[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Hamilton 7-17-2006 by Ord. No. 1568-2006.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 111, Autocabs, adopted 6-17-1946 by Ord. No. 110.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
A limousine.
Any person who drives a limousine within this Township.
A motor vehicle used in the business of carrying passengers
for hire to provide prearranged passenger transportation at a premium
fare on a dedicated, nonscheduled, charter basis that is not conducted
on a regular route and with a seating capacity in no event of more
than 14 passengers, not including the driver, provided that such a
vehicle shall not have a seating capacity in excess of four passengers,
not including the driver, beyond the maximum passenger seating capacity
of the vehicle, not including the driver, at the time of manufacture.
Nothing in this definition shall be construed to include taxicab,
hotel buses or buses regulated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Includes the business of carrying passengers for hire by
limousine.
Includes any individual, copartnership, association, corporation
or joint-stock company.
The location of the main place of business of the limousine
service in the municipality where limousine service is conducted,
where limousines are dispatched, or where limousine drivers report
for duty.
Includes any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway, boulevard
or other public place.
The Township of Hamilton, Atlantic County, New Jersey.
There are hereby established two classes of
limousine licenses, to be known as "limousine owner's license" and
"limousine driver's license."
A.
Limousine owner's license. A limousine owner's license
shall entitle the limousine therein described to be operated anywhere
within this Township by a driver duly licensed hereunder, until such
license either expires or is surrendered, suspended or revoked, and
shall not be transferable. There shall be no limit to the number of
limousine owner's licenses issued.
B.
Limousine driver's license. A limousine driver's license
shall entitle the person named therein to operate within this Township
any limousine duly licensed hereunder, until the license either expires
or is surrendered, suspended or revoked, and shall not be transferable.
There shall be no limit to the number of limousine driver's licenses
issued.
A.
An owner of a limousine service having his or her
principal place of business in the Township of Hamilton must obtain
a license for said service from the Municipal Clerk of the Township
of Hamilton as hereinafter provided.
B.
Each driver of a limousine service having his or her
principal place of business in the Township of Hamilton must obtain
a limousine driver's license from the Municipal Clerk of the Township
of Hamilton.
Applications for licenses shall be made in writing,
upon forms provided by the Township of Hamilton, signed by the applicant
before a notary public or another person duly authorized to administer
oaths and filed with the Municipal Clerk. Said applications shall
contain or be accompanied by the following:
A.
The name, age and residence of the applicant.
(1)
If a partnership, the names, ages and residents of
all partners, along with the business address of the partnership.
(2)
If a corporation, the names, ages and residences of
its president, secretary and treasurer. Applications made by a corporation
shall be signed in its name by the president and attested by the secretary.
B.
The serial number, type, color, year and make of the
limousine, the state registration number, number of doors on said
vehicle and number of persons the vehicle can carry as passengers.
C.
A certificate of compliance attesting that the applicant
has complied with all state statutes governing limousine services.
D.
Insurance requirements.
(1)
Copy of an insurance policy, pursuant to N.J.S.A.
48:16-14, by a company duly licensed to transact business under the
insurance laws of this state, in the sum of $1.5 million against loss
by reason of the liability imposed by law upon every limousine for
damages on account of bodily injury or death suffered by a person
as a result of an accident occurring by reason of the ownership, maintenance
or use of the limousine on any public street. This policy must state
the name of the insurance company, the number and the date of expiration
of the policy and a description of every limousine insured thereunder
and the registration number of the same.
(2)
The operation shall be permitted only so long as the
insurance policy remains in full force and effect as to the full and
collectible amount of $1.5 million. Limousine owners, or anyone on
their behalf, shall not undertake to cancel or have canceled any such
policy without giving the Municipal Clerk 10 days' notice of the intention
to do so.
(3)
The insurance policy shall provide for the payment
of any final judgment covered by any person on account of the ownership,
maintenance and use of such limousine upon any public street or any
fault in respect thereto and shall be for the benefit of every person
suffering loss, damage or injury as aforesaid.
(4)
Every person operating a limousine, whether an owner
and/or driver, who is transporting a child under five years on the
roadways, streets or highways of this Township, shall be responsible
for the protection of the child by properly using a child passenger
restraint system that complies with federal vehicle safety, N.J.S.A.
