The creation, establishment, designation and enforcement of
fire lanes shall be as follows:
A. Wherever the Fire Marshal shall determine that the parking of motor
vehicles, trailers, etc., upon any public or private street, lane,
alley, shopping district or other area of private property is liable
to interfere with the operations of the Fire Department or hamper
the egress of occupants from buildings in case of fire or other emergency,
he is hereby authorized to establish fire lanes. The Fire Marshal
shall forward such request with a description of the location and
the extent of the fire lane to the Township.
B. The Township shall then prepare and adopt a resolution designating
the area as a fire lane.
C. Whenever the Fire Marshal shall determine that a sign designating
"No Parking by Order of Fire Marshal" on any public or private street,
lane, alley, shopping district or other areas of private property
is insufficient alone to clearly indicate the area where parking is
prohibited, he is hereby authorized to establish fire lanes by having
lines painted, four inches in width, on the roadway surface, indicating
the area in which parking is prohibited. In addition, he shall have
painted the words "Fire Lane" in letters three feet in height on the
roadway surface at intervals he deems necessary within the prohibited
parking area. The Fire Marshal may also determine that a fire lane
shall also be designated and posted as a "Tow-Away Zone."
D. When the Fire Marshal has identified a fire lane and the Board of
Supervisors has adopted a resolution designating the same in an existing
commercial or residential development, the Township shall be responsible
to install the sign and the appropriate painted markings designating
the fire lane. After installation, all future maintenance, upkeep
and replacement of signs and markings for the fire lane shall be the
responsibility of the owner of the property/road where the fire lane
is located.
E. Future developments of the Township will have fire lanes as designated
by the Fire Marshal during the time of the land development review.
F. Enforcement.
(1) The Police Department of the Township of New Garden will be responsible
to enforce the parking restrictions imposed by the fire lanes in the
Township as provided by Pennsylvania law. Any person, partnership,
corporation, or entity who or which violates or permits a violation
of the provisions of this article shall pay a fine of not less than
$75 per violation, plus all court costs and reasonable attorney's
fees incurred by the Township in enforcement proceedings, and may
be imprisoned to the extent allowed by Pennsylvania law. Each day
or portion thereof that a violation exists or continues shall constitute
a separate violation. Each section of this article that is violated
shall also constitute a separate violation.
(2) In addition to, but not in limitation of, the foregoing, any motor
vehicle within a fire lane which is designated a "Tow-Away Zone" shall
be subject to removal by a towing service at the direction of the
Fire Chief, New Garden Township Police, Fire Police, or other appropriate
official of New Garden Township, and the owner of such motor vehicle
shall be responsible for the payment of all costs associated with
such vehicle removal, including, but not limited to, towing and storage
costs.
G. Violations. It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) Park a vehicle in a fire lane.
(2) Store, sell or display supplies, equipment, shopping carts, inventory,
merchandise or any other item in a fire lane.
(4) Engage in any other act which would substantially interfere with
the access of fire officials, fire personnel and/or firefighting equipment
or apparatus to, over or upon a fire lane.
New Garden Township had determined that the health, welfare
and safety of the citizens of the Township are promoted by requiring
certain structures to have a key lock box installed on the exterior
of the structure to aid the emergency service providers in gaining
access to or within a structure when responding to calls for an emergency
and to aid in accessing a building that is secured or is unduly difficult
to gain entry due to being either unoccupied or because the occupants
are unable to respond.
The Fire Marshal, in coordination with the Board of Supervisors,
shall be authorized to implement rules and regulations for the use
of the key lock box system (Knox-Box®).
Any person violating the provisions of this article, upon conviction
thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of up to $1,000 for each
offense and the cost of prosecution and, in the event of default of
payment of each fine and cost, shall be subject to imprisonment for
not more than 90 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues
shall constitute a separate offense. Any person found guilty of violating
this article shall be assessed court costs and reasonable attorneys'
fees incurred by the Township in the enforcement proceedings.