City of Clifton, NJ Article II Governmental Action Required

§ 413-2 Certificate of operation required; license required.

A. No person shall dispatch, operate or cause to be operated any vehicle owned, controlled or supervised by him to be used as a vehicle for hire upon the streets of the City of Clifton without having first obtained a certificate of operation with accompanying license for each vehicle from the designated officer of the City of Clifton.

B. No person shall act as a driver of any vehicle for hire upon the streets of the City without having first obtained a taxi and limousine driver's license from the designated officer of the City.

C. There shall be a maximum of 10 taxi licenses available for issuance. This number may be increased from time to time in the discretion of the Municipal Council in accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:16-2.1 et seq. There shall be no limit on the number of limousine licenses available for issue.

D. A person shall be disqualified from operating or driving a taxi if a criminal history record background check as required by § 413-12H reveals a record of conviction of any of the following crimes:

(1) In New Jersey or elsewhere any crime as follows: aggravated assault, arson, burglary, escape, extortion, homicide, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault or endangering the welfare of a child pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4, whether or not armed with or having in his possession any weapon enumerated in Subsection r. of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1, a crime pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4, or N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9, or other than a disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offense for the unlawful use, possession or sale of a controlled dangerous substance as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:35-2.

(2) In any other state, territory, commonwealth or other jurisdiction of the United States, or any country in the world, as a result of a conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, a crime which in that other jurisdiction or country is comparable to one of the crimes enumerated in Subsection D(1) of this section.

(3) If a person who has been convicted of one of the crimes enumerated in Subsection D(1) or (2) of this section can produce a certificate of rehabilitation issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-8 or, if the criminal offense occurred outside New Jersey, an equivalent certificate from the jurisdiction where the criminal offense occurred, the criminal offense shall not disqualify the applicant from operating or driving a taxi.

(4) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to an operator or driver of a taxi who has received consent to operate in the City of Clifton prior to November 29, 2011, the effective date of N.J.S.A. 48:16-2.1 et seq.

§ 413-3 Presumption for carrying of passengers.

The carrying of passengers from any point in the City to another point or points in or out of the City shall create a presumption that said passengers are being carried for hire and under an agreement for compensation.

§ 413-4 General jurisdiction and responsibility of Chief of Police.

The Chief of Police, or his designee, shall have jurisdiction and responsibility of:

A. Annual and random inspections of taxis and limousines.

B. Examination and approval or rejection of applications for taxi or limousine licenses.

C. Examination and approval or rejection of applications for taxi and limousine drivers' licenses.

D. Enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.

§ 413-5 General jurisdiction and responsibility of City Clerk.

A. Jurisdiction and responsibility; issuance of certificate of operation.

(1) The City Clerk shall have jurisdiction and responsibility of certificates of operation and licenses.

(a) Issuance of license.

(b) Collection of fees.

(c) Certification of insurance compliance.

(2) The City Clerk shall issue said certificate of operation after the satisfactory compliance by the applicant with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-13 through 48:16-22; submission of proof of insurance; the submission of a signed statement by the Municipal Zoning Officer certifying that the taxi or limousine service is not operating the business from a residence and that the taxi or limousine business has sufficient off-street parking for any and all taxis or limousines to be used in the business, or, where a homeowner or tenant who operates a taxi or limousine business is proposing to operate from his or her residence, the Municipal Zoning Officer shall certify that such residence has a driveway and a garage which can accommodate the taxi or limousine in question, which shall be no larger than a full-size four-door sedan, in which case a certificate of operation may issue for one such vehicle which may be maintained in such garage and/or driveway and which shall not be permitted to be parked upon the streets between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; a satisfactory determination by the Chief of Police or his designee; and the approval of the Municipal Council.

[Amended 7-2-2013 by Ord. No. 7104-13]

B. Certificate of operation renewal.

(1) A certificate of operation may be renewed by the City Clerk if an application as required by this chapter is filed within 15 days from the expiration date of a valid outstanding certificate, and if the applicant has fully complied with the provisions of this chapter, as evidenced by the filing of an approval of such application for renewal by the Chief of Police or his designee.

(2) If the Chief of Police disapproves an application for renewal under this section, the applicant may request a personal appearance before the Municipal Council to offer evidence as to why his application for renewal should be considered. No public hearing shall be held upon application for such renewal unless the Chief of Police or his designee disapproves the same and the applicant requests a hearing before the Municipal Council, subject to any requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.

C. All certificates of operation shall be issued for and all license fees shall be for the period of April 1 to March 31 of the next succeeding year and shall be in addition to any other license fees or charges established by proper authority and applicable to the holder of the vehicle under his operation and control.

D. The annual license fee shall be $150 for the first taxi or limousine owned by an individual and $100 for each subsequent vehicle.

E. If application is made for a certificate or other license on or after December 31, then only 1/2 of the license fee shall be paid. This section will not apply if it is shown that the applicant has been operating a vehicle and has failed to obtain a certificate of operation.

F. Every certificate of operation shall be placed in a conspicuous part of the interior of the licensed taxi or limousine so as to be in full view of all passengers, together with a copy of the rate schedule, if applicable.

§ 413-6 Records of persons and vehicles.

The Police Department shall keep and maintain a record of all persons and vehicles licensed or rejected for licenses under the provisions of this chapter. Such record shall contain all information relating to ownership and operation of such licenses and vehicles and shall be open to the inspection of the public at all reasonable times for good cause and shall be deemed public records, extracts of which may be certified by the Police Chief to use as evidence.