Mendota Municipal Code Ch. 10.12 Stopping, Standing and Parking

No person shall park or leave standing any vehicle in front of any entrance to any garage, in front of any driveway or mailbox, or upon that portion of any public street or place in the city where the city council or some person or agency, pursuant to the direction of the city council, erects or causes to be erected, a sign or causes to be painted in red, a portion of the curb line.

(Prior code § 8.03.001)

(Ord. No. 20-01, § 2, 3-24-2020)

No person shall park or leave standing any vehicle upon that portion of a public street or place where the city council or some person or agency pursuant to the direction of the city council erects or causes to be erected appropriate signs. Such signs shall clearly specify between what hours and for what period of time it is unlawful to stand or park vehicles.

When authorized signs, parking meters, or curb markings are in place, it is unlawful for any operator of any vehicle to stop, stand, or park the vehicle between the designated hours of any day for a period of time longer than posted. Unless otherwise indicated, it is permissible to load and unload passengers or materials, provided that the loading or unloading conforms with sections 10.12.080 through 10.12.130 of this chapter.

(Prior code § 8.03.002)

(Ord. No. 20-01, § 3, 3-24-2020)

All existing signs now placed within the city shall be deemed to have been placed there by the city pursuant to the authority given in Sections 10.12.010 and 10.12.020.

(Prior code § 8.03.003)

Unless otherwise specified in any part of the city where there are curbs and gutters, it is unlawful for any person to park any vehicle on any street having curbs and gutters, without the right side of said vehicle being parallel to and within eighteen (18) inches of the curb. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this chapter, upon written application duly made within thirty (30) days prior to any proposed change, any person may apply to the city council of the city for permission to establish diagonal parking, in front of any improvement or structure or upon any street where there are curbs and there are curbs and gutters in any part of the city.

(Prior code § 8.03.004)

Said application mentioned in Section 10.12.040 of this chapter shall contain the following:

A. Name of the applicant;

B. Address and telephone number of those names in subsection (A) of this section;

C. Location of and description of area where diagonal parking is requested;

D. Estimated number of parking spaces to be created.

(Prior code § 8.03.005)

A. The city council shall grant or deny such application on or before fourteen (14) days next following the filing of the application unless the time for the granting or denial of such request has been waived by the applicant in writing. The decision granting or denying said application shall be mailed to the applicant.

B. The city council shall deny the application if it finds any of the following exist:

1. That the proposed parking spaces will entail unusual, extraordinary or burdensome expense or police operation by the city;

2. That the proposed parking will unreasonably interfere with or detract from the public health, safety, welfare or recreation;

3. The proposed parking creates any hazard;

4. The applicant refuses to agree in writing to comply with all conditions as may be imposed for establishment of diagonal parking by the city council;

5. Applicant fails to file a timely application, unless waived by the city council in writing and applicant waives all right of appeal.

C. Any denial shall specify the ground therefor.

(Prior code § 8.03.006)

Violation of any of the terms and conditions of any permit authorizing diagonal parking is a misdemeanor.

(Prior code § 8.03.007)

No person shall park in a passenger loading zone for more than three minutes.

(Prior code § 8.03.008)

No person shall park in a loading zone to unload materials for more than twenty (20) minutes between the hours of seven a.m. and six p.m., except on Sundays and holidays. No person shall park in a loading zone to unload passengers for more than three minutes between the hours of seven a.m and six p.m., except on Sundays and holidays.

(Prior code § 8.03.009)

No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle in any alley within the city for any purpose other than loading or unloading passengers or materials. Stopping, standing or parking for loading or unloading passengers shall be limited to three minutes and for materials shall be limited to twenty (20) minutes.

(Prior code § 8.03.010)

Parking prohibitions are as follows:

A. No person shall stand or park a vehicle within twenty-five (25) feet of an intersection if marked.

B. No person shall stand or park a vehicle along the curb within fifty (50) feet of either end of a safety zone.

C. No person shall stand or park a vehicle within fifty (50) feet of the entrance to the sheriff's station or fire station if marked.

