1980-022No O-Ag
AN ORDINANCE CREATING A NEW SECTION 24-131 2 OF CHAPTER 24,
ARTICLE V, OF THE CITY OF DENTON CODE OF ORDINANCES, AS AMENDED,
ENTITLED "A SYSTEM FOR POLICE INITIATED TOWING SERVICES", PRO-
VIDING DEFINITIONS, PROVIDING FOR A POLICE ROTATION LIST
PRIVILEGE PERMIT, PROVIDING STANDARDS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF SUCH
PERMIT, PROVIDING FOR THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF SAID
PERMIT, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE
AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS
PART I
That the Code of, Ordinances, as amended, of the City of
Denton, Texas is hereby amended by creating a new Section
24-131 2 of Chapter 24, Article V, to be entitled "A System for
Police Initiated Towing Services" said section to read as
follows
SECTION I DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this section, the following terms,
phases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given
herein
(a) "City" means the City of Denton, Texas,
(b) "Day Towing" means towing service between the
hours of 7 00 A M and 6 00 P M on Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which
is not an official State or Federal holiday,
(c) "Hook-up" means the application and first
connection of a chain hook from the two service
truck to the towed motor vehicle,
(d) "Night, Weekend and Holiday Towing" means
towing service at all times other than "day
towing",
(e) "Person" means any individual, firm, partner-
ship, association, corporation, company or
organization of any kind,
(f) "Tow Service" means a person engaged in the
business of a wrecker or towing service,
whereby motor vehicles are towed or otherwise
removed at the direction of officers of the
City Police Department by the use of a wrecker
or motor vehicle designed for that purpose,
(g) "Wrecked Motor Vehicle" means a motor vehicle
not capable of or safe for self-propulsion
SECTION II POLICE ROTATION LIST
The Chef of Police is hereby authorized to establish a
rotation list of tow services desiring to provide towing
services upon request of police officers The tow services
which desire to be placed upon and remain on a rotation list
shall comply with the requirements of this Article and with all
other rules and regulations which may be issued by the Chief of
Police regarding towing services requested by personnel of the
Police Department
SECTION III SELECTION OF TOW SERVICES DURING POLICE
INVESTIGATIONS
In all police initiated towing of vehicles, the operator of
the vehicle, if present and not incapacitated, shall have the
right to select a tow service of his choice to perform the
service If the operator of the vehicle to be towed is not
present or is incapacitated or has no preference as to any
towing service, the police officer ordering the tow shall
request that the towing service be performed by the tow service
then first on the rotation list maintained in the Police
Communications Center When emergency circumstances exist
which require the immediate removal of a vehicle from the
roadway, the police officer may request towing service from the
tow service nearest to the scene of the emergency A police
officer may also request towing service from any company
operating large cranes or other heavy equipment if same is
necessary to remove traffic obstructions involving large trucks
or heavy equipment
SECTION IV PERMIT REQUIRED
No tow service shall engage in the business of towing
vehicles at the direction of a city police officer without
first obtaining a Police Rotation List Privilege Permit from
the City of Denton The annual permit fee shall be Twenty-Five
($25 00) Dollars
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SECTION V APPLICATION FOR PERMIT
Application for a Police Rotation List Privilege Permit
shall be notarized and shall be made on forms prepared and made
available by the Police Department The application shall
contain the following information
(a) The name, home address and business address of
each owner, part owner or partner, silent or
active,
(b) The business address, telephone number, night
telephone number, and the location of and
telephone number of any storage area,
(c) A description of the size and capacity of all
tow trucks used by the tow service,
(d) A copy of certificate of a Garage or
Automobile Liability Insurance Policy insuring
the tow service owner and all his employees
for liability for death, bodily injury or
property damage to third parties in the amount
of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars
($50,000) for any one person and One Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($100,000) for one incident
and Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) for
property damage
(e) The application shall be signed by each owner,
part owner or partner, active or silent
SECTION VI INSURANCE REQUIRED
The insurance enumerated in the preceding section shall be
required for all tow services and must be kept in effect during
the period for which the permit is issued Cancellation of
said insurance without replacement shall result in the cancel-
lation of any permit issued hereunder and removal from the list
of tow services
SECTION VII INVESTIGATION BY CHIEF OF POLICE
Within five (5) business days after receipt of each appli-
cation, the Chief of Police or his representative shall cause
an investigation to be made of the applicant and of his
operation Such investigation shall be made for the purpose of
verifying the information in the application and to assure
compliance with the provisions of this Article The investi-
gation shall include the following items
PAGE 3
(a) That all applicants, owners and partners are
fit and proper persons to conduct or work in
the proposed business and have never been
convicted of any theft, felony assault or any
other crime involving the taking, use, tamper-
ing with or conversion of a motor vehicle
(b) That the tow service will use only tow trucks
equipped with adequate emergency lights which
shall be operating during any tow,
(c) That the tow service will respond to each call
for towing services by the Police Department
