HomeMy WebLinkAbout4080 Ordinance No . 4080
(Amending or Repealing Ordinances)
School Speed Zone Traffic Safety Cameras
Passed - 5/21/2013
Amending Ch. 9.36 and adding new Sec. 9.36.140
The date["Beginning July 1, 1998"]has led to confusion This date will be deleted from cover sheets of
ordinance/resolution revision pages. This cover sheet will be deleted on electronic pages only, no other
deletions or changes have been made to the document—6/21/2012
ORDINANCE NO. Y-19LO
AN ORDINANCE of the City Council of the
city of Kent, Washington, amending Chapter 9.36
of the Kent City Code, entitled "Traffic Code" by
adding a new section 9.36.140, entitled "School
speed zone traffic safety cameras," authorizing use
of automated traffic cameras to detect school
speed zone violations; adopting the statutory
standards and restrictions regarding use of
automated traffic safety cameras; and setting the
monetary penalty for infractions detected by an
automated traffic safety camera.
RECITALS
A. School speed zones are located in areas occupied by a high
number of pedestrians, especially before, during and after school, and
driver inattention and speeding can have devastating consequences.
B. The strategic placement of automated traffic safety cameras
at school zones has been shown to reduce vehicle speeds, thereby
reducing the risks to pedestrians.
C. The city of Kent has numerous school zones that would
benefit from the placement of automated traffic safety cameras.
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School Speed Zone
Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
D. RCW 46.63.170 authorizes local jurisdictions to use
automated traffic safety cameras to enforce speed limits in school speed
zones.
E. Pursuant to RCW 46.63.170, this ordinance establishes the
City's use of automated traffic safety cameras in school speed zones, and
sets forth the restrictions, public notice, and signage requirements, as well
as the processing and procedural requirements for use of the automated
traffic safety cameras in school speed zones.
F. As required by RCW 46.63.170, the City's Public Works
Department performed an analysis of the school speed zones located at
Horizon Elementary School, Meridian Elementary School, Millennium
Elementary School, Neely O'Brien Elementary School, Springbrook
Elementary School, and Sunrise Elementary School. A summary of the
analysis of these school speed zones is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
G. Funds derived from the use of automated traffic safety
cameras in school speed zones shall be used to cover the costs of
administering the program. Funds in excess of those used to cover the
costs of administering the program shall be utilized for enforcement and
processing of traffic and criminal laws in the city.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
ORDINANCE
SECTION 1. - Amendment. Chapter 9.36 of the Kent City Code,
entitled "Traffic Code," is amended by adding a new section 9.36.140
entitled, "School speed zone traffic safety cameras," as follows:
Sec. 9.36.140. School speed zone traffic safety cameras.
A. Authorized Use of Automated Traffic Safety Cameras Pursuant to
the authority of RCW 46.63.170, the city is authorized to use automated
traffic safety cameras and related automated systems in order to detect,
record, and enforce and prosecute school speed zone violations.
B. Limitation on P - Use of Ph
1. Limitation on Photos. Automated traffic safety cameras may
only take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate and only while
an infraction is occurring. The picture must not reveal the face of the
driver or of passengers in the vehicle.
2. Use of Photos. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
all photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images prepared under
this section are for the exclusive use of law enforcement in the discharge
of duties under this section and are not open to the public and may not be
used in a court in a pending action or proceeding unless the action or
proceeding relates to a violation under this section. No photograph,
microphotograph, or electronic image may be used for any purpose other
than enforcement of violations under this section nor retained longer than
necessary to enforce this section.
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Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
I
C. Infraction Processing - Responsibilities - Presumption.
1. In General. Infractions detected through the use of
automated traffic safety cameras are not part of the registered owner's
driving record under RCW 46.52.101 and 46.52.120. Additionally,
infractions generated by the use of automated traffic safety cameras shall
be processed in the same manner as parking infractions, including for the
purposes of RCW 3.50.100, 35.20.220, 46.16A.120, and 46.20.270(3).
2. Notice of Infraction. A notice of infraction must be mailed to
the registered owner of the vehicle within fourteen days of the violation, or
to the renter of a vehicle within fourteen days of establishing the renter's
name and address under subsection C.4 of this section. The law
enforcement officer issuing the notice of infraction shall include with it a
certificate or facsimile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs,
microphotographs, or electronic images produced by an automated traffic
safety camera, stating the facts supporting the notice of infraction. This
certificate or facsimile is prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it
and is admissible in a proceeding charging a violation under this section.
Any citation or notice of infraction issued pursuant to this section may be
initiated by electronic signature of the issuing police officer. The
photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images evidencing the
violation must be available for inspection and admission into evidence in a
proceeding to adjudicate the liability for the infraction. A person receiving
a notice of infraction based on evidence detected by an automated traffic
safety camera may respond to the notice by mail.
3. Registered Owner Responsible - Rental Car Business. The
registered owner of a vehicle is responsible for an infraction issued
pursuant to this section unless the registered owner overcomes the
presumption in subsection C.5 of this section, or, in the case of a rental
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School Speed Zone
Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
car business, satisfies the conditions under subsection CA of this section.
