If the City Recorder has reason to believe a vehicle is disabled or abandoned the City Recorder or the City Recorder’s designee shall implement the following procedure.
(A) Notice shall be given by affixing a citation to the vehicle and by mail to the owner and any lessors or security interest holders at the address of each as shown by the records of the Motor Vehicles Division.
(B) The citation and the mailing shall state all of the following:
(1) The vehicle will be subject to being taken into custody and removed by the City Recorder if the vehicle is not removed before the time set by the City Recorder;
(2) The ordinance violated by the vehicle and under which the vehicle will be removed;
(3) The place where the vehicle will be held in custody or the telephone number and address where the information will be provided;
(4) The vehicle, if taken into custody and removed by the city, will be subject to towing and storage charges and that a lien will attached to the vehicle and its contents;
(5) The vehicle will be sold to satisfy the costs of towing and storage if the charges are not paid;
(6) The owner, possessor, or person having an interest in the vehicle is entitled to a hearing, before the vehicle is impounded, to contest the proposed custody and removal if a hearing is timely requested;
(7) The owner, possessor, or person having an interest in the vehicle may also challenge the reasonableness of any towing and storage charges at the hearing; and
(8) The time within which a hearing must be requested and the method for requesting a hearing.
(C) Provide a hearing if one is requested by the owner, possessor, or any other person who reasonably appears to have an interest in the vehicle to contest the validity of the removal and custody or proposed removal and custody of a vehicle. A request for a hearing must be made by submitting a request with the City Recorder not more than five days from the mailing date of the notice, not including weekends and holidays. A hearing under this section shall comply with all of the following:
(1) If the City Recorder receives a request for hearing before the vehicle is taken into custody and removed, the vehicle shall not be removed unless the vehicle constitutes a hazard;
(2) A request for hearing shall be in writing and shall state grounds upon which the person requesting the hearing believes that the custody and removal of the vehicle is not justified;
(3) Upon receipt of a request for a hearing under this section, the City Recorder shall schedule a hearing with the Council which shall not be later than the second regular Council meeting following the filing of the written appeal, within 72 hours of the receipt of the request and shall provide notice of the hearing to the person requesting the hearing and to the owners of the vehicle and any lessors or security interest holders shown in the records of the Division, if not the same as the person requesting the hearing. The 72-hour period in this division (C) does not include holidays, Saturdays, or Sundays.
(4) If the Council finds, after hearing and by substantial evidence on the record, that the custody and removal of a vehicle was:
(a) Invalid, the Council shall order the immediate release of the vehicle to the owner or person with right of possession. If the vehicle is released under this division (C)(4)(a), the person to whom the vehicle is released is not liable for any towing or storage charges. If the person has already paid the towing and storage charges on the vehicle, the City Recorder shall reimburse the person for the charges. New storage costs on the vehicle will not start to accrue, however, until more than 24 hours after the time the vehicle is officially released to the person under this division (C)(4)(a); or
(b) Valid, the Council shall order the vehicle to be held in custody until the costs of the hearing and all towing an storage costs are paid by the party claiming the vehicle. If the vehicle has not yet been removed, the Council shall order its removal.
(5) A person who fails to appear at a hearing under this section is not entitled to another hearing unless the person provides reasons satisfactory to the City Recorder for the person’s failure to appear.
(6) The City Recorder is only required to provide one hearing under this section for each time the City Recorder takes a vehicle into custody and removes the vehicle or proposes to do so.
(7) A hearing under this section may be used to determine the reasonableness of the charge for towing and storage of the vehicle. Towing and storage charges set by law, ordinance, or rule or that comply with law, ordinance, or rule are reasonable for purposes of this division (C)(7).
(8) The City Recorder shall provide a written statement of the results of a hearing held under this section to the person requesting the hearing.
(9) Hearings held under this section may be informal in nature, but the presentation of evidence in a hearing shall be consistent with the presentation of evidence required for contested cases under O.R.S. 183.450.
(10) The hearings officer at a hearing under this section may be an officer, official, or employee of the appropriate authority but shall not have participated in any determination or investigation related to taking into custody and removing the vehicle that is the subject of the hearing.
(11) The determination of the Council at a hearing under this section is final and is not subject to appeal.
(D) After providing notice required under this section and, if requested, a hearing under this section, the City Recorder may take a vehicle into custody and remove the vehicle if:
(1) The City Recorder has reason to believe the vehicle is disabled or abandoned; and
(2) The vehicle has been parked or left standing upon any public way for a period in excess of 24 hours without authorization by statute or city ordinance.
(Ord. 338, passed 10-14-1991)