(a) A person who is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking infraction may answer the charge by personal appearance before the Parking Violations Bureau, or by mail. An answer shall be made within fifteen (15) days from the date of the alleged infraction, and shall be in one of the following forms:
(1) An admission that the person committed or is responsible for the parking infraction, by payment of any fine arising out of the parking infraction;
(2) An admission that the person committed or is responsible for the parking infraction, with an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the parking infraction;
(3) A denial that the person committed or is responsible for the parking infraction and a request for a hearing relative to the infraction. If the person desires the presence, at the hearing, of the law enforcement officer who issued the parking ticket, the person must request his presence in his answer.
(b) (1) A person who admits that he committed or is responsible for a parking infraction shall, and a person who admits that he committed or is responsible for a parking infraction with explanation may, when he makes his answer, pay the fine arising out of the infraction admitted to the Violations Clerk.
(2) A person who admits that he committed or is responsible for a parking infraction with explanation shall submit evidence to the Parking Violations Bureau that explains the circumstances surrounding the parking infraction. The evidence may be submitted in person or, to avoid the necessity of personal appearance, may be sent as affidavits and other documentary evidence, by mail. When the Parking Violations Bureau receives an answer admitting that a person committed or is responsible for a parking infraction with explanation shall promptly determine whether the explanation mitigates the fact that the person committed or is responsible for the parking infraction and notify the person, in writing, of its determination.
If the Parking Violations Bureau determines that the explanation mitigates the fact that the person committed or is responsible for the parking infraction, the Parking Violations Bureau shall eliminate or reduce the amount of the fine arising out of the parking infraction. 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 pay only the amount of the revised fine within ten (10) days after the Bureau has mailed out its determination. If the Parking Violations Bureau determines that the explanation does not mitigate the fact that the person committed or is responsible for the parking infraction, the person owes the entire amount of the fine arising out of the parking infraction, and if the person has not previously paid the fine, the person shall pay the entire amount of the fine. If a person admits that he committed a parking infraction with explanation and the person fails to pay the amount of the fine due within ten days after the Bureau has mailed out its determination, unless the amount due has previously been paid, the Bureau’s determination and the amount of the fine due shall be considered a judgment and shall be treated as if it were a judgment rendered subsequent to a hearing held pursuant to C.O. §450.07.
(3) A person who denies that he committed a parking infraction shall be granted a hearing concerning the infraction. The Parking Violations Bureau shall set a date for the hearing and notify the person, in writing, of the date, time, and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by a hearing examiner of the parking violations bureau, or a referee of the juvenile court, whichever is applicable, in accordance with C.O. §450.07.
(c) If a person who is personally or constructively served with a parking ticket charging the commission of a parking infraction fails to timely answer the charge, as provided in subparagraph (a) of this section, the Parking Violations Bureau shall issue the proper notifications of infraction pursuant to C.O. §450.06, and proceed according to that section. Failure to timely answer a charge may result in the imposition of an additional penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
(d) The issuance of a parking ticket, the filing of or failure to file an answer by a person personally or constructively served with the ticket, the substance of an answer, the payment of any fine, and any other relevant information shall be entered in the records of the Parking Violations Bureau.
(Ord. 2000-174. Passed 10-2-00.)