Failure to comply with any part of the PPI Code or the administrative rules may be punishable by any or all of the following:
A. Suspension. The Director or designee may suspend a PPI tower's permit if investigation reveals any substantial violation of the PPI Code or the PPI administrative rules. A substantial violation is a violation having an impact on the public that informal compliance methods have failed to resolve. Suspension may be for a period of up to 14 calendar days. The suspension will be effective from the date of written notice of a suspension. If the violation is not corrected within the 14 day period, the Director may revoke the permit.
B. Revocation. The Director may revoke a permit for any substantial violation of the PPI Code or the administrative rules. A substantial violation is a violation having an impact on the public that informal compliance methods fail to resolve. The revocation will be effective immediately upon issuance of written notice by the City of Portland to the PPI tower. No new application will be accepted from any PPI tower with outstanding penalties or who has been revoked within the current term for the remainder of the current permit period. Prior revocation may be grounds for denial of a permit application.
C. A private property owner or operator in the City of Portland is subject to civil penalties up to $700 per tow from their property for violations including, but not limited to:
1. Knowingly authorizing non-compliant PPI towing to be performed on property they own or operate;
2. Requiring, soliciting or accepting payment from any PPI tower, or from any person acting on behalf of a PPI tower, in exchange for authorization to tow from a property.
D. Civil penalty. The Director may impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for any substantial violation of the PPI Code or the administrative rules, including:
1. Towing any vehicle from private property inside the City of Portland or from City owned or operated property without a PPI permit.
2. Towing from a property without authorization in the form of a current agreement or owner/operator’s signature on the tow invoice.
3. Late payment of data service fees to Tow Desk. The penalty will be $100 for each incident.
4. Late payment of service fees to the City of Portland. The penalty will be $100 for each incident.
5. Failure to initiate a tow, as required by administrative rule. The penalty will be refund of all fees assessed to the citizen, plus $300 penalty for each incident.
6. Failure to notify Tow Desk of the completion of a tow within one hour of its arrival at the storage facility. The penalty will be $150 for each incident.
7. Late report or failure to report a release. The penalty will be $100 for each incident.
8. Failure to release a vehicle when contacted by the vehicle owner/owner’s agent prior to completion of the hookup. The penalty is $100 per 10 minute delay of release for each incident.
9. Late response or failure to respond to a police agency’s request for information. The penalty is $150 for each incident.
10. Late response to a complaint notice without approval of the Towing Coordinator. The penalty is $100.
11. Failure to respond to a request for information pertaining to a complaint. The penalty is $500.
12. Failure to provide a person redeeming a towed vehicle with an invoice, complete with all required information. The penalty is $50 per missing item.
13. Civil penalties are payable to the City of Portland.
E. Refund to vehicle owner/owner's agent. Upon a finding of any violation by a PPI tower, the Director may direct release of a vehicle at no charge or a refund of all or part of fees paid by a vehicle owner/owner's agent for towing and storage, in lieu of, or in addition to, civil penalties.
F. Civil remedies. Nothing in this Section is intended to prevent any person from pursuing legal remedies.