[Amended 3-13-2019 by Emergency Ord. No. 2019-01]
No person shall allow, permit or suffer any vehicle registered
in his name to operate, stand or park in any public place or street
in the Town of Cottage City in violation of any of the ordinances,
signs or local laws of the Town regulating public places, traffic
or the standing and parking of vehicles, nor shall any vehicles be
so operated, placed, or parked by anyone.
Any vehicle found standing or parked in violation of such ordinance or local law in a public place or street, may be removed, towed or conveyed by, or at the direction of a member of the police force, to a vehicle pound designated by the Chief of Police and such removal shall be deemed the abatement of a nuisance and at the risk and expense of the owner or person entitled to possession of such vehicle. The Chief of Police may store said vehicles in designated vehicle pounds or other suitable places at the risk and expense of the owner or person entitled to possession hereof. Such owner or person entitled to possession of the vehicle shall pay to the vehicle pound the amount of all expenses actually and necessarily incurred in effecting such removal, together with any charges for storage. The Town shall be deemed a creditor of such owner or person entitled to possession and shall have a lien against such vehicle for the amount of expense so incurred. The Town may maintain an action against the owner or owners, the person who parked said vehicle or any of them, to recover the amount of the lien in a civil action as a penalty for violation of §
9-1 of this chapter.
If no bids are received at the public sale hereinbefore authorized, the Chief of Police may remove, destroy and break up or otherwise dispose of such vehicle without liability or damages to the owner thereof, or to any person having or claiming any interest therein. The Town shall be deemed a creditor of such owner or person entitled to possession thereof, and any other person violating this chapter or local laws, for the amount of the expenses for such removal, advertisement, sale, destruction and disposal, and may maintain a civil action against them, or any of them, to recover the same as a penalty for violation of §§
9-1 and
9-2 of this chapter.
[Amended 3-13-2019 by Emergency Ord. No. 2019-01]
The Cottage City Commission is hereby authorized to erect such
signs, traffic control devices and notices regarding parking and traffic
for the common good. The order to take such action shall be issued
by ordinance or written resolution and said ordinance or resolution
or a fair summary thereof shall be published in the Town newsletter
or a newspaper of general circulation in the Town.
It shall be unlawful for any person to park any vehicle so that
any part of that vehicle is within the public sidewalk, including
that portion of the sidewalk which crosses the driveway of any premises.
This chapter does not prohibit parking in the driveway between the
street and the sidewalk if such parking can be accomplished without
any portion of the vehicle protruding onto any portion of the sidewalk.
[Amended 8-24-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-02; 8-10-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-05]
A. Penalties and administrative fees will be set by resolution of the
Commission.
B. Fines and administrative fees.
(1) Payment of fines and administrative fees will be paid within 30 days
after the citation is issued unless a timely election is made to stand
trial regarding the citation.
(2) If payment is not received by the Town within 30 days (no timely
election for trial having been filed), a warning letter will be sent
to the last known registered owner of the vehicle.
(3) If payment is not received by the Town within 45 days after the citation
has been issued (no timely election for trial having been filed),
a late fee of $35 per citation will be assessed.
(4) Any vehicle which is impounded or attached will not be released until
all fines, administrative fees and other related expenses are paid.
(5) Failure
to pay a citation or to elect to stand trial within the set time parameters
will result in a late fee in the amount of $35.
(6) If the vehicle is registered in the State of Maryland, it will be
subject to the state's flagging programs until all fines, fees
and expenses are paid.
It shall be unlawful to operate at any time upon any public
street or alley in the Town of Cottage City any truck or other motor
vehicle, except passenger buses, having a gross weight in the excess
of 10,000 pounds unless the same is being operated to or from a bona
fide destination within the Town of Cottage City at which all or part
of its load is to be or was loaded or unloaded, or unless permission
shall have been obtained for such operation from the Commissioners,
or for operation on any particular day from any member of the Town
Police; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall apply
to such operation on the public highways of the State of Maryland
located within the Town of Cottage City.
[Amended 3-13-2019 by Emergency Ord. No. 2019-01]
It shall be unlawful for any person to tamper with or injure
or molest any of the equipment, devices, painted curbs or signage
connected with the traffic control devices or a traffic signal system
in the Town of Cottage City.
