[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Mansfield 7-9-2012,[1] effective 8-8-2012. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Authorities — See Ch. 5.
Public safety — See Ch. 70.
Fire lanes — See Ch. 125.
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 137.
Scenic roads — See Ch. 155.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 166.
Abandoned vehicles — See Ch. 179.
Motor vehicle traffic and parking regulations — See Ch. A198.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 182,
Vehicles and Traffic, effective 9-27-1993, as amended.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Motor Vehicle
Traffic and Parking Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to the provisions and authority
of §§ 7-148, 14-150, 14-307 and 14-312 of the Connecticut
General Statutes.
A.
No motor vehicle shall be parked on any public highway under the
jurisdiction of the Town of Mansfield, or in any area designated as
a municipal parking area:
[Amended 6-24-2013, effective
7-23-2013]
B.
Any motor vehicle parked in violation of the provisions of Subsection A, above, or in violation of any rule, regulation, order or other ordinance of the Town of Mansfield relative to or in connection with parking on public highways shall be deemed to be "apparently abandoned" as such term is used in § 14-150 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, and such vehicle may then be taken into custody, towed or otherwise removed, stored, and thereafter sold in accordance with the provisions of said § 14-150.
C.
The last owner of record of a motor vehicle found apparently abandoned,
as shown by the files of the Department of Motor Vehicles, shall be
deemed prima facie to have been the owner of such motor vehicle at
the time such vehicle was apparently abandoned, and the person who
apparently abandoned the same or caused or procured its apparent abandonment.
[Amended 6-24-2013, effective
7-23-2013]
A.
Any person who violates any provision of § 182-3 of this article shall be fined in accordance with the schedule of fines set forth in the Motor Vehicle Traffic and Parking Regulations[1] authorized by § 182-6 of this article. Said fines are payable to the Collector of Revenue of the Town of Mansfield within 10 days of the date of issuance of a parking violation citation ticket. The amount of any fine not paid within 10 days shall be doubled. Fines may be contested in compliance with the provisions of Article II of this chapter, the Hearing Procedure for Parking Violations Ordinance, below.
B.
In addition to any motor vehicle which may be towed under the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes Section 14-145 or 14-150, any motor vehicle parked in violation of § 182-3 of this article on which three or more prior parking fines under Subsection A are due and unpaid, or on which four or more such parking fines have been assessed within the past 12 months, may be towed and released to its owner only upon payment of all towing and/or storage charges. Payment of the towing and/or storage charges does not relieve the violator of the requirement to pay all fines accrued prior to the tow.
[Amended 11-28-2016,
effective 12-27-2016]
[Amended 6-24-2013, effective
7-23-2013]
As required by Connecticut General Statutes, § 14-150, any owner of a motor vehicle towed or otherwise removed under the authority of § 182-3 or 182-4B of this article may request a hearing before a Motor Vehicle Towing Hearing Officer by filing a "Request for Hearing to Contest Vehicle Towing" form or a reasonable facsimile with the office of the Resident State Troopers at the Mansfield Town Hall no later than 10 days after the mailing date of the written notice to the owner that the motor vehicle has been towed.
As authorized by Connecticut General Statutes, §§ 14-307 and 14-312, the Traffic Authority of the Town of Mansfield is empowered by this article to make Motor Vehicle Traffic and Parking Regulations to supplement and enforce the parking restrictions and remedies permitted by this article and Chapter 249 of the General Statutes pertaining to traffic control and highway safety, including parking policies and restrictions. Any such regulations shall be subject to the approval of the Town Council of the Town of Mansfield. Such authority shall include, but not be limited to, the power of the Traffic Authority to establish and amend a schedule of fines for violations of this article and said Traffic Regulations promulgated hereunder, including the fines authorized by § 182-4 of this article.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Hearing
Procedure for Parking Violations Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to §§ 7-148,
7-152b, and 14-305 to 14-308, inclusive, of the Connecticut General
Statutes.
This article is designed to establish a hearing procedure for
the appeal and enforcement of fines, penalties, costs and fees for
violations of local parking ordinances, regulations duly promulgated
hereunder and State of Connecticut parking laws enforceable by municipal
authorities.
The Town Manager shall appoint one or more persons who are electors
of the Town to serve as Parking Violation Hearing Officers to conduct
hearings regarding the violation of parking ordinances and laws. No
police officer or person who issues parking tickets or works in the
Police Department may serve as a Parking Violation Hearing Officer.
At any time within two years from the expiration of the final period for the uncontested payment of fines, penalties, costs or fees for any alleged violation under any motor vehicle parking ordinance or regulation adopted pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes, § 7-148 or §§ 14-305 to 14-308, inclusive, except for Article II of Chapter 152 of this Code of the Town of Mansfield, the Ordinance Regulating Residential Rental Parking, the Town may send notice to the motor vehicle operator, if known, or the registered owner of the motor vehicle by first class mail at their address according to the registration records of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Such notice shall inform the operator or owner:
A.
