Township of Mahoning, PA Stopping, Standing and Parking

The Board of Supervisors may approve, by motion, requests to designate parking spots to be utilized solely for persons with a disability upon the written request of a resident of the Township, if the following conditions are met:

(a)

The individual submitting the request provides both a copy of a currently valid disability parking placard/license plate issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and proof of residency (property tax bill, deed, utility bill, etc.) at the location of the requested disability-only parking spot.

(b)

The spot requested to be designated as disability-only parking is adjacent to the requestor's place of residence.

Individuals may submit requests in person, via mail, facsimile or electronic mail. The requestor does not need to be present at the Township meeting for the request to be approved.

The Township will only approve one restricted parking spot per individual requestor. If a requestor shall move and desire a designated disability-only parking spot at another location, the requestor must also submit a request to abandon the prior designated disability-only parking spot. Upon receipt of the request to abandon a spot, the Township may remove the designated disability-only parking spot,

The approval of a designated disability-only parking only shall be good for one year from the date of approval.

(5)

An individual may request to have the designated disability-only parking spot renewed for additional one-year periods. The individual must submit updated and current documentation for the information required in Subsection B(1)(a) above. Failure to request to renew the designated disability-only parking spot or to provide the required information may cause the designated disability-only parking spot to be removed until such time as a valid request is received.

(6)

Upon the approval of a request by the Board of Supervisors, the designated disability-only parking spot will be posted for disability-only parking.

(7)

No person shall park a vehicle in any designated disability-only parking spot unless said individual has a valid disability placard or plate.

(8)

Any person who shall have violated any provision of this subsection is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $500.

(9)

The Township had previously approved through an ordinance the designation of certain parking spots as disability-only (handicapped-only) in the Township. The prior approved requests were for Township residents Dorothy Smokowicz, of 616 Bloom Road, Jessie Magargle, of 622 Bloom Road, and Donald Wenrick, of 103 Middle Street. The spots designated for these residents shall remain in effect until such time that said resident no longer resides at the address indicated or is no longer in need of a disability-only parking spot. These designated spots shall be considered grandfathered by the prior ordinance and not subject to the annual renewal required of disability-only parking spots approved under the procedure contained above.

(10)

The Township will maintain a written record of all approved disability-only parking spots that shall include at least the following information:

(a)

Name of requestor;

(b)

Date of most recent approval:

(c)

Date set to expire; and

(d)

Street address of the location of the designated spot.

§ 223-36 Standing or parking on roadway for loading or unloading.

It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, stand or park a vehicle (other than a pedalcycle) on the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of any street, except that standing or parking for the purpose of loading or unloading persons or property shall be permitted Monday through Saturday, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., and for no longer than necessary for the loading or unloading.

Name of Street	Side	Location
(Reserved)

§ 223-37 Residential permit parking.

Findings and purpose. The Township finds that: 1) certain residential areas in the Township are subjected to commuter vehicle parking, therefore depriving the residents of those areas of spaces in which to park their own vehicles; 2) those residential streets are also subjected to a high degree of commuter traffic which substantially reduces the quality of the ambient air level; and 3) the establishment of a parking permit program for certain affected areas should facilitate efficient movement of traffic by providing for parking preference during certain hours of the day and days of the week. Therefore, the Township considers it to be in the interest of the people of the Township to provide for the establishment of a residential permit parking program to insure primary access to available parking spaces by neighborhood residents and also to provide a cleaner ambient air level.

Definitions. For the purpose of this section, words and terms listed in this subsection, as follows, shall have the following meanings:

COMMUTER VEHICLE

A motor vehicle parked in a residential area by a person not a resident of that residential area.

PROPRIETOR

A person who owns or leases real estate within a residential area of which he is not a resident, but who owns or manages a business enterprise or professional office maintained at that address; for the purpose of this section, a proprietor shall be entitled to one parking permit for that business or professional office address.

RESIDENT

A person who owns or leases real property within a residential area and who maintains either a voting residence, or bona fide occupancy, or both, at that address.

RESIDENTIAL AREA

A contiguous area containing public highways or parts of public highways primarily abutted by residential property or residential and nonbusiness property (such as schools, parks, places of worship, hospitals and nursing homes).