(d) That the requirements of all governing laws and
ordinances will be met
SECTION VIII ISSUANCE OF PERMIT
The Police Department shall issue a permit and add a tow
service to the rotation list when
(a) the police investigation confirms the require-
ments of the preceding section,
(b) the insurance policies as required by this
Article have been produced, and
(c) the permit fee has been paid
SECTION IX DUTIES OF POLICE ROTATION LIST TOW
SERVICES
(a) Tow services shall maintain towing equipment
which is adequate to perform such towing
service in a reasonably workmanlike manner and
proper equipment to tow vehicles in such a
manner as to minimize any damage to towed
vehicles, as well as appropriate equipment to
properly remove any glass or other injurious
substance off the roadway resulting from the
vehicle being towed or accident in which the
vehicle was involved
(b) That the tow service will provide twenty-four
(24) hour a day, seven (7) day a week, on-call
service,
(c) That the tow service will arrive at the
location of the vehicle to be towed within
twenty (20) minutes after receiving a request
for day towing and within a reasonable time
after receiving a request for night, weekend
and holiday towing from the Police Department
which time shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes,
(d) The following fees are hereby established as
the maximum which may be charged for the
indicated service
(1) Day towing of automobiles, vans,
pick-up trucks, motorcycles $2S 00
(2) night, weekend, and holiday towing
of automobiles, vans, motorcycles
and pick-up trucks $30 00,
PAGE 4
(3) Responding to tow request by
Police Department where no hook-up
is made, no charge and that tow
service will be returned to first
place on the list
(4) use of dolly in towing wrecked
motor vehicles $10 00 plus towing
charge,
(5) Tow involving extraordinary labor
and expenses, the above maximums
may be exceeded if unusual and
extraordinary circumstances occur
at the scene of an emergency,
(6) All towing and storage charges
shall be waived when requested by
the Police Department in unusual
circumstances, including, but not
limited to, instances in which a
prisoner is released without
charges being filed
(e) No tow service shall arrive at the scene of a
police investigation as a result of monitoring
or intercepting police calls by radio or other
device
(f) Any tow service operating under this Article
must keep and maintain for one (1) year from
the date of towing the following records
(1) The make and model of the vehicle,
(2) The license number of the vehicle,
(3) The date of the tow
(g) The person operating any tow service shall make
every reasonable effort to minimize damage to
towed vehicles Where appropriate, such
reasonable effort shall include, but is not
limited to
(1) use of a dolly or carriage for
towing,
(2) disconnection of the drive shaft,
(3) release of brakes,
(4) towing at a reasonable speed
(h) No towed vehicle may be dismantled, have parts
removed or tires deflated except as necessary
for towing
(1) The bill for towing of any motor vehicle shall
be itemized to reflect services performed,
labor or other materials required and any other
charges
SECTION X EXCLUSIONS
This Article shall not apply to wrecker services which are
not listed on the police rotation list
PAGE 5
SECTION XI REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF PERMIT
The Chef of Police shall revoke or suspend a police
rotation list privilege permit issued hereunder when he finds
any of the following to be true
(a) The permit was procured by fraudulent conduct
or false statement of a material fact or that
any fact concerning the applicant was not
disclosed at the time of application and such
fact would have constituted dust cause for
refusal to issue said permit,
(b) The permitee illegally solicited tow or repair
services at a police investigation,
(c) The permitee has exceeded the fee schedule,
(d) The permitee has violated any of the
requirements of this Article or any of the
rules and regulations as established by the
Police Department or the City Council
SECTION XII PERIOD OF SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION
The period of suspension or revocation shall be
(a) For the first violation, not more than thirty
(30) days,
(b) For the second violation, not more than ninety
(90) days,
(c) For the third or subsequent vioation, such
period of suspension as the Chief of Police may
determine, including permanent revocation
SECTION XIII RENEWAL
The police rotation list privilege permit shall be valid
for one (1) year from the date of issuance Each application
for renewal shall contain adequate assurances that the
applicant continues to comply with all standards, rules and
regulations prescribed by this Article and all other standards,
rules and regulations issued hereunder Such renewals shall be
on a form furnished by the Police Department and shall contain
the names of any new owners, part owners or partners and the
names of any new employees
SECTION XIV
That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence,
clause, phrase or word in this ordinance, or application
thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any
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court of competent 3urisdiction, such holding shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, and
the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares
it would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such
invalidity
SECTION XV
That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in force when
the provisions of this ordinance become effective which are
inconsistent or in conflict with the terms or provisions
contained in this ordnance are hereby repealed to the extent
of any such conflict
PASSED AND APPROVED this the~ay of
1980
BILL , MAYOR
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
ATTEST
,YBROOKS OLT, CTTY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
C J TAYLOR, JR , CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
BY C
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