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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd. No. 2000-1065 ORDINANCE NO. 1065 AN ORDINA~CE OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CH PTER 12.14 TO TITLE 12 OF THE LAKE ELSINORE MUNICIPAL ODE, ESTABLISHING BASIC OPERATION OF TOWING SERVICE I THE CITY CpUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA, ORDAINS AS FOLL1WS: I SECTION 1: I That new Chapter 12.14 be, and the same is hereby, added to Title 12 of the Lake Elsinore Mynicipal Code to read as follows: - Sections: - 12.14.010 12.14.020 12.14.030 12.14.040 12.14.050 12.14.060 12.14.070 12.14.080 12.14.090 12.14.1 00 12.14.110 12.14.120 12.14.130 Chapter 12.14 ~urpose and intent efinitions ow truck operator franchise on-exclusive franchise election of Franchisees otation system onditions on Franchises ates ehicle Impound Cost Recovery Fee ranchise fees ranchise agreements dditional services to be provided. uthority to maintain City towing operations and towing yard I 12.14.010 Purposel and intent. It is the intent of this chapter and any subsequent amendments thereto to prescribe the asic regulations for the operation of the City of Lake Elsinore ("City") and Lake Elsinore Police D artment ("Police Department") towing service in emergency situations and in the removal of vehicl s that are abandoned, involved in an accident, or constitute an obstruction to traffic because of me hanical failure. It is the purpose of the City Council in enacting this chapter 12.14 to provide a fair and impartial means of distributing requests for towing services among qualified franchises, an to ensure that such service is prompt and reasonably priced, and in the best interests of the public a well as the interest of efficient policing operations for the removal of such vehicles from public st eets. , 12.14.020 Definiti~ns. For purposes ofthis chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and derivations shall have t~e meaning given in this section: i "Chief' means ~e Chief of Police of the Police Department of the City of Lake Elsinore. I I i "City Manager"l means the City Manager of the City of Lake Elsinore. "Franchisee" m~ans a certain tow truck operator to which the City Council may, by the adoption of a resolutio~ or ordinance, grant a non-exclusive franchise for purposes of providing towing services to the <tity under and pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. I i "Police Depart1ent" means the Police Department of the City of Lake Elsinore. i "VICR Fees" m$ans the Vehicle Impound Cost Recovery Fee which is equal to one hour of police officer time at t e current intermediate deputy rate in effect at the time of the release of the impounded vehicle. his rate is annually reviewed, updated and approved by the Board of Supervisors for the Co ty of Riverside. - 12.14.030 Tow trurk operator franchise. The City Council may at its discretion, by the adoption of a resolutio or ordinance, grant a non-exclusive franchise to a tow truck operator ("Franchisee") to provi e towing services to the City under and pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. ; I I 12.14.040 Non-exc~usive franchise. A. All franc~ses granted to Franchisees pursuant to this chapter shall be non-exclusive and shall be for a term to be specified by the City Council in the resolution granting a franchise hereunder and in the fr chise agreement between the City and the Franchisee. B. No prov'sions of this chapter shall be deemed to require restricting the number of franchises to one or particular number, and no provision of this chapter shall be deemed to require the City Counci to grant any franchise if the City Council determines that the grant of any such franchise is not in the best interest of the City and the public. - , C. All Frankhisees shall be subject to the terms and conditions specified in this chapter, as well any terms or corditions specified in the resolution granting the franchise and the franchise agreement. I i D. In gran~'ng any tow truck operator franchise, the City Council may prescribe such other terms and conditi ns, not in conflict with this chapter, as are determined by the City Council to be in the best intere t of the City and the public. ! 12.14.050 Selecti n offranchisees. Prior to the City granting a franchise for tow truck services, the City Manager shall cause a notice of request for qualifications to be published in a newspaper of general circulation The City Manager or designee shall evaluate the qualifications of the respondents and sub . t to the City Council for consideration the qualifications of the tow truck operator(s) that helsh deems most qualified together with a franchise agreement as provided in section 12.14.110 oft is chapter. I I 12.14.060 Rotatitn system. A. The to~ truck operators who obtain a franchise pursuant to this chapter shall provide towing service to the ity pursuant to the rotation system established by the Chief. B. Nothin shall prohibit a Class B, Class C, or Class D operator from maintaining a place on a lighter class rotation list. Regardless of the class of tow truck, charges shall not be more than the class of vehic e towed or serviced, except when recovery operations required a larger class of truck. I 12.14.070 Condi~ons on franchises. Any tow truck operator that obtains a franchise pursuant to this chapter shall: I I 1. ! Comply with the City's zoning requirements. , I , I I 2. I Have an office and storage facility in the same location within the City's boundaries, with a Sit posted including the company name, address, phone number and hours of operation, to be clearl visible from the roadway. Unless otherwise authorized by the Chief, such storage facilities shal contain a minimum of 25 automobile storage spaces. I 3. ~i Maintain a sign listing the rates and charges of all towing and storage services offered. Such sign sh I be conspicuously posted in the office or other location clearly visible where customer financial tr sactions take place. I i 4. I Furnish each owner of an automobile impounded by the tow truck operator with a fully itemized ~i11ing. I I 2 - 5. ~aintain minimum. operating hours for storage facilities of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:0? p.m., except holIdays. , 6. ~es~ond to Police D~partment calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the response time as estrblIshed by the ChIef. 