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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 482-1962 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE LICENSING AND REGULATING VEHICLE WRECKER OR TOWING SERVICE; REQUIRING INSURANCE POLICIES TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC; PROVIDING FOR INVESTIGATION AND SUPERVISION BY THE CHIEF OF POLICE; SETTING FORTH DUTIES OF LICENSEES; PROVIDING FOR REVOCATION OF LICENSES; AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF ITS PROVISIONS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of South San Fran- cisco: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the "Towing and Wrecker Ordinance". SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of tn~s Ordinance, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory. (1) "City" is the City of South San Francisco (2) "Person" is any person, firm, partnership, association, cor- poration, company or organization of any kind. (3) "Wrecker" is a person engaged in the business, or offering the services, of a vehicle wrecker or towing service, whereby disabled motor vehicles are towed or otherwise removed from the place where they are disabled by use of a wrecker so designed for that purpose or by a truck, automobile or other vehicle so adapted to that purpose. SECTION 3. LICENSE REQUIRED. No wrecker shall engage in business within the City or offer such service within the City without first obtainin§ a license as hereinafter provided from the City Clerk. Licenses issued may be for a period of eot exceeding two years. The City Clerk shall file a duplicate of the license issued in the office of the Chief of Police. SECTION 4. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE. Applications for licenses issued hereunder shall be made upon blank forms prepared and made available by the City Clerk and shall state: (1) The name, home address, and proposed business address of the applicant, which shall be within the corporate limits of the City. (2) The location, description and hourly availability of the tow trucks owned or operated by the applicant. (3) That the applicant has available space off the public street and out of the public view for properly accommodating and pro- tecting all disabled motor vehicles to be towed or otherwise removed from the place where they are disabled, and said space shall be with- in the corporate limits of the City and shall comply with the zoning ordinance and other applicable ordinances of the City. (4) Such other information as the Chief of Police shall find reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Ordinance and to arrive at a fair determination of whether the terms of this Ordin- ance have been complied with. The City Clerk shall file a duplicate of the application at the office of the Chief of Police. SECTION 5. APPLICATION FEE. An application hereunder shall be accomplished by an application fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00). SECTION 6. INSURANCE POLICIES. No license shall be issued to an applicant hereunder until he shall have deposited with the City Clerk the following insurance policies: (1) a. GARAGE KEEPER'S POLICY. A garage keeper's legal liab- ility policy covering fire, theft, explosion, collision and other damage in the minimum amounts of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), with each loss deemed a separate claim. b. GARAGE LIABILITY'POLICY. A garage liability policy, covering the operation of applicant's business, equipment, or vehicles, for any bodily injury or property damage. This policy will be in the amounts of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1OO,0OO.00) for any one person killed or injured and Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00) for more than one person injured or killed in any one accident. This policy shall also provide One'Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1OO,OOO.OO) coverage for all damage arising out of injury to or destruction of property. (2) POLICY COVERAGE; CONTINUANCE AFTER RECOVERY; CANCELLATION OR MATERIAL CHANGE: The insurance policies herein required shall ex- tend for the period to be covered by the license and the insurer shall be obliged to give not less than twenty days written notice to the Chief of Police and to the assured before any cancellation, termination or material modification thereof earlier than its. expiration date, and the cancellation, termination or material modification of any such policy shall automatically revoke and terminate the license issued unless another insurance policy complying with the provisions of this section shall be provided and in effect at the time of such cancel- ® lation, termination or material modification. The policies herein provided for shall continue to the full amount thereof notwithstanding any recovery thereon, and liability of the insurer shall not be af- fected by the insolvency or bancruptcy of the assured. SECTION 7. INVESTIGATION BY CHIEF OF POLICE. Within fifteen days after receipt of an application as provided for herein the Chief of Police shall cause an investigation to be made of the applicant and of his proposed operation. SECTION 8. STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE. The City Clerk shall issue a license hereunder when he finds: (1) That the Chief of Police has filed a report to the effect that public convenience and necessity require the proposed wrecker ser- vice for which application has been submitted; (2) That insurance policies as required by this Ordinance have been procured; (3) That the applicant and all employees are fit and proper per- sons to conduct or work in the proposed business; (4) That the requirements of this Ordinance and all other governing laws and ordinances have been met. SECTION 9. LICENSE FEE. A license shall be issued to a success- fulapplicant hereunder after payment to the City Clerk of a license fee as required by the City's business license Ordinance. SECTION lO. PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS