It shall be unlawful for any person to store, house or keep or cause to be stored, housed or kept for hire within the City any vehicle except in a building, shed or enclosure for which a permit shall have been issued by the Fire Commissioner.
A permit to keep a public garage shall be issued by the Fire Commissioner in accordance with and subject to the provisions prescribed by this article.
Such permit shall authorize also the keeping of volatile flammable liquid in underground storage tanks of a capacity not in excess of 560 gallons each or in approved safety cans of not more than 10 gallons of volatile flammable liquid in each can.
[Amended 7-18-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
No permit shall be issued by the Fire Commissioner until the premises have been inspected and approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Buildings for public garage purposes. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Buildings to ascertain that there has been compliance with the provisions of this Code prior to such approval.
All premises licensed pursuant to this article shall be inspected as often as deemed advisable by the Fire Commissioner.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
The permit required by § 32-2 of this article for the operation of a public garage shall be for a period of one year unless sooner revoked by the Fire Commissioner for the violation of any of the provisions of this article.
For a permit to maintain a public garage, the applicant shall pay an annual fee of $15 for each floor in such garage upon which vehicles are housed; except that in a garage housing one or two vehicles, the annual fee shall be $6; in a garage housing three vehicles, the annual fee shall be $9; and in a garage housing four or more vehicles, the annual fee shall be $12.
Every such permit may be revoked at any time by the Fire Commissioner for a violation of any of the provisions of this article.
In case of the denial by the Fire Commissioner of an application for any such permit or of its revocation by him, the applicant therefor or the holder of the permit which may have been so revoked may appeal from the decision of the Commissioner to the City Council.
The appeal shall be made in writing, giving the address of and verified by the oath of the appellant. Such appeal shall include a copy of the application for such permit, with its date of filing in the office of the Fire Commissioner, or a copy of the permit in case the permit shall have been issued and revoked, and a copy of the reasons relied on by the Fire Commissioner in denying the application or in revoking the permit and such reasons as the appellant may care to state as justifying the appeal.
Such service within 10 days of the date of notification of such permittee by the Commissioner of the revocation of the permit shall act as a stay of such revocation until the decision of the City Council on such appeal.
No appeal shall be taken later than 30 days from the date of the notification of such applicant or permittee by the Fire Commissioner of the denial of the application or the revocation of the permit.
The decision of the City Council shall be entered on the minutes, and a copy of the decision over the signature of the City Clerk shall be mailed to the Fire Commissioner and the appellant at the address given in the appeal. This decision shall be final. If it is in favor of the appellant, the Fire Commissioner shall forthwith issue the permit or withdraw the revocation and reinstate the permit revoked.
A public garage permit may be issued by the Fire Commissioner upon a written application giving in detail the following information:
A. 
The name and address of the applicant.
B. 
The location of the premises.
C. 
The nature of construction of the building and other purposes, if any, for which the building is used.
D. 
The maximum number of vehicles to be stored or kept in the garage.
E. 
The maximum quantity of volatile flammable oil to be stored or kept at one, time exclusive of that contained in the tanks of motor vehicles.
Each application for a permit to maintain and operate a public garage shall be accompanied by a detailed plan of the premises if the premises has not already been occupied for garage purposes as herein provided for.
No application beyond the first need be made except in the case of a change of conditions, and every license issued shall be continued upon payment of the required fee and where an inspection discloses that there has been compliance with the provisions of this article.
No public garage permit shall be issued for any building, shed or structure which is situated within 100 feet of the nearest wall of a building occupied as a church, school, hospital, theater or other place of public amusement or assembly; which is occupied as a hotel; which is not constructed of fire-resisting material as hereinafter provided; where paints, varnishes or lacquers are manufactured, stored or kept for sale; where dry goods or other highly flammable materials are manufactured, stored or kept for sale; or where rosin, turpentine, hemp, cotton, guncotton, gunpowder, smokeless powder or other explosives are stored or kept for sale.
Public garages shall be of fireproof construction, except ceilings and roofs. Trim and other interior finish shall be of wire lath and three-fourths-inch cement or other nonflammable material equally as good, excepting ceilings or roofs.
[Amended 7-18-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
Where public garages are a part of or built in a tenement or dwelling, such garages must have, in addition to all fireproof provisions, as provided in this article, fireproof ceilings either of reinforced concrete or hollow tile and concrete or other similar construction at least eight inches in thickness in both walls and ceilings, without openings in ceilings. The plans and specifications for the construction of such garages must be first approved by the Fire Commissioner and the Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Buildings before any permit for the erection thereof shall be issued. In no event shall the Commissioners permit a wall or ceiling of less than eight inches thickness of a composition other than above specified.
All that portion of the building which is on or below the floor or floors on which vehicles are kept and is not separated therefrom by tight fire walls and floors without openings shall be protected by self-closing fireproof doors or windows. All fire walls shall be considered as without openings if the doors and windows therein are protected by self-closing fireproof doors or windows. Where these openings appear in public garage buildings and are located more than 15 feet distant from the nearest wall of any building, this requirement shall not apply.
The floor of every public garage shall be of cement, concrete, brick, stone, earth or other noncombustible materials.
Standard safety cans for storing volatile flammable liquid in a public garage shall be of a capacity of 10 gallons or less and when not in use shall be placed outside of the building at least 10 feet from any other building or structure or wooden fence or in drip pans in the garage.
Gasoline pumps located in a public garage shall be at least 10 feet distant from the entrance and shall be graded down to a center and unconnected with the sewer or drainage system of the building. The floor shall be kept free from volatile flammable liquid by sponging or swabbing. The room shall be kept free from flammable vapors.
Smoking shall not be allowed and is absolutely prohibited in a public garage, except in an enclosed office.
A permit may be issued for a place for the storage and sale of automobiles subject to the same provisions as are herein required for a public garage.