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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance - 2006-O0131 - Amending Chapter 16; Add Article X1V, Automate Traffic Signal Enforcement - 12/07/2006First Reading December 7. 2006 Item No. 6.8 ORDINANCE NO. 2006~0131 Second Reading December 19 , 2006 Item No. 6.1 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK, TEXAS, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 16, TO ADD ARTICLE XIV, AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SIGNAL ENFORCEMENT; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR THE IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTIES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Lubbock is a home rule municipality of the State of Texas with Constitutional authority to enact any ordinance that is not in conflict with any general law or the Constitution of the State ofTexas pursuant to Article 11, Section 5, Texas Constitution; and WHEREAS, Section 54.004 of the Local Government Code further authorizes municipalities to enact ordinances deemed necessary to protect the health, life and property of their citizens; and WHEREAS, Section 542.202 of the Texas Transportation Code authorizes municipalities to regulate traffic by means of traffic control devices through criminal, civil and administrative enforcement methods; and WHEREAS, U.S. Department of Transportation and Texas Transportation Institute statistics indicate that fatal automobile accidents at intersections with traffic signals increased by 13.2 percent between 1993 and 2003 and that the number of persons killed or injured as a result of red-light running accidents in Texas increased 79 percent between 1975 and 1999; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that certain intersections within the City of Lubbock are subject to a high proportion of drivers disregarding red light indications based on information supplied by the Citizens Traffic Safety Commission and the City's Traffic Engineering Department; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that when a motor vehicle facing a steady red indication for its direction of travel proceeds into the intersection regardless of the signal such action endangers the occupants of that vehicle, the occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians and such action further interferes with the traffic flow through the intersection and increases the number of accidents to which public safety personnel must respond at the expense of the municipalities tax payers; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that an automated red light camera enforcement program will be an effective deterrent to disregarding red light signals in the City of Lubbock; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lubbock deems it to be in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Lubbock to enact an automated red light camera enforcement ordinance, NOW THEREFORE: BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK, TEXAS: SECTION 1. THAT the Code of Ordinances, City of Lubbock, Texas, is hereby amended by adding an Article to Chapter 16, to be numbered Article XIV, Automated Traffic Signal Enforcement, which said Article reads as follows: ARTICLE XIV. AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SIGNAL ENFORCEMENT. Sec. 16-381. Definitions. In this article: (1) Department shall mean the Police Department of the City of Lubbock, Texas. (2) Owner shall mean the owner of a motor vehicle as shown on the motor vehicle registration records of the Texas Department of Transportation or the analogous department or agency of another state or country. (3) Photographic Traffic Signal Enforcement System shall mean a system that: (a) consists of a camera system installed to work in conjunction with an electrically operated traffic-control signal; and (b) is capable of producing at least two recorded images that depicts the license plate attached to the rear of a motor vehicle that is not operated in compliance with the instructions of the traffic-control signaL (4) Recorded Image means an image recorded by a photographic traffic monitoring system that depicts the rear of a motor vehicle and is automatically recorded on a photograph or digital image. (5) System Location means the approach to an intersection toward which a photographic traffic monitoring system is directed and in operation as designated by the City Manager or his designee. (6) Traffic Control Signal shall have the meaning assigned by Section 541.304 of the Texas Transportation Code, as amended. Sec. 16-382. Imposition of Civil Penalty for Violations. (a) The City Council finds and determines that a vehicle that proceeds into an intersection, as defined by Section 541.303 of the Texas Transportation Code, when the City's traffic control utility system signal for that vehicle's direction of travel is emitting a steady red signal damages the public by endangering motor vehicle operators and pedestrians alike, by decreasing the efficiency of traffic control utility 2 system and traffic flow efforts, and by increasing the number of serious accidents to which public safety agencies must respond at the expense of the taxpayers. (b) The owner of a motor vehicle shall be presumed responsible for violation of the provisions of this Article by such vehicle. Except as provided in (c) and (d) and Section 16-386 below, the owner of a motor vehicle is liable for a civil penalty of seventy-five dollars ($7 5) if the motor vehicle proceeds into an intersection at a system location when the traffic control signal for that motor vehicle's direction of travel is emitting a steady red signal. (c) For a third or subsequent violation involving the same motor vehicle during any 12-month period, the amount of the civil penalty shall be one hundred fifty dollars ($150). (d) A owner who fails to timely pay the civil penalty shall be subject to a late payment penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25). Sec. 