Ohio Code 4521.02 – Creation of noncriminal parking violations
(A) A local authority that enacts any ordinance, resolution, or regulation that regulates the standing or parking of vehicles and that is authorized pursuant to section 505.17 or 4511.07 of the Revised Code also by ordinance, resolution, or regulation may specify that a violation of the regulatory ordinance, resolution, or regulation shall not be considered a criminal offense for any purpose, that a person who commits the violation shall not be arrested as a result of the commission of the violation, and that the violation shall be handled pursuant to this chapter. If such a specification is made, the local authority also by ordinance, resolution, or regulation shall adopt a fine for a violation of the regulatory ordinance, resolution, or regulation and prescribe an additional penalty or penalties for failure to answer any charges of the violation in a timely manner. In no case shall any fine adopted or additional penalty prescribed pursuant to this division exceed the fine established by the municipal or county court having territorial jurisdiction over the entire or a majority of the political subdivision of the local authority, in its schedule of fines established pursuant to Traffic Rule 13(C), for a substantively comparable violation. Except as provided in this division, in no case shall any fine adopted or additional penalty prescribed pursuant to this division exceed one hundred dollars, plus costs and other administrative charges, per violation.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4521.02
- Accessible parking space: means a motor vehicle parking location that is reserved for the exclusive standing or parking of a vehicle that is operated by or on behalf of a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk and displays a placard or license plates issued under section 4503. See Ohio Code 4521.01
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Bond: includes an undertaking. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Court: means a municipal court, county court, juvenile court, or mayor's court, unless specifically identified as one of these courts, in which case it means the specifically identified court. See Ohio Code 4521.01
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Local authority: means every county, municipal corporation, township, or other local board or body having authority to adopt police regulations pursuant to the constitution and laws of this state. See Ohio Code 4521.01
- Parking infraction: means a violation of any ordinance, resolution, or regulation enacted by a local authority that regulates the standing or parking of vehicles and that is authorized pursuant to section 505. See Ohio Code 4521.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Rule: includes regulation. See Ohio Code 1.59
If a local authority chooses to adopt a specific fine for a violation of an ordinance, resolution, or regulation that regulates the standing or parking of a vehicle in an accessible parking space, the fine the local authority establishes for such offense shall be an amount not less than two hundred fifty dollars but not more than five hundred dollars.
(B) A local authority that enacts an ordinance, resolution, or regulation pursuant to division (A) of this section also may enact an ordinance, resolution, or regulation that provides for the impoundment or immobilization of vehicles found standing or parked in violation of the regulatory ordinance, resolution, or regulation and the release of the vehicles to their owners. In no case shall an ordinance, resolution, or regulation require the owner of the vehicle to post bond or deposit cash in excess of one thousand dollars in order to obtain release of the vehicle.
(C) A local authority that enacts any ordinance, resolution, or regulation pursuant to division (A) of this section also shall enact an ordinance, resolution, or regulation that specifies the time within which a person who is issued a parking ticket must answer in relation to the parking infraction charged in the ticket.
Last updated March 10, 2023 at 12:37 PM