This chapter shall be cited as the “county road weight
limit ordinance” and shall be referred to herein as “the
chapter” or “this chapter.”
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 1, adopted 4/28/15)
This chapter is enacted pursuant to NMSA 1978, sections 3-49-1,
4-37-1, 4-37-3, and 66-7-415, and the weight limit policy.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 2, adopted 4/28/15)
The board of county commissioners of the county.
Any connected assemblage of a motor vehicle and one or more
semitrailers, trailers or semitrailers converted to trailers by means
of a converter gear.
Any fire department vehicle or apparatus, police vehicle
or apparatus, ambulance, and any other emergency vehicles or apparatus
operated by the state, a municipality or county, or a public utility.
The total of the gross vehicle weights of all units of a
combination.
The weight of a loaded vehicle.
Every vehicle that is designed for agricultural purposes
and exclusively used by the owner in the conduct of agricultural operations.
Every vehicle that is self-propelled and every vehicle that
is propelled by electric power obtained from batteries or from overhead
trolley wires, but not operated upon rails.
The public works department director or staff designated
by him in writing as having the authority to issue temporary, excessive
weight permits.
A commercial motor vehicle used to transport preprimary,
primary or secondary school students from home to school, from school
to home or to and from school-sponsored events, but not including
a vehicle:
Operated by a common carrier, subject to and meeting all requirements
of the public regulation commission but not used exclusively for the
transportation of students;
Operated solely by a government-owned transit authority, if
the transit authority meets all safety requirements of the public
regulation commission but is not used exclusively for the transportation
of students; or
Operated as a per capita feeder as defined in section 22-16-6
NMSA 1978.
A vehicle without motive power, other than a pole trailer,
designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a
motor vehicle and so constructed that some significant part of its
weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle.
2,000 pounds.
Any vehicle without motive power, designed for carrying persons
or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle, and so constructed
that no significant part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.
Every motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily
for the transportation of property.
Every motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing
other vehicles and constructed to carry a part of the weight of the
vehicle and load drawn.
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, including any frame,
chassis, body or unitized frame and body of any vehicle or motor vehicle,
except devices moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively
upon stationary rails or tracks.
The policy adopted by Resolution 2014-114.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 3, adopted 4/28/15)
(A)
Roads
paved with asphalt represent a significant investment by the county,
since asphalt pavement is the most expensive road construction material.
(B)
Asphalt
paved roads are engineered and constructed to withstand specific maximum
weights and traffic volumes on a regular basis.
(C)
Pursuant to the weight limit policy and the settlement and road improvement agreements between the county, King Brothers Ranch, Western Mobile Incorporated, Richard Cook, and Las Campanas Limited Partnership, dated October 6, 1997, the public works department has assessed the roads identified in section 72.05 of this chapter to determine if weight limits are advisable.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 4, adopted 4/28/15)
|
Road or Portion of Road
|
Weight Limit
|
|---|---|
|
County Road 33-Old Lamy Trail
|
Gross vehicle weight and gross combination vehicle weight shall
not exceed five (5) tons per axle.
|
|
County Road 62-Caja del Oro Grant Road
|
Gross vehicle weight and gross combination vehicle weight shall
not exceed five (5) tons per axle.
|
|
Caja del Rio Road north of the entrance to the Caja del Rio
Landfill to Las Campanas Drive
|
Gross vehicle weight and gross combination vehicle weight shall
not exceed five (5) tons [per axle.]
|
|
County Road 45-Bonanza Creek Road
|
Gross vehicle weight and gross combination vehicle weight shall
not exceed five (5) tons per axle.
