A. Notice On Illegally Parked Vehicles: Whenever any motor vehicle without a driver is found parked or stopped in violation of any of the restrictions imposed by this chapter or any other city ordinance or by state law, police officers, code enforcement officers, and any other city employees designated by the police chief finding such vehicle shall take its registration number and may take any other information displayed on the vehicle which may identify its owner or user and shall conspicuously affix to such vehicle a citation-complaint, in writing, on a form as provided by this code for the owner to appear to the charge against him or her at the city's finance department. In addition to enforcement of this chapter by police officers, code enforcement officials, and designated city employees, fire department officials and any other city employees designated by the fire chief shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter for fire lane violations. Also, in addition to enforcement of this chapter by police officers, code enforcement officials, and designated city employees, public works employees shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter for snow ordinance violations.
B. Failure To Pay Or To Contest: Failure to pay or to contest a parking citation-complaint within thirty (30) calendar days of its issuance under the provisions of this chapter shall render the charges contained therein admitted.
C. Payment Of Parking Citation-Complaint: Persons receiving a citation-complaint who desire to admit and pay the violation may do so in one of the following ways:
1. Place the amount specified on the face of the citation- complaint in the envelope provided and mail the payment to the city's finance department within thirty (30) calendar days of the date issued.
2. Appear in person no sooner than five (5) calendar days but no more than thirty (30) calendar days after the date of issuance of the citation-complaint. Place of appearance will be the city's finance department and pay in person the amount specified on the face of the citation-complaint to the city.
3. Persons wishing to contest the citation-complaint must do so by appearing in person in the office of the city's finance department no sooner than five (5) calendar days but not more than thirty (30) calendar days after the date of issuance of the citation-complaint.
D. Notification Of Contest And Assignment Of Court Dates: Persons wishing to contest the citation-complaint must do so in writing on forms provided by the city's finance department and shall appear as provided in subsection C3 of this section. At the time of filing of the notification of contest, a date and time of court appearance will be established by the city's finance department, subject to approval by the Polk County clerk of court, and notice thereof provided to the person contesting the citation-complaint. The person contesting the citation-complaint will be required to post an unsecured appearance bond in the amount specified pursuant to section 805.6, code of Iowa (2013), providing for the setting of unsecured appearance bonds for a scheduled fine. The city's finance department shall forward the contested citation-complaint to the traffic division of the Polk County clerk of court. Violations of this chapter shall be considered traffic violations for purposes of Iowa Code sections 803.3 and 805.13 (2013). Because the city is located in two (2) or more counties and the city's seat of government is located in Polk County, venue shall be in Polk County.
E. Form And Use Of Parking Citation-Complaint Forms: Parking citation-complaints shall be issued by the police department, including code enforcement officials, the fire department, the public works department, and other designated personnel, upon serially numbered sets of parking citation-complaint forms, each copy of each set to be clearly imprinted with the citation- complaint number. Copies of the citation-complaint forms shall be used as follows: one to be used as a notice of violation to be delivered to the owner of the vehicle, or affixed to the vehicle illegally parked, as provided in subsection A of this section; one to be placed on file with the city's finance department which may be proceeded upon as a simple notice pursuant to code of Iowa, which, if admitted, shall be paid to the city's finance department as specified in the citation-complaint or which, if denied, shall be handled pursuant to subsection D of this section; and one to be retained for record purposes by the police, fire, or public works department.
F. Habitual Violator: For the purposes of this section, a delinquent parking citation-complaint is one which has not been paid within thirty (30) calendar days of the date upon which the violation occurred.
Any person who has allowed three (3) or more parking citation-complaints issued on a single motor vehicle to become delinquent shall be deemed to be a habitual violator.
No person shall park a vehicle and permit it to remain standing upon any public street or public metered lot or city owned parking facility in the city when there are three (3) or more delinquent parking citation-complaints outstanding against that vehicle.
A violation of this section shall place such vehicle in the status of an illegally parked vehicle and the vehicle may be dealt with pursuant to subsection G of this section.
G. Removal And Impoundment Of Illegally Parked Vehicles: The police department may remove and impound vehicles or cause vehicles to be removed and impounded, when the vehicles are stopped or parked in violation of this chapter or other city ordinances and, in so doing, may employ such means as are reasonably necessary. Impounded vehicles shall be stored in a location designated by the city.
H. Right Of Owner To Redeem Impounded Vehicle: The registered owner or person having a legal entitlement to possession of a motor vehicle impounded pursuant to subsection G of this section may claim the same by appearing personally in the office of the city's finance department and either paying, in full, all delinquent parking citation-complaints pursuant to subsection C2 of this section, or timely contesting the citation-complaints pursuant to the procedure established in subsection D of this section. The city's finance department, upon compliance with the above procedure, shall provide the registered owner or person having a legal entitlement to possession of the motor vehicle, a written release to be presented to the towing-impoundment entity which, upon payment of all towing and storage fees by the registered owner or person having legal entitlement or possession of the motor vehicle, shall enable the individual to possession of the automobile.
I. Failure Of Owner To Claim Impounded Vehicle: If an impounded vehicle is not claimed by the owner within ten (10) calendar days after impoundment, the unclaimed vehicle shall be placed in the status of and shall be deemed an abandoned vehicle as provided by state law and/or this code.
J. Notice Of Impoundment: When a vehicle has been impounded pursuant to subsection G of this section, the registered owner of the vehicle shall be sent, by certified mail, to the owner's last known address of record, within seventy two (72) hours of the impoundment, excluding weekends and holidays, a notice of said impoundment along with a description of any personal property contained within the vehicle and of the right to a hearing pursuant to this chapter. Notice personally presented within said period to said owner or person having a legal entitlement to possession shall satisfy the mailing requirement. (Ord. 1985, 4-29-2013)