Siskiyou County Municipal Code Art. 13 Parking Violations

Every person convicted of the following California Vehicle Code violations in the unincorporated areas of Siskiyou County shall be assessed a fine in accordance with California Vehicle Code provisions as set forth below.

All fines shall be payable at the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department. Siskiyou County, through its Sheriff's Department, will provide adjudication procedures for civil parking citations issued by members of the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department and members of the California Highway Patrol. The procedure shall be as follows:

(a) Request for Review of Parking Violation.

(1) Vehicle owners wishing to contest a parking violation must request a review of the circumstances by the "Reviewing Officer" who will be the Patrol Commander, Enforcement Division of the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department, or his designee. This is done by a filing a "Request for Review of Parking Violation" form not later than twenty-one (21) days from the date the citation was written or ten (10) days from the mailing of the first notice of delinquency. If the review is not requested during these timeframes, an appeal cannot be made.

(2) The owner can submit the request in person or by telephone with the Reviewing Officer. Department staff may take the information for the request and fill out the form for the vehicle owner. Once the form is submitted, the Reviewing Officer will investigate the vehicle owner's reasons for requesting the review and will receive appropriate information from the Public Works Department or Department of Motor Vehicles.

(3) If the Reviewing Officer finds that the vehicle owner was not a fault or can prove substantial mitigating circumstances, the citation may be canceled.

(b) Appeal Procedure.

(1) If the Reviewing Officer upholds the parking citation and does not cancel it, the owner can appeal the Reviewing Officer's decision.

(2) To do so, the owner must submit a "Request for Administrative Hearing" form through the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department. As with the previous form, it can be completed by the owner or by telephone with the department staff filling out the form. A written appeal or a personal appearance appeal may be requested. The owner must remit the amount of the parking fine to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department prior to an appeal being processed. A receipt from the Sheriff's Department must accompany the appeal before it will be heard.

(3) In a case where the owner does not have the financial means to pay the full fine prior to the appeal and can provide substantial evidence of that fact through completion of a "Request for Waiver of Parking Fine Deposit" form, the County may process the appeal without payment of the fine.

(4) Failure to remit the fine if the appeal is unsuccessful may result in the placement of a registration hold by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

(c) Administrative Hearing Procedure.

(1) The "Hearing Officer" will be a command level member of staff holding the rank of Captain or higher. In most case, the Undersheriff will serve as the Hearing Officer.

(2) The owner may request a written hearing or a personal appearance before the Hearing Officer. If a written hearing is requested, the Hearing Officer will review the matter and render a decision as set forth in Paragraph 3 below. If a personal hearing is requested, the Hearing Officer shall schedule such hearing within ten (10) calendar days from the date the request is filed.

(3) The Hearing Officer will make a decision based on information supplied by the owner and the issuing officer. Notification of a decision will be made by mail within five (5) days of the personal appearance hearing, or, if the hearing was a written hearing, notification of the decision shall be made within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the request for written hearing.

(4) If the Hearing Officer rules in favor of the owner, the fine previously paid shall be refunded to the owner.

(d) Final Appeal.

(1) If the owner wishes to appeal the Hearing Officer's decision, he/she may file an appeal with the Yreka Municipal Court. This appeal must be filed within twenty (20) days of the mailing of the Hearing Officer's decision.

(2) The owner shall pay a nonrefundable Twenty-Five and no/100ths ($25.00) Dollar filing payable to Yreka Municipal Court. If the court rules in favor of the owner, the County of Siskiyou shall refund the previously paid fine to the owner. The court's decision is final.

(§ II, Ord. 96-18, eff. August 8, 1996, as amended by §§ II and III, Ord. 98-03, eff. February 12, 1998)

The Siskiyou County Sheriff is authorized to adopt rules and forms necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article.

(§ II, Ord. 96-18, eff. August 8, 1996)