Criteria. The residential areas designated in Subsection D of this section are those deemed impacted and hence eligible for residential parking on the basis of the following criteria:

During any period between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, the number of vehicles parked (or standing), legally or illegally, on the streets in the area is equal to 70% or more of the legal, on-street parking capacity of the area. For the purpose of this criterion, a legal parking space shall be 20 linear feet.

During the same period as specified in Subsection C(1), directly above, 10% or more of the vehicles parked (or standing) on the streets in the area are not registered in the name of a person residing in the area. For the purpose of this criterion, the latest available information from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Licensing of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding registration of motor vehicles shall be used.

Provided that in determining that a specific area identified as impacted and eligible for residential permit parking is designated as a residential permit parking area, the following factors are taken into consideration: 1) the local and metropolitan needs with respect to clean air and environment; 2) the possibility of a reduction in total vehicle miles driven in the Township; 3) the likelihood of alleviating traffic congestion, illegal parking and related health and safety hazards; 4) the proximity of public transportation to the residential area; 5) the desire and need of the residents for residential permit parking and their willingness to bear the administrative costs in connection with it; and 6) the need for parking in excess of the residential permit parking program in proximity to establishments located in the residential permit parking area and used by the general public for religious, health or educational purposes.

Designation of residential permit parking areas.

[Amended 10-14-1996; 5-11-1998; 11-28-2000; 6-4-2001; 5-17-2004; 8-20-2007; 12-15-2008; 5-19-2014]

The following are established as designated residential permit-only parking spots, and it shall be unlawful for any person to park a vehicle or allow it to remain parked in any such zone, except for those holding the permit for the specific designated spot:

[Amended 10-28-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-10.28-9]

Property Location Permitted for Designated Spot	Designated Spot Nos.
664 Bloom Road	472
665 Bloom Road	474 and 475
668 Bloom Road	473
670 Bloom Road	608
682 Bloom Road	609
686 Bloom Road	607
690 Bloom Road	610
694 Bloom Road	611
696 Bloom Road	612
940 Poplar Street	490 and 491
949 Poplar Street	504

A map illustrating the location of the designated residential permit-only parking spots shall be maintained at the Township's Police Department and shall be available for review by the public. The map shall depict the location of each designated spot by its number.

Designation of commercial permit parking areas. Property owners in the above-described areas who rent or lease their properties, normally requiring off-street parking, and persons who are not residents and desire to purchase spaces in said district will be assessed a fee, which shall be as set in accordance with the fee schedule established from time to time by the Board of Supervisors, for each space and will be designated as commercial permit parking.

[Added 11-28-2000; amended 8-20-2007]

Application for permit. Application for a residential parking permit shall be made to the Chief of Police by the person desiring the permit, who shall be only the owner or the driver of a motor vehicle who resides on or is a proprietor of property immediately adjacent to a street or other location within a residential permit parking area. A separate application shall be required for each motor vehicle, and each application shall be accompanied by a permit fee, which fee shall be as set in accordance with the fee schedule established from time to time by the Board of Supervisors and which shall be for the use of the Township, to be applied to the cost of administering the residential permit parking program. Each application shall contain the following information: the name of the owner or the driver, as the case may be, of the motor vehicle; the address of the resident or the proprietor, as the case may be; the make, model and registration number of the motor vehicle; and the driver number as taken from the applicant's current driver's license. At the discretion of the Chief of Police, the applicant shall be required, at the time of making application, to present his driver's license and the vehicle registration card.

[Amended 8-20-2007]

Issuance of permit. Upon receipt of an application by a resident of the area affected by said permit parking, and determination by him that the information upon the application shows that the applicant is entitled to a residential parking permit, the Chief of Police shall issue to the applicant a residential parking permit, which shall be valid for the remainder of the calendar year. The permit shall display the serial and registration numbers of the motor vehicles, the residential parking area number, and the expiration date. Requests for unassigned space in a permit parking area by other than a resident of said area shall be accompanied by an application fee, which fee shall be as set in accordance with the fee schedule established from time to time by the Board of Supervisors. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this section for any person to display other than the current and valid permit while standing or parking in a residential permit parking area at any time when those permits are to be displayed.

