[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Haledon 9-18-2002
by Ord. No. 8-21-02G. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
LIMOUSINE
Includes any automobile or motor car with a carrying capacity of
not more than nine passengers, not including the driver, used in the business
of carrying passengers for hire which is held out, announced or advertised
to operate or run or which is operated or run over any of the streets or public
highways of this state and which is hired by charter or for a particular contract
or by the day or hour or other fixed period or to transport passengers to
a specified place or places or which charges a fare or price agreed upon in
advance between the operator and the passenger. Nothing in this chapter shall
apply to buses employed solely in transporting school children or teachers
or autobuses which are subject to the jurisdiction of the State of New Jersey,
Department of Transportation and/or Board of Public Utilities or interstate
autobuses that are regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
More than one license may be issued to one applicant, provided that
each limousine will be in actual use during the licensed year.
No owner of a limousine or other person having direction or control
of a limousine shall operate it or permit it to be operated as a vehicle for
hire or for transporting passengers for compensation upon the streets of the
Borough of Haledon unless a limousine license has first been issued for said
vehicle by the Borough of Haledon. The requirements of this section shall
not apply to a limousine duly licensed by another municipality while such
limousine is being operated solely in response to a call to pick up a passenger
or passengers or for the purpose of delivering to a destination or destinations
within the Borough. No limousine licensed in another municipality shall be
permitted to cruise in the municipality for the purpose of engaging passengers
unless licensed by the Borough of Haledon.
Every person applying for a limousine license or a renewal or transfer
thereof must be at least 21 years of age. If a corporation, such corporation
must be organized and existing under the laws of the State of New Jersey and
shall maintain an office in the Borough of Haledon. The application for a
license shall be filed with the Borough Clerk upon forms provided by the Clerk.
It shall be verified under oath and shall include the following information:
A. Name, address and age of the applicant. If the applicant
is a partnership, the names and addresses of the partners and their respective
interests in the partnership shall be given, and if a corporation, the names
and addresses of all officers, directors and stockholders shall be given.
B. The year, serial number, type, model and color of the
vehicle or vehicles to be licensed.
C. The passenger capacity of the vehicle or vehicles (not
including the driver's seat).
D. A description of the applicant's experience in the transportation
of passengers.
E. The number of vehicles to be operated or controlled by
the applicant, and the location of proposed depots and terminal points.
F. The color scheme or insignia, if any, to be used to designate
the vehicle or vehicles of the applicant.
G. The criminal record, if any, of the applicant; and if
the applicant is a corporation, partnership or incorporated association, the
criminal record, if any, of each person participating in the ownership or
management of the applicant as stockholder, partner, officer, manager or otherwise.
H. A certificate from the Police Department of the Borough of Haledon that the limousine has been inspected and passed such inspection, as required by §
230-7 of this chapter, shall be submitted to the Borough Clerk before a license shall be issued.
I. In the case of a license renewal, the number of weeks
during the previous six-month period the vehicle to be licensed was operated
as a limousine.
J. A schedule of rates to be charged by the applicant.
K. A certification from the Zoning Officer of the Borough
of Haledon that the holder of said license may maintain a limousine depot
conforming to zoning regulations.
A. No limousine shall be operated wholly or partly along
any street in the Borough of Haledon until the owner of the limousine shall
have filed with the Borough Clerk an insurance policy of a company duly licensed
to transact business under the insurance laws of this state in the sum of
$50,000 by reason of the liability imposed by law upon every limousine owner
for damages on account of bodily injury or death suffered by any person as
the result of an accident occurring by reason of the ownership, maintenance
or use of the limousine upon any public street.
B. Such operation shall be permitted only so long as the
insurance policy shall remain in force to the full and collectible amount
of $50,000.
C. The insurance policy shall provide for the payment of
any final judgment recovered by any person on account of the ownership, maintenance
and use of such limousine or any fault in respect thereto and shall be for
the benefit of every person suffering loss, damage or injury as aforesaid.
D. The insurance policy shall name the Borough of Haledon
as an additional insured on its insurance policy.
No limousine license shall be issued unless the applicant shall have
complied with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 through N.J.S.A. 48:16-22,
as amended and supplemented, including particularly the delivery of a power
of attorney as required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-3. After a limousine license is
issued, the holder thereof shall be required to continue to comply with said
statutory provisions of the State of New Jersey.
No limousine license shall be issued, renewed or transferred until the
vehicle identified in the application for such license has passed state inspection
as required by N.J.S.A. 39:8-2 and has also been examined and inspected by
the Police Department and found to comply with the following provisions:
A. All limousines shall have four doors, two leading into
the passenger's compartment and two leading into the driver's compartment,
so constructed that they may be opened from the inside and outside. Each door
shall be constructed with an approved safety lock.
B. All upholstery covering or interior lining of any limousine
shall be of leather or other nonabsorbent and washable material, except the
roof lining.
C. Floor mats shall be provided of removable rubber or other
nonabsorbent material.
