[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Rochelle Park as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 180.
[Adopted 2-14-1949 by Ord. No. 155]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any individual, copartnership, association, corporation or
joint-stock company, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed
by any court whatsoever.
Any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway or other public
place.
Any automobile or motorcar, commonly called "taxi," engaged
in the business of carrying passengers for hire, which is held out,
announced or advertised to operate or run or which is operated or
run over any of the streets or public highways of the state, and particularly
accepts and discharges such persons as may offer themselves for transportation
from points or places to points or places within or without the state.
The Township Committee of the Township of Rochelle Park,
Bergen County, New Jersey.
No taxicabs shall be used for the transportation
of passengers for hire in the Township of Rochelle Park, Bergen County,
New Jersey, unless same shall be licensed in accordance with the provisions
of this article and the requirements of N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq. and
consent for the operation thereof obtained from the Township Committee.
The license required by this section shall be known as "taxi owner's
license."
No person shall drive or operate as driver or
chauffeur, or otherwise, any taxicab used for the transportation of
passengers for hire in the Township of Rochelle Park, Bergen County,
New Jersey, unless such person shall have a license issued for said
purpose pursuant to the provisions of this article. The license required
by this section shall be known as "taxi driver's license."
No taxi owner's license shall be issued for
any taxicab herein required to be licensed until the owner thereof
shall have filed an application for same, addressed to the Township
Committee, setting forth the following information:
A.
Description of the vehicle for which the license is
applied for.
B.
Name of the owner.
C.
Residence or address of principal office of the owner.
D.
Telephone numbers in whose name listed and time in
which they are in service.
E.
Complete schedule of fares.
F.
Such other facts as the Township Committee or the
Chief of Police of the Township of Rochelle Park shall require to
be furnished.
No taxicab shall be licensed unless the following
requirements are met:
A.
The Chief of Police shall inspect said taxicab and
approve same in writing and such approval shall be filed with the
Township Clerk.
B.
All requirements of N.J.S.A. 48:16-3 have been complied
with.
[Amended 5-5-1986 by Ord. No. 519]
C.
The license fee therefor, as hereinafter provided,
is paid to the Township Clerk.
A.
No taxi driver's license shall be granted to any person
unless such person is at least 18 years of age and is a citizen of
the United States of America and until such person shall have filed
an application for same, addressed to the Township Committee, setting
forth the following information:
(1)
Full name of applicant.
(2)
Age of applicant.
(3)
Place of his residence.
(4)
Certificate as to good moral character and ability,
signed by at least two citizens of Bergen County.
(5)
Such other facts as the Township Committee or the
Chief of Police of the Township of Rochelle Park shall require to
be furnished.
B.
Each application for a taxi driver's license must
be accompanied by two recent photographs of the applicant of a size
which may be easily attached to the license when issued, one to be
attached thereto, the other to be filed with the application in the
Township Clerk's office.
No person shall receive a taxi driver's license
until the following requirements are met:
No license under this article shall be issued
to any person who has not been a resident of Bergen County for at
least 30 days prior to the date of making application. No license
under this article shall be issued to any firm, the individual members
of which have not been residents of Bergen County for at least 30
days prior to the date of making application.
The Township Committee shall have the sole licensing
authority under this article and shall have the power to grant or
reject any license applied for hereunder, as shall appear for the
best interest of the residents of the Township of Rochelle Park.
Any license granted hereunder shall be issued
and signed by the Township Clerk after the granting thereof by the
Township Committee and the payment of the fee therefor, and shall
be sealed with the Township Seal.
The Chief of Police of the Township of Rochelle
Park shall have the power to grant a temporary taxi driver's license
upon compliance with all of the requirements herein, which temporary
taxi driver's license shall not extend beyond the date of the next
regular Township Committee meeting of the Township of Rochelle Park
after the issuance thereof.
[Amended 5-2-1960 by Ord. No. 232; 11-16-1981 by Ord. No. 453]
The fee required to paid for the taxi owner's
license is $50 annually for each taxicab, and the fee required to
be paid for a taxi driver's license shall be $5 annually. Licenses
issued shall be in effect one year from April 1.
