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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07 - Abandoned Vehicle ProgramCity of Newport Beach Police Department October 16, 2001 October 23, 2001 Agenda Item No. 7 TO: Honorable Mayor, Members of the City Council and City Manager FROM: Bob McDonell, Chief of Police SUBJECT: Approve and Authorize Continuation in the Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicle program RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended the City Council approve the attached resolution and authorize the participation and continuation in the Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicles (SAAV). ANALYSIS: During the 2000 -2001 fiscal year the City of Newport Beach received $t7,528.08 from the State of California abandoned vehicle abatement program. The funds are derived from a $1.00 surcharge on annual vehicle registration. In Orange County, this program is currently scheduled to sunset in April of 2002. The Police Department responds to many calls for service involving abandoned vehicles, and this is a significant and ongoing issue for this Community. The SAAV funding would provide significant cost - savings to the City. Governor Gray Davis signed Senate Bill 106 (Sher) on August 12, 2001. This bill authorizes the extension of a local $1.00 vehicle registration surcharge to be used for abandoned vehicle abatement. This program, which has been in existence in Orange County since 1991 and is known as the Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicles (SAAV), has helped many cities and the county keep their streets free of abandoned vehicles. OCTA has been the administrator of the SAAV program for the past ten years. The SAAV program has been very successful in Orange County. Since its inception in Orange County in 1991, $17,482,614 in funding has been distributed to Orange County cities that participate in this program as well as the County. As of March 31, 2001, more than 194,400 vehicles have been voluntarily abated and over 49,950 vehicles have been towed from both public Approve and Authorize Continuation in the Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicle Program Page 2 and private property in Orange County. Other counties throughout the state have also benefited from the success of this program. For the first nine months of the 2000 -01 fiscal year (July 1, 2000 -March 31, 2001), year -to -date totals for Orange County showed that cities requested $1,974,832 through SAAV against $1,511,864 in total revenues. This illustrates the popularity and need of the program and supports a recommendation to continue SAAV efforts. By covering the costs of vehicle code enforcement, this program has freed up funds for other essential law enforcement activities. Furthermore, removal of abandoned vehicles provides a more aesthetically pleasing environment and, in some cases, aids traffic flow. In Orange County, the SAAV program is currently scheduled to sunset in April of 2002. SB 106 states that in order to continue collection of the $1 per vehicle registration fee which funds abandoned vehicle abatement programs, a majority of the cities in the county representing a majority of the incorporated population and the County Board of Supervisors, by a two - thirds vote, must adopt resolutions voicing support for ten -year continuation of the fee in ten -year increments. It is recommended the City Council approve the attached resolution authorizing the continuation of this valuable program. Respectfully submitted, Andy Gonis, Lieutenant Traffic Services Commander Approve by: Bob McDonell CHIEF OF POLICE RESOLUTION NO. 2001- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA CONCERNING PARTICIPATION /CONTINUATION IN THE ORANGE COUNTY SERVICE AUTHORITY FOR ABANDONED VEHICLES WHEREAS, Sections 22710 and 9250.7 of the California Vehicle Code provide for the establishment and continuation of a service authority for the abatement of abandoned vehicles if the Board of Supervisors of the County, by a two - thirds vote, and a majority of the cities within the county having a majority of the incorporated population adopt resolutions providing for the establishment and continuation of such an authority; and WHEREAS, on or about October 17, 1991, the Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicles ( "SAAV "), administered by the Orange County Transportation Authority was established in accordance with Vehicle Code Section 22710 and designated to implement an abandoned vehicle removal program in the Orange County region; and WHEREAS, in August 2001, Governor Davis signed into law SB 106, a bill that authorizes the extension of the one dollar ($1) DMV vehicle registration surcharge for this program in 10 -year increments given the resolutions in support from a majority of the cities within the county having a majority of the incorporated population and, by a two - thirds vote of the County Board of Supervisors; and WHEREAS, the SAAV program in Orange County is currently scheduled to sunset in April 2002; and WHEREAS, since its inception in Orange County, the SAAV program has provided approximately $17.5 million to Orange County cities and the County of Orange, and has resulted in the removal of more than 240,000 vehicles from public and private property in Orange County; and WHEREAS, for the first nine months of the 2000 -01 fiscal year (July 1 2000 - March 31, 2001), year -to -date totals for Orange County showed that cities and the county requested $1,974,832 through SAAV against $1,511,864 in total revenues, which illustrates the popularity and need of the program and supports a recommendation to continue the SAAV program; and WHEREAS, during the 2000 -01 fiscal year, the City of Newport Beach has received $67,529 from the SAAV program as reimbursement for costs incurred in the abatement of abandoned vehicles; and WHEREAS, the Newport Beach City Council finds that abandoned, inoperable, wrecked, dismantled vehicles, or parts thereof, pose a public health and safety hazard and are found to be public nuisances; and WHEREAS, the Newport Beach City Council finds that a countywide abandoned vehicle abatement program is needed to provide for the proper removal and disposal of abandoned vehicles and assist law enforcement and code enforcement personnel in abatement of abandoned vehicles throughout Orange County; and WHEREAS, the Newport Beach City Council desires to continue participation in the SAAV program so that the City can receive its proportional share of the California vehicle registration fee for the purpose of abating and removing abandoned vehicles within its jurisdiction. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City is hereby authorized to continue participation in the Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicles established pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 22710. Section 2. The City Council hereby approves the 10 -year continuation of the abandoned vehicle abatement program and plan adopted and implemented by the Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicles and authorizes the continued imposition of an annual $1 vehicle registration fee to be used exclusively for the abatement, removal, and disposal as public nuisances of any abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles, or parts thereof, from private or public property. Section 3. The City Clerk shall certify as to the adoption of this Resolution and file a certified copy with the Orange County Transportation Authority. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this day of 2001. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk