[Added 6-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Special
Permit for Vehicles of Excessive Size and Weight."
A.
For the purposes of this article, words and phrases shall have the
same meaning ascribed to them in Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, the Vehicle Code, except if a definition is provided in
this article.
B.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular
number, and the words in the singular number include the plural number.
The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
The purpose of this article is to allow the Township to issue
special permits for vehicles of excessive size and weight pursuant
to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 4901 et seq.
A.
No person shall operate a vehicle in weight or size in excess provided
by 75 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 4941 through 4949 (relating to maximum
weight of vehicles), on highways or streets within the Township, unless
a permit shall first have been obtained from the Township Manager
as hereinafter provided. Permits shall be issued only for those items
specified herein.
B.
Such permits shall not be transferable. Any change in ownership of
the permit shall operate as a termination of such permit.
C.
A separate permit shall be required for each vehicle seeking relief
hereunder.
D.
Application for such permit shall be mailed on a form provided by
the Township and shall be accompanied by a fee schedule to be charged
by the permittee and an annual permit fee of $500 per permit, or such
fee as shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Township
Board of Supervisors.
E.
Each permit issued by the Township under this article shall be for
one calendar year.
A.
Application. No such permit shall be issued unless an affidavit of
application therefor has been filed with the Township Manager by the
applicant on or before November 30 prior to the permit calendar year,
duly sworn to by said applicant before a duly licensed notary public
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and thereafter approved. The application
shall include the following information:
(1)
The name and business address of the applicant and, if a natural
person, his or her age and residential address.
(2)
The registration number of each vehicle to be operated.
(3)
A copy of all driver's licenses of all people who would be operating
the vehicle.
(4)
Such other information as the Township Board of Supervisors shall
find reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose of this article
and to arrive at a fair determination of whether the terms of this
article have been complied with.
(5)
A certificate of motor vehicle insurance, a certificate of general
liability insurance and a certificate of workers' compensation insurance
shall be provided by each applicant seeking a permit. The insurance
limits shall be not less than $100,000 and must be by an insurance
company licensed to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Township shall also be named as an additional insured. Failure
to submit the required insurance documentation shall result in a denial
of the application.
B.
Eligibility, denial, revocation and expiration.
(1)
Eligibility. Each person operating a business in the Township may
obtain a permit for excess size and weight for any vehicle it desires
to operate, provided that such person abides by the regulations set
forth herein.
(2)
Denial or revocation. The Township Manager may, in his or her discretion,
deny a permit application where the terms and conditions set forth
in this section are not met. In addition, the Township Board of Supervisors
may in each case, after a public hearing, deny or revoke a permit
for any applicant whom the Board shall determine to be an undesirable
person or incapable of properly using the permit. Additionally, the
Township Board of Supervisors may revoke a permit from any person
whom the Township Board of Supervisors determines has violated the
provisions of this article.
(3)
Expiration. Every permit issued pursuant to this article shall expire
on the 31st day of December following the issuance thereof, and no
such permit is transferable from one operator to another, nor from
one truck to another, without the prior written consent of the Township.
(4)
No permit shall be considered for issuance by the Township under
this article unless the entire application, with all requirements
set forth under this article, has been received by the Township on
or before November 30 prior to the permit calendar year.
(5)
Each permitted person under this article shall provide each March,
June and September of each permit year a certificate or other written
document acceptable to the Township that the insurance required under
this article remain in full force and effect.
The Township will require security for the issuance of a permit
pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 4961 and 4962 (relating
to security for permits). Security will be in the form of an irrevocable
letter of credit signed by a bank officer naming the Township as sole
beneficiary, to be honored on presentment.
The Township shall issue a permit with a maximum distance of
up to 2.5 miles for movement upon specified highways within the Township.
Pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 4976, an annual permit
may be issued authorizing the movement on highways of domestic animal
feed and whole or unprocessed grain, in bulk, which exceeds the maximum
vehicle gross weight specified in 75 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 4941
through 4949 (relating to maximum weight of vehicles). The weight
of any vehicle permitted under this section may not exceed 95,000
pounds overall gross weight, and the weight on any nonsteering axle
may not exceed 21,000 pounds. The Township shall only issue permits
for vehicles of excessive size and weight to applicants who are transporting
domestic animal feed and whole or unprocessed grain.
Every issued permit shall be carried in the permitted vehicle.
Every vehicle's permit shall be open to inspection by any police officer,
or authorized agent of the Township or any person involved in a motor
vehicle accident with a permitted vehicle.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any vehicle in
excess size and/or weight allowed pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 4901
through 4949 (relating to size and maximum weight of vehicles) without
first properly obtaining a permit from the Township.
The licensing of permits for excessive size and weight pursuant
to this article shall create no new or additional liability for the
Township. The duties performed by the Township pursuant to this article
are general duties owed to the public and are administrative in nature.
No person is authorized to create a special duty to anyone either
by representation, act or omission. Permit holders pursuant to this
article shall indemnify the Township to the fullest extent allowable
by law.
The Chief of Police or his designated representative shall cause
to be inspected each permit holder's place of business and permitted
vehicles not less than, but not limited to, once each year. In the
event that a person fails to comply with the provision herein contained,
the Township Manager shall suspend that person's permit. The person
and/or permit shall remain suspended until all violations are corrected
to the Township's satisfaction.
A.
General rule. Any person violating any provision of this article
for which a penalty is not otherwise provided commits a summary offense
and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine up to $300
for each violation.
B.
Penalty for violation of permit. Any person whose vehicle, combination
or load is in violation of or not in compliance with any condition
of a permit and any person who violates or fails to comply with any
condition of a permit while operating or transporting a vehicle, combination
or load, in addition to any other violation prohibited by this article,
commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced
to pay a fine up to $500 for each violation.
C.
Penalty for operation with an invalid permit. Any person who operates
or moves an oversize or overweight vehicle, combination or load with
an expired, void or invalidated permit, in addition to any other violation
prohibited by this article, commits a summary offense and shall, upon
conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine up to $1,000 for each violation.
D.
Upon 10 days' written notice and after a hearing before the Township
Manager, the Township may penalize any permittee under this article
in any appropriate manner, including, but not limited to, a revocation
of a permit issued hereunder, when it finds any of the following grounds:
(1)
The permit was procured by fraudulent conduct or false statement
of a material fact or that a fact concerning the applicant was not
disclosed at the time of his making application, and such fact would
have constituted just cause for refusal to issue said permit.
(2)
The person has violated any of the requirements of this article or
any of the rules and regulations as established by the Board of Supervisors.
