Mountain View Municipal Code § 19.62 Application of regulations

The provisions of this article prohibiting the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle shall apply except when it is necessary to stop a vehicle to avoid conflict with other traffic, or in compliance with directions of a police officer or official traffic-control device.

The provisions of this chapter imposing a time limit on standing or parking shall not relieve any person from the duty to observe other and more restrictive provisions of the Vehicle Code of the state or this chapter prohibiting or limiting the standing or parking of vehicles in specified places or at specified times.

(Ord. No. 175.587, 1/25/60; Ord. No. 24.66, 9/26/66.)

Pursuant to state law (California Vehicle Code Section 40200 et seq.), all violations of the Mountain View City Code related to parking shall be decriminalized and shall be enforced through a civil administrative procedure, as set forth in this division and in the City of Mountain View parking administrative adjudication program manual, and the applicable state law. Copies of the Mountain View parking administrative adjudication manual shall be available for review by the public at the Mountain View city clerk's office and the Mountain View police department.

(Ord. No. 14.93, 7/27/93.)

All contested parking citations shall be resolved through a civil administrative procedure, with the right to an appeal to the civil division of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, as follows:

a. Request for initial investigation of parking citation. If a person wishes to contest a parking citation issued for violation(s) of the Mountain View City Code, he/she must request an initial investigation of the citation within twenty-one (21) days of the issuance of the citation or within ten (10) days of the mailing of a "notice of delinquent parking violation." A request for an initial investigation may be made by writing to the Office of Parking Violations, P.O. Box 1113, San Jose, California, 95109, or by calling 1-800-818-1832. The person must state the reason(s) which necessitate an initial investigation in the request.

b. Initial investigation of parking citation by Mountain View police department. If a person makes a timely request, the office of parking violations notifies the Mountain View police department, which will investigate the circumstances surrounding the issuance of the citation, in view of the reasons for which the person requested the initial investigation. If the police department determines that the violation did not occur or that the registered owner was not responsible for the violation, the police department shall cancel the citation and make a record of the cancellation. The police department shall promptly notify the office of parking violations of the results of the investigation, which shall mail the results of the investigation to the person who requested the initial investigation.

c. Request for administrative review of parking citation. If the person is not satisfied with the results of the investigation, he/she may request an administrative hearing before the parking examiner within fifteen (15) days of the date of the mailing of the results of the initial investigation by the office of parking violations, in writing. The written request for an administrative hearing must be served on the office of parking violations in person or by first-class mail and must state whether the person wishes to have an in-person hearing or a hearing by mail. If the person chooses a hearing by mail, he/she may submit written materials which are relevant to the grounds on which the citation is contested for consideration by the parking examiner. In order to obtain a hearing, the person must deposit the full amount of any parking penalty, late payment fee and any cost recovery fees due with the office of parking violations at the time of requesting the hearing, unless the vehicle has been immobilized or impounded due to unpaid parking violations and will remain under the control of the Mountain View police department pending the hearing.

d. Conduct of administrative hearing.

1. In-person hearing before the parking examiner. If the person has filed a timely and complete request for a hearing, and deposited all fees and penalties due with the office of parking violations, he/she will be notified by mail of the time, date and place of the hearing by the office of parking violations. The hearing will be conducted by the parking examiner according to the guidelines set forth in the City of Mountain View parking administrative adjudication program manual. At the hearing, the person shall have the right to present relevant evidence and argument regarding the grounds on which the citation is contested. The officer who issued the citation need not appear at the hearing.

2. Hearing by mail. If the person chooses a hearing by mail, the parking examiner shall review any materials presented by the person with the request for an administrative hearing and the information set forth in the parking citation and determine whether or not the citation should be upheld.

3. Evidentiary standard/burden of proof at administrative hearing. Information contained on the parking citation shall be considered to establish a prima facie case that the registered owner of the vehicle committed the violation(s) shown on the citation. However, the person may rebut the prima facie case established by the parking citation by introducing sufficient and credible evidence that the violation did not occur or that the citation is not legally valid.

4. Notice of decision of parking examiner. A written notice of the decision of the parking examiner shall be delivered to the person in person or by first-class mail.

e. Appeal to superior court. If the person does not agree with the decision of the parking examiner, he/she may, within twenty (20) days of the mailing or in-person delivery of the parking examiner's decision, appeal to the Santa Clara County superior court, civil division, by filing a written notice of appeal with the court, serving a copy of the notice of appeal on the office of parking violations in person or by first-class mail, and paying a filing fee to the court in an amount established by the court. If the person prevails on appeal, the filing fee shall be refunded to him/her. If the decision of the parking examiner is upheld, the filing fee shall be forfeited. If a timely appeal is not filed, the decision of the parking examiner shall be final.

(Ord. No. 14.93, 7/27/93; Ord. No. 13.18, § 2, 11/13/18.)

Persons who are found to have committed parking violations, or who do not contest parking citations, shall be required to pay civil parking penalties in the amount established by state law or council resolution. In appropriate cases, persons may also be required to pay late payment fees and cost recovery fees related to the adjudication of parking citations in the amounts established by council resolution.

(Ord. No. 14.93, 7/27/93; Ord. No. 13.18, § 3, 11/13/18.)