(A) A peace officer, as defined in Cal. Penal Code Part 2, Title 3, Chapter 4.5 (commencing with § 830), may upon a warrant or court order issued pursuant to Cal. Vehicle Code § 21100.4 remove an automobile for hire from the streets or from public or private property within the city and have same stored for a period not to exceed 30 calendar days if the peace officer has probable cause to believe that the vehicle was being operated without a valid vehicle permit as required by this chapter or by a person who is not in possession of a valid driver's permit as required by this chapter.
(B) A notice of the impoundment shall be mailed (via certified mail, return receipt at the address listed on the most current Department of Motor Vehicles registration records) or personally delivered to the registered and legal owners within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, and shall include all of the following:
(1) A copy of the warrant or court order authorizing the impoundment;
(2) The name, address, and telephone number of the city department or employee charged with providing the notice;
(3) The location of the place of storage.
(4) A description of the impounded vehicle, which shall include, if available, the name or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage; and
(5) A statement that, in order to receive a post-storage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing from the court that issued the warrant or order authorizing the impoundment in person, in writing, by telephone, within ten days of the date appearing on the notice.
(C) The failure of the registered or legal owners to receive notice properly served in accordance with this section at the address(es) listed on the most current Department of Motor Vehicles registration records, or the failure to notify any person with legal interest in the vehicle that is not listed on the most current Department of Motor Vehicles registration records, does not constitute defective service and shall not be a bar to the impoundment procedures set forth in this chapter.
(D) The city shall release an impoundment vehicle to its registered owner or agent thereof prior to the end of the impoundment period and without permission of the magistrate that issued the warrant or court order authorizing impoundment if it is determined either that the vehicle was stolen or was seized pursuant to an offense for which seizure is not authorized.
(E) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no vehicle impounded pursuant to this section shall be released without presentation of the registered owner's or agent's currently valid driver's license to operate the vehicle and proof of current registration and liability insurance (in the limits as required by law), or upon order of a court.
(F) Pursuant to Cal. Vehicle Code § 22850.5, the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.
(G) Pursuant to Cal. Vehicle Code § 22655.5(d), in any prosecution of the crime for which a vehicle was impounded pursuant to this section, the prosecutors may request, and the court may order, the perpetrator of the crime, if convicted, to pay the costs of towing and storage of the vehicle, and any administrative charges in accordance with Cal. Vehicle Code § 22850.5.
(H) The notice and hearing provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles abated as a public nuisance pursuant to Cal. Vehicle Code § 22660 and/or Chapter 10.28 of this code, or to vehicles impounded for investigation/evidentiary purposes pursuant to Cal. Vehicle Code § 22655.5(b).
