For purposes of this chapter, certain terms, phrases, words and their derivatives shall have the meanings ascribed in this section:
Accident
means any occurrence which renders a vehicle wrecked or disabled.
Chief of police
means the chief of police of the City of Irving or his designate.
City
means the City of Irving, Texas.
Disabled vehicle
means a vehicle which has been rendered unsafe to be driven as the result of some occurrence other than a wreck, including, but not limited to, mechanical failures or breakdowns, fire, vandalism, or a vehicle which is in a safe driving condition, but the owner is not present, able or permitted to drive, so as to reasonably necessitate that the vehicle be removed by a wrecker.
Licensee
means a person licensed to engage in wrecker service.
Person
means an individual, assumed-name entity, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, or other legal entity.
Street
means any street, alley, avenue, lane, square or highway within the corporate limits of the city.
Vehicle
means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a street, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
Wrecked vehicle
means a vehicle that has been damaged as the result of overturning or colliding with another vehicle or object so as to reasonably necessitate that the vehicle be removed by a wrecker.
Wrecker
means a vehicle designed to be used primarily for removing wrecked or disabled vehicles upon any street.
Wrecker service
means the business of towing or removing vehicles from, to, or within the city.
(Ordinance 3494, § 1, adopted 7/10/1980)
No person shall drive, operate, or cause to be operated, nor shall any person employ, permit, or allow another to drive, operate or cause to be operated, any wrecker over any street in the city for the purpose of removing, moving or towing a vehicle from a point or to a point in the city; nor shall any person remove, move or tow any vehicle for compensation without first having obtained from the city, under the provisions of this chapter, a license authorizing such operation of a wrecker service and a permit authorizing use of the wrecker.
(Ordinance 3494, § 2, adopted 7/10/1980)
Any person desiring a license to operate a wrecker service in the city shall file with the chief of police, or his authorized representative, a written application for such license. Such application shall be filed in letter form and shall be verified by the oath of the applicant and shall give, among other details, the following information:
(a) 
The name, age, and a residence of the applicant, if a natural person; if the applicant is a partnership, the name, age, and residence of all partners, general and limited; if the applicant is a corporation, its name, date and place of incorporation, the address of its principal place of business, the name, age and residence of all its stockholders owning ten (10) percent or more of the total issued capital stock, the amount of stock owned by each of them, the total amount and nature of its authorized capital stock, the amount thereof fully paid up, as well as a certified copy of its charter and bylaws, and further, if the applicant is a foreign corporation, a duly certified copy of its permit to do business in Texas.
(b) 
The length of time the applicant has been a resident of the City of Irving and the County of Dallas.
(c) 
The trade name, if any, under which the applicant proposes to operate.
(d) 
The address of the place of business for which the applicant proposes to operate and the telephone number of said place of business.
(e) 
The make, type, model, capacity, and condition of each wrecker proposed to be operated; the design and color scheme of each wrecker, and the lettering and marks to be used thereon.
(f) 
The number of wreckers to be used.
(g) 
A full list of any unpaid judgments of record against the applicant, which list shall include the name and address of each owner of a judgment, and the amount of such judgment; if the applicant is a partnership, a like list shall be furnished for the partnership and for each individual partner, general or limited; if the applicant is a corporation, a like list shall be furnished by the corporation.
(h) 
A full list of convictions of the applicant for violation of any and all federal, state, or municipal laws other than traffic statutes; if the applicant is a partnership, a like list shall be furnished for each individual partner, general or limited; if the applicant is a corporation, then a like list shall be furnished for each of its officers and directors, as well as for each stockholder owning ten (10) percent or more of the total issued capital stock.
(i) 
A full list of any and all liens, mortgages, and other encumbrances of the wreckers owned by the operator for which permits are requested.
(j) 
A certificate from the tax assessor-collector showing that no delinquent taxes are due the city by the applicant.
(k) 
Full information pertaining to the extent, quality, and nature of the wrecker service the applicant proposes to render.
(l) 
A full and complete statement of the experience, if any, the applicant has had in rendering such wrecker service in the city or elsewhere; if the applicant is a partnership, a like statement for the partnership and each partner, general and limited; if the applicant is a corporation, a like statement for the corporation and each of its officers and directors.
(m) 
The names of drivers who shall drive wreckers for the applicant and the commercial license number for each driver.
(n) 
The address of the storage locations for pulled vehicles to be used by the wrecker service.
(Ordinance 3494, § 3, adopted 7/10/1980)
The chief of police or his authorized representative shall issue said licenses to all applicants complying with the provisions of this chapter after the applications have been completed and filed in his office and the license fees paid, except as hereinafter provided.
(Ordinance 3494, § 5, adopted 7/10/1980)
The chief of police or his authorized representative shall refuse to approve issuance or renewal of a wrecker license for one (1) or more of the following reasons:
(a) 
The making of any false statement as to a material matter in an application for a license, or license renewal, or in a hearing concerning the license.
(b) 
Revocation of a license, pursuant to this article, of the applicant, or any proprietor, partner or corporate officer of the applicant, within eighteen (18) months preceding application.
(c) 
Use by the licensee of a trade name for his wrecker service other than the one (1) registered with the chief of police.