D. No person shall stand or park a vehicle in front of the City Hall if marked.

E. No person shall stand or park a vehicle within twenty-five (25) feet of the entrance to school property, if marked.

F. No person shall stand or park a vehicle in front of, or within ten (10) feet of, any individual mailbox, community mailbox, cluster of mailboxes, or United States postal receptacle between the hours of eight a.m. (8:00 a.m.) and seven p.m. (7:00 p.m.), except on Sundays and Federal holidays. A person is permitted to stop a vehicle in front of any individual mailbox, community mailbox, cluster of mailboxes, or United States postal receptacle only during the time that person is actually involved in the act of depositing mail in the applicable receptacle.

(Prior code § 8.03.011)

(Ord. No. 20-01, § 4, 3-24-2020)

No person shall park or leave standing any vehicle in a private driveway or on private property without the actual or implied consent of the owner or person in lawful possession of such driveway or property.

(Prior code § 8.03.012)

Any vehicle which is parked or left standing in or upon any private property without the actual or implied consent of the owner or person in lawful possession of such property, so as to block or obstruct any driveway or other means of vehicular ingress to or egress from such property, may be removed and placed in any garage maintained by or authorized for such use by the city, or the county sheriff's department of the State Highway Patrol, or in any public garage or other place of safety for safekeeping by any police officer upon the complaint of such owner or person in possession.

(Prior code § 8.03.013)

Whenever an officer removes a vehicle from private property pursuant to the authority granted by Section 10.12.130 of this chapter and the officer knows or is able to ascertain from the registration records in the vehicle or from the registration records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, the name and address of the owner thereof, such officer immediately shall give or cause to be given notice in writing to such owner of the fact of such removal, the reason therefor and of the place to which such vehicle has been removed. In the event any such vehicle is stored in a public garage, a copy of such notice shall be given to the proprietor of such garage.

(Prior code § 8.03.014)

Whenever any vehicle has been removed to a garage under the provisions of Section 10.12.140 of this chapter, the keeper of such garage shall have a lien dependent upon possession for his compensation for towage and for caring for and keeping safe such vehicle for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days. If such vehicle is not recovered by the owner within ninety (90) days or the owner is unknown, the keeper of such garage may satisfy his lien in the manner provided by the Vehicle Code and the Civil Code of the state.

(Prior code § 8.03.015)

At places where large numbers of people and vehicles are to gather, the chief of police may prohibit parking on the streets or roadways affected by such gathering and whenever possible, shall post no-parking signs along such streets at least twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled time of such events.

(Prior code § 8.03.016)

The chief of police is authorized to tow away any vehicle or cause the removal of any other obstruction that is stopped, standing, or parked in violation of the terms of this Chapter, Section 22500 of the California Vehicle Code, or as otherwise authorized in Sections 22651 and 22652 of the California Vehicle Code, and impound the same in a garage or other storage place at the owner's expense. The procedure for removal and impoundment of vehicles shall be as provided in this Chapter and the applicable provisions of Sections 22850 to 22855 of the California Vehicle Code.

(Prior code § 8.03.017)

(Ord. No. 21-13, § 5, 5-25-2021)

No person shall park a vehicle on a public highway for the purpose of displaying it for sale or rent unless authorized to do so by the city council.

(Prior code § 8.03.018)

Parking of vehicles which are six feet or more in height (including any load thereon) is prohibited at the following locations:

A. The north one hundred (100) feet of northbound Oller Avenue between Ninth and Tenth Streets;

B. The south one hundred (100) feet of every block along southbound Oller Avenue from Second Street to Eleventh Street, and including the one hundred (100) feet of southbound Oller Avenue immediately north of the intersection of Oller Avenue and Second Street.

(Prior code § 8.03.019)

No person who owns or has possession, custody or control of any vehicle shall park such vehicle upon any street or alley a consecutive period of more than seventy-two (72) hours.

(Ord. No. 10-04, § 1, 3-9-2010; Ord. No. 21-13, § 2, 5-25-2021)

It shall be unlawful to park or store a vehicle on any portion of private property visible from a public street unless said vehicle is operative and is parked on a driveway.

For the purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them herein:

A. "Vehicle, operative." A vehicle is operative only when it displays a current vehicle registration and is in condition to be legally operated upon a public street or highway within the in State of California.

B. "Public street" shall mean a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purposes of vehicular traffic.

C. "Private property" shall mean all real property in the City of Mendota which is not publicly owned.

D. "Visible from the street" shall mean all private property that can be seen while standing in a public street and which is not behind a five to six foot solid fence.

