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Home My WebLink About1990-3240 Vehicle impoundment ORDINANCE NO. : AN ORDINANCE relating to traffic; regulating vehicle impound- ment, exercising municipal powers in accordance with RCW 46.55; amending Subsection 13 of Section 9.48.010 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA: Section 1: Section 9.48.010(13) of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows "9.48.010 Definitions. The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter: 1. 'Abandoned vehicle' means a vehicle that a registered tow truck operator has impounded and held in his possession for ninety -six consecutive hours. 2. 'Abandoned vehicle report' means the document prescribed by the state that the towing operator forwards to the department after a vehicle has become abandoned. 3. 'Commission' means the State Commission on Equipment established under RCW 46.37.005. a. 'Department' is Washington State Department of Licensing. 4. 'Impound' means to take and hold a vehicle in legal custody. There are two types of impounds - public and private. a. 'Public impound' means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by a public official having jurisdiction over the public property upon which the vehicle was located. b. 'Private impound' means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a person having con- trol or possession of the private property upon which the vehicle was located. 5. 'Junk vehicle' means a motor vehicle certi- fied by the chief of police or his designee as meeting all the following requirements. a. Is three years or older; b. Is extensively damaged, such damage in- cluding, but not limited to, any of the following. A broken window or windshield or missing wheels, tires, - 1 - (ord /impound) motor, or transmission; c. Is apparently inoperable; d. Is without a valid, current registration plate; e. Has a fair market value equal only to the value of the scrap in it. 6. 'Registered tow truck operator' or 'operator' means any person who engages in the impounding, trans- porting, or storage of unauthorized vehicles or the disposal of abandoned vehicles. Registered operators are registered under RCW 46.55.020. 7. 'Residential property' means property that has no more than four living units located on it. 8. 'Tow truck' means a motor vehicle that is equipped for and used in the business of towing vehicles with equipment as approved by the commission. 9. 'Tow truck number' means the number issued by the department to tow trucks used by a registered tow truck operator in the state of Washington. 10. 'Tow truck permit' means the permit issued annually by the department that has the classification of service the tow truck may provide stamped upon it. • 11. 'Tow truck service' means the transporting upon the public streets and highways of this state of vehicles, together with personal effects and cargo, by a tow truck of a registered operator. 12. 'Unauthorized vehicle' means a vehicle that is subject to impoundment after being left unattended in one of the following public or private locations for the indicated period of time Subject to removal after: a. Public locations. i. As described in Section 9.48.565 of this chapter Immediately ii. In a publicly owned or controlled public parking facility, properly posted under Section 9.48.070 of this chapter Immediately b. Private locations: i. On residential property Immediately • - 2 - (ord /impound) 11. On private, nonresidential property, properly posted under Section 9.48.070 of 411 this chapter, or other applicable authority Immediately iii. On private, nonresidential property, not posted 24 hours c. Nothing herein precludes impoundment or removal of vehicles or other personal property pursuant to other lawful authority. 13. 'Unattended nuisance vehicle' means a vehicle not within the meaning of Section 9.48.010(12) but which hereby is subject to impound after remaining in substan- tially the same location for twenty-four consecutive hours or longer upon any portion of a highway, or a parking lot operated by the City for public parking, or any portion of the City's right of way to include plant- ing strips and sidewalks maintained for pedestrian traf- fic, and after the vehicle has remained substantially in that same location for any additional fourteen consecu- tive days after notice is given by the chief of police or his agent pursuant to subsections (a) or (b) as follows. a. When the vehicle displays proper current registration or license plates so that the owner may be ascertained, or when the owner of the vehicle is deter- mined by the police department from other information available, then the chief of police or his agent shall 411 send notice, substantially as appears below, to such owner by certified mail, five-day return receipt re- quested. NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT Notice is hereby given to the owner, of a vehicle as a (description - make, model, year, license number, and motor number) located at (address) that it will be impounded by authority of City of Yakima Municipal Code, Section 9.48.010(13), if such vehicle is not removed from its present location within fourteen days of (date). You are further notified that such vehicle will not be impounded if you request a hearing by personally delivering to, or by mailing to, the Yakima Police Department, 129 North 2nd Street, Yakima, Washington, 98901, a • 3 - (ord/impound) copy of the following 'Request for Pre-Impoundment Hearing' within fourteen days from the date specified above. Signed Chief of Police of the City of Yakima By Agent IN THE YAKIMA COUNTY DISTRICT COURT CITY OF YAKIMA, a municipal corporation, ) REQUEST FOR PRE- v. ) IMPOUNDMENT HEARING ,) NO. (owner's name) I, as owner of the vehicle listed above, request a hearing to contest the validity of the proposed im- poundment of the vehicle described in the foregoing "Notice of Impoundment", and I understand that this request must be returned to the Yakima Police Department before the date listed in the "Notice of Impoundment." Dated: (signature of owner) (address and telephone) b. If the chief of police or his agent has actual knowledge that the owner of the vehicle is re- siding at an address different from that ascertained from the vehicle registration certificate, license plate information, or other public record and if such different address is known to the chief of police or his agent who gives the notice, then a copy of the notice contained in subdivision (a) of this subsection shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to that known address, or personally served upon such own- ' er." Section 2 This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its passage, approval, and publication as 4 - (ord/impound) - • provided by law and by the City Charter. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approVed this • day of P , 1990. >4L1 Mayor ATTEST: *<011-a-frt, exh (— City Clerk Publication Date Effective Date: 3 // g'/?(3 • - 5 - ( ord/impound ) IIIP ORDINANCE NO. 32 4 Q AN ORDINANCE relating to traffic; regulating vehicle impound- ment; amending subsection A of section 9.48.110 of the city of Yakima Municipal Code;and enacting new subsection C to section 9.48.110 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA: Section 1: Section 9.48.110 pf the City of Yakima,Muni- cipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: "9.48.110 Notice to legal and registered owners. A. When an unauthorized vehicle is impounded, the impounding towing operator shall notify the legal and registered owners of the impoundment of the unauthorized vehicle. The notification shall be sent by first-class mail within twenty-four hours after the impoundment to • the last known registered and legal owners of the vehicle, as provided by the law enforcement agency, and shall inform the owners of the identity of the person or agency authorizing the impound. The notification shall include the name of the impounding tow firm, its address, and telephone number. The notice shall also include the location, time of the impound, and by whose authority the vehicle was impounded. The notice shall also include the written notice of the right of redemption and opportunity for a hearing to contest the validity of the impoundment pursuant to Section 9.48.120. B. In the case of an abandoned vehicle, within twenty-four hours after receiving information on the vehicle owners from the department through the abandoned vehicle report, the tow truck operator shall send by certified mail, with return receipt requested, a notice of custody and sale to the legal and registered owners. C. No notice need be sent to the legal and registered owners of an impounded vehicle if the vehicle has been redeemed." (ord/traffic) Section 2: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty days after its passage, approval, and publica- tion as provided by law and by the City Charter. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approved this l 3day of 7 -e,>r) , 1990. (C2't Mayor ATTEST: 1 C4114-e_ City Clerk Publication Date FEB 1 6 1990 Effective Date: MAR 1 8 1990 411 (ord/traffic)