HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance No. 1002-05 01-11-2005 • ORDINANCE NO. 1002-05
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS
AMENDING ARTICLE IV OF CHAPTER 50 OF THE CITY CODE TO
PROVIDE FOR REGULATIONS REGARDING PERMITTING AND
OPERATION OF WRECKER COMPANIES PERFORMING NON-
CONSENT TOWS WITHIN THE CITY; PROVIDING CERTAIN
MAXIMUM FEES FOR WRECKER SERVICE ONNON-CONSENT TOWS;
PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE OF
ALL ORDINANCES; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;
PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR VIOLATION; PROVIDING A SAVINGS
CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION AS REQUIRED BY LAW;
AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Richland Hills is a home rule city acting under its charter adopted
by the electorate pursuant to Article XI, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution and Chapter 9 of the
Local Government Code; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that regulation of vehicle towing is necessary for the
purpose of promoting safety by preventing the unexpected loss of the use of a person's vehicle,
except in those instances wherein the owner or operator of the vehicle has been put on notice through
signs of the likelihood of the involuntary tow of the vehicle; and
• WHEREAS, the City Council finds that regulation of vehicle towing is necessary for the
purpose of promoting safety by protecting vehicle owners from towing mistakes and the outright
theft of vehicles, by preventing severe congestion and interference with police and ambulance at
accident scenes, and to expedite the recovery of involuntarily towed vehicles to restore safe
transportation to the owner or operator; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to implement the recommendations of City staff to
provide for maximum fees for contracting forpolice and non-consent towing and vehicle storage and
to establish requirements for signs for private propertynon-consent tows in addition to those required
by the Texas Transportation Code; and
WHEREAS, the City Council deems it necessary and proper and in the best interests of the
health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry to adopt provisions set forth below regulating
wrecker and towing services in the City;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
ADDITION OF SECTION 160 REGARDING PERMIT REQUIREMENTS
• Section 160 of Article N of Chapter 50 of the Richland Hills City Code is hereby added, and
• shall provide as follows:
50-160. Permit requirements and general provisions regarding permits.
a. No person shall engage in non-consent tows within the City limits without
first obtaining a wrecker service permit from the chief of police as outlined
in this section.
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of a violation of this subsection that
the person is engaging in:
(1) the transportation of a vehicle by anon-resident wrecker operator
from some point outside the City to some destination within the City;
or
(2) the transportation of a vehicle by anon-resident wrecker operator
from some point outside the City and traversing the City to some
other destination outside of the City.
b. All applicants for wrecker service permits must furnish the chief of police
with the following:
• (1) A written application for each wrecker stating the following
information: (1) the names, drivers' license numbers, addresses and
telephone numbers of those persons who will operate applicant's
vehicles; (2) the names, drivers' license numbers, addresses and
telephone numbers of those persons who will have access to
applicant's storage area; (3) a statement of applicant's fees for towing
and storage; and (4) location of applicant's storage facilities where all
damaged, inoperative and abandoned vehicles will be taken for
safekeeping;
(2) A copy of an insurance policy insuring the applicant issued by a
company licensed to do business in the State of Texas in good
standing, said policy to provide limits of not less than the following
sums:
(a) Bodily injury liability: $100,000.00 for each person;
$500,000.00 for each accident;
(b) Property damage: $50,000.00 for each wrecker vehicle;
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 2
W:\Richland Hills\Ordinance\Wrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
(c) Garage keeper's extra legal liability insurance to cover the
maximum number of customers; automobiles stored for
damage due to fire, explosion, theft, riot, vandalism and
collision. A cash escrow deposit in the amount of $25,000.00
or an acceptable fidelity bond in the amount of $25,000.00
insuring and naming the City as beneficiary against physical
damage loss to stored vehicles, theft of stored vehicles or any
part thereof or theft of contents of stored vehicles may be
furnished in lieu of garage keeper's liability insurance; and
Each policymentioned shall contain an endorsement providing for 30
days' notice to the City in the event of any material change or
cancellation of each policy.
