[Adopted 6-23-1969 by Ord. No. 245[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance was originally adopted as Art. IV, Public Parking Areas, §§ 130-12 through 130-14 of former Ch. 130, Vehicle and Traffic, which was repealed 9-3-1980 by Ord. No. 22-80. Original Section 2 of Ord. No. 22-80 specifically saved Ord. No. 245 from repeal. See Part 1 of this chapter.
A. 
Authority is hereby vested in the Chief of Police of the Township, in conjunction with the recommendations of the Chief(s) of the Fire Department and the Construction Official, to establish and designate fire and emergency access lanes in and around parking yards and parking places which are open to the public or to which the public is invited in the Township of Jefferson.
[Amended 2-16-2005 by Ord. No. 4-05]
B. 
The fire and emergency access lanes may include, but are not limited to, no-parking or no-standing areas, traffic directional lanes and areas designated solely for pedestrian traffic.
C. 
Said fire and emergency access lanes shall be in those locations and of sufficient design as may be reasonably required by the public safety and welfare. The purpose of these lanes is to guarantee unimpaired ingress and egress in and around public parking areas and to and around all buildings located in these areas in the event of fire or other emergency for police, fire and other emergency vehicles. Said lanes shall be installed by the property owner with acceptable signs and paint on the pavement provided by said property owner and installed and maintained under the guidance and direction of the Chief of Police and the Bureau of Fire Prevention of the Township of Jefferson.
[Amended 8-16-2000 by Ord. No. 22-00]
D. 
The Police Department of the Township of Jefferson shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Chief and the Assistant Chief of Fire District Nos. 1 and 2 in enforcing this article.
E. 
No person, firm or corporation or any of their agents or employees shall leave standing or cause to be parked any vehicle in any of the aforementioned lanes or cause any other obstruction in these designated lanes.
F. 
For any violation of the provisions of this Part 2, the offender shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $50 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or both.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 256, Art. II, Fire Prevention Standards, regarding designation of fire lanes.
If a section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Part 2 is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions hereof.
[Added 12-7-1983 by Ord. No. 23-83[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also renumbered former Art. XVIII, Limits Established; Signs Erected, §§ 130-45 through 130-47, as Art. XIX, §§ 130-51 through 130-53.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
The Building Subcode Official for the Township of Jefferson or any other person or persons designated by the Mayor to enforce the guidelines provision of this article.
HANDICAPPED PERSONS
Any person or persons who shall have been issued an identification card, placard or motor vehicle license by the New Jersey State Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-204 et seq. and 39:4-197.5 or a temporary identification card or placard issued by the Chief of Police of Jefferson Township or the Chief of Police of any other New Jersey municipality, which temporary identification card or placard is issued pursuant to the aforementioned state statutes or such persons that may be recognized as authorized to use handicap parking spaces pursuant to amendments to the aforesaid statutes or by regulations adopted by the Director of the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles.
[Amended 2-6-1991 by Ord. No. 1-91]
PUBLIC BUILDING
Any building, structure, facility or complex used by the general public or to which the general public is invited, including but not limited to theaters, concert halls, auditoriums, museums, schools, libraries, recreation facilities, public transportation terminals and stations, factories, office buildings, businesses, shopping centers, hotels or motels and public eating places, whether privately or publicly owned, except that this term shall not include private family residences, whether single- or multifamily residences.
The owners, tenants or other persons having control of any public building located within the Township of Jefferson and for which there are parking spaces provided adjacent to or used in conjunction with a public building may after the effective date of this article provide parking spaces for handicapped persons in accordance with the guidelines herein set forth and in a location and manner as determined by the Code Enforcement Officer. The owner, tenant or other person having control of the public building may then petition the Township Council to have the provisions of this article apply to the handicapped parking spaces, and upon the adoption of a resolution approving the handicapped parking spaces by the Township Council, the provisions of this article shall be in full force and effect with reference to those handicapped parking spaces.
Parking spaces for handicapped persons shall be constructed according to the following guidelines:
A. 
A minimum of 1% of the total number of parking spaces in the parking facility shall be used for handicapped parking, but there shall be not less than one parking space in each such facility.
B. 
The location of spaces for the physically handicapped shall be in an area of the parking facility which is most accessible and proximate to the building or buildings which the facility serves. The determination of said location shall be made by the Code Enforcement Officer. In shopping centers and other multistore facilities, the spaces for the handicapped shall be as near to the flagship store as possible and/or at such other locations as designated by the Code Enforcement Officer.
C. 
Signs.
[Amended 2-6-1991 by Ord. No. 1-91]
(1) 
Each space or group of spaces shall be identified with a clearly visible sign being 12 inches by 18 inches and displaying the international symbol of access for handicapped persons, together with the following words: RESERVED PARKING. Said sign shall further contain an arrow or arrows designating the location of the handicapped parking spaces. In addition, a sign 10 inches by 12 inches shall be posted with the following language:
[Amended 12-3-2003 by Ord. No. 33-03]
PENALTY
$250 1st OFFENSE
SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES $250 MIN. AND/OR UP TO 90 DAYS' COMMUNITY SERVICE
TOW-AWAY ZONE
(2) 
The reserved parking signs shall be on white reflectorized background and shall contain green lettering and markings, except that the international sign for handicapped access shall be with a blue background. The penalty sign shall be black letters on white reflectorized background.
D. 
Each such space shall be 12 feet wide to allow room for persons in wheelchairs or on braces or crutches to get in or out of either side of an automobile. The parking space shall be located on a level, paved surface suitable for wheeling and walking.
E. 
Where possible, such spaces shall be located so that persons in wheelchairs or using braces or crutches are not compelled to wheel or walk behind parked cars.
No person shall park a vehicle in any parking space designated and marked as being set aside for the physically handicapped in any parking facility within the Township unless the operator of the vehicle or a passenger in his or her vehicle is the holder of either a permanent or temporary identification card or placard issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-205 or 39:4-206 or said vehicle has a motor vehicle license issued by the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles identifying it as a vehicle for the transportation of handicapped persons and said vehicle has affixed thereto the identification certificate, placard or license. Parking in a handicapped space without the aforesaid vehicle identifications shall create a rebuttable presumption that use of the space was not for the physically handicapped.
[Amended 2-6-1991 by Ord. No. 1-91; 12-3-2003 by Ord. No. 33-03]
Any person, firm, association or corporation convicted of violating any provision of this article shall be subject to a fine for a first offense of $250 and for a second offense of a fine of at least $250 and up to 90 days' community service on such terms and in such form as the court shall deem appropriate, or any combination thereof. Each day that a violation continues shall be considered as a separate offense and shall be punishable.