[Adopted 12-23-1974 as § 3-8 of the 1974 Code, as amended through Ord. No. O-00-16; amended in its entirety 4-27-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-10]
A. 
Whenever snow has fallen and the accumulation is such that it covers the street or highway, an emergency shall exist and no vehicles, equipment or personal property shall be parked on the streets, roadways, highways or right-of-ways. The parking prohibitions shall remain in effect after the snow has ceased, until all sanding and plowing has been accomplished, and to the extent that parking will not interfere with the normal flow of traffic.
B. 
Any unoccupied vehicle parked or standing in violation of this article shall be deemed a nuisance and a menace to the safe and proper regulation of traffic, and any Police Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, or Director or Assistant Director or his or her designee of the Department of Public Works may provide for the removal of such vehicle. The owner shall pay the reasonable costs of the removal and storage which may result from such removal before regaining possession of the vehicle.
A. 
All portable sports equipment and apparatus in the public streets and right-of-way of the Township are prohibited during winter months which, for the purpose of this section, shall mean November 1 through March 31.
B. 
Anyone who places portable sports equipment and apparatus in the public streets and right-of-way shall place said equipment or apparatus only in the area of the public street and right-of-way where the property he or she owns or leases fronts on said street and right-of-way. In the event any such equipment is placed in the public streets or roadways in violation of this article, the Township shall not be responsible for any damage caused thereto.
In determining if there has been a violation of this article, it shall be immaterial whether a vehicle was intentionally or unintentionally so parked or standing.
A. 
No person operating a motor vehicle on any street, highway or roadway or public parking area on which there is snow, sleet or ice shall allow such vehicle to become stalled wholly or partly because the drive wheels thereof are not equipped with effective tire chains or snow tires.
B. 
No person operating a motor vehicle on any street, highway, roadway or public parking area, on which there is snow, sleet or ice or on which there is a parking prohibition in effect, shall allow such vehicle to become stalled because of lack of motor fuel or because its battery has become inoperative.
Whenever a vehicle becomes stalled for any reason, whether or not in violation of this article or on any street, highway or roadway on which there is snow, sleet or ice, the person operating such vehicle shall take immediate action to have the vehicle towed or pushed off such street. No person shall abandon or leave his or her vehicle in the street, highway or roadway (regardless of whether he or she indicates by raising the hood or otherwise that the vehicle is stalled), except for the purpose of securing assistance during the actual time necessary to go to a nearby telephone or to a nearby garage, gasoline station or other nearby place of assistance and return without delay.
A. 
The members of the Police Department, Code Enforcement Department, Engineering Department the Public Works employees of the Township or any other duly sworn authorized Township official are hereby authorized to remove and tow away or have removed and towed away by a commercial towing service or otherwise any vehicle in violation of this section. Said vehicles shall incur towing fees as per ordinance.
B. 
Whenever any such person removes a vehicle from a street, highway or roadway, as authorized by this article, and such person knows or is able to ascertain from the registration records in the vehicle the name and address of the owner thereof, such person shall immediately cause to be given notice, in writing, to such owner of the fact of such removal and the reasons therefor, and of the place to which such vehicle has been removed. In the event any such vehicle is stored in a public garage, a copy of such notice shall be mailed or delivered to the proprietor of such garage.
C. 
Whenever such person causes to be removed a vehicle under this section, and does not know and is not able to ascertain the name and address from the registration records in such vehicle, or for any other reason is unable to give notice to the owner, as hereinabove provided, and in the event the vehicle is not recovered by or returned to the owner within a period of three days following such removal, then such person shall immediately send or cause to be sent a written report of such removal by mail by the state department whose duty it is to register such motor vehicle, and in the event such vehicle is stored in a public garage, a copy of such notice shall be mailed or delivered to the proprietor of such garage. Such notice shall include a description of the vehicle, the date, time and place from which removed, the reasons for such removal, and the name of the garage or place to which the vehicle was removed.
D. 
Vehicles so towed away shall be restored to the owner or person in charge of such vehicle upon identification to the Howell Township Police Department office and proof of ownership and permission to take charge of such vehicle, and further upon payment of the cost of removal as per ordinance, and such person shall pay any cost of storage accrued. Until paid, these charges constitute a lien upon the vehicle which may be enforced in the same manner as a garage keeper's lien may be enforced by state statutes.
E. 
It shall be the duty of the Township of Howell Police Department to keep a record of each vehicle removed in accordance with this section. The record shall include a description of the vehicle, its license number, the date and time of its removal, and the place from which it was removed, its location, the name and address of its owner or last operator, if known, and its final disposition.
In any prosecution in regard to a vehicle parked or left in a place or in a condition in violation of this article, proof that the particular vehicle described in the complaint was parked or left in violation of a section of this article, together with proof that the defendant named in the complaint was at the time the registered owner of such vehicle, shall constitute prima facie evidence that the defendant was the person who parked or left the vehicle in violation of this article.
A. 
Any person or persons, corporation, business entity, firm, association or otherwise, who violates this article by failing to remove such vehicles or equipment as set forth herein, shall be subject to a minimum fine of $150 and a maximum fine of not more than $2,000. This fine shall be in addition to all other violations set forth herein.
B. 
All provisions of this article may be enforced by the Township of Howell Code Enforcement Department, Police Department, Director or Assistant Director or his or her designee of the Department of Public Works or any other duly sworn authorized Township official.