c. The applicant's facility and equipment shall meet the following minimum
criteria:
(1) Each wrecker shall not be less than one ton in size;
(2) Each wrecker shall be equipped with a power take-off winch, winch
line and boom, with a factory rated capacity of not less than 5,000
pounds;
(3) Each wrecker shall carry as standard equipment a tow bar, safety
chains, a fire extinguisher, wrecker bar, broom, axe, shovel, flags,
flares and scotch blocks;
(4) Each wrecker shall have inscribed on each side thereof in letters not
less than three inches in height the name and address of the company;
and
(5) Each wrecker shall be radio equipped for communications.
d. The applicant shall perform criminal background checks on all employees
and criminal background driving record checks on all drivers upon hire and
at least annually thereafter, and shall conduct drug testing and screening upon
hire and on an as-needed basis thereafter as permitted by law to insure the
safety of its drivers, and shall report the results of such checks to the chief of
police when applying for a permit and when seeking renewal of such permit.
No person who has been convicted of a felony shall be assigned by the
applicant to conduct business within the City and no person who has been
convicted of a felony, who has a conviction for driving while intoxicated or
driving under the influence, who has received a positive test for use of illegal
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 3
W:ARichland Hills\OrdinanceAWrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
• substances, or who otherwise has any history of substance abuse shall be
assigned by the applicant to drive a wrecker within the City.
e. All of the required information must be kept current, showing all additions
and/or deletions to the approved applications on file with the City.
f. Upon receipt of a permit application, the chief of police or a duly authorized
representative shall inspect the applicant's records and facility, including the
storage area and each such wrecker, and determine whether the requirements
established by this section and other applicable law and regulations have been
met. If the chief of police so determines, the chief shall issue such permits
to applicants complying with the provisions of this section after the
applications have been completed and filed in his office, and the permit fees
have been paid.
g. All wrecker permits shall be visibly displayed on the inside of the windshield
of each wrecker operated within the City. All permits issued shall expire on
December 31 of the year in which they were issued. Wrecker permits shall
not be transferable.
SECTION 2.
ADDITION OF SECTION 161 REGARDING FEES
• Section 161 of Article N of Chapter 50 of the Richland Hills City Code is hereby added, and
shall provide as follows:
Section 161. Permit application fee and maximum fees relating to towing.
A wrecker service permit application fee and maximum fees relating to non-consent
tows for each wrecker shall be established from time to time by resolution of the City
Council. The permit fee shall be set forth in the Fee Schedule, Appendix A to this
Code. Until changed, the maximum fees relating to non-consent tows for each
wrecker shall be as follows:
(1) Base charge for weekdays (8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) $120.00
(2) Base charge for nights, weekends and holidays 120.00
(3) Use of dollies 35.00
(4) Use of winch (minimum) 20.00
(5) Drop drive shaft 25.00
(6) Stand-by time (after initia130 minutes), per hour 100.00
(7) Large wrecker 216.00
(8) Vehicles in excess of three tons 50.00
(9) Storage Fees 15.00 per day
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 4
W:\Richland Hills\Ordinance\Wrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
10) Impound fee 20.00
• 11) Notification of owners of towing and/or impounding 32.00
All wrecker services performing non-consent tows shall comply with this schedule
of rates for towing and reclaim by the vehicle's owners. This in no way prohibits
wrecker services from charging fees of a lesser amount.
SECTION 3.
ADDITION OF SECTION 162 REGULATING TOWING OPERATIONS
Section 162 of Article N of Chapter 50 of the Richland Hills City Code is hereby added, and
shall provide as follows:
Section 162. General regulations regarding non-consent tows.
a. Wrecker operators and wrecker service companies performing non-consent
tows within the City must accept payment by major credit cards as payment
for the fees described in this Chapter relating to towing.
b. Upon initial contact with the owner of a vehicle which is the subj ect of a non-
consent tow, a wrecker service operator, a vehicle storage facility operator,
or any employee or agent thereof shall give written notice to the vehicle
• owner of his right to a hearing pursuant to V.T.C.A., Transportation Code,
Chapter 685. Such notice shall be on a form promulgated by the chief of
police and shall include the name, address and phone number of the person
or agency that authorized the removal, and a statement that the hearing must
be requested in writing within fourteen (14) days of the date the vehicle was
stored and that the request must be filed with a magistrate in whose
jurisdiction is the location from which the vehicle was removed.
c. Non-consent towed vehicles removed from a location within the City shall
not be taken to a storage facility which is more than 30 miles from the
location from which the vehicle was removed.
