The Township Clerk is hereby authorized to advertise for the sale of 25 taxi owner's licenses in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-2.3. Such licenses shall be offered for sale at public auction, after advertising therefor in the Home News Tribune, or any other designated official newspaper of the Township of North Brunswick, as follows:
A. 
The minimum bid price shall be $5,000, 10% of which shall be paid to the Township Clerk at the conclusion of the bidding as a nonrefundable bid deposit. The balance shall be paid to the Township Clerk within 72 hours of the later of:
(1) 
Township Council resolution accepting a bid.
(2) 
Issuance of an owner's license pursuant to this chapter.
B. 
The award of licenses shall be conditioned upon the successful bidder or bidders reimbursing the Township for any and all costs incurred by the Township for the Township's compliance with the public notice requirements of N.J.S.A. 48:16-2.1.
C. 
The Township reserves the right to reject all bids where the highest bid is not accepted.
D. 
No license may be transferred within two years after issuance unless such transfer is approved on the basis of death, disability, serious illness or severe financial hardship as authorized by resolution of the Township Council after a public hearing.
E. 
All bidders must comply with the application process set forth in § 311-9, Application process, herein, in addition to complying with the insurance requirements set forth in § 311-11, Insurance requirements, herein. If such requirements are not met within 15 days of the award of bid, the award shall be deemed null and void.
A. 
Upon this chapter taking effect, applications for taxi owner's licenses must be completed and returned to the Township Clerk's Office within 10 days of the award of bid for a taxi owner's license.
B. 
Applications shall be available in the Township Clerk's office and shall be designed to elicit information relevant to the identification of vehicles to be licensed and the law-abiding habits of the applicant.
C. 
Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant for completion and will be processed like new applications when they are submitted complete.
D. 
A completed application shall contain all applicable information, and shall be accompanied by three passport-size photographs of the applicant, the required fee in accordance with § 311-10 herein and a parking authorization letter (See § 311-9E(1) below.), and shall be sworn to by oath or affirmation. If information on the vehicle is unknown at the time the taxi owner's license is applied for, it shall be submitted to the Township Clerk's office prior to the issuance of the license.
E. 
A completed application shall also include the following:
(1) 
If the central place of business is located outside of the Township, the owner must provide a letter from the owner of the premises to be used as the central place of business confirming that the licensee shall be permitted to use the premises as a central place of business to park licensees' taxis on site for a minimum of 12 months.
(2) 
If the central place of business is to be located in the Township of North Brunswick, the owner shall provide a letter from the owner of the premises to be used as the central place of business confirming that, upon approval from the Township Zoning Officer, the parking of taxis in such location shall be in accordance with the provisions of § 311-9E, and the licensee shall be permitted to use the premises as a central place of business to park licensee's taxis on site for a minimum of 12 months.
F. 
The applicant shall sign the necessary forms for the Director of Public Safety to secure a criminal history record from the State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If the applicant is a partnership or corporation, each and every person with any ownership interest in the company must sign the necessary forms authorizing the Director of Public Safety to receive a criminal history record. The applicant shall also submit the additional fee required to cover the cost of fingerprinting and the SCIC/NCIC check for each person having an ownership interest. If the applicant has already been fingerprinted as part of a prior application, an additional fee to update the criminal history record shall be required every three years.
G. 
The Clerk shall forward the application to the Township Zoning Officer for written certification of the following:
(1) 
That the central place of business indicated on the application, if located in the Township, is not located in a residential zone.
(2) 
That the central place of business indicated on the application, if located in the Township, has adequate off-street parking to accommodate the number of taxis applied for during all hours of the day or night.
(3) 
That the parking area to be used as the central place of business, if located in the Township, is screened from adjacent residential uses by means of a solid fence or landscaping which provides a solid screen and measures a minimum of six feet in height.
H. 
Upon receipt of written approval from the Township Zoning Officer, the Clerk shall forward the application to the Director of Public Safety.
I. 
The Director of Public Safety shall conduct an investigation into the applicant's background.
J. 
The Director of Public Safety shall issue a report to the Township Council recommending either approval or denial of the application within 10 days of receipt of the background information requested from the State Police and/or Federal Bureau of Investigation.
K. 
The Township Council shall either approve or deny the application by resolution.
L. 
