Sec. 19-51. - Removal of vehicles to police pound.

Any vehicles that shall be found standing or parked in violation of any city ordinance, or any vehicle that may be abandoned or left in any public place, or any wrecked or disabled vehicle that constitutes a traffic hazard, shall be immediately removed to and impounded in the police department's vehicle storage facility provided by the city for such purposes, by any police officer, or parking manager of the public works department and duly authorized representatives, or the police department's operator of the vehicle storage facility, or other persons duly authorized and acting under and by authority and direction of any member of the police department.

(Code 1959, § 38-101; Ord. No. 64109, § 1, 12-4-86; Ord. No. 2008-03-13-0202, § 1, 3-13-08)

Sec. 19-51.1. - Vehicle impound fee.

A vehicle impound fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) for each vehicle taken into the control and custody of the police department or its duly authorized agent or operator is hereby fixed as the charge for initiation of a vehicle impoundment, which shall be collected by the police department before the impounded vehicle is released.

(Ord. No. 63242, § 2, 7-16-86; Ord. No. 99741, § 1, 9-16-04; Ord. No. 2008-03-13-0202, § 1, 3-13-08)

Editor's note—

Ord. No. 63242, § 2, adopted July 16, 1986, amended Ch. 19, Art. II, Div. 3 by the addition of provisions designated at the discretion of the editor as § 19-51.1

Sec. 19-52. - Vehicles held pending payment of charges.

Any such vehicle so removed and impounded shall be towed to the space or police vehicle storage facility that has been provided for the storage of such vehicle; said vehicle so towed and/or impounded shall be retained and held by the police department or the police department's operator of the vehicle storage facility until all charges for towing and storage against such vehicles shall have been paid to the duly authorized officer, or the police department's operator in charge of said facility for the benefit of the city to reimburse the city or its operator for the expense of towing and storing such vehicles.

(Code 1959, § 38-102; Ord. No. 2008-03-13-0202, § 1, 3-13-08)

Sec. 19-53. - Storage fees.

The following storage fees shall apply for each day that a vehicle remains under the control and in the possession of the police department or its operator, or duly authorized agent as the charge for storage of said impounded vehicle which shall be collected by the police department or its operator before the impounded vehicle is released:

(1)

For any vehicle that is not longer than twenty (20) feet, or wider than seven (7) feet, the rate shall be twenty dollars ($20.00) per day.

(2)

For any vehicle that is longer than twenty (20) feet but does not exceed forty (40) feet, or is not longer than twenty (20) feet but wider than seven (7) feet, the rate shall be twenty dollars ($20.00) per day.

(3)

For any vehicle or combination of vehicles longer than forty (40) feet long and regardless of width, the rate shall be twenty dollars ($20.00) per day.

(Code 1959, § 38-103; Ord. No. 35365, § 1, 4-27-67; Ord. No. 39551, 6-3-71; Ord. No. 52578, 7-31-80; Ord. No. 57565, 2, 9-15-83; Ord. No. 63242, 1, 1-16-86; Ord. No. 64624, 2-26-87; Ord. No. 67922, §§ 1—3, 9-15-88; Ord. No. 90498, § 2, 9-16-99; Ord. No. 96408, § 1, 9-19-02; Ord. No. 2006-09-07-1008, § 1, 9-7-06; Ord. No. 2008-03-13-0202, § 1, 3-13-08)

Sec. 19-53.1. - Notification fee.

(a)

The city police department vehicle storage unit or the police department's vehicle storage facility operator is hereby authorized to charge a notification fee in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) to the registered owner to notify the registered owner and the primary lien holder that said vehicle will be sold at auction if the vehicle is not retrieved by the vehicle owners within a designated period of time and such other information as required by law.

(b)

Said notice shall be mailed certified mail to the vehicle owner and the primary lien holder on the third day after the vehicle has been impounded.

