[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Commission of the City of Royal Oak 3-9-1992
by Ord. No. 92-3. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Abandoned and inoperable vehicles — See Ch. 716.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Snow Emergency
Ordinance."
The following definitions apply in this chapter:
The Royal Oak Police Department Police Chief or his designated representative.
The entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly
maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes
of vehicular travel.
It shall be unlawful for a person to park or leave any vehicle on a
street in the City of Royal Oak when a snow emergency has been declared.
The Chief of Police shall cause each declaration of a snow emergency
to be publicly announced by means of broadcasts and/or telecasts from stations
with a normal operating range covering the City, including cable television.
The Chief of Police may cause such declaration to be further made in a newspaper
of general circulation when feasible.
Once in effect, the prohibition under this chapter shall remain in effect
until terminated by announcement of the Police Chief in accordance with this
chapter, except that any street which has become substantially clear of snow
and ice from curb to curb for the length of the entire block
shall be automatically excluded therefrom.
Whenever a vehicle becomes stalled or disabled for any reason, whether
or not in violation of this chapter, on any portion of a City street to which
the parking prohibition applies, the person operating the vehicle shall take
immediate actions to have the vehicle towed or pushed off the street. No person
shall abandon or leave his or her vehicle in a City street (regardless of
whether the person 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, automobile
service station or other place of assistance and return without delay.
Any person who violates this chapter is responsible for a civil infraction,
punishable by a fine not to exceed $100.
In any proceeding for a violation of this chapter relating to the parking
or leaving of a vehicle, proof that the particular vehicle described in the
complaint was parked or left in violation of this chapter, together with proof
that the respondent named in the complaint was, at the time of such parking,
the registered owner of such vehicle, shall constitute in evidence a presumption
that the registered owner of such vehicle was the person who parked or left
such vehicle at the location such violation occurred.
Any vehicle parked or left on any City street in violation of this chapter
constitutes a public hazard and an obstruction of traffic and may be towed
and impounded immediately. No person may recover any impounded vehicle without
first paying the cost of removal and storage, notwithstanding, and apart from,
any fine which may also be imposed for violation of this chapter.
An owner of a vehicle who occupies a premises that does not have a driveway
shall be exempt from the requirement to move said motor vehicle in the event
of a snow emergency. The owner of the vehicle, upon application to the Police
Department, will receive a special parking permit which shall be displayed
in the front-side window on the driver's side of the vehicle.
