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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1993 0421 CC REG ITEM 11A' �ORPAftK, C,�LI{�C :,ty Cou I Meeflng 1957] Tv: ql-2-1 Ict 5 AGENDA REPORT CITY OF MOORPARK City Council .` ' DORPARK, CALIF02N'A � O City Cguncll ti, A 0 /% 7 ' I ( ! of ' ACTION: y621 By FROM: Donald P. Reynolds Jr., Administrative Services Manager DATE: March 30, 1993, (CC Mtg. of April 7, 1993) SUBJECT: Consider Administrative Procedure and Fee for the Dismissal of Handicap Parking Citations for the Failure to Properly Display the Disabled Person Parking Placard Summary The purpose of this report is to follow -up on past issues relating to handicap parking restrictions, and to present a policy to assist those who have a received a citation but have a legitimate Disabled Person Parking Placard, ( "Placard "), to have the citation removed. Background On the March 3, 1993, the Council adopted the new fine amount of $280 (increased from $105) for the existing Municipal Code, (10.040.180) relating to designated handicap parking spaces, and allowed staff additional time to develop an administrative process for dismissing these citations, as well as to explore the possibility of adding new handicap parking restrictions to the City's codes. The new laws proposed by staff relating to blocking handicap ramps and special curb cuts, were researched by the City Attorney, and found that the State did not pass the authority to draft local laws for these infractions as is the case for code 10.040.180. City officers can cite for these violations under the State Vehicle Code where $280 fine would be applied by the State, but all fines of this nature are returned to the State. Persons can be also be issued a citation under the Municipal Code Section 10.040.190 (b) for blocking an intersection at a fine of $30. The City has had the ability to dismiss violations of the Moorpark Municipal code as they apply to parking citations since 1984, when the original ordinances were adopted. In 1991, staff developed a formal application of this policy which is presented in Attachment "A" This policy allows the City Manager with a recommendation from the director of the issuing department, (Community Development or Police), to dismiss parking citations when unusual conditions were found to exist. A typical example of these conditions relates to the placement of no- parking signs on a street during the afternoon when cars are currently parked on these streets, and the officer issuing a citation without the owner of the car having an opportunity to move the vehicle. These cases are extremely rare. In 1992, out of 1,356 citations 7 were dismissed using the administrative policy. Of the 7, 5 were related to the handicap parking law, and of these 5, 3 were canceled due to improper marking of the designated space, (property owner was at fault), and 2 were dismissed due to a failure to properly display the placard (owner of the placard was at fault). The City had 100 citations protested in Court in 1992, (7.3%), and of these, 26 were for the handicap violation. Of the 26, 11 were paid, 12 were dismissed by the Court, and 3 are still pending resolution. Ninety seven of the 1,356 citations written in 1992 were issued for a violation of the handicap parking law (7%). Twenty seven percent of the 97 citations (26) were protested. With the increased fine, this percentage will most likely increase. Discussion In regards to the Council's consideration for an administrative policy relating for the dismissal of handicap parking citations, staff has drafted a policy presented in Attachment "B ". The State law is precise in its definition of when a handicap parking violation may be dismissed. Only one circumstance is permissible for a judge or local jurisdiction to exercise this discretion. This is when a disabled person having a valid placard fails to properly display it when the citation is written, (referred to in Attachment "B" as the "failure to properly display the placard "). Staff's draft policy is written in order to assist the accused to prove that they do have a valid placard, and allow them to request a dismissal without involving the court. For legitimate cases, this procedure will help the accused to avoid the expense of traveling to the court house, or posting bail and protesting the citation in writing. The policy is similar to the City of Ventura's (presented in the March 3 staff report), where three types of identification are required before consideration to remove the citation is granted. The policy cannot be subjectively administered as presented. The draft policy attempts to deter people from utilizing this policy to avoid paying valid citations by imposing an administrative fee for each occurrence after the first which occurs within a 12 month period. Staff is proposing for the second offense that a $30 fee be applied based on the cost of a regular citation, which is presumed to account for the cost to the City for the administration the process. To assure deterrence, third and fourth offenses increase to $60 and $90 respectively, and then $90 for each offense after the fourth offense, if it occurs within the same 12 month period. Attachment "C" is staff's draft Resolution establishing this fee. Exhibit "A" attached to the draft policy (Attachment "B ") is where staff proposes to account for the paperwork and applied fees (if any). Of the 26 protests in 1992, none were by repeat offenders and therefore it is assumed that this policy not be needed very often. However, it will deter those who attempt to use the City's draft policy for illegitimate purposes. Recommendation That the City Council authorize staff to consider the administrative dismissal of parking citations relating to designated handicap