Administrative adjudication of stopping, standing and parking violations.
San Antonio City Code § 19-225
in effectSec. 19-225. - Administrative adjudication of stopping, standing and parking violations.
(a) Establishment of administrative adjudication. All stopping, standing, and parking ordinance violations listed under V.T.C.A., Transportation Code §§ 545.301, 545.302, 545.303, and/or the City Code are hereby declared to be civil offenses.
(b) Notice of right to instanter hearing and notice of time and place of scheduled hearings. The citation or summons must provide information as to the time and place of an administrative adjudication hearing and must contain a notification that the person charged has the right of an instanter hearing prior to the scheduled hearing. The issuing peace officer or authorized parking enforcement agent shall not be required to attend the instanter hearing.
(c) Hearing officers. Hearing officers shall be appointed by the city manager. Said officers shall have authority to administer oaths and to issue orders compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, such orders to be enforced by a municipal court.
(d) Vehicle registered owner presumed to be operator. At the hearing, it is presumed that the registered owner of the vehicle that is the subject of the hearing is the person who parked or stopped the vehicle at the time and place of the offense charged.
(e) Prima facie evidence. The state department of highways and public transportation computer generated record of the registered vehicle owner is prima facie evidence of its contents. The original or any copy of the summons or citation is also prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.
(f) Hearing officer order. The hearing officer shall issue a written order stating whether or not the person charged is liable for the violation, and the amount of any fine, costs, or fee assessed against the person charged. The order shall be filed with the municipal court director. The failure of any person charged with an offense to appear at the hearing shall be an admission of liability for the charged offense. The record of witness testimony may be preserved for appellant review by the use of an audio tape recording or a video tape recording.
(g) Enforcement measures. Hearing office orders may be enforced by the following:
(1) Vehicle impoundment if the subject vehicle is found on any public street, public right-of-way, public easement, or city-owned parking facility, or other public property, if the vehicle owner has committed three (3) or more offenses in any calendar year;
(2) Immobilization of the subject vehicle if found on any public right-of-way, easement, city owned parking facility or other public property;
(3) Imposition of an added fine after a specified time;
(4) Refusal to allow registration of the subject vehicle as provided by V.T.C.A., Transportation Code § 702.003.
(h) Maximum fine. The total fine per violation shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00). All fines, costs, and fees shall be paid into the city treasury general fund for the use and benefit of the city.
(i) Appeal. A person determined by the hearing officer to be in violation may appeal the decision to a municipal court by filing an appeal petition with the court clerk not later than thirty (30) days after the order is filed and by paying a five dollar ($5.00) appeal filing fee. The appeal hearing must be scheduled to occur within ten (10) days of the filing of the appeal petition. The appeal hearing before a municipal court judge shall be an administrative proceeding for the purpose of confirming or overruling the order issued by the administrative hearing officer based upon the evidence presented to the administrative hearing officer. The record of witness testimony may be preserved for appellant review by the use of an audio tape recording or a video tape recording.
(j) Bond. Neither a notice of intent to appeal nor the filing of an appeal petition shall stay the enforcement and collection of the judgment order unless the service of the notice of appeal is preceded by the posting of a bond with the municipal court director in an amount set by a municipal court judge.
(k) Effective date. Parking and stopping offenses occurring before September 1, 1987, shall be governed by the law in effect when the offense occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purposes.
(l) Administrative procedures. The municipal court director shall establish a written body of administrative procedures for these cases.
(m) Booting fee. The city shall recover the cost of enforcement of a hearing officer's order to boot an offending vehicle by requiring the payment of a sixty-dollar ($60.00) booting fee prior to de-booting or prior to release of a vehicle from the impoundment facility. No booting fee shall be collected, however, if the vehicle is towed and impounded to remove it from risk of vandalism or theft within twenty-four (24) hours of booting, said protective impoundment to be at the discretion of the parking enforcement supervisor or any police officer.
(n) Misdemeanor offense. It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person to remove the immobilization device (boot) from the wheel of a vehicle, or to remove the booted wheel from a vehicle, or to move the booted vehicle, or to disable or damage the booting device. Violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class "C" misdemeanor offense, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).
(Ord. No. 65690, § 1, 9-10-87; Ord. No. 66559, 2-11-88; Ord. No. 90496, § 2, 9-16-99; Ord. No. 99738, § 1, 9-16-04; Ord. No. 2009-09-17-0731I, § 2, 9-17-09; Ord. No. 2010-05-06-0387, § 4, 5-6-10; Ord. No. 2018-03-01-0161, § 3, 3-1-18)
Source: City of San Antonio, City Code, City Charter and Unified Development Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/san_antonio/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH19MOVETR_ARTVISTSTPA_DIV3PAME_S19-225ADADSTSTPAVIFetched: 10/27/2026