If appropriate under the circumstances, a renter identified under
subsection CA of this section is responsible for an infraction.
4. Rental Cars. If the registered owner of the vehicle is a rental
car business, the law enforcement agency shall, before a notice of
infraction is issued under this section, provide a written notice to the
rental car business that a notice of infraction may be issued to the rental
car business if the rental car business does not, within eighteen days of
receiving the written notice, provide to the issuing agency by return mail:
a. A statement under oath stating the name and known
mailing address of the individual driving or renting the vehicle when the
infraction occurred; or
b. A statement under oath that the business is unable to
determine who was driving or renting the vehicle at the time the infraction
occurred because the vehicle was stolen at the time of the infraction. A
statement provided under this subsection must be accompanied by a copy
of a filed police report regarding the vehicle theft; or
C. In lieu of identifying the vehicle operator, the rental car
business may pay the applicable penalty.
Timely mailing of the statements described in subsections C.4.a and C.4.b
to the issuing law enforcement agency relieves a rental car business of
any liability under this section for the notice of infraction.
5. Presumption. Pursuant to RCW 46.63.075, in a traffic
infraction case involving an infraction detected through the use of an
automated traffic safety camera under this section, proof that the
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Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
particular vehicle described in the notice of traffic infraction was in
violation of a law enforced through the use of the automated traffic safety
camera, together with proof that the person named in the notice of traffic
infraction was at the time of the violation the registered owner of the
vehicle, constitutes in evidence a prima facie presumption that the
registered owner of the vehicle was the person in control of the vehicle at
the point where, and for the time during which, the violation occurred.
This presumption may be overcome only if the registered owner states,
under oath, in a written statement to the court or in testimony before the
court that the vehicle involved was, at the time, stolen or in the care,
custody, or control of some person other than the registered owner.
D. Infraction - Penalty. It shall be an infraction to exceed the posted
speed limit in a school speed zone enforced through the use of an
automated traffic safety camera. The penalty for an infraction committed
in a school speed zone which is detected through the use of an automated
traffic safety camera shall be $124.00; provided, the penalty shall be
$248.00 for a violation in which the vehicle was operated at a speed of
thirty (30) miles per hour or more. In addition to the fines provided
herein, a violator may be assessed any costs and assessments as required
or permitted by state law or court rule.
E. Signs - Payment to Vendor - Alternative Enforcement.
1. School Zones Must be Signed. All locations where an
automated traffic safety camera is used must be clearly marked at least
thirty days prior to activation of the camera by placing signs in locations
that clearly indicate to a driver that he or she is entering a zone where
traffic laws are enforced by an automated traffic safety camera.
2. Payment Made to Vendor. The compensation paid by the city
to the manufacturer or vendor of the automated traffic safety camera
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School Speed Zone
Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
equipment must be based only upon the value of the equipment and
services provided or rendered in support of the system, and may not be
based upon a portion of the fine or civil penalty imposed or the revenue
generated by the equipment.
3. Alternative Enforcement. Nothing in this section prohibits a
law enforcement officer from issuing a notice of traffic infraction to a
person in control of a vehicle at the time a violation occurs pursuant to
RCW 46.63.030(1)(a), (b), or (c).
F. Use of Funds. Funds derived from the use of automated traffic
safety cameras shall be used to pay the costs of administering the
automated traffic safety camera program, including, but not limited to
personnel costs, vendor costs, and equipment costs. Funds in excess of
these costs may be used to fund personnel, programs, services and
equipment related to the enforcement and processing of traffic and
criminal laws within the city.
G. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "automated traffic
safety camera" means a device that uses a vehicle sensor installed to work
in conjunction with an intersection traffic control system, a railroad grade
crossing control system, or a speed measuring device, and a camera
synchronized to automatically record one or more sequenced photographs,
microphotographs, or electronic images of the rear of a motor vehicle at
the time the vehicle fails to stop when facing a steady red traffic control
signal or an activated railroad grade crossing control signal, or exceeds a
speed limit in a school speed zone as detected by a speed measuring
device.
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Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
SECTION 2. - Qfrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon
approval of the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the code reviser are
authorized to make necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the
correction of clerical errors; ordinance, section, or subsection numbering;
or references to other local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, or
regulations.
SECTION 3. - SeverablJity. If any one or more section, subsection,
or sentence of this ordinance is held to be unconstitutional or invalid, that
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this
ordinance and that remaining portion shall maintain its full force and
effect.
SECTION 4. - Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and
be in force thirty (30) days after its passage and publication, as provided
by law.
S COOKE, MAYOR
ATTEST:
RONALD F. ORE, CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
V�
TO BRUBAKER, ITY ATTORNEY
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School Speed Zone
Traffic Safety Cameras Ordinance
PASSED: day of 2013.
APPROVED: ,�� — day of , 2013.
PUBLISHED: day of 2013.
I hereby certify that this is a true copy of Ordinance No. 11ano
passed by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, and approved
by the Mayor of the City of Kent as hereon indicated.
ONALD F0 , CITY LERK. 0
P�Jcwad l y `aa'1ca�ichrhrj,Zoi(k' fflc Safety Cameras Ordinance Final docx
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