parking spaces, using the draft policy as presented in Attachment "B"; and, adopt Resolution Number adopting administrative fees for those who are repeat offenders. Attachments A). Existing Policy for Administrative Parking Citation Dismissals B). Proposed Policy for Dismissal of a Handicapped Parking Violation C). Draft Resolution Establishing an Administrative Fee for those who are Repeat Offenders Attachment "A" City Cancellation of Parking Violations Intent Under unusual circumstances, with approval of the City Manager and based upon the recommendation of the designated Chief of Police of the Moorpark Police Department or the Director of Community Development, some parking citations may be canceled by the City, (all others must be processed through a formal adjudication process). Procedure 1. Police or Community Development Department requests dismissal of a parking citation from the City Manager, (typically, it is done because of a procedural problem when the citation was issued, or in posting signs which do not indicate parking restrictions clearly); 2. The City Manager either approves the request, and forwards it to the Administrative Services Manager, (or Deputy City Manager), or denies the request and returns it the Police Department, (in which case the accused is notified of their rights to pay the citation or initiate the formal adjudication process); 3. The Administrative Services Manager receives the citation which are approved for dismissal processing; 4. Under the direction of the Administrative Services Manager, the Receptionist implements the action of dismissal entering the data from the citations on the next scheduled report to be submitted to the contract processing agent, (City of Thousand Oaks); 5. The City of Thousand Oaks then records the data on the report that they submit for Moorpark to the Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV") in Sacramento, (once a month). DMV Abstract Occasionally, someone may have to register the vehicle while the various agencies process the citation dismissal. If they have a concern that the citation has not been cleared from their vehicle registration record, they can contact either the city or the DMV to verify the status before going to the DMV. If persons don't discover that an abstract is needed from Moorpark to clear their citation until they arrive at the DMV, they will have to return to City Hall after being there, so that the City can process an abstract for them as proof that the citation has been cleared. The issuance of a DMV abstract may apply to persons who have had their citation recently dismissed by the City and in less than four weeks, need to register that vehicle. It can also apply to those who have recently paid for a citation, and in less than four weeks, need to register their vehicle, and the DMV informs them that they owe on a citation that they have already made payment for at City Hall. The "abstract process" includes: 1. Verifying that a citation is cleared (either paid for or dismissed) by referring to past reports made by City staff to the City of Thousand Oaks; 2. Requesting the City Clerk to stamp the abstract form with the City seal; 3. Copying the form twice sending one to the DMV, using one for City files, and handing the original to the citizen. Audit The Administrative Services Manager will conduct an audit of the procedures in October and April of every year and assure that canceled citations are recorded, and only those approved by the City Manager are being reported as canceled to the DMV. EXHIBIT "A" REQUEST FOR DISMISSAL Failure to Properly Display a Disabled Person Parking Placard Please complete this form when it is found that a person protesting a Handicap Citation, (infraction of Municipal Code 10.040.180), can demonstrate that a valid parking placard was in possession of the person cited at the time the citation was written. This form is designed to accompany City procedures for dismissing a "Failure to Properly Display a Placard" as defined in Moorpark Operating Procedure # Name Citation Date & Number Date of Request for Dismissal Staff Person's Initials Placard ID Number Validation Dates DMV Identification Number Validation Dates Type of Photo Identification 1) Is the person making the request to dismiss the ticket the same as the person identified? YES NO 2) Was the ticket issued on a date prior to the expiration dates shown on the DMV Identification Card? YES NO 3) Is there a record of prior request for the dismissal of this same violation within the past 12 months? YES NO If "YES" is answered to question 11311, then enter the fee applied here $ and attach the appropriate fee amount to this process. The citation will not be removed until this fee is paid. Photocopy this form to be submitted with the a copy of the fee receipt when submitted to finance. Attached to this form is a copy of: the Placard, DMV Identification card, and the Photo Identification. Copy this form to the Administrative Service Manager, and Finance if needed. Keep the original in the Receptionist file. Attachment "B" Procedure for Administrative Dismissal for Persons Cited for Illegally Parking in a Designated Handicap Parking Stall "Failure to Properly Display a Placard" I. Intent/Applicability The following policy is intended to provide those persons who are in possession of a valid disabled person parking placard, ( "Placard) and are cited for illegally parking in a parking space designated for handicap persons, (a violation of Municipal Code 10.04.180), without a designated license plate or placard, with a simple way to remove the citation from the record if satisfactory proof to the City that a current and valid placard has been issued to them. This situation is referred to in this policy as "the failure to properly