[Amended 10-14-1996; 8-20-2007]

Temporary and exemption parking permits. Temporary parking permits may be issued by the Chief of Police, upon payment of a fee as set in accordance with the fee schedule established from time to time by the Board of Supervisors, to bona fide visitors of residents of a designated residential permit parking area, and exemption parking permits may be issued, without payment of a fee, to handicapped persons.

[Amended 8-20-2007]

Responsibility of permit holder:

Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the holder of a residential parking permit shall be permitted to stand or park a motor vehicle operated by him in any designated residential parking area during those times when parking of motor vehicles is permitted in that area. While a vehicle for which a residential parking permit has been issued is so parked, that permit shall be displayed so as to be clearly visible through the windshield of the vehicle. A residential parking permit shall not guarantee or reserve to the holder a parking space within a designated residential permit parking area.

A residential parking permit shall not authorize its holder to stand or park a motor vehicle in any place where or at any time when stopping, standing or parking of motor vehicles is prohibited or set aside for other specified types of vehicles, nor shall the permit exempt its holder from the observance of any traffic or parking regulation other than residential permit parking regulation or restriction.

No person other than the permit holder whose name appears on the permit shall use a residential parking permit or display it on a vehicle operated; any such use or display by a person other than the permit holder shall constitute a violation of this section by the permit holder and by the person who so used or displayed the parking permit.

It shall constitute a violation of this section for any person falsely to represent himself as eligible for a residential parking permit or to furnish false information in an application to the Chief of Police in order to obtain a residential parking permit.

Revocation of permits. The Chief of Police shall have authority to revoke the residential parking permit of any permit holder found to be in violation of any provision of this section. Upon written notification to him of the revocation, the permit holder shall surrender the permit to the Chief of Police. Failure to do so, when so requested, shall constitute a violation of this section; provided that any person receiving such a notice may, within 10 days after the date of the notice, appeal to the Supervisors for a hearing on the revocation, and the decision of the Supervisors shall be final.

§ 223-38 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 10-14-1996; 11-28-2000; 2-8-2010; 5-22-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-0522]

A violator of any provision of this Article IV shall receive written notice of such violation, along with the corresponding fine for such violation. The notice shall be issued in writing and placed upon the windshield of the vehicle by the Mahoning Township Police Department officer or the delegated parking enforcement officer by the Chief of Police (either hereinafter "enforcement officer"). Such notice may be handwritten by the enforcement officer or a printed slip from a digital enforcement device of the enforcement officer.

The notice shall contain instructions to the owner or driver of the vehicle that if he or she would report to the office of the Mahoning Township Police Department and pay the sum for early payment, as established by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors, within 10 calendar days after the time of this notice or if he or she will place said sum within the envelope provided and forward it by mail or in person to the address on said ticket, the act will save the violator from prosecution and from payment of the fine and costs prescribed herein.

If the penalty is not paid in 10 calendar days, the fine shall be doubled.

The Mahoning Township Police Department may also establish an online payment portal to receive payment from such violators, rather than requiring such owner or driver to appear and deliver payment. Such electronic payment option shall appear on the written notice to the violator from the enforcement officer.

This procedure shall also apply to all enforcement of parking on the grounds of Geisinger Health System, whether by the Mahoning Township Police Department or a delegated enforcement officer, as further outlined in § 223-39 (Parking within Industrial District).

It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police of the Mahoning Township Police Department to report to the Board of Supervisors, at least annually, a summary of all violations of any provision of this article, indicating the section violated and any other facts that might be necessary, upon request of the Board of Supervisors, in order to secure a clear understanding of the circumstances attending the violation.

The Chief of Police of the Mahoning Township Police Department may delegate parking enforcement under Article IV, Stopping. Standing and Parking. Such delegation shall be limited authorized security personnel or any other individuals deemed qualified for such responsibilities by the Chief of Police. The designated individuals shall act in accordance with instructions and limitations issued by the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall maintain a complete list of all individuals so delegated.