16.383. Enforcement; procedures. (a) The Department, as assisted by any vendor of equipment and software under contract to the City in connection with the City's Automated Traffic Signal Enforcement program, is responsible for the enforcement and administration of this article. Any determination of violation shall be the responsibility of the Department. (b) In order to impose a civil penalty under this article, the Department shall mail a notice of violation to the owner of the motor vehicle liable for the civil penalty not later than the 30th day after the date the violation is alleged to have occurred to: (1) the owner's address as shown on the registration records of the Texas Department of Transportation; or (2) if the vehicle is registered in another state or country, the owner's address as shown on the motor vehicle registration records of the department or agency of the other state or country analogous to the Texas Department of Transportation. (c) A notice of violation issued under this article shall contain the following: (1) a description of the violation alleged; (2) the date, time, and location of the violation; (3) a copy of a recorded image of the vehicle involved in the violation; (4) the amount ofthe civil penalty to be imposed for the violation; 3 (5) the date by which the civil penalty must be paid; (6) information that informs the person named in the notice of violation; (A) of the right to contest the imposition of the civil penalty in an administrative adjudication; (B) of the manner and time in which to contest the imposition of the civil penalty; and (C) that failure to pay the civil penalty or to contest liability is an admission of liability; (7) a statement that a recorded image is evidence in a proceeding for the imposition of a civil penalty; (8) a statement that failure to pay the civil penalty or to contest liability within the time allowed shall result in the imposition of a late penalty of $25.00; and (9) any other information deemed necessary by the department. (d) A notice of violation under this article is presumed to have been received on the lOth day after the date the notice of violation is mailed. (e) In lieu of issuing a notice of violation, the Department may mail a warning notice to the owner. Sec. 16-384. Administrative adjudication hearing. (a) A person who receives a notice of violation may contest the imposition of the civil penalty by requesting in writing an administrative adjudication of the civil penalty within fifteen (15) days after receipt of the notice of violation. Upon receipt of a timely request, the Department shall notify the person of the date and time of the hearing on the administrative adjudication. The administrative adjudication hearing shall be held before an independent hearing officer appointed by the City Manager. Said independent hearing officer shall be a resident of the City of Lubbock and shall be an attorney admitted to practice in the State of Texas for not less than five years or a mediator with not less than two years experience. (b) Failure to pay a civil penalty or to contest liability in a timely manner is an admission of liability in the full amount of the civil penalty assessed in the notice of violation, and is a waiver of the right to appeal under section 16-384(i). (c) The civil penalty shall not be assessed if after a hearing, the hearing officer enters a finding of no liability. 4 (d) Administrative adjudication hearings shall be conducted substantially in the manner provided by the Texas Administrative Procedure Act, Subchapter C, "Contested Cases: General Rights and Procedures." The reliability of the photographic traffic signal enforcement system used to produce the recorded image of the violation may be attested to in an administrative adjudication hearing by affidavit of an officer or employee of the City or the entity with which the City contracts to install or operate the system and who is responsible for inspecting and maintaining the system. An affidavit of an officer or employee of the City that alleges a violation based on an inspection of the pertinent recorded image, is admissible in a proceeding under this article and is evidence of the facts contained in the affidavit. (e) A person who is found liable after an administrative adjudication hearing or who requests an administrative adjudication hearing and thereafter fails to appear at the time and place of the hearing is liable for administrative hearing costs in the amount of $25.00 in addition to the amount of the civil penalty assessed for the violation. A person who is found liable for a civil penalty after an administrative adjudication hearing shall pay the civil penalty and costs within 10 days of the hearing. (f) It shall be an affirmative defense to the imposition of civil liability under this article, to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, that: (1) the traffic-control signal was not in proper position and sufficiently legible to an ordinarily observant person; (2) the operator of the motor vehicle was acting in compliance with the lawful order or direction of a police officer; (3) the operator of the motor vehicle violated the instructions of the traffic- control signal so as to yield the right-of-way to an immediately approaching authorized emergency vehicle; {4) the motor vehicle was being operated as an authorized emergency vehicle under Chapter 546 of the Texas Transportation Code and that the operator was acting in compliance with that Chapter; (5) the motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle being operated by a person other than the owner of the vehicle without the effective consent of the owner; (6) the license plate depicted in the recorded image of the violation was a stolen plate and being displayed on a motor vehicle other than the motor vehicle for which the plate had been issued; or (7) the presence of ice, snow, unusual amounts of rain or other unusually hazardous road conditions existed that would make compliance with this article more dangerous under the circumstances than non-compliance. 