(Ord. No. 78726, §§ 1, 2, 9-15-93; Ord. No. 90498, § 3, 9-16-99; Ord. No. 96408, § 2, 9-19-02; Ord. No. 99741, § 2, 9-16-04; Ord. No. 2006-09-07-1008, § 2, 9-7-06; Ord. No. 2008-03-13-0202, § 1, 3-13-08)

Editor's note—

Ord. No. 78726, §§ 1, 2, adopted Sept. 15, 1993, has been codified herein at the discretion of the editor as § 19-53.1

Sec. 19-54. - Release of impounded vehicles.

(a)

Impounded motor vehicles shall be released by the police department or the operator of the police department's vehicle storage facility, after payment is made of any towing or storage charges or fees, only upon receipt of one (1) of the following:

(1)

Submission of certificate of title or other satisfactory proof that the person applying for the release is the owner of the vehicle.

(2)

Submission of the certificate of title and of a current power of attorney duly executed by the owner requesting release to the person named therein and presenting same.

(3)

Release of impounded vehicle to lienholder. A motor vehicle which has not been claimed by the owner after ten (10) days of impoundment (including the day the vehicle arrived at the storage facility) and after the mortgage note is thirty (30) days delinquent, shall be released to the claimant identifying himself as lienholder or agent of the lienholder named on the certificate of title upon the submission of a surety bond from a city licensed corporate surety firm which shall indemnify, save and hold harmless the city from all damage, liability, costs, attorney's fees, expenses, actions, judgments and special proceedings that may arise, accrue or be brought against the city by reason of releasing the vehicle to the bonded vehicle claimant, up to the amount of the bond, and upon payment of towing charges and storage fees.

The surety bond shall be submitted at the police department vehicle storage facility and shall be in either the original mortgage amount of the vehicle or an amount equal to the current National Automobile Dealers Association book value plus ten (10) percent.

In the alternative, the lienholder may submit a non-vehicle-specific surety bond in the amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or more, against which the lienholder may repossess a number of vehicles with a cumulative value not exceeding ninety (90) percent of the bond amount.

A separate indemnification agreement shall be signed by the vehicle claimant who appears at the vehicle storage facility to take possession of the vehicle, and said claimant shall identify himself or herself as the lienholder or the lienholder's agent, and shall state that said claimant holds the City of San Antonio harmless and fully indemnified against any claims of loss of property which may arise out of the release of the vehicle.

The surety bond shall include a statement that:

1.

The title owner is in default of his mortgage contract by virtue of being delinquent in a scheduled payment by at least thirty (30) days, that the person named in the bond is the lienholder or the legal agent of the lienholder being bonded, that the named lienholder has paramount right of possession of the vehicle, and is legally entitled to repossess same, or

2.

That the title owner is in default of his mortgage contract by virtue of the seizure of the mortgaged vehicle by peace officers who have identified it as contraband and subject to confiscation under Chapter 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, thus entitling the lienholder to exercise a contractual right of repossession to preserve the mortgage collateral.

The signatory of the indemnification agreement and the surety bond, if signing as agent for a principal or as agent for or officer of a corporation, shall certify in writing and under oath before a notary public that he or she has full authority to execute the document on behalf of the corporation.

(b)

Nothing herein shall prevent the release of any motor vehicle by any person upon the service of an order or judgment directing such release by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c)

The terms "motor vehicle," "lien," "owner," "mortgagee," "mortgagor," and "certificate of title" used herein shall have the same meanings as defined in Vernon's Ann. Civ. St. art. 6687-1.

(Code 1959, § 38-104; Ord. No. 32724, 8-27-64; Ord. No. 71862, § 1, 7-12-90; Ord. No. 2008-03-13-0202, § 1, 3-13-08)

Sec. 19-55. - Auction processing fee.

An auction processing fee of thirty-two dollars ($32.00) for each vehicle sold at auction by the city is hereby established to be paid by each purchaser.

(Ord. No. 90498, § 1, 9-16-99; Ord. No. 98190, § 3, 9-18-03; Ord. No. 99741, § 3, 9-16-04)

Secs. 19-56—19-65. - Reserved.