39:3-76.2a.
E.
Power of attorney. The owner of the limousine shall
execute and deliver to the Division of Motor Vehicles, concurrently
with the filing of a certificate of insurance, a power of attorney,
wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Director of Motor
Vehicles his true and lawful attorney for the purpose of acknowledging
service of any process out of a court of competent jurisdiction to
be served against the insured by virtue of the indemnity granted under
the insurance policy filed.
F.
No limousine owner's license shall be issued until
the location of the business is approved by the Zoning Officer.
G.
The owner and operator of each limousine operating
in the Township shall keep the limousine in good running order so
that it makes a presentable appearance and is in compliance with all
current Division of Motor Vehicle (DMV) regulations. The owner of
each limousine shall have each limousine presented to the Chief of
Police or his designee prior to the issuance or renewal of the limousine
owner's license and thereafter upon the request of the Chief of Police
or his designee so that it may be inspected to determine whether it
complies with the provisions of this article.
H.
A nonrefundable limousine license fee which shall
not exceed a total sum of $50 for each limousine service plus $10
for each limousine which is covered under the required insurance policy.
This license is nontransferable and shall be valid from its date of
issue until December 31 of the same year. Thereafter, a renewal license
shall be valid for one year from January 1 until December 31. There
will be no proration of the fee.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by Ord. No. 1736-2013]
No lettering, emblem or advertising may be placed
on a licensed limousine.
Limousine drivers shall not solicit business
in a manner similar to that of a taxicab or attempt to solicit business
by knowingly misleading a prospective passenger.
Applications for licenses shall be made in writing,
upon forms provided by the Township of Hamilton, signed by the applicant
before a notary public or another person duly authorized to administer
oaths and filed with the Municipal Clerk. Said applications shall
contain or be accompanied with the following:
A.
The name, residence and age of the applicant. The
name and address of the applicant's employer.
B.
A valid New Jersey driver's license.
C.
A copy of the written notification of the Commissioner
of Transportation's determination that the applicant is qualified
for employment as a limousine driver.
D.
A certificate from a licensed physician of the State
of New Jersey, at the applicant's expense, certifying that the applicant
has been examined within the preceding 30 days and that such applicant
has no infirmity of body or mind, or visual impairment or deficiency
which might render the applicant unfit for the safe operation of a
limousine.
E.
Two recent photographs, being not less than 1 1/4
inches in height by one inch in length, of the applicant.
F.
A nonrefundable limousine driver's license fee of
$50 per year. This license is nontransferable and shall be valid from
its date of issue until December 31 of the same year. Thereafter,
a renewal license shall be valid for one year from January 1 until
December 31. There will be no proration of the fee.
A.
The Township Clerk, upon filing of the required application
and attachment and with the approval of the Township Committee, shall
issue a license in duplicate, showing that the owner of the limousine
service has complied with the terns and provisions of this chapter.
B.
The license shall state the name of the insurance
company, the number and date of the expiration of the policy and a
description and the registration number of each limousine insured
thereunder. The duplicate license shall be filed with the Division
of Motor Vehicles before any such vehicle is registered as a limousine
service.
C.
A limousine shall not be operated for service within
the Township unless the driver thereof has been issued a valid limousine
driver's license.
A.
The original license shall be retained within the
limousine and shall be available for inspection by any police officer
of the state.
B.
No limousine shall operate on the highways of this
state unless it has a license issued and the limousine is equipped,
in accordance with minimum standards established by the Director of
the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation,
with:
(1)
A two-way communications system, which at a minimum
shall provide for communication to a person outside the vehicle for
a distance of not less than 100 miles and which requirement may be
satisfied by a mobile telephone;
(2)
A removable first-aid kit and an operable fire extinguisher,
which shall be placed in an accessible place within the vehicle;
(3)
Sideboards attached to the permanent body construction
of the vehicle if the height of the vehicle floor is 10 inches or
more above ground level.
A.
Any person found guilty of violating any of the provisions
of this chapter shall be liable to a fine of not more than $1,000
or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. In addition thereto,
any license issued pursuant to this chapter may be suspended or revoked,
which shall include crimes of moral turpitude. Each succeeding day
of a violation may be construed as a new violation.
