§ 9-52. General provisions.

(a)

Use of property and funds. This division provides rules and regulations for the use of airport property by commercial passenger vehicles, and it requires that airport use fees be paid for the use of airport property. It is city policy that funds from airport use fees shall be used for airport purposes, as more fully described in the ordinances authorizing the issuance of airport system bonds adopted from time to time.

(b)

Permits required, etc. It shall be unlawful for any person owning, possessing, controlling, or operating a commercial passenger vehicle to cause or allow one or more other persons to board the vehicle, or to alight from the vehicle, in any terminal complex if there is no airport use permit for the vehicle. It shall also be unlawful for any person owning, possessing, controlling, or operating a commercial passenger vehicle to cause or allow the vehicle to be operated upon airport property if:

(1)

The vehicle is operated in violation of this division, any airport use permit, or any condition in an airport use permit; or

(2)

Any of the airport use fees required by this division with respect to the use of the airport has not been paid when due.

(3)

The vehicle or its operation does not comply with any other regulatory approval required by applicable regulations (e.g., a city, state or federal license, permit, franchise), for any part of a trip that includes airport property.

(c)

Others liable; contractors. It shall be unlawful for any person to direct, cause, or allow another person to violate, or to aid another person in violating, subsection (b) above. A permittee may allow independent contractors to operate permittees vehicles; however: (i) the permittee must provide all required insurance, covering both permittee and each contractor, and (ii) in any event, both the permittee and the contractor are responsible for compliance with applicable regulations.

(d)

Control of vehicles. For purposes of this division only, it shall be a presumption that a motor vehicle bearing the name, trade name, common name, emblem, trademark, or other identification of a commercial business entity is controlled by that business entity and by the managers of that business entity; however, this presumption does not apply in the case of a taxicab while it is driven by an independent contractor.

(e)

Taxicabs. It shall be an affirmative defense in any prosecution involving lack of an airport use permit under this section (but not prosecutions involving other violations or nonpayment of fees) that the vehicle in question was:

(1)

A taxicab; or

(2)

A non-Houston taxi, and no passengers boarded it on airport property.

(f)

Occasional users. It shall be an affirmative defense in any prosecution involving lack of an airport use permit under this section (but not prosecutions involving other violations or nonpayment of fees) that the vehicle in question was not used to transport passengers within a given terminal complex more than twice during the seven-day period ending on and including the day of the alleged offense.

(g)

Non-airport use. It shall be an affirmative defense in any prosecution involving lack of an airport use permit or nonpayment of fees under this section that the vehicle in question was operated exclusively on dedicated public streets, roads and highways, without using airport property during the trip in question.

(h)

Consolidated rental car facility. The director shall designate a consolidated rental car facility at IAH. The facility shall be designed and operated to allow a single, consolidated shuttle bus system to transport all rental car passengers to and from the passenger terminals. The first designation becomes effective when the first facility (with its consolidated shuttle bus system) begins operations. The director shall likewise designate successor and substitute facilities. After a designation becomes effective:

(1)

The designated facility becomes part of the terminal complex for IAH; and

(2)

It shall be unlawful for any person owning, possessing, controlling, or operating a commercial passenger vehicle to cause or allow any passenger to board the vehicle, or to alight from the vehicle, anywhere within 400 feet of a passenger terminal building at IAH, if the passenger comes from, or is going to, any premises owned, possessed, controlled or operated by an off-airport rental car user. This paragraph does not apply to passengers boarding or alighting from the consolidated shuttle bus system serving the facility.

(i)

Consent to use property. For purposes of section 9-161 of this Code, persons who operate commercial passenger vehicles or local transit vehicles in compliance with this division, and in compliance with other applicable regulations, do so with the approval of the city council, and the commercial activity of transporting passengers at the airports is authorized by the city council to the extent herein provided. The city, as the owner of the city's airports, does not consent to the use of airport property in violation of this division or other applicable regulations.

(j)

Penalties. Violation of this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500.00. Each day any violation of this section continues shall constitute a separate offense. The suspension, revocation, cancellation, or denial of any license, permit, or certificate shall not prohibit the imposition of any civil or criminal penalty. The imposition of a civil or criminal penalty shall not prohibit any other remedy and shall not prohibit the suspension, revocation, or denial of a license, permit, or certificate. The city shall have the authority to enforce this division by civil litigation to the full extent allowed by state law.

(k)

Regulations. The director shall prescribe regulations for the use of airport premises by permittees, including, but not limited to: regulations for applications, permits and appeals, which must include the use of a hearing officer; regulations allowing temporary substitute vehicles; regulations as to locations to drop off or pick up passengers, park vehicles, stage vehicles, or hold vehicles; regulations as to routes of vehicles; regulations as to appearance of vehicles and drivers; regulations as to conduct upon airport premises; and other regulations as may be necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the airports.

(l)

Enforcement. The director shall enforce the provisions of chapters 26, 45 and 46 of this Code on each airport's roadways and curb zones, including the designation of persons other than peace officers, to enforce the provisions of those chapters as well as state laws and regulations relating to the stopping, standing and parking of motor vehicles by issuance of citations on the official form prescribed by the director. The director shall issue appropriate identification and the necessary citation forms to the persons designated pursuant to this section.

(m)

Inspections and audits. All commercial business entities and vehicles permitted to access any HAS airport are subject to inspection and audits to ensure compliance with the provisions of this division.

(n)

Permit and HAS access limits. The director may at any time limit either the number of permits or the access afforded to commercial business entities due to limitations in the availability of curbside space or parking and staging in the applicable staging lots, garages and holding areas.

(o)

Badging and driver identification. The director reserves the right to require the possession and presentation upon request, of HAS badges, identification cards, radio-frequency identifications or other forms of identification verification as the director deems necessary for the enforcement of this division.

(p)

City audit rights. Unless otherwise provided in a contract entered into pursuant to this division, the director may, upon 14 days' written notice, without cost to a commercial business entity operating under this division, cause an inspection and audit to be made of the books and records of the commercial business entity to determine the correctness of the computation of fees paid to the Houston Airport System. If, as a result of such inspection and audit, it is established that additional compensation is due the city, the commercial business entity shall pay such additional compensation to the city within 15 days of receipt of written notice from the director.

(Ord. No. 02-1184, § 1(Exh. A), 12-18-02; Ord. No. 2014-1013, § 4, 11-12-2014)