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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1982/09/14 Item 6• I Item ~ ~= 6 Meeting Date 9-~-82 9-14-82 `~ COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT TITLE: Ordinance ~ ~ ©3 Amending Municipal Code Chapters 5.15, 5.54, and 5.58, pertaining to automobiles for hire, taxicabs, and tow trucks, respectively SECOND READING AND ADOPTION SUBMITTED BY: City Manager C'~"~~!~~ (4/5ths Vote: Yes No X ) II City Attorney On pril 8, 1982, the Council requested staff to review the taxicab ordinance pro edures to determine the appropriateness of transferring responsibility for tax cab processing coordination from the City Clerk to the City Manager with the Police Department performing the application processing as well as enf rcement. In the course of examining this issue, staff also reviewed the lic using procedures for the related commercial vehicles of automobiles for hir and tow trucks used in police emergency situations. Several potential imp ovements were identified in the Municipal Code regulations for all three typ s of commercial vehicles, as are summarized in the Discussion Section and ref ected in the proposed Ordinance. RECOMMENDATION: That Council: • 1. Place the ordinance on its first reading. BOA D/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Not applicable. DISCUSSION The proposed Municipal Code changes regarding automobiles for hire, taxicabs, and tow trucks are summarized below: 1. Transfer the overall processing responsibility for taxicabs from the City Clerk to the Police Department, as is already the case for automobiles for hire and tow trucks. 2. Eliminate the requirements for the City Council itself to grant taxicab certificates by authorizing the Director of Public Safety to grant taxicab certificates. This change would acknowledge the fact ti~at granting taxicab certificates is now a ministerial function rather than a discretionary decision. Under the proposed change, the Council would probably only become involved in three types of cases: (A) if an applicant wanted to appeal the Director of Public Safety's denial of a taxicab certificate; (B) if the applicant wanted to appeal an automatic suspension or revocation of its certificate by the Director of Public Safety, such as for not having the required liability insurance; and (C) if staff or a Council member recommended the suspension or revocation of a taxicab certificate but there were not grounds for an automatic suspension or revocation. • Taxi • Tow Page 2, Item ~~= 6 Meeting Date ~T_-~ 9/14/82 3. Eliminate the current requirement that a taxicab certificate holder must register and pay a fee for all taxicabs owned by the certificate holder, regardless of whether the owner intends to operate all of the cabs in Chula Vista. This change would provide taxicab operators the option of registering only a portion of their cabs to do business in Chula Vista. The Police Department has indicated that this proposed change would not create any enforcement problems for them, since the officers on patrol check to see if a cab has the proper medallion to operate in Chula Vista rather than just observing the taxicab's company name. Increase the public liability insurance minimum requirements as follows: DEATH OR INJURY DEATH OR INJURY PROPERTY DAMAGE PER PERSON PER ACCIDENT ~bs - Current $ 50,000 $100,000 $300,000 - Proposed 100,000 250,000 500,000 for Hire - Current 50,000 100,000 500,000 - Proposed 100,000 250,000 500,000 pucks - Current As required by Director of Finance - Proposed 100,000 250,000 500,000 The above proposed minimum insurance requirements are recommended by Chuck Shippe of Creaser-Price Insurance, as well as by the City Attorney and the Director of Finance. They are also equal to or less than the requirements set by the City of San Diego. >. Add the following requirements for the public liability insurance policies for taxicabs in order to minimize administrative problems that have been experienced in enforcing the insurance requirements: a. Automatic 10-day written notification by the insurance company to the City as a certificate holder of any insurance policy cancellation or change in coverage. b. The taxicab insurance coverage must be one of two types: - A one-year policy (although the policy could have payments made on a less than annual basis), or • - If other than a one-year policy, the insurance company must provide the City with 10-day written notice of any non-renewal of policy. ~~.L`~ L` ~'' • Page 3, Item ~ 6 Meeting Date g/14/82 c. The applicant's insurance company would be required to furnish the City with evidence of insurance on a "standard form of insurance." d. The applicant's insurance company would be required to have a Policy Holders' Rating of A-IX or better, as listed in Best's Key Rating Guide. All taxicabs currently opera ting in Chula Vista meet this requirement. 6. Eliminate the specific fee amounts in the Municipal Code and replace them with references to the Master Fee Schedule. If Council approves staff's recommendation, staff will return to Council with a resolution amending the Master Fee Schedule to incorporate the fees and charges for automobiles for hire, taxicabs, and tow trucks. 7. Eliminate obsolete provisions of the Taxicab Chapter of the Municipal Code (Sections 5.54.180 B, 5.54.220, and 5.54.320). If approved, the proposed changes in taxicab requirements would be effective either: The seni on The c ro for inc are re g (in FI - On January 1, 1983, for existing certificate-holders. taxicab companies currently certified to operate in Chula Vista have been copies of this agenda statement and notified of when this item would be ouncil's agenda. attached ordinance shows the proposed Code changes with deleted wording red out and new wording underlined. Since the changes in the Automobiles Hire and Tow Trucks chapters are minor technicalities except for the used public liability insurance requirements, only the changed sections shown in the ordinance. Since there are numerous proposed changes ding Taxicabs, the ordinance includes the entire proposed Taxicab Chapter hiding the unchanged sections). IMPACT The proposed ordinance changes should result in a reduction of staff time by str amlining the processing for the affected commercial vehicles. The inc ased public liability insurance requirements will also provide better pro ection to the City, as well as to the taxicab operators and patrons. ~1PC 064I by the City Council of Chula Vista, California t ~~ • ~,Z ~, Dated G" . - On the effective date of the ordinance for taxicab operators applying for certification after the effective date of the ordinance, or ,.i,/..a.. s'. !l J C r"~ ,. Z ..G_ nE.. !"c"G:. sL~ b y t h~ ~~ . ~ .~_..~ __.~._ ,~, ~ o, Chula 4';~~a, ~'~~~.}rr,ia Dated ~ - / Y ' ~ ~" The City of Chula Vista ~ff~ of the Cttq Clerk 575-5041 eptember 2, 1982 t the meeting of September 7, 1982, the City Council will onsider a proposed new ordinance governing the regulation of axicab operations in the City. (A copy of the agenda state- ent is enclosed). C rrently, the applications for taxicab operations are filed w'th the City Clerk. After Police inspection of the vehicles a d the proper insurance is obtained, the City Clerk sets the m tter for a public hearing before the City Council. Upon a proval by the Council, established fees are paid and the o ner/operator of the taxicab company is issued the number of • m dall~.ons relative to the number of vehicles approved. T e new ordinance transfers all responsibility for taxicab o erations from the City Clerk to the Police Department. It f rther eliminates the requirement for the City Council to grant. t e taxicab certificates giving this authorization to the Director o Public Safety. The other significant change in the ordinance i the increase in the minimum requirement for public liability i surance. C pies of the proposed ordinance are available at the office o the City Clerk, City Hall, 276 Fourth Avenue. T e City Council meets at 7:00 p.m. in the Public Services B ilding, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista. '~, ZZC-C%~ 4-'~ ennie M. Fulasz, CMC C~~ ` City Clerk A.g~nda Statement enclosed .~ ,(~ ~~ ~y ~~- /~ 276 Fourth Avenue Chula Vista , Cafif ornia 9200