7. ~l gree to protect, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City and the Police Department from all cl ims, demands or liability arising out of or ~ncountered in .connectio~ with its agreement with the I ity or the performance of work in preparation for the towmg ope.ratIOn, or claims demands and liaibility occurring during the towing and subsequent storage and mamtenance activities whether such tlaims, demands or liability are caused by the tow service or its employees or agents. ' I 8. ~onduct its business in an orderly, ethical: busine~slike m~er, and use reasonable means to oltain and keep the confidence of the motonng publIc. FranchIsee shall be responsible for the acts of its employees and agents while on duty and for damage to towed vehicles while in its possession I I I 9. t:omply with all applicable federal, state and local regulations for providing towing service and be al currently approved operator for the California Highway Patrol rotational tow list. 12.14.080 Rates. - A. FranchI6ee shall not charge rates in excess of 115 percent of the schedule of rates for towing established by ~he California Highway Patrol for the Riverside County area. B. Storage! fees shall be charged by calender day except that vehicles stored eight hours I or less shall be charge~ no more than one day storage. 12.14.090 Vehicl, Impound Cost Recovery Fee. I i A. The Ve . cle Impound Cost Recovery Fee ("VI CR Fee") is equal to one hour of police officer time at the c rrent intermediate deputy rate in effect at the time of the release of the impounded vehicle. This rate is annually reviewed, updated and approved by the Board of Supervisors for the C unty of Riverside. B. The Fr chisee shall collect the VICR Fee prior to releasing a vehicle unless such fee has already been paid irectly to the Police Department or has been waived. C. The Po ice Department may waive the VICR Fee due to extenuating circumstances. It is not the intention of the City nor the Police Department to penalize victims. Circumstances under which the VICR Fee may be waived include the impounding of recovered stolen or embezzled vehicle, and vehicles' mpounded due to driver injury or incapacitation. 12.14.100 Franc ise fees. Any tow truck operator granted a franchise pursuant to the provisions of this cha ter shall pay to the City franchise charges and fees as may be determined by separate resolution 0 the City Council. Such fee shall not exceed the City's annual cost of administration and e rcement ofthis Chapter and, in no event, shall such annual fee exceed $500 per franchise. . ! 12.14.110 Franctse agreements. All franchises granted by the City Council pursuant to this chapter shall be me~-orialized in a written agreement between the franchisee and the City and approved by resolutior of the City Council. 12.14.120 Addit onal services to be provided. Franchisee shall provide to the City, at no charge, the services n eded to facilitate the City's Vehicle Abatement Program. Additionally, the Franchisee will provi e emergency response to aid and service City and Police Department vehicles that are one ton or Ie s, within a reasonable radius no greater than one (1) mile beyond the City's boundaries, at no cos~ to the City or Police Department. 3 12.14.130 Authority to maintain City towing operations and towing yard. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as restricting or prohibiting the City from conducting its own towing operations or maintaining its own towing yard, either in lieu of, or in addition to, any franchise awarded pursuant to this chapter. SECTION 2: SEVERABILITY If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph of this ordinance or the application thereof __ to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this Ordinance and are hereby declared to be severable. SECTION 3: NOTICE OF ADOPTION The City Clerk shall certify as to adoption of the Ordinance and cause this Ordinance to be published and posted in the manner required by law. SECTION 4: EFFECTIVE DATE This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after the date of its passage. The City Clerk shall certify as to adoption of the Ordinance and cause this Ordinance to be published and posted in the manner required by law. PASSED, UPON FIRST READING this 12tkday of December, 2000, by the following roll call vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: KELLEY, METZE, PAPE, SCHIFFNER, BRINLEY NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE - ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 9th day of January, 2001, by the following roll call vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: KELLEY, METZE, PAPE, SCHIFFNER NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: BRINLEY ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: qj}A)~ I A1ST Z_-LlO~ XJ Vicki Kasad, City Clerk 4 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) SS: CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE) I, VICKI KASAD, CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was introduced and read by title only for adoption on the 12th day of December, 2000; approved upon second reading by title only on the 9th day of January, 2001, by the following roll call vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: KELLEY, METZE, P APE, SCHIFFNER NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: BRINLEY ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: ~%J VICKI KASAD, CITY CLERK CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE NONE (SEAL) STATE OF CALIFORNIA) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) SS: CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE) I, VICKI KASAD, CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the above and foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 1065 of said Council, and that the same has not been amended or repealed. ~rED: January 31, 2001 CZ)~ CV I VICKI KAS~ CLERK CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE .- (SEAL)