[Adopted 3-19-1976 by Ord. No. 12 (Ch.
227, Art. I, of the 1992 Code)]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, stand
or park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other
traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or
traffic control device, in any of the following places:
(1)
On a sidewalk.
(2)
In front of either a public or private driveway.
(3)
Within an intersection.
(4)
Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.
(5)
On a crosswalk.
(6)
Within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection.
(7)
Within 30 feet upon the approach to any flashing beacon,
stop sign or traffic control signal located at the side of a street
or roadway.
(9)
Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction
when such stopping, standing or parking would obstruct traffic.
(10)
On the street side of any vehicle stopped or
parked at the edge or curb of a street.
(16)
At any place where official signs prohibit stopping
or parking.
B.
No person driving or in charge of a vehicle shall
permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking
the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake thereon
and, when standing upon any grade, turning the front wheels to the
curb or side of the highway.[7]
C.
No person shall park or leave standing any vehicle,
whether attended or unattended, upon the paved or improved or main-traveled
portion of any street, outside of a business or residence district,
when it is practicable to park or leave such vehicle standing off
of the paved or improved or main-traveled portion of such street,
provided that in no event shall any person park or leave standing
any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, upon any street unless
a clear and unobstructed width of not less than 20 feet upon the main-traveled
portion of said street opposite such standing vehicle shall be left
for free passage of other vehicles thereon nor unless a clear view
of such vehicle may be obtained from a distance of 200 feet in each
direction upon such street.
D.
No person shall move a vehicle not owned by such person
into such prohibited area or away from a curb such distance as is
unlawful.
E.
Every vehicle stopped or parked upon a two-way roadway
shall be so stopped or parked with the right-hand wheels parallel
to and within 12 inches of the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
F.
Every vehicle stopped or parked upon a one-way roadway
shall be so stopped or parked parallel to the curb or edge of the
roadway, in the direction of authorized traffic movement, with its
right-hand wheels within 12 inches of the right-hand curb or edge
of the roadway or its left wheels within 12 inches of the left-hand
curb or edge of the roadway.
G.
A summons or violation notice may be attached to any
unattended vehicle found in violation of any of the provisions of
this article by any police officer authorized to issue summonses or
violation notices in lieu of arrest of the operator of such vehicle.
H.
Violations and penalties. Every person convicted of violating the below-listed provisions of § 227-1 shall pay such fines as set out in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties.
[Amended 1-21-1994 by Ord. No. 283; 4-16-2004 by Ord. No.
381; 2-17-2006 by Ord. No. 407]
(10)
Violations of provisions not expressly listed.
[Added 10-17-1986 by Ord. No. 179]
A.
Findings; statement of purpose.
(1)
The Town Council of the Town of Bethany Beach has
found and determined that, during the months of June, July, August
and September, the Town of Bethany Beach is inundated by a tremendous
increase in the number of motor vehicles within its municipal limits,
such increase caused primarily by the influx of vacationers, tourists
and visitors who come into the Town to use its beaches, boardwalks
and other summer recreational facilities and to patronize resort-related
businesses; the Town Council found that such increased vehicular traffic
during this period has resulted in congested parking on certain streets,
thereby imposing a threat to pedestrian safety and an impediment to
the safe and expeditious passage of police, health and fire-fighting
vehicles; and the Town Council has further found and determined that
this vast increase in motor vehicles, if left unregulated, is detrimental
to the public health, safety and welfare of the Town and its residents
and that a system of parking by permit only on certain designated
streets in the Town is necessary in order to eliminate the traffic
and parking problems that result from the vast influx of visitors
to the Town each summer.
[Amended 2-19-1999 by Ord. No. 336]
(2)
It is, therefore, stated to be the purpose of this
article, and it is intended to reduce hazardous traffic conditions
resulting from the use of certain designated streets in the Town for
the parking of vehicles by persons visiting the Town during the peak
summer tourist season; to protect those areas of the Town from polluted
air, excessive noise and trash and refuse caused by the entry and
parking of such vast numbers of visitors' vehicles; to protect the
residents and property owners of those areas from the unreasonable
burdens in gaining access to their residences and properties; to preserve
the character of those areas as primarily residential districts; to
promote efficiency in the maintenance of those streets in a clean
and safe condition; to preserve the safety of children and other pedestrians
and traffic safety and the peace, good order, comfort, convenience
and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Bethany Beach; and to
allow for safety and easier passage of police, health and fire-fighting
vehicles.
B.
Establishment. There is hereby established a parking
permit system which shall apply to and regulate parking on those streets
in the Town which are designated on the map or maps designated below
which are attached hereto and made a part hereof by reference.[1] Such map and maps shall be and constitute a part of this
article, and the streets designated for parking permits thereon may
be added to, decreased or otherwise modified from time to time hereafter
only by an amending ordinance duly adopted.
