[HISTORY: Adopted by the Municipal Council of the City of Clifton 12-20-1960 by Ord. No. 3319 as Article 10 of Chapter 10 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Clifton, New Jersey, 1960. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licensed businesses — See Ch. 303.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
HIGHWAY
Any street, avenue, park, parkway, road or other public place.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, except such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks.
OWNER
Any and every person engaged in the business of renting or leasing motor vehicles, without a driver, to be operated by the lessee or bailee, his agent or servant, for purposes other than the transportation of passengers for hire.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, association, corporation or joint-stock company, their trustees or receivers appointed by any courts.
No person shall engage in the business of renting or leasing motor vehicles for a purpose other than the transportation of passengers for hire in the City without first having obtained a license from the City.
[Amended 11-14-1966 by Ord. No. 3728]
A. 
Any person desiring a license under this chapter shall file with the City Clerk an original and two copies of an application, under oath, in writing, on a form furnished by the City Clerk.
B. 
The application shall set forth the following information:
(1) 
The applicant's name, business name and business address.
(2) 
Whether the applicant is an individual, a partnership, a corporation or another entity, and, if another entity, a full explanation and description thereof.
(3) 
If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's residence address and date and place of birth.
(4) 
If the applicant is a partnership, the full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each partner.
(5) 
If the applicant is a corporation or other entity, in the case of a corporation, the full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each major officer and each stockholder, the name and address of the registered agent and the address of the principal office (The term "stockholder," as used herein, means and includes any person owning or having an interest, either legal or equitable, in 10% or more of the stock issued and outstanding of the applicant corporation.); in the case of another entity, the full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each person owning or having any interest, either legal or equitable, aggregating in value 10% or more of the total capital of said entity, the name and address of the registered agent, if any, and the address of the principal office.
(6) 
Whether the applicant or any partners, officers or stockholders thereof have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime and, if so, the name of the person arrested or convicted, the date of arrest, the crime or charge involved and the disposition thereof. The term "officers," as used herein, means and includes the president, vice presidents, secretary and treasurer of a corporate applicant.
(7) 
The number of vehicles to be rented or leased to others by the applicant.
(8) 
A description of each vehicle to be so rented or leased, including make, model, color, engine number, serial number and year of manufacture.
C. 
Upon receipt of such application, the City Clerk shall submit the same to the Police Department and Building Department for reports with reference to the compliance or noncompliance of the proposed establishment with municipal and state rules, regulations, ordinances and statutes and the truth of the matters contained in the application.
D. 
Upon return of such application and reports, the City Clerk shall submit the same to the Municipal Council for its consent and approval.
E. 
Upon the consent and approval of the Municipal Council, the City Clerk shall issue such license.
[Amended 4-7-1987 by Ord. No. 5151-87; 6-5-1991 by Ord. No. 5502-91]
A. 
Every application submitted pursuant to this chapter for the issuance of a license to operate a business involving the renting and leasing of motor vehicles shall be accompanied by a fee of $160, which fee is not returnable should the applicant fail to qualify in his application. A fee of $15 shall be paid to the City Clerk for the issuance of every certificate of compliance required by § 443-9 herein.
[Amended 1-2-2008 by Ord. No. 6711-08; 4-18-2023 by Ord. No. 7813-23]
B. 
All licenses issued pursuant to this chapter shall expire on December 31 of each year unless renewed on or before the date of expiration in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
Every owner, as defined in § 443-1 of this chapter, shall file with the City Clerk a policy of insurance of a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of New Jersey, insuring such owner against loss from the liability imposed by law upon such owner for damages on account of bodily injury or death suffered by any person other than a person in the employ of such owner, or a person in, on or about such motor vehicle in the status of a driver, passenger for hire or occupant, as a result of accidents occurring by reason of the negligent maintenance, use or operation of such motor vehicle upon the public highways of the State of New Jersey.
The policy of insurance referred to in § 443-5 shall provide a limit of liability on the part of the insurer, exclusive of court costs and the expenses of investigating and defending suits, for each motor vehicle covered thereby, in the sum of not less than $10,000 for bodily injury to or death of any one person, and, subject to the same limit of liability for each person so injured or killed, in the sum of not less than $20,000 for bodily injury to or death of more than one person in any one accident, and for damage to property in the sum of $5,000. Said policy shall also provide for the payment, subject to the aforesaid limits of liability, of any final judgment recovered by any person on account of the ownership, maintenance and use of such motor vehicle by either the owner, lessee, bailee or his agent or servant, or any fault in respect thereto, and shall be for the benefit of any person suffering loss, damage or injury as aforesaid. Such policy of insurance shall also contain a provision for a continuing liability thereunder, subject to the aforesaid limits of liability, notwithstanding any recovery thereon, and shall further provide that nothing contained therein, nor the violation of any of the provisions thereof, shall relieve the insurer, within the limit of liability aforesaid, from the payment of any such judgment; but this provision shall not, as between the insurer and the assured, affect the rights given by the policy to the insurer against the assured because of any violation or otherwise. The provisions of this chapter and of N.J.S.A. 45:21-3, as amended, so far as may be requisite, shall be read into and deemed to form a part of any such policy.
