Loading...
Ordinance 1981-25ORDINANCE NO. 81-25 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF GILROY REGULATING TOWING SERVICES. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section I: Chapter 24A of the Gilroy City Code regulating towing services is hereby adopted as follows: CHAPTER 24A TOWING SERVICES Section 24A.1 DefinitiOns. For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: a. Towing Service: shall mean any person engaged in the business of, or offering the services of, a vehicle towing service whereby motor vehicles are or may be towed or otherwise removed from one place to another by use of a tow truck adapted to and assigned for that purpose. b. Towing List: shall mean a list maintained by the Police Department containing the names of Towing Services authorized by the City to respond to requests for the towing of motor vehicles made by the Police Department. The list shall include at least one towing service authorized by the American Automobile Association and one by the National Automobile Club to provide road service to members. Section 24A.2. Towing list; Application. Any person desiring to be authorized to perform tow car services at the request of the Police shall submit an "Application For Towing Service" to the Chief of the Police Department. The application shall include the name and business address of the applicant, the name and residence address of the owner or owners of the applicant; the 24-hour telephone number by which the applicant may be s~nmoned; the name of any club or organization by which the applicant is authorized to provide road service to members, the location, size and security features of the storage facilities on which vehicles not otherwise consigned will be stored as well as the location to which the public must come to claim stored vehicles; a statement that towing services will be provided on a 24-hour a day basis for each day of the year and that the applicant will accept responsibility for any and all personal property left in towed and stored vehicles; a current business license; and a copy of the Board of Equalization license required by the California Revenue and Taxation Code. Section 24A.3. Towing list; Establish~.ent. Within 30 days of receiving an Application o~Towing Servzce~ the Chief of Police shall conduct an investigation to determine the suitability of the applicant. If the Chief finds the applicant qualified he shall add the name to the Towing List in chronological order. If the Chief finds the applicant not to be qualified, the applicant shall be given the reasons for disqualification in writing. ORDINANCE NO. 81-25 Section 24A~4~ Appeal of disqualification. Any applicant requesting to be on the T°Wi~Li'~"t-may aPPeal~the decision of the Chief of'PoliCe not to place the applicant On'the Towing List by filing written notide thereof with the City Administrator within 10 days of the receipt of thereasons for disqualification from the Chief. The City Administrator shall hold a hearing on the application following receipt of the appeal. The decision of the City Administrator may be appealed to the City Council following the above process. Decision of the City Council shall be final. Section 24A.5. Insurance requirements. All Towing Services on the'Towing List shall maintain wit~ th~ Chief of Police evidence of a garage keeper's legal liability policy with minimum coverage of one hundred thousand dollars, and a policy covering the owner and driver of each of the vehicles described in such permit insuring against public liability as a result of the ownership, operation or other ~se~ thereof,~the, minimum liability limits upon each such vehicle being not less than one hundred thousand dollars on account of personal injury to or death of any one person in any' one occurrence and three hundred thousand dollars on account of personal injuries or death of two or more persons in any one occurrence and minimum liability limits upon each such vehicle being not less than fifty thousand dollars for damage to or destruction of property in any one occurrence. Each policy required herein shall be endorsed to provide thirty (30) days notice to the City of cancellation. A letter from the insurance company or a copy of the policy must be forwarded to Gilroy Police Department as proof of coverage to comply with this ordinance. Section 24A.6. Duties of towing serVicep. All tow trucks used by Towing Services shall--be equipped With warning lights as required by the California Vehicle Code and have working, two-way radio communications. There shall be an attendant on-duty at all times to receive calls for service and dispatching tow trucks as requested. No vehicle impounded directly by the Gilroy Police Department shall be released to or inspected by the o%mer without the written authorization of the Police Department. The current price schedule for all services to be rendered by the Towing Service shall be maintained with the Police Department and no other price shall be charged. Section 24A.7. Towing 'service response. No Towing Service shall respond to the scene of an accident or emergency for the purpose of towing motor vehicles unless called there by the Police or one of the persons involved in the accident or emergency. Section 24A.8. Regulations. The City Council by resolution may regulate towing charges and may make such rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate this chapter and to provide adequate service to the public at the scene of the accident or emergency. Section 24A.9. Records~and inspectiOns. The Towing Service shall maintain approved recor~-an~ claims check systems to assure the release of vehicles to the proper persons. Such records shall be open to the Gilroy Police Department for investigation of specific complaints and for compiling surveys. The owner of any -2- ORDINANCE NO. 81-25 Towing Service approved for the Towing List shall permit the Chief of Police or his designee to inspect the equipment and vehicles used in the towing of motor vehicles and the security facilities maintained for the storage of towed vehicles and personal property. Section 24A.10 Use of toWing list. All towing shall be on a "rotation" basis.--~hg WOwing Se-~ce next on the Towing List shall be summoned by the Police for all accidents or emergencies unless the persons involved in the accident or emergency request a specific Towing Service. Provided, however, when it is kno,~n that the Towing Service is unable to handle the particular accident or emergency because of size of equip- ment needed the next in rotation may be summoned or specialized services requested from an unlisted Towing Service. If the Towing Service called is not able to respond within a reasonable time, the next in rotation shall be called without taking the first off the list unless the Towing Service first called had failed to respond after indicating ability to respond. No unlisted Towing Service shall be called except when all listed services are unavailable or specifically requested. Section 24A.11. Removal from towing list. A Towing Service may be removed from the Towing-~-i~t by ~he~ef of Police at the request of the Towing Service or if he finds that: a. The approval of the application was obtained by fraud or by the concealment of a material fact or facts which, if known, would have caused the disqualification of the applicant. b. The Towing Service has violated any of the requirements of the rules.or regulations established. c. Cancellation or expiration of required insurance. d. The services rendered or the cooperation which the City has received are unsatisfactory and inadequate as determined by the Chief of Police. The Towing Service shall be notified in writing of the decision of the Chief of Police and may appeal the decision to the Chief within 10 days of receipt of such notice. The Chief shall hear the appeal within 10 days of a request and shall make his decision in writing within 10 days of such hearing. The decision of the Chief of Police may be appealed as provided for original disqualification. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 17th day of August, 1981, by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ALBERT, HUGHAN, LINK, PATE, TAYLOR and GOODRICH NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: CUNNINGHAM // ~City Cierk ~_~'_ O NA ¢E NO. Sl-25 Mayor I, SUSANNE E. STEINMETZ, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the attached Ordinance No.81-2,5 is an original ordinance, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 17th daY of August , 19 8.,,];.,,, at which meeting a quorum was present. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Gilroy, this 3r__._~_d day of NoVember ,., 19 81,.. ~ity Clerk of the City (~f Giiroy {~ (Seal)