(1)
Streets east of Delaware Route 1. Map A designates
those streets lying east of the eastern right-of-way line of Delaware
Route 1 which shall require parking permits under this article.
(2)
Streets west of Delaware Route 1. Map B designates
those streets lying west of the western right-of-way line of Delaware
Route 1 which shall require parking permits under this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: Such maps are on file and available
for inspection in the Town Office.
C.
Dates in effect; time period. Period during which
parking permits shall be required to park on streets designated by
this article.
[Amended 9-20-1991 by Ord. No. 261; 2-19-1999 by Ord. No.
336; 3-15-2002; 7-18-2003 by Ord. No. 377]
(1)
Parking permits shall be required to park on those
streets designated by this article only between May 15 and September
15, inclusive, of each year.
(2)
Time period.
(a)
Parking permits shall be required only between
the hours of 10:00 a.m., prevailing time, and 8:00 p.m., prevailing
time on Parkwood Street, Hollywood Street, Campbell Place, and Central
Boulevard.
D.
General conditions.
(1)
Application forms. Any person, corporation, partnership,
firm, association or other legal entity eligible to receive a parking
permit under the provisions of this article and who desires a parking
permit shall apply for the same upon a form provided by the Town.
(2)
Fees. The fee for the seasonal permit shall be set
in the Town's schedule of fees and charges, as approved by the Town
Council.
(3)
Disqualification. Whenever the circumstances upon
which the issuance of a permit was based change such that the permit
would not have been issued under the changed circumstances, that permit
shall immediately become void and continued use thereof shall be a
violation of this article.
(4)
Transferability. Parking permits issued under this
article shall be freely transferable, by the legal entity to whom
they were issued, among those motor vehicles lawfully owned by, leased
to or in the custody and control of that legal entity, and to other
legal entities for use on their vehicles.
(5)
Display of parking permits. All parking permits shall
be displayed on the rearview mirror of the motor vehicle in a manner
so as to be easily visible by a Town police officer.
[Amended 1-16-1987 by Ord. No. 182]
[Added 10-17-1986 by Ord. No. 179]
The following may obtain a seasonal parking
permit:
A.
Property owners.
[Amended 2-19-1988 by Ord. No. 198]
(1)
Any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation,
association or other legal entity which, individually or jointly with
others, holds record title to an estate in fee or to a life estate
as improved or unimproved residential property situate in the Town
of Bethany Beach or is the lessee under a recorded lease for an original
term of not less than five years for improved residential property
situate in the Town of Bethany Beach.
(2)
Owners of improved residential property shall be entitled to two seasonal permits for each dwelling unit or apartment, as those terms are defined in Chapter 425, Zoning, but no more than two permits shall be issued per dwelling unit or apartment regardless of the number of owners. Commercial lodging rooms shall not be considered as individual units separate from the residential structure in which they are located.
[Amended 4-25-2014 by Ord. No. 502]
(3)
Owners of unimproved residential property shall be
entitled to not more than one seasonal permit by virtue of being a
property owner regardless of the number of unimproved properties owned
by that property owner, or in which that property owner has an ownership
interest as herein defined, provided, further, that not more than
one seasonal permit shall be issued for any single unimproved property
in the Town regardless of the number of owners. For purposes of determining
eligibility for a parking permit as an owner of unimproved residential
property, where a permit is issued to any one of two or more joint
property owners, the permit shall be deemed to have been issued to
each and all of the joint owners of that parcel, so that all such
joint owners shall be deemed to have exhausted their right to a permit
as an owner of unimproved residential property.
(4)
"Residential property" for purposes of this article
means property occupied for residential purposes or unimproved property
zoned for residential purposes.
B.
Business-license holders.
[Amended 5-15-1987 by Ord. No. 190; 3-16-2001 by Ord. No.
352]
(1)
Any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation,
or other legal entity which holds a business license issued by the
Town of Bethany Beach to operate a business which is physically situated
in the C-1 Zoning District of the Town, as designated on the Official
Map, shall be entitled to purchase such number of business license
parking permits and at such fees as set forth in the Town's Schedule
of Fees, as amended from time to time by resolution of the Town Council.
(2)
Vehicles displaying such permits may only be parked
in those permit-parking areas designated for use by business license
parking permit holders by resolution of the Town Council.
[Amended 10-17-1986 by Ord. No. 179; 5-15-1987 by Ord. No.
