Sec. 27-390. - Impoundment.
(a) Any police officer may impound a bicycle which is attached to any tree on City-owned property, abandoned or which is parked in such a manner as to create a traffic hazard. The owner of a bicycle impounded by the police or the owner's agent may claim it at the place it is held and, upon proof of ownership, obtain possession thereof without the payment of any fee or charge on account of the impoundment. The Chief of Police shall use due diligence to ascertain the name and address of the owner of an impounded bicycle and notify the owner that it is being held. If a bicycle is not claimed by the owner within 30 days from the date it was impounded, it may be either donated to a charitable organization by the Chief of Police or sold by the Director of Procurement Services. Every such sale, whenever practicable, shall be made on the basis of competitive bids after the public notice required for the sale of tangible personal property owned by the City, and when there has been competitive bidding such sale shall be made to the highest or best responsible bidder. The Director of Procurement Services shall have authority to reject any or all bids and to order new bidding or, with the approval of the Chief Administrative Officer, make the sale to any person, whether a former bidder or not, without further bidding. The proceeds of such sales shall be paid into the City treasury. The cost of impounding, removal, storage, investigation as to ownership, notice and sale shall be paid out of the proceeds of such sale, and the balance of such funds shall be held for the owner of such bicycle at the time of its impoundment for a period of 60 days. The balance of the proceeds of sale shall thereafter be deposited in the City treasury. If, within three years after the date of sale of such bicycle, the ownership thereof at the time of its impoundment is established to the satisfaction of the Chief Administrative Officer, such owner shall be paid the balance of the proceeds from the sale, without payment of interest or other charge. No claim shall be made nor any suit, action or proceeding be instituted for the recovery of such proceeds after three years from the date of sale.
(b) Any bicycle found and delivered to the police by a private person which thereafter remains unclaimed for 30 days after the final date of publication as required in this section may be donated to a charitable organization or given to the finder; however, the location and description of the bicycle shall be published, at least once a week for two consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation within the City. Such notice shall be published in a form to be approved by the Chief of Police. If the bicycle is given to the finder, the finder of the bicycle shall be responsible for the publication of such notice and any cost associated therewith. Prior to release of the bicycle, the finder shall present verification of compliance with the publication requirements, as set forth in this section. If a license plate or tag is affixed to a found bicycle, the Chief of Police shall use due diligence to notify the owner that it is being held.
(Code 1993, § 28-354; Code 2004, § 102-439; Code 2015, § 27-390; Code 2020, § 27-390; Ord. No. 2004-360-330, § 1, 12-13-2004; Ord. No. 2007-152-105, § 1, 5-29-2007; Ord. No. 2010-21-67, § 2, 4-26-2010; Ord. No. 2013-88-62, § 1, 4-22-2013)