Upon approval of the Township Council and receipt of required insurance, power of attorney and all relevant information on the vehicle to be licensed, the Township Clerk shall issue a taxi owner's license to the applicant. The Police Department shall inspect each car to determine if it has a valid New Jersey motor vehicle inspection sticker prior to award of the license.
A. 
Taxi owner's license. Each application for the issuance or renewal of a taxi owner's license shall be accompanied by an application fee of $250 for each calendar year or portion of a year for which the license is issued. Such fee shall not be prorated, nor shall any portion of said fee be refunded for any reason.
B. 
Renewal of taxi owner's license.
(1) 
All taxi owner's licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall expire at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the year in which it was issued, unless said taxi driver's license is surrendered, suspended or revoked on a sooner date.
(2) 
Applications for renewal shall be accepted beginning October 1 of each year. However, if an application for renewal is not filed by November 15 at the latest, the license applied for may not be ready for issuance before the end of the calendar year, resulting in the applicant not being able to legally operate the taxi until such renewal license is issued. A renewal application fee of $250 shall accompany each renewal application.
A. 
Insurance required. No license shall be issued by the Township Clerk until the owner of the taxi owner's license shall have filed with the Township Clerk a bodily injury and property damage combined single limit liability insurance policy of a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of New Jersey in the sum of not less than $100,000. Said insurance shall be a blanket insurance covering all taxis operated by the owner which have been issued a North Brunswick taxi owner's license and shall provide for the payment of any final judgment recovered by any person on account of the ownership, maintenance or use of every taxi owned by the licensee which is licensed by the Township, or any fault in respect thereto, and shall be for the benefit of every person suffering loss, damage or injury as aforesaid.
[Amended 2-4-2019 by Ord. No. 19-02]
B. 
Statement of purpose. The insurance policy shall specifically state that the owner is insured for doing business in the Township of North Brunswick.
C. 
Power of attorney required. The owner of a taxi owner's license shall execute and deliver to the Township Clerk concurrently with the filing of the required insurance policy a power of attorney, wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Township Chief Financial Officer the owner's 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.
A. 
Upon approval of the Township Council and submission to the Township Clerk's office of the required insurance, power of attorney and identification information on the vehicle to be licensed, the Township Clerk shall issue a taxi owner's license for a specific vehicle.
B. 
The taxi owner's license shall state the following:
(1) 
The taxi owner's name, address and business telephone number.
(2) 
The number of the taxi owner's license issued for the vehicle.
(3) 
The make, model, year, license plate number and vehicle identification number of the licensed vehicle.
(4) 
The maximum permitted occupancy of the taxi.
(5) 
A statement indicating that passengers may call the Township Code Enforcement Office with complaints.
(6) 
The decal or medallion number issued for the taxi owner's license.
C. 
A taxi owner's license may be transferred from person to person upon compliance with all procedures and provisions of this chapter. At least 10 days prior to the proposed transfer of the taxi owner's license, the current license holder must provide full disclosure, in writing, to the proposed license holder, of any and all violations of this Chapter 311 by the current license holder during the last three calendar years and provide a copy of the written disclosure statement to the Municipal Clerk's office. Failure to provide such written disclosure may be cause for the denial of the transfer of the taxi owner's license.
[Amended 11-21-2016 by Ord. No. 16-20[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of 1-1-2017.
A. 
Taxi owner's licenses may be denied if any part of the application cannot be verified.
B. 
Taxi owner's licenses may also be denied if the Director of Public Safety recommends denial of an application because the applicant has been convicted of a crime that raises serious questions about the applicant's moral character.
C. 
A transfer of an existing taxi owner's license may be denied if a written disclosure statement detailing violations of this Chapter 311 of the North Brunswick Code has not been provided to the proposed license holder with a copy to the Municipal Clerk's office at least 10 days prior to the transfer of the taxi owner's license.
[Added 11-21-2016 by Ord. No. 16-20[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of 1-1-2017.
D. 
All violations of the North Brunswick Code Chapter 311, Taxicabs, shall attach to and follow the taxi owner's license for a period of three calendar years. More than six such violations in that three-year period may be cause for denial of the transfer of the taxi owner's license.
[Added 11-21-2016 by Ord. No. 16-20[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of 1-1-2017.