189; 1-21-1994 by Ord. No. 283; 6-18-2004 by Ord. No. 382; 2-17-2006 by Ord. No. 407]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to park or store for any length of time any motor vehicle without a parking permit on any street of the Town for which a parking permit is required during the time that the parking permit system is in effect. Every person convicted of violating any of the provisions of this article shall pay such fines as set out in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties. For the purposes of this article, an additional violation shall be deemed to occur each three hours after issuance of the first parking citation.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to park or store a motor vehicle in any area of the Town for which a parking permit is required unless such parking permit is displayed pursuant to the provisions of this article. Any person or other legal entity who has applied for and received a parking permit and has not displayed it in the manner specified by this article shall, upon conviction, pay such fines as set out in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties. For the purposes of this article, an additional violation shall be deemed to occur each three hours after issuance of the first citation.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person to continue to use a parking permit where the circumstances upon which the issuance of that permit was based have changed such that that permit would not have been issued under the changed circumstances. Any such person or other legal entity shall, upon conviction, pay such fines as set out in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties. An additional violation shall be deemed to occur each three hours after issuance of the first citation.
[Added 10-17-1986 by Ord. No. 179]
The provisions of § 227-2 of this article shall not be enforced on any street in the Town unless and until signs or markings giving adequate public notice that parking permits are required on any such street have been placed on any such street.
[Added 10-17-1986 by Ord. No. 179]
The provisions of this article shall not be
applicable to the following motor vehicles:
A.
Motor vehicles of public utilities when on the business
of the public utility.
B.
Motor vehicles of any governmental agency.
C.
Emergency vehicles.
D.
Motor vehicles of officials of the Town while on official
business.
E.
Service vehicles while the drivers thereof are actually
providing services on or to nearby premises.
F.
Vehicles of health and religious practitioners while
such practitioners are performing or providing services in nearby
premises.
[Added 10-17-1986 by Ord. No. 179]
This article shall be administered by the Town
Manager or his designee(s).
[Added 3-13-1998 by Ord. No. 320]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1)
Pay any compensation to any owner or lessee of any
vacant or unimproved lot located in any residentially zoned area of
the Town for the right or privilege of parking, storing or leaving
unattended any motor vehicle on such lot; or
(2)
Park, store or leave unattended any motor vehicle
on any vacant or unimproved lot located in any residentially zoned
area of the Town at the express or implied invitation of the owner
or lessee of such lot to induce such person to patronize any commercial
activity within or without the Town.
B.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any vacant or
unimproved lot located in any residentially zoned area of the Town
to invite, allow or permit, expressly or by reasonable implication,
any person to park, store or leave unattended a motor vehicle on such
lot in exchange for compensation and/or in conjunction with the operation
of any commercial activity within or without the Town.
C.
The purpose of this section is to prohibit the parking
of motor vehicles on vacant or unimproved residentially zoned lots
in exchange for compensation and/or as an adjunct to any commercial
activity operating within or without the Town (including employees
and/or potential patrons) and shall be construed accordingly. Nothing
herein shall be deemed to prohibit the parking of motor vehicles on
vacant or unimproved residentially zoned lots with the permission
of the owner/lessee thereof, without compensation, where such permission
is not expressly or by reasonable implication, given to induce the
vehicle-occupants patronage of a commercial activity located within
or without the Town. Among others, factors which may be considered
in applying this section include: whether a commercial activity informs
its patrons, through signage, advertising or otherwise, that parking
is available on such lot(s); whether the lot(s) is/are owned by or
leased by any person, or any person related to a person, who has a
pecuniary interest in a commercial activity within or without the
Town; and the proximity of such vacant, unimproved lot(s) to the commercial
activity in question.
D.
Violations and penalties.
[Amended 2-17-2006 by Ord. No. 407]
(2)
Any person being the owner or lessee of a vacant or unimproved lot in a residentially zoned area of the Town who violates Subsection B of this section shall, upon conviction, pay such fines as set out in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties. Each day of a continuing violation shall be deemed to be a separate offense.
E.
Exemptions.
(1)
Anything in this section to the contrary notwithstanding,
any tax exempt or nonprofit charitable, religious or educational organization
owning or leasing lands in any residentially zoned area of the Town
may, with prior written approval from the Town Manager and subject
to such reasonable conditions as he shall impose, allow such land(s)
to be utilized for the temporary parking of motor vehicles (not to
exceed 12 consecutive hours per event) for or in conjunction with
up to three special nonprofit or community events (e.g., July 4th
parade) per calendar year.
(2)
Where such written approval is granted, nothing in
this section shall prohibit any person from paying compensation for
the right or privilege of parking a motor vehicle on such lands in
connection with such event, nor shall anything in this section prohibit
the owner or lessee of such land(s) from accepting compensation in
the form of monetary donations, contributions or otherwise from such
persons or from some other tax exempt or nonprofit organization which
has obtained the permission of the property owner/lessee to utilize
such lands for motor vehicle parking in connection with such special
event.