5 (8) the person who received the notice of violation was not the registered owner of the motor vehicle at the time of the violation. (g) if the registered owner is in the business of renting or leasing the vehicle named in the notice of violation, the registered owner may transfer liability to the lessee under contract at the time of the violation. To transfer liability, the registered owner must provide the name, address, driver's license number and a copy of the lease agreement to the City on or before the administrative adjudication date for the notice of violation. If the information meets the transfer of liability requirements, the City, as assisted by the Contractor, shall dismiss the original notice and send a new notice to the lessee indicated by the registered owner's information. (h) To demonstrate that at the time of the violation the motor vehicle was a stolen vehicle or the license plate displayed on the motor vehicle was a stolen plate, the owner must submit proof acceptable to the hearing officer that the theft of the vehicle or license plate had been timely reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency or to the County Tax Assessor-Collector. (i) Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary, a person who fails to pay the amount of a civil penalty or to contest liability in a timely manner is entitled to an administrative adjudication hearing on the violation if: (1) the person files an affidavit with the hearing officer stating the date on which the person actually received the notice of violation that was mailed to the person; and (2) that within fifteen (15) days of the date that the notice was actually received the person requested an administrative adjudication hearing. G) A person who is found liable after an administrative adjudication hearing may appeal that finding of civil liability on the record of such hearing to the Municipal Judge of the City of Lubbock sitting as an administrative appeals hearing officer by filing a notice of appeal with the office of the Municipal Judge. The appeal hearing shall be conducted by the Municipal Judge or by a temporary and substitute municipal judge appointed by the Municipal Judge to hear such appeals. The decision of the administrative hearing officer shall be reviewed on appeal substantially as provided by the Texas Administrative Act, Subchapter G, for contested cases of undefmed scope of review. The notice of appeal must be filed not later than the 31st day after the date on which the administrative adjudication hearing officer entered the fmding of civil liability. Upon the filing of the notice of appeal, the person shall post a deposit in the amount of the civil penalty, any late fees, other costs and a $50.00 appeals fee into the registry of the Municipal Court. A person whose adjudication of liability is overturned by the administrative appeals hearing officer shall be reimbursed for the full amount of the appeal deposit. A person whose adjudication of liability is upheld shall not be reimbursed for the appeal deposit. Sec. 16-385. Order. 6 (a) The hearing officer at any administrative adjudication hearing under this article shall issue an order stating: (1) whether the person charged with the violation is liable for the violation; and (2) the amount of any civil penalty> late penalty, and any administrative adjudication costs assessed against the person. (b) The orders issued under subsection (a) shall be filed with the office of the hearing examiner. The hearing examiner shall keep the orders in a separate index and file. The orders may be recorded using microfilm, microfiche, or data processing teclmiques. Sec. 16.386. Effect ofliability; exclusion of civil remedy. (a) The imposition of a civil penalty under this article is not a criminal conviction for any purpose. (b) A civil penalty may not be imposed under this article on the owner of a motor vehicle if the operator of the vehicle was arrested or was issued a citation and notice to appear by a peace officer for the same violation of Section 544.007(d) of the Texas Transportation Code recorded by the photographic traffic signal enforcement system. (c) An owner who fails to pay the civil penalty or to timely contest liability for the penalty is considered to admit liability for the full amount of the civil penalty stated in the notice of violation mailed to the person. (d) The City Attorney is authorized to file a suit in the nature of a "suit on account" to enforce collection of a civil penalty imposed under this article for violation of the red light regulations of the traffic signal utility system of the City of Lubbock. SECTION 2. THAT all provisions of the ordinances of the City of Lubbock in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same are hereby, repealed, and all other provisions of the ordinances of the City of Lubbock not in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 3. THAT should any sentence, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase or section of this ordinance be adjudged or held to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of this ordinance as a whole, or any part or provision thereof other than the part so decided to be invalid, illegal or unconstitutional, and shall not affect the validity of the Code of Ordinances as a whole. SECTION 4. THAT this Ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage, and the publication of the caption, as provided by law. 7 AND IT IS SO ORDERED. Passed by the City Council on first reading this _....:.7...:.t=b __ day of December • 2006. Passed by the City Council on second reading this 19th day of December • 2006 . ATTEST: ~o, .... _ ~ F R~ ca Garza, City Secretary APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: APPROVED AS TO FORM: 00/0Tdl Automated Red Light Enforcement ord October 30, 2006 . /~~4-- DA VIDA. MILLER, MAYOR 8