Ordinance No. 10,142Published in Baytown Sun on
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 and
ORDINANCE NO. 10,142 Thursday, September 15, 2005
® AN •ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, ESTABLISHING FEES TO BE CHARGED PURSUANT TO
CHAPTER 102, "ARTICLE III "TOW TRUCKS," DIVISION 2 "POLICE -
INITIATED TOWING AGREEMENTS" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES,
BAYTOWN, TEXAS, FOR TOW TRUCK COMPANIES PERFORMING
POLICE - INITIATED TOWS; CONTAINING A REPEALING CLAUSE;
CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PRESCRIBING A MAXIMUM
PENALTY OF FIVE HUNDRED AND NO /100 DOLLARS ($500.00) FOR
EACH VIOLATION THEREOF; AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION
AND EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS:
Section 1: That the City Council hereby establishes the following as the maximum
fees that can be charged pursuant to Chapter 102, "Article III "Tow Trucks," Division 2 "Police -
initiated Towing Agreements" of the Code of Ordinances, Baytown, Texas, for tow truck
companies performing police - initiated tows:
a. A normal tow is defined as picking up the vehicle or moving and towing the
vehicle from the scene to the place of business of the tow truck company, to the
storage facility of the tow truck company, which is located within the city limits
of Baytown. There will be no additional charges to disengage one vehicle from
another, as this will be considered part of a normal tow when the vehicles are
moved from the street. The standard charge for a normal tow as described
hereinabove of a vehicle shall not exceed ONE HUNDRED TWENTY -FIVE
AND NO 1100 DOLLARS ($125.00). This charge shall apply day or night,
holidays or Sundays.
b. If the owner /driver of the vehicle being towed specifies at the scene of the
accident that the vehicle is to be towed to a place of business within the city limits
of Baytown which at that time is not open for business or has no one on duty to
receive. the wrecked vehicle or if the owner /driver of the vehicle being towed
requires the vehicle to be moved or transferred and no location had been specified
by him at the scene of the accident, there may be an additional charge not to
exceed SIXTY -FIVE AND NO /100 DOLLARS ($65.00) for transferring the
vehicle to the specified location within the city limits of Baytown as soon as that
place of business is open for business or is later specified by the owner /driver of
the vehicle being towed.
C. A charge not to exceed FIFTEEN AND NO/ 100 DOLLARS ($15.00) per day
may be made for the storage of vehicles. Such fee may be charged for a day
regardless of whether the vehicle is stored for twenty-four (24) hours of the day,
• except that a daily storage fee may not be charged for more than one day if the
® vehicle remains at the vehicle storage facility less than twelve (12) hours. A
"day" shall begin and end at midnight.
u
d. No charge may be assessed for moving a vehicle within a storage area.
e. No fee shall be imposed for a vehicle hooked up but not removed from the scene
if a city official directs that the vehicle be released by the tow truck upon the
request of the vehicle owner /driver.
f. Should the owner /driver of the vehicle being towed specify at the scene of the
accident that the vehicle is to be towed to a place of business or other location
which is not within the city limits of Baytown, the tow truck company, except as
otherwise provided in this subsection, may not tow the vehicle until the
owner /driver of the vehicle being towed and the tow truck company have
negotiated an agreed upon fee for the towing services. If the tow truck company
tows the vehicle outside the city limits of Baytown without agreeing upon a fee
with the owner /driver prior to the tow, the tow truck company may charge no
more than the maximum fee specified in subsection (a) hereinabove. If the
owner /driver and the tow truck company are unable to agree upon a fee for towing
services outside the city limits of Baytown, the tow truck company may tow the
vehicle to the place of business of the tow truck company or to the storage facility
of the tow truck company.
Section 2: Any person who fails to comply with any provision of this ordinance shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding
FIVE HUNDRED AND NO /100 DOLLARS ($500.00). Each act of violation and each day
upon which any such violation shall occur shall constitute a separate offense. In addition to the
penalty prescribed above, the city may pursue other remedies such as abatement of nuisances,
injunctive relief, administrative adjudication and revocation of licenses or permits.
Section 3: All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms of this
ordinance are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent of
such inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance shall be cumulative of other
ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this ordinance.
Section 4: If any provision, section, exception, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or
phrase of the ordinance or the application of same to any person or the set of circumstances, shall
for any reason be held unconstitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not effect the
validity of the remaining provisions of this ordinance or their application to other persons or sets
of circumstances and to this end all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
Section 5: This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten (10) days from its passage
by the City Council. The City Clerk is hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the
caption of this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Baytown at least
twice within ten (10) days after the passage of this ordinance.
INTRODUCED, READ, AND PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of
Baytown, this the 8th day of September, 2005.
CALVIN MUNDINGER, r
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
,WAACIO RAMIREZ, Sr., Ci Attorney
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