E. "Driveway" shall mean a concrete or asphalt slab, gravel, decomposed granite or dirt area that is connected to the public right of way. Driveway shall not include lawn, planting areas or other areas covered with vegetation.

(Ord. No. 10-05, § 1, 3-9-2010; Ord. No. 21-13, § 3, 5-25-2021)

No person shall park or leave standing any vehicle upon that portion of a public street, alley, or public place during the posted days and hours for street sweeping scheduled to occur thereon.

(Ord. No. 20-01, § 5, 3-24-2020; Ord. No. 21-13, § 2, 5-25-2021)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 21-13, § 2, adopted May 25, 2021, changed the title of § 10.12.220 from "street sweeping" to read as herein set out.

Whenever an officer removes a vehicle from a portion of a public street, alley, or public place pursuant to the authority granted by Section 10.12.170 of this Chapter, the officer must comply with the procedures for removal and impounding of vehicles as provided for in the Mendota Municipal Code and the applicable provisions of Sections 22850 to 22855 of the California Vehicle Code.

A. Whenever a vehicle is removed pursuant to Section 10.12.170 of this Chapter and the officer knows or is able to ascertain from the registration records in the vehicle or from the registration records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, the name and address of the owner thereof, such officer shall give or cause to be given notice in writing to such registered and legal owners in writing via mailing or personal delivery within forty-eight (48) hours of the removal, excluding weekends and holidays. Such notice shall contain the following information:

1. The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.

2. The location of the place of storage and a description of the vehicle, which shall include, if available, the name or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.

3. The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.

4. A statement that the owner has a right to a post-storage hearing and that, in order to receive a post-storage hearing, the registered and/or legal owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within ten (10) days of the date appearing on the notice.

B. Whenever a vehicle is removed pursuant to Section 10.12.170 of this Chapter and the officer does not know or is not able to ascertain from the registration records in the vehicle or from the registration records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, the name and address of the owner thereof, such officer shall give or cause to be given notice in writing to the Department of Justice, Stolen Vehicle System, as outlined in California Vehicle Code section 22853.

C. In the event any such vehicle is removed and stored in a public garage, a copy of any notice issued pursuant to this Section shall also be given to the proprietor of such garage where the vehicle is stored.

(Ord. No. 21-13, § 6, 5-25-2021)

Whenever any vehicle has been removed to a garage under the provisions of Section 10.12.170 of this Chapter, the keeper of such garage shall have a lien dependent upon possession for his compensation for towage and for caring for and keeping safe such vehicle for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days or, if an application for an authorization to conduct a lien sale has been filed pursuant to Section 3068.1 of the California Civil Code within thirty (30) days after the removal of the vehicle to the garage, one hundred twenty (120) days. If such vehicle is not recovered by the owner within the time periods provided herein or if the owner is unknown, the keeper of such garage may satisfy their lien in the manner provided by the California Vehicle Code and the California Civil Code.

(Ord. No. 21-13, § 7, 5-25-2021)

A. Whenever any vehicle has been removed to a garage under the provisions of Section 10.12.170 of this Chapter, the City shall conduct a post-storage hearing within forty-eight (48) hours of a vehicle's registered and/or legal owners', or their agents', timely request for a hearing, excluding weekends and holidays, based on the Notice issued under Section 10.12.230, above.

B. Said post-storage hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the Mendota Municipal Code and the applicable provisions of Sections 22850 to 22855 of the California Vehicle Code.

C. The chief of police, or his or her designee(s), shall conduct the post-storage hearings as the hearing officer so long as they are not the officer or City employee who directed the storage of the vehicle.

D. Failure of either the registered or legal owner, or their agent, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing under this Section shall satisfy the post-storage hearing requirement under the California Vehicle Code.

E. The City shall be responsible solely for the costs incurred to tow and store the vehicle if it is determined during the post-storage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage were not established.

F. This Section shall not apply to the removal of vehicles under any of the following:

1. Vehicles abated under Chapter 10.16 Abandoned Vehicles of the Mendota Municipal Code.

2. Vehicles removed from private property pursuant to Section 10.12.130 of the Mendota Municipal Code.

3. Vehicles impounded for investigation pursuant to Section 22655 of the California Vehicle Code.

(Ord. No. 21-13, § 8, 5-25-2021)