§ 102-136. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

City official is an employee of the city authorized by the city manager to initiate the towing of a vehicle.

Consent tow means any tow of a motor vehicle initiated by a peace officer, investigating a traffic accident or a traffic incident, at the direction of the owner or operator of the vehicle or by a person who has possession, custody, or control of the vehicle.

Nonconsent tow means any tow of a motor vehicle that is not a consent tow but is initiated by a peace officer investigating a traffic accident or a traffic incident after the vehicle owner fails to select a towing company or after the selected towing company fails to respond within 25 minutes of being dispatched by the city's communications division.

Vehicle means a device in, on, or by which a person or property may be transported on a public roadway. The term includes an operable or inoperable automobile, truck, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, or trailer but does not include a device moved by human power or used exclusively on a stationary rail or track.

Vehicle owner means a person:

(1)

Named as the purchaser or transferee in the certificate of title issued for the vehicle under V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, ch. 501;

(2)

In whose name the vehicle is registered under V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, ch. 502, or a member of the person's immediate family;

(3)

Who holds the vehicle through a lease agreement;

(4)

Who is an unrecorded lienholder entitled to possess the vehicle under the terms of a chattel mortgage; or

(5)

Who is a lienholder holding an affidavit of repossession and entitled to repossess the vehicle.

Vehicle storage facility means a garage, parking lot, or other facility that:

(1)

Is owned by a person other than a governmental entity; and

(2)

Has the capacity to store or park at least ten vehicles each year.

The term shall include a "towing yard" as referenced in the Unified Land Development Code, and an automotive salvage yard as defined in section 82-161 of this Code.

( Ord. No. 13,959 , § 2, 11-19-18)