[Ord. No. 2017-60]
No person shall be included on the OTL without first obtaining a license therefor. Nothing herein shall require licensing for the rendering of road service other than towing or storage.
[Ord. No. 2017-60]
Any person who wishes to engage in the business of towing or storing of motor vehicles at police request, pursuant to the official tower list, shall submit an application for a towing and storage service license, in duplicate, to the chief of police, on forms provided by the police department. The application and any renewal application shall be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars to cover Princeton's administrative costs in processing the application, and shall state the following:
a. 
Full name and address of the applicant. If the application is made for a corporation, it shall state the name and address of the officers and directors thereof, and its registered office and agent, and the names and residential addresses of every stockholder owning more than 10% of the issued stock;
b. 
The year, make and type of each tow vehicle used in said business, along with their serial number(s), registration number(s) and registered owner(s); each official tower must have at least two tow vehicles available for tows;
c. 
The address where the tow vehicles shall be regularly garaged, the telephone numbers (available on a twenty-four hour per day basis for OTL purposes) and the names of all operators, their addresses and their New Jersey motor vehicle driver license number;
d. 
The location, size, number of storage parking spaces, and security features of the storage lot on which towed vehicles shall be stored, including a statement of the number of spaces available in the storage lot;
e. 
The name and address of the insurance carriers and agents and the policy numbers of all required insurance policies. Specific insurance requirements are set forth in section 11A-10 of this chapter;
f. 
A certification that for each scheduled day of the year, towing and storage services will be available 24 hours;
g. 
A certification that the fees and procedures required in this chapter shall be observed at all times;
h. 
A certification that response times to police requests for towing services shall in no event exceed twenty minutes from the time of the police dispatcher's call to the time of arrival at the site;
i. 
A certification that tow vehicles are equipped with two-way radios or cellular telephones and that the requirements of section 11A-15 of this chapter shall be met;
j. 
A statement that the chief of police may, at any reasonable time, conduct an inspection of the tow vehicles or storage lot of any applicant or licensee for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter; and
k. 
A certification that in the event of any change in the information, documents, insurance or other requirements set forth in this chapter, licensees shall advise the chief of police of said change in writing no later than five days after the effective date of the change.
[Ord. No. 2017-60]
After receiving an application for a license, the chief of police shall conduct or cause to be conducted an investigation to determine the following:
a. 
The truth and accuracy of all information contained in the application;
b. 
Whether the applicant and all employees are fit and proper persons to conduct the proposed business;
c. 
Whether the applicant has demonstrated, by its equipment and the location of its business, the ability to respond in the manner required in this chapter;
d. 
Whether the equipment is in thoroughly safe and sound condition and complies with the standards of this chapter, as well as any applicable provisions of the New Jersey Statutes and Rules;
e. 
Whether the proposed storage area is legally zoned for such use; and
f. 
Whether the applicant has proof of ownership or valid agreement for use of the storage area.
The chief of police shall conduct or review the investigation and approve or deny the application within 30 days of his or her receipt of same.
[Ord. No. 2017-60]
a. 
Upon approval of the application, and upon compliance by the applicant with section 11A-10 of this chapter in connection with insurance, the chief of police or designee shall issue an official tower license to the applicant. All licenses shall expire on December 31 of the year of issue; a renewal application shall be submitted no later than 30 days prior to the expiration date. Renewal applications shall be obtained from the office of the chief of police.
b. 
The license shall contain the name and address of the licensee, the number of the license, the date of issuance and expiration date, and the signature of the chief of police and the seal of the municipality of Princeton.
c. 
In accordance with the procedures of section 11A-9, a license may be suspended or revoked under the following circumstances:
1. 
When it is found that the license was secured by fraud or by the concealment of a material fact by the applicant, which fact, if known, would have caused the disapproval of the license.
2. 
When it is found that a licensee has violated any of the requirements or regulations established by this chapter, including but not limited to exceeding maximum fee limitations, failure to respond within the time required in section 11A-6(h), damage to a motor vehicle while in the custody of the licensee, any additional regulations established by the chief of police, or any federal or state law or other municipal ordinance relating to the operation of a motor vehicle.
3. 
Unsatisfactory service which, in the reasonable opinion of the chief of police, has, does or will jeopardize the public safety.
4. 
Unethical or fraudulent business practices in connection with towing or storage services or repairs.
d. 
A license issued to a person under this chapter is not transferable.
[Ord. No. 2017-60]
The following procedures shall apply in the event the chief of police determines to deny an application for an official tower license; or to suspend or revoke an existing license as a result of observation by one or more members of the police department or upon receipt of one or more complaints, that improper or unsatisfactory performance of services has been rendered by a licensee:
a. 
The chief of police shall provide written notification to the licensee or applicant of the acts complained of or the reason for the denial of the application.
b. 
The licensee or applicant shall have five days to request in writing a hearing before the chief of police. If such a hearing is requested, the hearing shall be held no more than 15 days after the receipt by the chief of police of the request for same. If the chief of police determines that it is in the best interest of the public health, safety and welfare, the chief may suspend the licensee from the OTL pending the outcome of the hearing or appeal after such a hearing.
c. 
If the applicant or licensee is dissatisfied with the result of the hearing before the chief of police, the applicant shall have five days to request in writing a hearing before the public safety committee. If such a hearing is requested, the hearing shall be held no more than 30 days after receipt by the chief of police of the request for same.
d. 
The public safety committee shall convene a meeting at which it shall consider the matter and may request that the licensee or applicant, chief of police and, if applicable, the complainant, appear and give testimony regarding the matter. The applicant or licensee may be represented by an attorney if desired; however, the proceedings before the public safety committee shall be informal and the Rules of Evidence and Court Rules shall not be applicable.
e. 
If the public safety committee determines that cause for revocation or suspension of a license or denial of an application exists, said determination shall be made by a majority vote of the members of the public safety committee, shall be reduced to writing, and shall become effective immediately. The decision of the public safety committee shall be rendered no later than 10 days after completion of the hearing and shall be final.
f. 
In the case of a revocation of a license, failure to surrender the license within one day of delivery of the final written decision to the licensee shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
g. 
Nothing contained herein shall prevent or limit the right of any person to commence or maintain an action for damages or any other relief directly against a licensee in a court of competent jurisdiction.