury, any sex offense which would cause the applicant to be registered as a sex offender, any unlawful carrying, use or possession of a firearm, any assault or battery (misdemeanor or felony), kidnapping, arson, extortion, murder, possession of alcoholic beverage, opened alcohol container, marijuana, or narcotic drug while driving, bailee tampering; or
(4) The applicant has knowingly falsified any statement contained in his application, or has knowingly omitted information in his application which could result in a denial of the permit; or
(5) The applicant does not possess or cannot obtain an FDIC-authorized bank credit card machine.
(Added by Ord. 21-97, App. 1/24/97)
Every towing firm, or person to whom or for whom a permit to operate a tow car firm has been granted pursuant to the provisions of this Article, shall display said permit in a conspicuous place within the tow car firm business address, so that the same may be readily seen by persons entering the premises.
(Added by Ord. 21-97, App. 1/24/97)
All tow car firms operating on the effective date of this Article must file an application for a permit within 90 days of the effective date of this Article; failure to do so shall make continued operation of said tow car firm a violation of the permit requirements of this Article.
(Added by Ord. 21-97, App. 1/24/97)
(a) Findings. The Board of Supervisors finds:
(i) that there are frequent incidents of illegal towing from private property in San Francisco; and
(ii) that there is a significant risk to the safety of residents and visitors when illegal towing from private property occurs at night; and
(iii) that there is a risk to public health and safety when the vehicles of senior citizens and persons with disabilities are illegally towed from private property; and
(iv) that illegal towing from private property affects vulnerable populations when people of limited economic means are required to pay hundreds of dollars to recover their vehicle, or are subjected to deficiency claims by collection agencies if they could not afford to pick up their vehicle even though the vehicle was illegally towed; and
(v) that the rights of vehicle owners when their vehicle is towed from private property, as described in the California Vehicle Code, are extremely difficult for citizens and visitors to find and understand, especially for non-English speakers or those who speak English as a foreign language; and
(vi) that there are no accessible resources for people to research their rights and responsibilities with respect to private property tows; and
(vii) that requiring tow car firms to provide information on the legal rights of vehicle owners at the time they reclaim their vehicle would be an effective way of informing vehicle owners of their rights under California law when their vehicle is towed from private property; and
(viii) that preventing illegal conduct by tow car operators when towing from private property would reduce the economic burden on residents and visitors by eliminating the need to go to small claims court after a vehicle owner has already paid to reclaim the vehicle; and
(ix) that consistent adherence to legal towing practices will substantially increase the quality of life for residents and the experience of visitors to San Francisco.
(b) Definitions. For the purposes of this Article, "Brochure" shall mean a concise summary of California law, including the maximum rate that can be legally charged for a private property tow and the rights and responsibilities of all parties who participate in towing from private property: real property owners, vehicle owners, tow car operators and tow car firms.
(c) Duties of tow car firm permittees. Every towing firm, or person to whom or for whom a permit to operate a tow car firm has been granted pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall display the Brochure in Chinese, Spanish and English in a conspicuous place in the location where a vehicle owner must come to reclaim their towed vehicle so that the Brochure may be easily seen by any person who is reclaiming their vehicle. A vehicle owner reclaiming their vehicle must also be able to take a copy of the Brochure in any language without assistance from any employee of the tow car firm and before they have paid to reclaim their vehicle. The tow car firm must maintain at least 50 copies of the brochure in each language on the premises at all times.
(d) Duties of the Police Department. The Police Department shall:
(i) Develop the Brochure within 30 days of the effective date of this ordinance; and
(ii) Arrange for translation of the Brochure into Chinese and Spanish; and
(iii) With the assistance of the City Attorney's Office, review the Brochure after July 1 of each year, and revise any provisions that are changed by state legislation or changes in public towing contract prices; and
(iv) Arrange for production of the Brochure in sufficient quantities for all tow car firm permittees and any City department that wishes to display the Brochure; and
(v) Provide copies of the Brochure and display stands that are adequate to display the Brochure in all of the required languages to any tow car firm permittee in sufficient quantities to ensure the tow car firm's compliance with this Section, and to City departments upon request; and
(vi) Post the Brochure, contact information for the San Francisco Small Claims Court and the District Attorney's Office Consumer Protection Unit, and a list of current tow car firm permittees on the Police Department's website.
(e) Funding. All costs of production, translation and distribution of the Brochure and display stands shall be recovered by the Police Department from the permit fees assessed for tow car firm and tow car operator permits.
(f) Penalties and Enforcement. Any tow car firm that fails to comply with the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section may be assessed an administrative penalty by the Police Department in accordance with San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 100, a copy of which is on file in Board of Supervisors File No. 081452 and which is hereby incorporated by reference. The penalty for a violation shall be $500.
(Added by Ord. 11-09, File No. 081452, App. 1/16/2009)
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