BY CHIEF OF POLICE. The Chief of Police shall adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regul- ations for wreckers. SECTION 11. DUTIES OF LICENSEES. A wrecker license hereunder shall be issued subject to the following conditions: (1) EXHIBITION OF STICKER. The City Clerk shall issue to a licensed wrecker a sticker which the wrecker shall at all times promi- nently display on the lower right front windshield of each wrecker or other vehicle used for towing purposes. The sticker shall be so placed that it complies with the provisions of the vehicle code. (2) MAINTENANCE OF EQUIPMENT. Wreckers shall keep and main- rain towing equipment which complies with the Vehicle COde and is adequate to perform such towing service in a reasonably workmanlike manner. (3) COMFLIANCE WITH RATE SCHEDULE. Wreckers shall charge for their services such rates as may be established by resolution of the City Council, same not to exceed the following: Towing Charges (attached trailers included): a. Passenger cars, motorcycles and scooters $10.00 b. Trucks of less than 1½-ton factory rated capacity $12.50 c. Trucks of 1½-ton and over but less than 5-ton factory rated capacity $15.00 d. Trucks of more than 5-ton factory rated capacity $17.50 e. Any vehicle requiring the use of a "dolly". This charge to be valid only when all four wheels on vehicle to be towed are locked and wheels cannot be unlocked by two car operator $17.50 f. Unattached trailers - two wheel trailers shall be towed at charges in a. above. Four wheel trailers shall be towed at charges for trucks of comparable capacity (a. through e. above) .... 5 g. If an operator is called to tow any vehicle, and after attaching the "hook of his towing equip- ment'' to vehicle driver of said vehicle appears to claim car, towing operator shall be entitled to a fee of $ 5.00 h. Labor charges per hour to make vehicle towable ..$15.00 Storage charges for the first 24 hours, or any part thereof, and each subsequent 24 hours or any part thereof, shall be as follows: a. Scooter and 2 wheel motorcycles $ .75 b. Vehicles, other than scooters and 2 wheel motor- cycles-requiring not more than one "stall space" $ 1.50 c. For vehicles requiring more than one stall space, an additional charge of 50¢ for each additional "stall space" or any part thereof. A "stall space" is defined as a space with min- imum dimensions of 8 ft. by 20 ft. where a ve- hicle may be parked or stored. (4) COMPLIANCE WITH CHIEF OF POLICE REGULATIONS. Wrecker shall comply with the rules and regulations of the Chief of Police as herein authorized. SECTION 12. SOLICITATION OF TOW SERVICES AND PARKING OF TOW VEHICLES AT SCENE OF ACCIDENT. a. No wrecker or other person shall at the location of any vehicular accident, collision, or other catastrophe or calamity, solicit or offer the sale of any tow service. b. No wrecker or other person shall park a vehicle equipped for use as a tow truck within five hundred (500) feet of the location of any vehicular accident, collision or other catastrophe except under the direction or permission of the Chief of Police, or his officers, or other duly authorized law enforcement officers at the scene of said accident, collision or catastrophe. c. The prohibitions contained in this section and subsections thereof shall apply from the time of the happenin§ of the accident, collision or other catastrophe or calamity until a reasonable time thereafter, and at all times while law enforcement officers, public health officials, emergency personnel and other persons discharging duties imposed by law are actively engaged in the performance of duty at the location of said occurrence. SECTION 13. REVOCATION OF LICENSE. The Chief of Police shall revoke a license issued hereunder when he finds any of the following grounds: (1) The license was procured by fraudulent conduct or false statement of a material fact, or that a fact concerning the applicant was not disclosed at the time of his making application, and such fact would have constituted just cause for refusal to.sue said cense. (2) The license has violated the fee schedule by overcharge. (3) The license has violated any of the requirements of this Ordinance or any of the rules and regulations as established by the Chief of Police or the City Council. SECTION 14. PENALTIES. Any person, firm or corporation viol- atin§ any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon a conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or by imprisonment for a period of / not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. SECTION 15. SEPARABILITY. If any section, subsection, sen- tence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconst£tutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, as the City Council declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause of phrase thereof, irrespect- ive of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 16. ORDINANCES REPEALED. Ordinance No.372 entitled "An Ordinance of the City of South San Francisco prohibiting solici- tation by tow car operators and other persons at the scene of highway accidents, disasters, or other happenings resulting in injury or damage to persons or property" is hereby repealed. SECTION 17. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after the date of final passage and approval. The Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordin- ance and cause the same to be published in the Enterprise-3ournal as required by law. Introduced this 6th day of August , 1962 . Passed and adopted as an ordinance of the City of South San Francisco at a regular meeting of the City Coun- cil of the City of South San Francisco this kth day of September , 19..~2 , by the following vote: AYES, COUNCILMEN Leo J. Ryan, Patrick E. Ahern, Emilio Cortesi, Andrew Rocca, and G. J. Rozzi. NOES, " None. ABSENT, " None. Attest: ~,v. ~ ' City Clerk As Mayor of the City of South San Francisco, I do hereby approve of the foregoing ordinance this 4th day of September ,