D. Every limousine shall be equipped with a passenger compartment
light adequate to illuminate the interior of the passenger's compartment and
having a switch easily accessible to the passenger.
E. Every limousine shall be clean and sanitary. The report
of the Police Department on each limousine examined and inspected prior to
licensing shall be delivered to the Borough Clerk, who shall file such report
with the application for the limousine license.
No limousine license shall be transferred without the written consent
of the governing body. With such consent, which shall be granted only upon
the filing of an application by the prospective transferee and a finding that
he would be qualified to receive a license in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter, the license may be transferred, provided it is to be used
by the transferee in a bona fide operation of a limousine business. No limousine
license shall be assigned, mortgaged, pledged or otherwise transferred to
secure a debt, loan, advance or other financing transaction.
A. The governing body of the Borough of Haledon shall consider
all applications for limousine licenses. If it finds that the limousine service
proposed to be furnished by the applicant in the Borough of Haledon is required
for the public convenience and that the applicant meets all the requirements
of this chapter, then the governing body shall direct the Borough Clerk to
issue a limousine license. No application shall be denied, however, without
giving the applicant an opportunity to be heard on reasonable notice.
B. In determining public convenience under the terms of
this section, the governing body shall take into consideration the number
of limousines already in operation, whether existing transportation is adequate
to meet the public need, the probable effect of increased service on local
traffic conditions and the character, experience and responsibility of the
applicant as well as the condition, age and fitness of the vehicle for which
a limousine license is sought.
A. Limousine license shall entitle the limousine therein
described to be operated in this Borough until the said license either expires
or is surrendered, suspended or revoked, and it shall be transferable only
with the approval of the governing body.
B. Any license issued pursuant to the terms of this chapter
shall expire at 12:00 midnight of the 31st day of December of the year next
succeeding the year in which it was issued, unless sooner surrendered, suspended
or revoked.
The governing body may, in its discretion, refuse to issue or renew
or may, after notice and hearing, revoke or suspend any license:
A. If the applicant for the license has been once convicted
of a crime in this or any other jurisdiction or convicted of being a disorderly
person or of a violation of Title 39, Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation,
or the Revised Statutes of New Jersey; has violated any provision of this
chapter or has any judgment unsatisfied of record against him arising out
of an automobile accident; has made false answers in his application for such
license or any renewal thereof; has failed or fails to render reasonably prompt,
safe and adequate limousine service; or has not complied fully with all requirements
of this chapter.
B. If the motor vehicle licensed or to be licensed, by reason
of unsafe or unsanitary condition, is dangerous to the safety or health of
the occupants or others or if the policy of insurance required herein has
lapsed or such coverage is not maintained at all times.
C. If the limousine covered by such license has not been
used regularly as a limousine for a period of six months.
Any license may be revoked or suspended for cause at any time by the
governing body upon notice in writing of the charge or charges against the
holder of the license and an opportunity to be heard thereon, if requested;
provided, however, that an initial suspension of not over 10 days may be ordered
prior to the hearing for the determination of the charges. The licensee shall
answer in writing the charges made against him within five days of their receipt
by him and shall endorse thereon a demand for a hearing if one is requested
by him. A time and place shall be fixed for the hearing, and at least five
days' notice thereof shall be served upon the holder of the license. At the
hearing, the party charged with a violation of this chapter or other violations
may make such statements in his own behalf or through witnesses or submit
such verified or unverified statements as he may desire. The governing body
shall proceed to a decision thereon, sustaining or dismissing the charges
and suspending or revoking the license.
Owners of limousines, their agents and employees and cab drivers engaging
in the limousine business shall render courteous and undiscriminatory service
to the public. They shall answer all telephone calls received by them for
transportation service within the limits of the Borough of Haledon as soon
as they can do so, and if such service cannot be rendered within a reasonable
time, they shall notify the prospective passenger when a limousine will be
available to serve him. Limousine owners must post in the limousine a schedule
of rates to be charged, and upon telephonic inquiry the limousine driver shall
be required to state the rates.
No limousine covered by the terms of this chapter shall be operated
at any time in the Borough of Haledon unless it is in good repair and in sound
condition to provide safe and dependable transportation.
No driver of any limousine shall permit persons to be carried in a limousine
as passengers in excess of the seating capacity of the limousine as stated
in the license application.
A. Fees in the amount of $100 shall be paid to the Borough
of Haledon at the time any license required by this chapter is applied for.
B. No fee shall be refunded because the license applied
for is denied.
C. Applications for renewal licenses shall be filed not
later than October 1.
Any violation of this chapter shall result in the suspension and/or
revocation of the license granted to the limousine service provider. The governing
body, in its sole discretion, may bar the license holder for five years if
there are more than three violations of this chapter within a five-year period.
Each violation of this chapter shall also result in a fine being issued in
the amount of $100 for the first offense and $250 for each additional offense
in addition to any other penalties imposed by this chapter.