[Adopted 7-6-1972; amended in its entirety 2-17-2022 by L.L. No. 2-2022]
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Montgomery, pursuant to New York State
Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(a)(6) and the applicable
provisions of New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1660
and 1640, has the authority to adopt reasonable regulations for weight
limits on Town highways in the Town of Montgomery. The Town Board
finds that the current weight limits on certain Town highways do not
adequately protect the Town's infrastructure and the general
health, safety and welfare of the public, including residents living
in close proximity to Town highways. Upon consultation with the Town
of Montgomery Superintendent of Highways, the Town Board hereby finds
that the highways listed in this article, as may from time to time
be amended, shall be posted with gross vehicle weight limits as delineated
herein.
B.
The Town ordinance dated July 6, 1972, regulating gross vehicle weight
limits on Town Roads shall be and hereby is repealed and replaced
by this article as follows.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
As defined in the Vehicle and Traffic law of the State of
New York.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any vehicle, as the
term is defined in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, or
combination of vehicles having one source of power, having a gross
weight in excess of eight tons upon all the highways of the Town of
Montgomery, except for the following Town highways:
Bracken Road
Hawkins Drive
Henry Henning Drive
Leonards Drive
Maybrook Road
Montgomery Road
Neelytown Road
Stone Castle Road
Yellow Freight Road
B.
All vehicles, or motor vehicles, actually used in agriculture or
farming and all vehicles used for pickup and delivery of agricultural
products or equipment, dairy products, or other farm products from
farms located on the above-restricted highways shall be exempt from
the provisions of this article.
A.
All vehicles regardless of weight are hereby authorized to use the Town Highways listed in § 225-5 above if it is determined that said vehicle is performing local pick-up or delivery services and that a failure to allow such use would create a hardship to the local business. The term "local business" for the purposes of applying this exemption shall mean any business within the Town of Montgomery that has a location on any of the Town highways of which this article applies to that is exporting or importing goods to and from said location.
B.
The burden of proving that the vehicle qualifies for an exemption pursuant to this § 225-6 is upon the vehicle driver and/or local business owner associated with the delivery. Such exemption must be demonstrated with sufficient proof to the satisfaction of the Town of Montgomery Police Department.
C.
The Town of Montgomery Police Department shall notify the Town Superintendent
of Highways immediately regarding businesses that have qualified for
the exemption. Based on this information, if, in the opinion of the
Town Superintendent of Highways, the surface of the highway may be
damaged by such vehicles, then the Town Superintendent of Highways
may require that the subject business post a bond or other good security
in an amount determined by the Town Superintendent of Highways as
being adequate to completely repair any damage that might be caused
by such vehicle.
A violation of this article or any provision thereof shall be
deemed an offense against such law as provided by Section 135 of the
NYS Town Law. Any person convicted of a violation of this article
shall pay a fine not exceeding $500 for a first violation and a fine
of not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000 for each subsequent violation
thereafter occurring within the same five-year period.
The owner and/or operator of any vehicle operated in violation
of this article or any provision thereof shall be responsible for
any damage which may occur to the above designated highways as a result
of such violation.
The Town Superintendent of Highways is hereby authorized to
immediately erect signs upon the relevant Town highways giving notice
of the maximum gross weight of vehicles permitted on said highways
in accordance with this article.