(d) 
A licensee's failure to comply with the insurance requirements of section 41A-10 of this chapter.
(Ordinance 3494, § 6, adopted 7/10/1980)
All wrecker licenses issued shall expire on December 31 of the year for which they were issued. The licenses are not transferable.
(Ordinance 3494, § 4, adopted 7/10/1980)
The chief of police or his authorized representative shall revoke a wrecker license upon notice and hearing for one (1) or more of the following reasons:
(a) 
The making of any false statement as to a material matter in an application for a license, license renewal, or in a hearing concerning a license.
(b) 
Use by the licensee of a trade name for his wrecker company other than the one registered with the chief of police.
(c) 
Violation by the licensee or an employee of the licensee of a provision or requirement of this chapter.
(Ordinance 3494, § 7, adopted 7/10/1980)
(a) 
If the chief of police or his authorized representative approves or denies the issuance of a license, this action is final unless the applicant or a licensee, within ten (10) days after the date of action by the chief of police or his authorized representative, files a written appeal with the city secretary to the city council setting forth specific grounds for the appeal. The city council shall within forty-five (45) days, grant a hearing to consider the action. The city council has authority to sustain, reverse, or modify the action appealed. The decision of the city council is final.
(b) 
If the chief of police or his authorized representative refuses to approve the renewal of a license or revokes a license issued to a licensee this action is final unless the licensee, within ten (10) days after the date of action by the chief of police or his authorized representative, files a written appeal with the city secretary to the city council setting forth specific grounds for the appeal. The city council shall, within forty-five (45) days, grant a hearing to consider the action. The city council has authority to sustain, reverse, or modify the action appealed. The decision of the city council is final.
(Ordinance 3494, § 8, adopted 7/10/1980)
After issuance or renewal of a wrecker license, the licensee shall present all wreckers to be driven or operated in the city to the chief of police or his duly authorized representative; and, upon verifying that the vehicle meets the following minimum requirements and payment of an annual twenty-five dollar ($25.00) permit fee per vehicle, the chief of police or his authorized representative shall affix a wrecker permit to the front windshield of the vehicle:
(a) 
Each wrecker shall be not less than one (1) ton in size and be equipped with booster brakes and dual rear wheels, except that until July 10, 1982, and not thereafter, a wrecker licensed under this chapter shall not be less than three-quarter (¾) ton in size and shall be equipped with booster brakes and dual rear wheels.
(b) 
Each wrecker shall be equipped with a power-operated winch, winch line, and boom. The power-operated winch shall have a factory-rated lifting capacity of not less than eight thousand (8,000) pounds.
(c) 
Each wrecker and all of its equipment shall be in safe and good working condition.
(d) 
Each wrecker shall carry as standard equipment: a tow bar, safety chains, wrecking bar, flags and flares, broom, and fire extinguisher.
(e) 
Each wrecker shall have inscribed on each side thereof, in letters not less than three (3) inches in height, the name of the licensee; this name shall be painted on the truck or on a sign permanently affixed to the side of the truck.
(f) 
Each operator shall furnish the serial number of the wrecker bed or winch of the wrecker for which a permit is requested.
(g) 
Each operator shall furnish a certificate of insurance showing valid policies in force on each wrecker in amounts of not less than the following sums:
(1) 
For damage arising out of bodily injury to or death of one (1) person in any one (1) accident: $10,000.00.
(2) 
For damages arising out of bodily injury to or death of two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident: 20,000.00.
(3) 
For injury to or destruction of property in any one (1) accident: 10,000.00.
The cost of this permit shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00). One (1) permit shall be needed for each wrecker operated. All such permits shall expire on December 31 of the year for which they are issued. Said permits are not transferable, and no permit shall be used on any vehicle other than the one for which it was issued. This permit fee is collected under the police power of the city for the purpose of regulation.
(Ordinance 3494, § 9, adopted 7/10/1980; Ordinance 3698, § 1, adopted 7/16/1981)
Each wrecker service shall keep a record of each vehicle towed, the make, model, color, license number of said vehicle, the name of the person requesting the pull, the location where the vehicle was picked up, and the location where deposited. This log will be open to inspection by the police at any time. It shall be unlawful for a wrecker service or owner or employee of same to fail to produce this log to the Irving Police Department for inspection upon request by the police department.
(Ordinance 3494, § 11, adopted 7/10/1980)
Before leaving the point of pickup of a vehicle to be towed without the permission of the owner or operator, each wrecker service shall report to the front desk of the Irving Police Department the point of pickup, the license number of the car pulled, the location to which the car is being pulled, and the name of the wrecker service towing said vehicle.
(Ordinance 3494, § 12, adopted 7/10/1980)
Each wrecker called to the scene of an accident shall remove from the street all resulting wreckage or debris, including all broken glass, before leaving the site.
(Ordinance 3494, § 13, adopted 7/10/1980)
Any location used for the storage of vehicles pulled by wrecker shall be open to inspection by the police at any time. It shall be unlawful for a wrecker service or owner or employee of same to fail to open such for inspection by the Irving Police Department upon request by the police department.
(Ordinance 3494, § 15, adopted 7/10/1980)
A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).
Each day any violation of any provision of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 5853, § 42, adopted 9/6/1990)