(a) Reasons for impounding. All law enforcement officers of the city are hereby authorized to remove or to cause the removal from the streets, sidewalks or public grounds:
(1) Any vehicle parked, left standing or abandoned thereon in violation of any of the provisions of this Traffic Code, of any other traffic ordinances of the city, or of the Ohio Revised Code;
(2) Any vehicle which has been reported stolen;
(3) Any vehicle from which the driver has been arrested or any vehicle operated by a person who
refused to obey the instruction of any police officer after such person has been placed under arrest;
(4) Any vehicle from which the driver has been removed due to illness or injury;
(5) Any vehicle which, in the impounding authority’s opinion, creates a condition which presents a risk of physical harm to persons or property, including vehicles which, without authorization, release, discharge or leak substances into or upon the environment;
(6) Any vehicle operated by a person while engaged in, or connected with, the commission of a crime or a traffic violation;
(7) Any vehicle operated by a person without an operator’s license, or during a period of suspension or revocation of such license;
(8) Any vehicle that has been involved in an accident when the driver thereof has failed to stop after such accident;
(9) Any vehicle which fails to comply with the provisions of these Codified Ordinances or the Ohio Revised Code relative to equipment for or on such vehicle;
(10) Any vehicle abandoned after an accident on public or private property away from the owner’s residence; or
(11) When any vehicle is found for which two or more citations for violations of this Traffic Code have been issued and the owner or operator thereof has failed to respond to such citation as lawfully required.
(b) Damage during removal or storage.
(1) The removal of a vehicle by a police officer or any other person of a vehicle at the direction of a police officer, for any of the reasons mentioned in subsection (a) of this section, shall be at the risk of the owner of the vehicle or the person who placed the vehicle in a position to be towed. There shall be no liability on the part of the city for any damage caused by such removal.
(2) The storage of any vehicle when impounded by the city shall be at the risk of the chauffeur, driver or owner thereof, and the city shall not be liable for damage of any nature or the theft or destruction of any vehicle so impounded.
(c) Expense of removal, clean-up and storage. The actual expense of removal or unloading of any vehicle, including commercially registered vehicles, attached vehicles or their loads, shall be assessed against the owner or agent of the vehicle or property. The city shall be reimbursed for the actual expense incurred for the use or service of special equipment, labor, security, traffic direction and clean-up necessary for recovery of the vehicle or its load, or for seizure, impoundment or forfeiture of the vehicle or its load.
(d) Impounding fees and storage charges. No vehicle impounded under the provisions of this section shall be removed from the vehicle pound, except upon the payment, by the owner, chauffeur, driver or other person in charge of such vehicle, of the towing and storage fees incurred by the city or by any other person at the city’s direction. The Police Division, with the approval of the City Manager, shall establish a schedule for storage fees to be charged under this section.
(e) Forfeiture of impounded vehicles. Should the owner or other person in charge of an impounded vehicle wish to forfeit his or her interest in such vehicle to the city, such owner or person in charge of the vehicle may do so, provided that the impounding fees, tow charges and all parking infraction fines are paid in full. In return for the vehicle forfeiture, the owner or person in charge of the vehicle will not be subject to any storage fees to the extent that they are offset by the value of the vehicle.
(Ord. 93-46, passed 8-26-1993; Am. Ord. 01-39, passed 9-27-2001)