|
Gross vehicle weight and gross combination vehicle weight limits
expressed as five (5) tons per axle are determined by multiplying
the number of axles times five (5) tons. For example, the gross combination
vehicle weight limit for a combination truck tracker [tractor] and
trailer with a total of 4 axles would be 40,000 pounds.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 5, adopted 4/28/15)
The weight limits established in section 72.05 of this chapter shall not apply to:
(1)
Emergency
vehicles;
(2)
Road
machinery engaged in highway construction or maintenance;
(3)
Implements
of husbandry, including farm tractors, temporarily moved upon a highway;
(4)
Vehicles making pick-ups from or deliveries to or providing services to addresses on a road identified in section 72.05 of this chapter or addresses on adjacent roads served only by that road, including, but not limited to, solid waste removal services, utility vehicles performing work on utilities located along the roads identified in section 72.05 of this chapter or adjacent roads served only by that road;
(5)
A vehicle traveling to or from an address on a road identified in section 72.05 of this chapter or an address on an adjacent road served only by that road, which vehicle belongs to a resident or business located at such address and is to be parked or used at such address, to the extent such parking or use is not otherwise prohibited by law or conditions of approval of a land use application or business license; or
(6)
A vehicle
operated under the terms of a temporary, excessive weight permit issued
in accordance with this chapter.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 6, adopted 4/28/15)
(A)
General
authority.
Permitting officials may, in their discretion, upon application in writing and good cause being shown, issue a special permit in writing authorizing the applicant to operate or move a vehicle of a weight exceeding the maximum specified in section 72.05 of this chapter.
(B)
Length
of permit; conditions.
Except for the movement of manufactured homes, a permit may be granted, in cases of emergency, for the transportation of loads on a certain unit or combination of equipment for a specified period of time not to exceed one year, and the permit shall contain the route to be traversed, the type of load to be transported and any other restrictions or conditions deemed necessary by permitting officials. In every other case, the permit shall be issued for a single trip and may designate the route to be traversed and contain any other restrictions or conditions deemed necessary by the permitting officials. Every permit shall be carried in the vehicle to which it refers and shall be opened for inspection to any peace officer. Violating a condition or term of a temporary, excessive weight permit issued pursuant to this section shall constitute a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 72.09. In addition, violating a condition or term of a temporary, excessive weight permit issued pursuant to this section shall constitute grounds for revocation of the temporary, excessive weight permit.
(C)
General
standards and conditions.
Temporary, excessive weight
permits will not be issued unless:
(1)
There
is no reasonable way by reduction or division of the vehicle or equipment
to meet the applicable weight limits;
(2)
The
proposed excessive weight trips are not likely to damage the road(s)
for which the permit is issued; and
(3)
The
applicant has made satisfactory arrangements to indemnify the county
for the cost of repairing any damage caused to the roads by the excessive
weight trips.
(D)
Specific
conditions for the removal of a manufactured home from a property.
(1)
If
a vehicle for which a permit is issued pursuant to this section is
a manufactured home, permitting officials shall furnish the following
information to the property tax division of the taxation and revenue
department: the date the permit was issued, the location being moved
from, the location being moved to, the name of the owner of the manufactured
home, and the identification and registration numbers of the manufactured
home.
(2)
A
permit shall not be issued pursuant to this section until the owner
of the manufactured home or the authorized agent of the owner obtains
and presents to permitting officials proof that a certificate has
been issued by the county assessor or county treasurer showing that
either:
(a)
All property taxes due or to become due on the manufactured home
for the current tax year or any past tax years have been paid, except
for manufactured homes located on an Indian reservation; or
(b)
Liability for property taxes on the manufactured home does not exist
for the current tax year or a past tax year, except for manufactured
homes located on an Indian reservation.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 7, adopted 4/28/15)
The weight limit established in section 72.05 of this chapter for a particular road shall not be effective until the public works department:
(1)
Erects
or causes to be erected and maintained signs designating the weight
limit and provisions of this chapter at each end of that portion of
any street affected; and
(2)
Gives
notice and a copy of this chapter to the nearest officer or employee
of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Motor Transportation
Division authorized to issue special permits and the county sheriff.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 8, adopted 4/28/15)
(A)
Violations
of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine of three hundred dollars
($300.00) per violation, as allowed by NMSA 1978, section 4-37-3.
(B)
Prosecution
of violations of this chapter may be commenced by the issuance of
a citation charging the violation. Citations may be issued by the
county sheriff and deputy county sheriffs.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 9, adopted 4/28/15)
No less frequently than every three years, the public works department shall periodically review and report to the board on the effectiveness of the weight limits imposed by section 72.05 of this chapter at protecting and preserving the asphalt of the roads subject to the weigh limits.
(Ordinance 2015-5, sec. 11, adopted 4/28/15)