display a Placard ". In no way is this policy is intended to remove the responsibility of the disabled person to properly display the Placard. Any protest by a person who cannot prove to the City's satisfaction that a valid Placard does exist in relation to a particular violation of Moorpark Municipal Code 10.040.180, must protest the complaint through the adjudication process established for handling all protests of parking citations, and will be subject to the determination resulting from any such hearing process. II. "Failure to Properly Display a Placard ". Definition The failure to properly display the Placard is the situation where a car is parked in a specially designated handicap space, but the person in possession of the Placard does not place it so that it is visible from the outside of the car and thus receives a parking citation. This situation may occur as the result of many different circumstances not limited to the following examples: the placard falls off of the dashboard, or it is covered by papers on the dash board; the person driving is not a disabled person, but the passenger is, and the disabled passenger forgets to place the Placard on the driver's dash board. III. Proof of Possession of a Valid Disabled Person Placard Three types of identification are required in order to prove to the City that a person has a valid Placard, and they are: 1) The disabled person's Placard; 2) The identification card for disabled persons issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles; 3) A photo identification card, (i.e., driver's license). IV. Procedures The following procedures provide an outline to City staff for the administration of this policy: 1) The Administrative Services Manager or a delegated staff person will first ascertain the nature of the request to protest a violation of Municipal Code 10.04.180, and determine if this request fits the description in Section II above relating to "Failure to Properly Display a Placard." 2) If the request to protest the citation does appear to be a legitimate "Failure to Properly Display a Placard" case, then the Administrative Services Manager or delegate will obtain the information described in Section III above. If it does not appear to comply with this definition, staff will advise the accused of their rights to file a different complaint under the standard adjudication procedures defined for all parking citation violations, or, to pay the $280 fine. 3) The Administrative Services Manager will examine all three items specified in Section III, and check to see that the Placard identification matches the Department of Motor Vehicles identification card, that the date of expiration on the identification card was current when the citation was issued, and that the name and photo on the photo identification card matches that of the accused. 4) If all of the materials specified in Section III meet those standards defined by Section IV (3), the Administrative Services Manager or delegate will verify that this person has not filed a request for a similar dismissal with the City within the past 12 months. a) If this citation appears to be the first offense in 12 months, and the review by the Administrative Services Manager verifies that the claim is legitimate, (per Section "IV. 3" above), then the materials are to copied, the form in Exhibit "A" is completed and the case will be submitted to the City Manager for consideration of dismissal; b) If it is found that the accused has protested a similar violation within the past 12 months and it was granted, then follow 4 "a" above and advise the person that an administrative fee will be attached to the dismissal of the citation. C) The administrative fee increases based on the number of requests granted within the past 12 months. Refer to Resolution for precise fee amounts. This fee is due immediately, and will be refunded or deducted from the $280 fine amount if the request is denied. d) If it is found that the information received is not consistent with the analysis described in Section "IV. 3" then the person will be referred by the Administrative Services Manager or delegate to the standard adjudication process for protesting citations. The citation fine may also be paid in full eliminating the need to continue a request for protest. For items "a" and "b" above, the citation shall be removed by the City with the filing of the next weekly report to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and will therefore remove the person's violation from the car registration, when all fees are paid, if applicable. V. Repeat Offenders Persons may only qualify for this process free of charge if the City can verify that no other requests in relation to City Municipal Code 10.040.180 have been administered by staff for this person within the past 12 months. Each offense that occurs within the 12 month period subsequently protested and approved, will be subject administrative fees established in Resolution protested citation of Municipal Code 10.040.180 begins month period for verifying repeat offenses. and is to City Each new 12 No citation subject to this fee will be removed until all fees are paid. VI. Records Staff will complete the form provided in Exhibit "A" and keep the original form together with the copies described in Section IV 4(a) and (b), plus a copy of the citation, in a folder at the Receptionist desk. A copy will be made and kept on file in the office of the Administrative Services Manager. In October and April, an audit will be conducted by the Administrative Services Manager in order to assure compliance of the procedures described above. The procedure will be recommended for amendments by the Administrative Services Manager, if the bi- annual audit shows that revisions are needed.