HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrd. 1637ORDINANCE NO. 1637
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD AMENDING
CHAPTER 4 -32 OF THE LYNWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATING
UNLICENSED TAXICABS
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 21100, the City has
enacted an ordinance regulating the licensing and operation of taxicabs within the City
under Lynwood Municipal Code Chapter 4 -32 but has no effective penalty provisions for
violation of said regulations;
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 53075.61 authorizes a local
transportation officer to seize, without a warrant, and impound unlicensed taxicabs illegally
operating within the local jurisdiction but requires the immediate release of the same upon
certain requirements, and California Vehicle Code Section 21100.4 authorizes a local
transportation officers to seize, upon being issued a warrant, and impound unlicensed
taxicabs for up to thirty (30) days;
WHEREAS, the City has experienced an increase in the presence of unlicensed
taxicabs illegally operating within the City's limits;
WHEREAS, unlicensed taxicabs pose a great threat to public safety because they
oftentimes do not have insurance, are poorly maintained, and are difficult to regulate;
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lynwood ( "Council ") desires to deter the
illegal operation of unlicensed taxicabs within the City's limits and to empower its local
transportation officers with the ability to seize and impound unlicensed taxicabs for up to
thirty (30) days.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 4 -32.1 of the Lynwood Municipal Code, entitled
"Definitions" is hereby amended by adding the following definitions applicable to
Chapter 4 -32:
"Traffic Authority shall mean the Chief of Police of the City, his or her
designee, or any enforcement officer authorized under this Code to
enforce the provisions of this Chapter."
"Unlicensed Taxicab shall mean any taxicab operating on the public
streets of the City that does not have a valid permit required under
Section 4 -32.17 or 4 -32.27 of this Code."
Section 2. Part F of Chapter 4 -32 of the Lynwood Municipal Code is hereby
added in its entirety to read as follows:
"PART F: UNLICENSED TAXICABS
4 -32.56 Violation; Penalty. It is unlawful for any person or entity to
operate a taxicab without a valid taxicab permit, license, or certificate
issued under Section 4 -32. Any person violating this Section is guilty of a
misdemeanor unless the Traffic Authority charges the offense as an
infraction. Whenever the Traffic Authority determines that a violation of
this Section has occurred, the Traffic Authority may impose any
combination of administrative, civil, and criminal penalties allowed under
this Code.
4 -32.57 Issuance and Service of Citations.
a. Whenever the Traffic Authority determines that a provision of this
Chapter has been violated, the Traffic Authority is authorized to pursue
administrative fines pursuant to this Section. A fine shall be assessed by
means of an administrative citation issued by the Traffic Authority and
shall be payable directly to the City of Lynwood. The citation shall state
all of the following information:
1. Date, approximate time, vehicle information, and address or
detailed description of the location where the violation(s) occurred;
2. An amount of the administrative fine not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and explanation of how the fine shall
be paid and the time period by which it shall be paid;
3. The code sections or conditions violated and a description of
the violation(s);
4. An order to the responsible person to correct the violations
within the time specified in this chapter, if applicable, and an
explanation of the consequences of failure to correct the
violation(s);
5. An order prohibiting the continuation or repeated occurrence
of the violation described in the administrative citation;
6. A notification that payment of the fine does not excuse or
discharge the failure to correct the violation and does not bar
further enforcement action by the City;
7. A statement that if the fine is not timely paid, a late payment
penalty of twenty five percent (25 %) of the amount of the fine will
be added to the fine;
8. Identification of rights of appeal pursuant to Chapter 20 of
this Code, including the time within which the citation may be
contested and the place to obtain a request for hearing form to
contest the administrative citation; and
9. The name and signature of the Traffic Authority officer, the
name and address of the responsible person, and, if possible, the
signature of the responsible person.
b. Administrative fines imposed for violations of this Section shall be
consistent with Chapter 20 of this Code. To the extent the provisions of
this Section conflict with Chapter 20 of this Code, the provisions of this
Chapter shall prevail. The penalties and methods of enforcement set
forth in this Section are in addition to any other penalties or methods of
enforcement authorized by law.