After 10 calendar days, any person who shall have violated any provision of Article IV, Stopping, Standing and Parking, may either be:

Referred by the Chief of Police to a third-party collection agency for pursuit and collection of the fine violation amount, as established by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors, plus interest on the fine violation amount at 6% per annum. The collection company's fee for such service shall not exceed $15; or

Pursued for a summary offense and shall, upon conviction by a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine, as established by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors, together with costs and interest.

§ 223-39 Parking within Institutional District.

Parking motor vehicles in certain parking zones within the Institutional District:

Parking spaces. Further subject to the provisions hereinbelow, no person shall stand or park any motor vehicle within the Institutional District except in a designated parking area. Whenever individual motor vehicle parking spaces shall be designated by painted lines on any parking area for the purpose of parking a motor vehicle, no person shall stop, stand, or park any motor vehicle any place other than within the marked lines bounding such space. Whenever individual motor vehicle parking spaces shall be designated by sign, no person shall stop, stand, or park any motor vehicle on a surface that is not asphalt, concrete or gravel prepared, or stop, stand, or park any motor vehicle in any manner that would interfere with the flow of traffic on any roadway or parking area.

Loading or unloading zones. No person shall stand or park any motor vehicle except an emergency vehicle in any parking area or roadway designated as a zone for the loading or unloading of persons or property in violation of signs erected at such zones which indicate "no parking."

Emergency vehicle zones. No person shall stop, stand or park any motor vehicle except an emergency vehicle in any parking area or roadway which is designated by signs as a parking zone for emergency vehicles.

Motorcycle zones. No person shall stop, stand or park any motor vehicle other than a motorcycle in any parking area or roadway which is designated and marked as a parking zone for motorcycles.

(5)

Fire zones. No person shall stop, stand or park any motor vehicle or otherwise block any of the passage, entrance or exit ways to, in or about any public place or building occupied for public use or accommodation within the Institutional District so as to interfere with or obstruct the free and unimpeded passage of persons and fire equipment around said public place or building in violation of the signs which designate "no parking" erected in said zones.

(6)

Owner designated zones. No persons other than the owner or owner's specially designated employees and visitors shall stop, stand or park any motor vehicle in any parking area or roadway which is designated and marked as a parking zone for owners' or owners' specially designated employees' and visitors' motor vehicles.

(7)

Handicapped parking zones. No person shall stop, stand or park any motor vehicle in any parking space which is marked and designated by signs as a parking space for a "handicapped person" unless the motor vehicle clearly displays an official placard or official license plate indicating the operator is a handicapped person or disabled veteran.

Violations and penalties.

[Amended 4-21-2003]

A notice of violation of any provision of Article IV, Stopping, Standing and Parking, shall be placed on the vehicle parked in violation. Such notice shall contain instructions to the owner or operator of such vehicle that if he shall report to the Police Department or Mahoning Township or such other office or place within the Institutional District designated by the Chief of Police within 120 hours of the time such notice was given and pay the sum for early payment, as established by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors, within 48 hours after the time of this notice, the payment shall save the violator from prosecution and from payment of the fine and costs below prescribed.

[Amended 2-8-2010]

After 120 hours, any person who shall have violated §§ 223-28, 223-29, 223-30, 223-31, 223-32 and 223-34 of Article IV is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction by the District Justice or Judge, be sentenced to pay a fine, as established by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors, together with the costs of prosecution.

[Amended 2-8-2010]

After 120 hours, any person who shall have violated § 223-35, regarding handicapped parking zones, is guilty of a summary offense, and shall, upon conviction by a District Justice or Judge, be sentenced in accordance with the penalty provisions of Section 3353(f) and/or (g) of the PA Motor Vehicle Code, as amended, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3353(f) and/or (g).

Exercise of police powers and enforcing officials within Geisinger Health System Institutional District properties.

[Added 7-15-2013]

The Mahoning Township Police Department is hereby specifically authorized to exercise its police powers within the grounds of all of the Geisinger Health System Institutional District properties within Mahoning Township that are open to the public for services pursuant to the Vehicle Code of Pennsylvania as set forth at 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 6109 and in accordance with any future amendments thereto.