[Adopted 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 287; amended
in its entirety 11-9-2006 by Ord. No. 472]
Any resident of Town of Elsmere may apply to
the Department of Public Safety for a disabled person's parking space
if he/she or another member of the household has a disability which
limits or impairs his/her ability to walk and a licensed physician
certifies that the applicant or household member has one or more of
the following permanent disabilities with no prognosis for improvement:
A. The inability to walk a distance of 200 feet without
stopping to rest;
B. The inability to walk safely without the use of or
assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic
device, wheelchair or other assistive device;
C. Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that
the applicant or household member's forced (respiratory) expiratory
volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one
liter or the artificial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room
air at rest;
D. Is required to use portable oxygen;
E. Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the applicant
or a household member's functional limitations are classified in severity
as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American
Heart Association; or
F. Is severely limited in his or her ability to walk
due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.
A disabled parking space shall be provided only
to a resident whose vehicle has a current Delaware license plate (Hard
Tag) with the internationally recognized wheelchair symbol in the
same size as the numbers and/or letters on the plate.
Only one parking space shall be provided per residence for a vehicle meeting the standards in §
116-3 of this article.
A copy of each request shall be distributed
to the Special Services Department, so that it may be determined if
it is possible to place a sign pole at the requested site.
[Amended 4-11-2019 by Ord. No. 645]
The designated parking space shall be on the
street directly in front of the residence, when applicable, and shall
only be provided to those who have no driveway on their property. Notwithstanding
the prior sentence, a resident may apply to the Chief of Police for
a designated handicapped parking space, even if the resident has a
driveway on their property, if a hardship interferes with access from
the driveway to an accessible entry point on the dwelling. If the
Chief of Police denies the request, the resident may appeal the denial
to the Town Council.
A designated handicapped parking area shall
terminate and revert back to public parking upon the licensee's change
of residence or death.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this
article, a disabled person's parking space may be issued to a church
or other nonresidentially zoned property which accommodates the public
to provide a single parking space, provided that the applicant establishes
that a member of the public that regularly attends such place has
a need for such a parking space in front of that property and such
property and such person using that space would otherwise meet the
requirements of this chapter.
Any person who intentionally presents false
information to the Town of Elsmere or the Department of Public Safety
in an attempt to obtain a disabled person's parking space under this
article shall, for the first offense, receive a mandatory fine of
$100. For each subsequent like offense, the person shall receive a
mandatory fine of $200.
[Adopted 2-12-2004 by Ord. No. 425]
All individuals and artificial entities, other
than residential, served by on-lot parking shall provide parking spaces
for motor vehicles which transport disabled persons, which shall be
properly designated in accordance with this section's standards and
the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), or as may be amended, whichever
is more restrictive.
A. Handicap parking spaces shall be a minimum of eight
feet wide by 18 feet long with an adjacent parallel access aisle five
feet wide. The adjacent parallel access aisle may be shared by two
accessible parking spaces. One in every eight accessible spaces shall
have an access aisle a minimum of eight feet wide (rather than five
feet) and shall be signed "van accessible."
B. Handicap parking spaces shall be located as close
as possible to an entrance which allows such persons to enter and
leave the parking area and/or structure without assistance. Where
feasible, this means locations where there is no need to crossvehicular
access lanes or aisles. Ramps shall be provided at curbs.
C. Handicap parking spaces shall be posted and marked
with both a ground-mounted sign and pavement marking which includes
the international symbol for barrier-free environments and a statement
informing the public that the parking space is reserved for use by
disabled persons.
Any person convicted of violating any provisions
of this article shall pay a fine of not less than $100 nor more than
$300.