C. Failure of the person or entity cited to follow the procedures set
forth in herein shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies
and shall preclude the person or entity cited from asserting standing for
judicial review of the validity of the citation.
d. Any person aggrieved by the action of a hearing officer taken
pursuant to Chapter 20 may obtain review of the administrative decision
by filing a petition for review in accordance with the timelines and
provisions set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4.
4 -32.58 Immediate Impoundment (Without A Warrant) of Unlicensed
Taxicabs.
a. Impoundment. Any person authorized by the Traffic Authority to
cite any person or entity for operating a taxicab without a valid taxicab
permit, license, or certificate, in violation of Section 4 -32, may, upon
issuance of a criminal citation, immediately impound and retain
possession of any vehicle used as an unlicensed taxicab.
b. Notice. If the person from whom the vehicle is seized is not the
registered owner of the vehicle, the impounding authority shall
immediately give notice to the owner by certified first class mail, return
receipt requested.
C. Return of the Vehicle. The vehicle shall be returned to the
registered owner of the vehicle upon one of the following conditions:
1. Payment of any fine ordered by the court and the
impounding agency; or
2. The violation is not prosecuted or is dismissed, the person is
found not guilty of the offense, or it is found that the vehicle was
used without the knowledge and consent of the registered owner of
the vehicle.
If the vehicle is returned pursuant to this subsection (2), the vehicle
shall be returned without any cost to the owner.
d. Motion to Court for Return of Vehicle. At any time, a person may
move the court for the immediate return of the vehicle on the ground that
there was no probable cause to seize and impound said vehicle, or that
there is some other good cause, as determined by the court, for the return
of the vehicle. A proceeding under this subsection (d) is a proceeding in a
limited civil case.
e. Unclaimed Vehicle. If, after the expiration of six weeks from the
final disposition of the criminal case, the vehicle is not returned or
claimed, the City shall deem the vehicle as lost or abandoned property
under Section 1411 of the Penal Code.
f. The Traffic Authority shall not impound any vehicle owned or
operated by a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation pursuant to
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which serves youth or
senior citizens and provides transportation incidental to its programs or
services.
4 -32.59 Immediate Impoundment (With A Warrant) of Unlicensed
Taxicabs.
a. Warrant. Any person authorized by the Traffic Authority to cite any
person or entity for operating a taxicab without a valid taxicab permit,
license, or certificate, may present an affidavit to a court magistrate
establishing reasonable cause that a vehicle (including vehicle type and
license number) is being operated as an unlicensed taxicab in violation of
Section 4 -32.
b. Impoundment. Upon the issuance of a warrant by the court
magistrate pursuant to subsection (a) above, which warrant shall be
entered into a computerized database, the Traffic Authority may, upon
seeing the vehicle within the City, immediately impound and retain
possession of the vehicle for up to thirty (30) days.
C. Notice. Within two (2) business days of impoundment, the City
shall send notice by certified first class mail, return receipt requested, to
the legal and registered owner of the vehicle, informing the owner(s) that
the vehicle has been impounded and providing a copy of the warrant or
court order. Failure to provide notice as stated herein shall prohibit the
City from charging for more than fifteen (15) days' impoundment when a
legal owner claims the impounded vehicle.
d. Post - seizure Hearing. A registered or legal owner, or authorized
agent thereof, shall, upon request, be provided a post- seizure hearing
before the court magistrate issuing the warrant to determine the validity of
the impoundment.
1. Notice shall be mailed or personally delivered to the
registered and legal owners within 48 hours after issuance of the
warrant or court order, excluding weekends and holidays, by the
person or agency executing the warrant or court order, and shall
include all of the following information:
A. The name, address, and telephone number of the
City;
B. The location of the place of storage and a description
of the vehicle, which shall include, if available, the name or
make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the
mileage of the vehicle;
C. A copy of the warrant or court order and the affidavit,
as described, in subsection (a) above; and
D. A statement that, in order to receive the post- seizure
hearing, the owners, or their agents, are required to request
the hearing from the court magistrate issuing the warrant or
court order in person, in writing, or by telephone, within 10
days of the date of the notice.
