[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
This article seeks to improve the safety and quiet enjoyment
of individuals living and/or doing business in the City of New Castle,
and to eliminate noise and dust and other air and ground pollution
incident to the operation of ATVs, dirt bikes and other recreational
motor vehicles on property within the limits of the City. This Ordinance
is intended to prevent a public nuisance.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
(a)
SHALL — For the purposes of this Ordinance, the term "Shall"
is always mandatory and not discretionary.
(b)
RECREATIONAL MOTORIZED VEHICLES —
A recreational motor vehicle is defined for purposes of the
Ordinance as follows: any self-propelled motorized vehicle used for
recreational purposes, including a trail bike or other all-terrain
vehicle, dirt bike, motor scooter, moped or snowmobile being used
for off-road recreational purposes.
All-terrain vehicle, or ATV, for the purposes of the Ordinance,
means any motorized vehicle with three wheels designed for use off
of paved trails or roads which operates on three or more inflatable
tires which are (1) a maximum of 50 inches and a maximum dry weight
of 800 pounds (class 1 ATV) or (2) a width which exceeds 50 inches
or a dry weight which exceeds 1,000 pounds (class 2 ATV). The term
ATV shall include all-terrain vehicles as described above, "quad bikes,"
and tandem ATVs.
(c)
OWNER — Any person who has legal or equitable title to the
property on which an ATV or other motorized recreational vehicle is
being operated.
(d)
OCCUPANT — A person who is legally entitled to reside on the
property on which an ATV, dirt bike or other motorized recreational
vehicle is being operated.
(e)
OPERATOR — A person who is operating an ATV, dirt bike or other
motorized recreational vehicle.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
It shall be unlawful for any individual to operate an ATV, dirt
bike or other motorized recreational vehicle, as defined above, on
any public or private street or public or private property in the
City of New Castle, except under the conditions set forth in 538.04
herein.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
(a)
Specifically excluded from this Ordinance are all ATVs, dirt bikes
and other motorized recreational vehicles used by the New Castle Police
Department for law enforcement purposes and other municipal and government
employees, including military personnel, using said vehicles for the
purpose of carrying out the functions of their official positions.
(b)
Excluded from this Ordinance are motorized wheelchairs or scooters
or other necessary equipment used to transport an individual due to
that individual's physical disability or medical condition as
certified by a medical doctor.
(c)
Also excluded from this Ordinance are off-road motorized vehicles
used as utility vehicles for lawn care, snow removal or business operations,
or any other "reasonable" property maintenance and/or landscaping.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
To the extent applicable, this Ordinance incorporates by reference
Pennsylvania's All-Terrain Vehicle Law as contained in Part 6,
Chapter 77 of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code and state regulations
set forth in title 17 Pa. Code, Chapter 51. All provisions shall be
strictly enforced.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
A violation of this Ordinance shall be deemed a public nuisance
and a summary offense and shall subject the Owner of the ATVs, dirt
bikes or other motorized recreational vehicles and any person operating
an ATV, dirt bike or other motorized recreational vehicle in violation
of this Ordinance to summary offense enforcement proceedings.
The New Castle Police Department is hereby authorized to make
an initial determination of violation of this Ordinance and to enforce
provisions of this Ordinance.
All enforcement officers in the state, including local and state
police, shall have the authority, as set forth in Pennsylvania's
Snowmobile and All-Terrain Vehicle Law and state regulations, to enforce
Pennsylvania's Snowmobile/ATV Law, with municipal and state police
having enforcement authority on private land.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
Any violation of this Ordinance shall be within the jurisdiction
of the District Justice whose jurisdiction covers the City of New
Castle as well as the Courts from which the District Judge's
decision may, under the statutes of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
be appealed.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
The Police Department of the City of New Castle may confiscate
and impound any vehicle operated in violation of 538.03 of this Ordinance.
The vehicle shall be returned to the owner thereof upon payment of
any fine imposed as a result of the violation of this Ordinance and
upon payment of any storage charge incurred as a result of the impoundment.
[Passed 5-28-2014; Ord. 8097]
(a)
Any person violating any provision of this Ordinance shall be fined
not less than $100 and not more than $300, plus the costs for prosecution,
for his or her first offense, and shall not be fined less than $300
nor more than $1,000 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days,
or both, plus the cost of prosecution, for each subsequent offense.
A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on
which a violation occurs or continues.
(b)
Violation of this Ordinance shall be a summary offense, subject to
summary enforcement proceedings and the appropriate officers or agents
of the City of New Castle are hereby authorized to seek equitable
relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance with this Ordinance.
Upon default in payment of a fine and upon a guilty finding of violation
of this Ordinance, the violator may be subject to a term of imprisonment
up to the maximum allowed for a summary offense.