d. Non-consent towed vehicles removed from a location within the City shall
not be taken to a storage facility that does not accept major credit cards.
e. Wrecker operators must be available to release vehicles twenty-four (24)
hours each day and must respond within one hour of request of the property
owners and release the vehicle upon payment of the required fees.
f. No damaged or inoperative motor vehicle or trailer shall be removed by the
owner or a wrecker service company from the scene of a collision or vehicle
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 5
W:\Richland Hills\Ordinance\Wrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
• accident without notification to the police department.
g. No persons shall solicit any wrecker business in any manner, directly or
indirectly, on the streets of the City at or near the scene of an accident or of
wrecked or disabled vehicles.
h. The chief of police or an authorized representative shall enforce the terms of
this article and make such inspection of facilities as deemed necessary. Any
variance from the provisions of this article must be approved in advance in
writing by the chief of police.
i. The chief of police may indefinitely suspend the wrecker service permit
issued to any company or any or all wreckers belonging to the company for
violation of any of the provisions of this article. Any person whose permit has
been suspended may file an appeal to the City Manager. The City Manager
shall have authority upon the hearing of the appeal to reverse, vacate or
modify the suspension. The decision of the City Manager shall be final.
j. All wreckers shall be driven at posted speeds unless otherwise directed by the
officer in charge at the scene of the accident.
k. The wrecker company shall furnish the police department with the
• description and registration number of any vehicle of which the company has
been unable to locate the owner. This information shall be furnished within
ten days from the date the company took custody of the vehicle. Additionally,
each wrecker company shall furnish the police department a monthly report
of all vehicles impounded as a result of a request by the police department.
Such report will indicate the year, make, license and VIN number of such
impounded vehicle, along with the date pulled, reason pulled and date
released.
1. If the initial request for a pull comes from the police department, no release
shall be granted without authorization from the police department. This
provision shall not apply to pulls at owner's request which are relayed to the
wrecker company by the police department. The police dispatcher shall
inform the wrecker company whether a pull is an owner's request or a police
department's request.
SECTION 4.
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 50-157 REGARDING WRECKAGE AND DEBRIS
Section 50-157 of Article N of Chapter 50 of the Richland Hills City Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 6
W:\Richland Hills\Ordinance\Wrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
• Each wrecker company called to the scene of an accident shall completely remove
from the street all resulting wreckage or debris, including all broken glass, before
leaving the site, and shall exercise reasonable caution in doing so. In the event such
wreckage or debris cannot be removed safely without police intervention, the wrecker
operator shall notify the police department and request such assistance as is
necessary.
SECTION 5.
AMENDMENT OF CITY CODE APPENDIX A-FEE SCHEDULE
Appendix A of the Richland Hills City Code, entitled "Fee Schedule," is hereby amended
as follows: under the heading "Chapter 50. Law Enforcement," the code section number 50-153(a)
shall be replaced with code section number 50-161. The fee provided therein shall remain the same.
SECTION 6.
PROVISIONS CUMULATIVE
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of
Ordinances of the City of Richland Hills, Texas, as amended, except where the provisions of this
ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event
the conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed.
• SECTION 7.
PROVISIONS SEVERABLE
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the phrases, clauses,
sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause
sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid
judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect
any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the
same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of
any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
SECTION 8.
RIGHTS AND REMEDIES SAVED
All rights and remedies of the City are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the
provisions of the City Code amended or revised herein, or any other ordinances affecting the matters
regulated herein which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance; and, as to
such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court
or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but maybe prosecuted
until final disposition by the courts.
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 7
W:\Richland Hills\Ordinance\Wrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
SECTION 9.
PUBLICATION
The City Secretary of the City of Richland Hills is directed to publish the caption, penalty
clause, publication clause and effective date of this Ordinance to the extent required by law.
SECTION 10.
PUBLICATION IN BOOK OR PAMPHLET FORM
The City Secretary of the City of Richland Hills is hereby authorized to publish this
Ordinance and the exhibits to this ordinance in book or pamphlet form for general distribution
among the public, and the operative provisions of this Ordinance and the exhibits to this Ordinance
as so published shall be admissible in evidence in all courts without further proofthan the production
thereof.
SECTION 11.
PENALTY FOR VIOLATION
Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply
with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be fined no more
than Five Hundred Dollars and no cents ($500.00) for violation of this Ordinance. Each day that a
violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
• SECTION 12.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as
required bylaw, and it is so ordained.
