Chapter 10. Parking Citation Appeals
8VAC35-10-10. Scope.
This chapter applies to all George Mason University faculty, staff, students, university contractors, and visitors who use university owned and leased parking facilities.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 1, eff. December 8, 1994.
8VAC35-10-20. General provisions.
This procedure is designed to assist the university administration in evaluating the parking program, to highlight problem areas, to provide a learning experience to those who receive citations while using George Mason University parking facilities, and to provide an avenue to correct enforcement errors.
Requests for an appeal must be submitted in writing within 10 calendar days of the citation date and must be submitted on the Parking Citation Appeal form. Any appeal not filed within this time is automatically denied. While the citation is under review, fines are held in abeyance. Each request for appeal will be carefully reviewed by the Appeals Review Officer. The Appeals Review Officer will base his decision on the George Mason University Motor Vehicle Parking Policies and Regulations (8VAC35-21-10 et seq.) and on the information presented in the written request. The Appeals Review Officer may uphold the appeal, deny the appeal, or reduce the violation to an appropriate lesser violation. The decisions together with comments are reported to the appellant by mail.
The appellant can appeal the decision of the Appeals Review Officer as set forth in 8VAC35-10-40 with the exception of an expedited hearing in which all decisions are final. Fines due after the appeal is decided must be paid within 10 calendar days of the decision date. Failure to pay citations or appealed citations by a faculty or staff member will result in the individual's outstanding account being turned over to a collection agency. Students will be placed on financial suspension.
Information submitted in support of appeals and/or re-appeals is received at face value and is subject to validation by the university.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 2, eff. December 8, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 10, eff. December 22, 2000.
8VAC35-10-30. Responsibilities.
The Associate Vice President for University Services has the responsibilities for monitoring the Parking Citation Appeals policy and recommending new and/or revised policies and procedures.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 3, eff. December 8, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 10, eff. December 22, 2000.
8VAC35-10-40. Appeals.
Parking citations may be appealed in accordance with the provisions of this policy within 10 calendar days of the citation issue date. Appeals must be filed in writing on the Parking Citation Appeal form. Forms are available at the Parking Services Office and at the information booths. Fines associated with appealed citations need not be paid until the appellant is advised of the decision.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 4, eff. December 8, 1994.
8VAC35-10-50. General appeals procedures.
A. All faculty, staff, student, and visitor appeals will be considered by an Appeals Review Officer, who may uphold the appeal, deny the appeal, or reduce the regulation violated to a lesser offense. The results of the appeal will be reported to the appellant by United States mail or at the conclusion of an expedited hearing. Payment of fines on appealed citations is due within 10 calendar days after the decision date. All student appeals are considered by the Student Appeals Board unless the expedited hearing process is selected. An expedited hearing process is available for the convenience of the individual who receives a ticket and wishes to have an immediate review and decision of the matter. All decisions are final.
Neither the members of the Faculty/Staff Appeals Board or the Student Parking Appeals Review Board are affiliated with the Parking Services Office or are compensated for their services. The appeals review/expedited hearing officer is a paid member of the University Services staff and hears appeals upon request three days each week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. All decisions are final.
B. Appeals guidelines are described in this subsection.
1. The citation is presumed valid. It is the obligation of the appellant to present information that would invalidate the ticket.
2. Reasons that might warrant invalidation of the ticket are: evidence of illness that necessitated the violation, mechanical breakdowns that were handled in a reasonable expeditious manner, documented erroneous information given by a parking services employee, or other circumstances that are unusual enough to warrant special consideration.
3. Reasons to warrant a downgrade of the ticket are: when further information that was not readily available to the marshall is provided to the reviewer as a justification for the downgrade (e.g., a ticket for "no decal" given to a car that has been issued a valid decal, but not displaying the decal), valid misunderstandings regarding ambiguous parking areas, judgment of the reviewer, etc.
4. A specific reason for denial need not be given. A general statement can be made that a sufficient reason for reversal was not contained in the written appeal. The appeals process sheet states that decisions are made based on the George Mason University Motor Vehicle Parking Policies and Regulations (8VAC35-21-10 et seq.), on information presented in the written request and on any further comments made by the appellant in case of a re-appeal.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 5, eff. December 8, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 10, eff. December 22, 2000.
8VAC35-10-60. Reconsideration.
Requests for reconsideration of denied appeals may be made to the Parking Services Office. The request for reconsideration must be made within 10 calendar days from the date stamped on the Appeal Board decision sent to the appellant. One or more of the following criteria must be met for the appeal to be reconsidered:
1. No university parking regulation appears to have been violated.
2. Citation, as written, contains a material error.
3. Additional information of a material nature, and not included on the original appeal form, warrants reconsideration.
4. Unusual circumstances in mitigation or extenuation appear to exist.
5. Parking regulations appear sufficiently vague or misleading to warrant reconsideration.
For an appeal to be reconsidered by the Faculty/Staff Appeals Board or the Student Parking Appeals Review Board, the appellant must be present at the scheduled hearing. The appellant will be accorded an opportunity to present succinct comments bearing directly on the case being considered. All balloting will be conducted in closed session; the university's decision is final.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 6, eff. December 8, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 10, eff. December 22, 2000.
8VAC35-10-70. Failure to file promptly.
Failure to file the completed appeal or re-appeal form within the prescribed time period shall constitute a waiver of the right to appeal the violation.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 7, eff. December 8, 1994.
8VAC35-10-80. Appeal Board membership and term of membership; Faculty/Staff Hearing Board; Student Parking Appeals.
A. The Faculty/Staff Appeals Board has been appointed to hear parking citation appeals and advise the Associate Vice President for University Services on parking related matters. The board consists of three faculty members and three staff members appointed by the Associate Vice President for University Services.
Appointments to the board are for two-year renewable terms and run from September 1 through August 31. The chairman is selected for a three-year renewable term by board members and must have served at least one year on the board.
When a member's two-year term ends, the Director of Parking Services will submit additional names to the Associate Vice President for University Services for consideration. The Associate Vice President will either renew the member's term or appoint a new member to the board for those nominated.
The chairman will contact the new nominee to further explain the workings of the group and to discuss their specific responsibilities.
The Faculty/Staff Appeals Board shall meet each month to hear appeals from faculty, staff and visitors to the George Mason University campus. The hearings are scheduled by the Parking Services Office from September through May. At least one hearing should be scheduled during the summer months.
The board shall advise the Parking Services Office of parking regulations that appear vague or misleading and advise about areas on campus not having appropriate signage and ambiguous parking areas.
When a new chairman is elected by the board, the Associate Vice President for University Services and the Director of Parking Services will meet with the new appointee and previous chairman to go over the appeals process, rules, and regulations.
B. The Student Parking Appeals Review Board is constituted under the regulations of the University Judicial Board as set forth in the George Mason University Judicial System for Student Conduct. The membership of the board is to be comprised of current members of the Court of General Sessions of the University Judicial Board. The terms of each member is established in accordance with the regulations set forth in Section X, Article X-B of the Judicial System for Student Conduct.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 8, eff. December 8, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 10, eff. December 22, 2000.
8VAC35-10-90. Amendments, additions, and review.
A. All amendments and additions to the Parking Citation Appeals policy are to be reviewed and approved by the Office of the Vice President for Operations and the Office of the Senior Vice President.
B. This policy shall be reviewed and revised, if necessary, annually.
Statutory Authority
§ 23-91.29 (a) of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR340-01-01 § 9, eff. December 8, 1994; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 10, eff. December 22, 2000.
Forms (8VAC35-10)
Student Parking Citation Appeal.
Faculty/Staff or Visitor Parking Citation Appeal.