The owner, at his option, may file one policy for each motor vehicle, or one policy covering two or more motor vehicles, or one policy covering all vehicles operated under the same ownership, with provision for substitution and addition of motor vehicles thereunder, and may file policies of different insurers.
A. 
The owner shall, prior to the issuance of any certificate of compliance, execute and deliver to the City Clerk a power of attorney, wherein and whereby the owner shall nominate, constitute and appoint the City Clerk his true and lawful attorney for the purpose of acknowledging service of any process out of a court of competent jurisdiction in any action brought to recover damages against such owner by reason of the negligent maintenance, use or operation of any such motor vehicle as aforesaid.
B. 
No owner shall be required to file and maintain in force more than one power of attorney under this chapter.
Upon the owner's compliance with the requirements of this chapter, the City Clerk shall issue to the owner a certificate for each vehicle, which certificate shall describe the vehicle and certify that the owner thereof has filed a policy of insurance and power of attorney as required by this chapter and N.J.S.A. 45:21-1 et seq. The certificate, when issued, shall at all times be carried in the vehicle for which issued, and no lessee, bailee or owner shall remove, or cause or permit to be removed, said certificate therefrom.
The City Clerk shall revoke the certificate of compliance at any time when there is not on file in the City Clerk's office a valid policy, in full force and effect, and a power of attorney, as required by this chapter. Upon written notice of such revocation, the owner shall surrender the certificate of compliance forthwith to the City Clerk or to any person designated by the City Clerk to receive the same, and the owner shall cease to operate, or cause or permit to be operated, such motor vehicle.
Any policy filed under the provisions of this chapter may be canceled, as to accidents occurring subsequent to the effective date of such cancellation, by the insurer or by the owner upon the terms and in the manner therein provided for; but such cancellation shall not be effective unless and until 20 days' notice in writing of such cancellation shall have been given to the City Clerk. Service of such notice of cancellation may be made either personally, or by registered or certified mail, and directed to the City Clerk at City Hall, Clifton, New Jersey. Immediately upon receipt of such notice by the City Clerk of the cancellation, as required by this chapter, or if the authority of the insurer to transact business in the State of New Jersey shall be revoked, the City Clerk shall require the owner to replace such policy with another good and sufficient policy in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, in default of which the owner's certificate shall be revoked for all motor vehicles covered by such policy, and the owner shall thereupon cease to operate, or cause or permit to be operated, any such motor vehicle. Upon revocation of the certificate of compliance of any owner by the City Clerk, other than for failure to file another policy upon notice of cancellation, as hereinabove provided for, notice shall be sent by the City Clerk to the insurer, and such notice of revocation shall operate automatically to cancel such policy for the motor vehicle for which the certificate was revoked, as to all accidents occurring subsequent to the revocation of the certificate, and such insurer shall be liable for the return of the unearned premium upon such policy, as in case of cancellation by the insurer.
Any corporate owner may be exempt from obtaining or filing an insurance policy as required by this chapter if the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance of this state shall, by written order, make such exemption and deliver a certified copy of such order to the City Clerk. Such certified copy of the order shall be filed by the City Clerk in lieu of an insurance policy for so long as said order of the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance remains in force. The City Clerk shall indicate that such an order is on file in the office of the City Clerk by notation in the certificate of compliance issued to the corporate owner. In the event that the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance shall revoke his order granting exemption, then the City Clerk shall revoke the certificate of compliance, and the corporate owner shall thereupon cease to operate, or cause or permit to be operated, any motor vehicle affected by said revocation until such time as a policy of insurance as required in this chapter is obtained.
Every owner shall keep and maintain a daily register, in which shall be entered the date and the time of the renting or leasing of each motor vehicle so rented or leased, the name and address of each person to whom the same is rented or leased, with a description of his business and of the purpose for which the vehicle is to be used, and the name and address of each person who will drive or operate the same, together with the number of his license to drive a motor vehicle and a description of the authority by which the same is issued. The register shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by any person having a claim for damages incurred by reason of personal injury or property damage in the operation of any such motor vehicle while so rented or leased or his agent or attorney.
[Amended 5-9-1969 by Ord. No. 3912; 3-17-1970 by Ord. No. 3969]
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both.