Of the allegations against the cited person and the amount of the
fines, penalties, costs or fees due;
B.
That the cited person may contest liability before a Parking Violations
Hearing Officer by delivering in person or by mail written notice
of demand for a hearing to the Office of the Mansfield Resident State
Troopers at the address specified in the notice within 10 days of
the date thereof;
C.
That if a hearing is not so demanded, an assessment and judgment
shall be entered against the cited person; and
D.
That such judgment may issue without further notice.
Whenever a violation of such an ordinance or regulation occurs,
proof of the registration number of the motor vehicle involved shall
be prima facie evidence in all proceedings provided for in this article
that the owner of such vehicle was the operator thereof; provided
that the liability of a lessee per General Statutes § 14-107
shall apply.
If a person who is sent notice pursuant to § 182-11 wishes to admit liability for an alleged violation. the cited person may, without requesting a hearing, pay the full amount of the fines, penalties, costs or fees in person or by mail to the Collector of Revenue at the address specified in the notice. Any cited person who does not deliver or mail written notice of demand for a hearing within 10 days of the first notice provided for in § 182-11, above, shall be deemed to have admitted liability, and the Office of the Mansfield Resident State Troopers shall certify such person's failure to respond to the Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer shall thereupon enter and assess the fines, penalties, costs or fees provided for by any applicable law or ordinance and shall follow the procedures set forth in § 182-14, below.
A.
Any cited person who requests a hearing shall be given written notice
of the date, time and place of the hearing. Such hearing shall be
held not less than 15 days nor more than 30 days from the date of
the mailing of such notice, provided the Hearing Officer shall grant
upon good cause shown, any reasonable request by any interested party
for postponement or continuance. An original or certified copy of
the initial notice of violation issued by a police officer or other
issuing officer shall be filed and retained by the Town, be deemed
to be a business record within the scope of General Statutes, § 52-180,
and be evidence of the facts set forth therein. The presence of the
police officer or issuing officer shall be required at the hearing
if the cited person so requests. A person wishing to contest his/her
liability shall appear at the hearing and present evidence in his/her
own behalf. A designated Town official, other than the Hearing Officer,
may present evidence on behalf of the Town.
B.
If the cited person fails to appear, the Hearing Officer may enter
an assessment by default against the cited person by default upon
a finding of proper notice and liability under the applicable statutes
or ordinances. The Hearing Officer may accept from the cited person
copies of police reports, Department of Motor Vehicles documents and
other official documents by mail and may determine thereby that the
appearance of such person is unnecessary. The Hearing Officer shall
conduct the hearing in the order and form and with such methods of
proof as the Hearing Officer deems fair and appropriate. The rules
regarding the admissibility of evidence shall not be strictly applied,
but all testimony shall be given under oath or affirmation. The Hearing
Officer shall announce a decision at the end of the hearing. If the
Hearing Officer determines that the cited person is not liable, the
matter shall be dismissed and the decision of the Hearing Officer
entered in writing accordingly. If the Hearing Officer determines
that the cited person is liable for the violation, said officer shall
forthwith enter and assess the fines, penalties, costs or fees against
such person as provided by the applicable law or ordinances of the
Town.
If such assessment is not paid on the date of its entry, the
Hearing Officer shall send by first class mail a notice of the assessment
to the person found liable and shall file, not less than 30 days or
more than 12 months after such mailing, a certified copy of the notice
of assessment with the clerk of the appropriate court, which is now
the Superior Court for the Tolland Judicial District, together with
the appropriate entry fee. The certified copy of the notice of assessment
shall constitute a record of assessment. Within such twelve-month
period, assessments against the same person may be accrued and filed
as one record of assessment. The clerk shall enter judgment in the
amount of said record of assessment and court costs against the cited
person, in favor of the Town. Notwithstanding any other provision
of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Hearing Officer's assessment,
when so entered as a judgment, shall have the effect of a civil money
judgment and a levy of execution on such judgment may issue without
further notice to such person.
A cited person against whom an assessment has been entered pursuant
to this article is entitled to judicial review by way of appeal. An
appeal shall be instituted within 30 days of the mailing of notice
of such assessment by filing a petition to open assessment, together
with an entry fee in an equal amount to the entry fee for a small
claims case pursuant to General Statutes, § 52-259, at the
appropriate court, which is now the Superior Court for the Tolland
Judicial District, which shall entitle such cited person to a hearing
in accordance with the rules of the judges of the Superior Court.