2. Failure of either the registered or legal owner, or his or her
agent, to request, or to attend, a scheduled hearing satisfies the
post- seizure hearing requirement.
3. The City shall be responsible for the costs incurred for
towing and storage of the vehicle if it is determined in the post -
seizure hearing that reasonable grounds for the impoundment are
not established.
e. Costs. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Section, the
registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and
storage charges related to the impoundment, and any administrative
charges authorized under Section 22850.5 of the California Vehicle Code
incurred by the registered owner.
f. Release of Vehicle to Registered Owner Prior to End of
Impoundment Period. The City shall release a vehicle to the registered
owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period and
without the permission of the court magistrate authorizing the vehicle's
seizure under any of the following circumstances:
1. When the vehicle is a stolen vehicle.
2. When the vehicle was seized under this Section 4 -32.59 for
an offense that does not authorize the seizure of the vehicle.
A vehicle may not be released under this subsection (f), except upon
presentation of the registered owner's or agent's currently valid permit,
license, or certificate issued under Section 4 -32.17 or 4 -32.27 and proof
of current vehicle registration, or upon order of the court.
g. Release of Vehicle to Legal Owner Prior to End of Impoundment
Period. A vehicle removed and seized under subdivision (a) shall be
released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owner's agent prior
to the end of the impoundment period and without the permission of the
court magistrate authorizing the impoundment of the vehicle if all of the
following conditions are met:
1. The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit
union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution
legally operating in this state or is another person, not the
registered owner, holding a security interest in the vehicle.
2. The legal owner or the legal owner's agent pays all towing
and storage fees related to the impoundment of the vehicle. A lien
sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who
redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of impoundment. No
administrative charges authorized under Section 22850.5 of the
California Vehicle Code shall be charged to the legal owner or its
agents unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a post- seizure
hearing.
3. The legal owner or the legal owner's agent presents to both
the City and the person or entity in possession of the impounded
vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of
the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of
the California Business and Professions Code; a release from the
one responsible governmental agency; a government- issued
photographic identification card; and any one of the following as
determined by the legal owner or the legal owner's agent: a
certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for
the vehicle, or title, whether paper or electronic, showing proof of
legal ownership for the vehicle. No other documents shall be
required to be presented. The documents may be originals,
photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted
electronically, and shall not be required to be notarized.
The legal owner does not have to request a post- seizure hearing for the
release of the vehicle prior to the end of the impoundment period."
Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of
this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of
any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrase, or portions of this
ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance
and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective
of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or
portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 4. This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its final
passage.
Section 5. The City Clerk of the City of Lynwood is hereby directed to certify to
the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and to cause it to be published as required
by law.
First read at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 15th day of February,
2011 and adopted and ordered published at a regular meeting of said Council held on
the 1 st day of March, 2011.
ATTEST:
Aide Castro, Mayor
Roger L. Hale Kcity Manager
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
-Aal -
Fred Gala te, ity Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
Jo athan Colin, Director of
Development Services
I, the undersigned, City Clerk of the City of Lynwood, do hereby certify that the
above and foregoing Ordinance was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of
Lynwood at its regular meeting held on the 1St day of March, 2011.
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS FLORES, MORTON, RODRIGUEZ, CASTRO,
AND SANTILLAN
NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
FEW MR)
) ""Al
PMria MQuinonez, RCitf�Aderk d
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
I, the undersigned, City Clerk of the City of Lynwood, and Clerk of the City
Council of said City, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a full, true and
correct copy of Ordinance No. 1637 in my office and that said Ordinance was adopted
on the date and by the vote therein stated. Dated this 1St day of March, 2011.
ria Quinonez —City Clerk