PASSED A ~~D ON THIS ~ DAY OF anti 1, 2005.
_ ~
~ ~ 1-~ - TH HONORABLE NELDA STRODER, MAYOR
ATTEST: ~ ~ . '
IT SECRETARY
EFFECTIVE DATE: c~ ..~G~N.~S
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 8
W:\Richland Hills\Ordinance\Wrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
• APPRQVED A O ORM AND GALITY:
TIM G. SRALLA, CITY ATTORNEY
• ORDINANCE AMENDING WRECKER ORDINANCE REGARDING MAXIMUM WRECKER FEES AND REGULATIONS Page 9
W:\Richland Hills\Ordinance\Wrecker ordinance amendment final 1-13-OS.wpd
INVOICE }'r«
Star-Telegram Customer ID: CIU08
400 W. 7th Street Invoice Number: 251361461
FORT WORTH, TX 76102
(817> 390-7761 Invoice Date: 1/30/05
Federal Tax [D 22-3148254 Terms: Net due in 21 days
Due Date: 1 /31 /OS
Bill To: PO Number:
CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS
3200 DIANA DR Order Number: 25136146
RICHLAND HILLS, TX 761 18-6237 Sales Rep: 073
Description: ORDINANCE NO. 1
Attn Attn: ACC_.Oi1NTS .PAYABLE Publication Dates: 1/29/05 -1/30/05
Desc~i~ati~>~ Location Col Depth L>tuage ML' Rate Amount
ORDINANCE NO. 1002-OS AN ORDIN I3580 1 61 61 LINE $0.29 $35.33
i ORDINANCE NO. NON-CONSENT
1002-~ TOWS; PROVIDING
~ AN ORDINANCE OF THAT -THIS ORDI-
THE CITY OF NANCE SHALL BE Net Amount: $35.33
RICHLAND HILLS CUMULATIVE OF
TEXAS AMENDINUI ALL ORDINANCES;
ARTICLE IV OF PROVIDING A SEV-
CHAPTER 50 OF E ABILITY CLAUSE;
THE CITY CODE TO PROVIDING A PEN-
PROVIDE FOR ALTY FOR VIOLA-
REGULATIONS RE- TION- PROVIDING A
GARDING PERMIT- SAVINGS CLAUSE,
TING AND OPERA- PROVIDING FOFI
TION OF WRECKER PUBLICATION AS
COMPANIES PER- REOWIRED BY LAW
FORMING- ~ AND PROVIDING AhI
CONSENT' EFFECTIVE DATE.
WITHIN THE C An person, firm or
PROVIDING CER- corporation who vio-
T'AIN MAXIMUM lates,•disobeys, omits,
FEES FOR WRECK- neglects or refuses to
ER SERVICE ON comply with or who
resists .the enforce-
ment- of anY of the ~.•,A.~p -
provisions of this Or- r'~y y~;•; CHRISTY L. HOLLAND
durance shall be fined ti ~ ':a' MY COMMISSION EXPIRES
no more than Five y~y: ~ij,
Hundred Dollars ' ,,;:r JUIy 31, 2008
(500.00) for all other ;rF•••
violations of this Or-i.1 ^-•Rt~Jr
dinance. Each day
that a violation is
THE STATE OF TEXAS permitted to exist shall
County of Tarrant offense
e a separate
ApDOPTED BY THE
HI HLAND HILLS
Before me, a Notary Public in and f cllY COUNCIL oN this day personally appeared Lisa Wesselman Bid and Le al Coordinator
JANUARY ~ 1, 2005. r ~ g
for the Star-Telegram, published by ute srar-rglegram, Inc. at Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas; and who, after being duly sworn, did depose and say
that the attached clipping of an advertisement was published in the above amed paper on the lists dates: BIDS 87: LEGAL DEPT. STAR TLEGRAM
(817) 390-7320
Signed
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME, THIS Monday, February 7, 0 5. ,
Notary Public
Thank You For Your Payment
W._._
Remit To: Star-Telegram Customer ID: CIU08
P.O. Box 901051 Customer Name: CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS
FORT WORTH, TX 76101-2051 Invoice Number: 251361461
Invoice Amount: $35.33
PO Number:
Amount Enclosed: $