[Amended 8-10-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-05, 3-13-2019 by Emergency Ord. No. 2019-01; 7-10-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-04]
A. Unless otherwise provided, any person or persons who shall fail to
comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, or who shall violate
or fail to comply with any order or regulation made under this chapter,
shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined as follows for each offense.
Violation
|
Provision
|
Fine
|
---|
(1)
|
No parking zone
|
|
$35
|
(2)
|
Handicap
|
|
$250
|
(3)
|
Drive or parked over curb or sidewalk
|
|
$50
|
(4)
|
Parked left wheel to curb
|
|
$35
|
(5)
|
Parked >12 inches from curb
|
|
$50
|
(6)
|
Parked in fire lane
|
|
$100
|
(7)
|
Parked within 15 feet of fire hydrant
|
|
$50
|
(8)
|
Parked in excess of 72 hours
|
|
$35
|
(9)
|
Failure to obey sign (parking)
|
|
$35
|
(10)
|
Failure to park in designated space
|
|
$35
|
(11)
|
Parked within 20 feet of stop sign
|
|
$50
|
(12)
|
Parked within 20 feet of intersection
|
|
$50
|
(13)
|
Parked obstructing traffic
|
|
$50
|
(14)
|
Abandoned vehicle on private property
|
|
$35
|
(15)
|
Commercial vehicle in residential zone
|
|
$35
|
(16)
|
Displaying expired tag/improper tag
|
|
$35
|
(17)
|
Abandoned or unregistered vehicle
|
|
$35
|
(18)
|
Vehicle left abandoned on public property (> 48 hours)
|
|
$35
|
(19)
|
All other violations of Chapter 9 except as otherwise specified herein
|
|
$35
|
B. Moving violations. Any moving violations of this chapter, shall be
cited using the Maryland Uniform Complaint and Citation Form, and
upon conviction, shall be fined and/or penalized in accordance with
the schedule of fines and penalties determined by the state and set
out in a document prepared by the Chief Administrative Judge of the
District Court of Maryland and referred to as the "Schedule of Preset
Fines and/or Penalty Deposits," as such document (Form #DC-CR-090)
may be amended from time to time. Except for traffic control signal
monitoring system violations as defined in § 21-202.1 of
the Transportation Article of the Maryland Annotated Code, a moving
violation is any violation of this chapter committed by the driver
of a vehicle while it is being operated or is in motion at the time
of the infraction, or as otherwise defined pursuant to § 11-136.1
of the Transportation Article of the Maryland Annotated Code and any
regulations adopted by the State Highway Administration for the purpose
of assessing points under § 16-402 of the Maryland Transportation
Article.
C. The Cottage City Commission is authorized to change, amend or modify
any individual fine or fee or any fine or fee schedule for violations
prescribed by this chapter by written resolution provided said resolution
is published at least 30 days in advance in the Town newsletter or
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town.
[Added 11-12-2014 by Ord.
No. 2014-02]
A. An individual who possesses a vehicle having a valid special disability
registration plate or who has a valid disability parking placard,
and who resides at a location on a Town street that does not have
a driveway or other off-street parking, may apply to the Town for
the designation of a handicap parking space for that individual's
exclusive use in close proximity to the individual's residence.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, not more than one handicap parking
space may be designated for any particular residence.
B. The Cottage City Chief of Police shall prescribe the form of the
application, which shall include an oath. The application shall contain
such information, and shall be accompanied by such documentation as
the Chief reasonably shall prescribe. The application shall be accompanied
by a nonrefundable application fee in the amount of $50.
C. The Chief of Police shall approve the application if the application and supporting documentation demonstrate that the applicant satisfies the requirements of Subsection
A and that the designation of a space at the requested location will not violate existing parking restrictions or otherwise present a potential hazard to public safety.
D. An individual whose application has been approved shall certify annually to the Chief of Police, under oath, on a form prescribed by the Chief that the individual continues to satisfy the requirements of Subsection
A.
E. After the Chief of Police approves an application submitted under Subsection
A, the Town shall erect appropriate signage restricting parking in a designated parking space to vehicles bearing special disability registration plates, or a disability parking placard, issued to the applicant.
F. An individual may not stand or stop a vehicle in a designated and
restricted parking space unless the vehicle bears special disability
registration plates, or a disability parking placard, issued to the
applicant.