The taxi driver's license herein provided for
shall be in such form as to contain the photograph and signature of
the licensee of the license, which photograph shall be a duplicate
of the photographs filed with the application, which photograph shall
be so attached to the license that it cannot be removed and another
photograph substituted without detection. Any licensee who willfully
or maliciously defaces, damages or obliterates any official entry
made upon his license shall be subject to the penalty of revocation
of the said license.
The taxi owner's license shall, at all times,
be openly and conspicuously exhibited in any automobile or motor vehicle
licensed under this article and it shall briefly describe the taxicab
licensed and contain the motor vehicle registration number as well
as the serial and motor numbers of such taxicab.
The Township Clerk shall keep a register of
all licenses granted under the provisions of this article, which register
shall show the character of the license, the number, date of issue,
name of person licensed and any other information pertaining thereto.
The Clerk shall keep all applications and shall endorse on such applications
as licenses are granted by the Township Committee the number of the
license issued in pursuance thereof.
A.
The charge for carrying passengers shall not exceed
the rates set out in the application for the taxi owner's license
unless said change in rates shall be approved by the Township Committee.
B.
Every taxicab licensed hereunder shall have fastened
in a conspicuous place therein a printed card showing the rates provided
for in the approved application, in letters and figures of not less
than 1/2 inch in height, which card shall bear the license number
of such vehicle and also the name of the owner thereof. The charging
of any fare or fares in excess thereof shall constitute a violation
of this article by the owner or operator, or both.
Every holder of a taxi driver's license, when
driving or operating any vehicle herein required to be licensed, shall
have in his possession the license issued to him and, in addition
thereto, shall wear on the outside of his hat or clothing a license
badge to be furnished to him by the Township Clerk. In case any such
licensee shall lose such license badge, he may procure a duplicate
thereof from the Township Clerk upon payment of the actual cost thereof.
A.
No driver, owner or other person interested in or
connected with any taxicab licensed hereunder shall solicit customers
in a noisy or offensive manner nor at any place other than public
hack stands in any manner whatsoever.
B.
No driver of any taxicab which is disengaged shall
refuse to carry any orderly person upon the payment of the rate of
fare herein fixed.
C.
No driver of any taxicab licensed hereunder shall
permit such vehicle when disengaged to stand in any public street
or place other than at a taxi stand, provided that nothing herein
shall prevent such driver from waiting for a passenger in front of
any building or place.
All taxicabs herein required to be licensed,
used or operated for the carrying of passengers within the scope of
this article shall be automobile sedans with a minimum of three doors.
At least two of said doors shall be for the exclusive use of the passengers.
The said automobiles shall be, at all times, clean and in good repair.
Any dispute as to the fare shall be determined
by the officer in charge of the Rochelle Park police station.
A.
Public hack stands are hereby established at such
places as may be from time to time designated by the Township Committee,
which shall designate the character of vehicles which may stand at
any such public hack stand and may exclude all other vehicles from
such stand.
B.
The location and capacity of any such public hack
stand shall be indicated by a sign substantially as follows: "Taxicab
stand. Capacity ..... taxicabs"
C.
No vehicle other than one licensed hereunder and prepared
to accept passengers upon request shall stand or park at any such
public hack stand.
A.
The Township Committee is hereby authorized and empowered
to revoke or suspend any license issued hereunder for the violation
of any of the provisions of this article or for the violation of any
of the rules and regulations made, adopted and promulgated by the
Township Committee in connection herewith.
B.
Any such suspension shall be noted on the license,
together with a statement of the reasons therefor, and if the license
be a taxi driver's license, the driver shall be deprived of his badge
by the Chief of Police, the badge to be returned at the expiration
of the period for which the license was suspended.
C.
A second suspension for the same reason or, in any
case, a third suspension of any license issued hereunder shall revoke
the license.
[Amended 5-5-1986 by Ord. No. 519]
Any person, firm, corporation or association
who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, in
addition to the suspension or revocation of license heretofore mentioned,
be punishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $500 or
imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days,
or both such fine and imprisonment, and every day of such violation
shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
[Adopted 2-19-1997 by Ord. No. 746]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person who drives a limousine within the Township of
Rochelle Park.
Licensed in accordance with the appropriate subsections of
this article, unless otherwise stated.
Includes any automobile or motor car, with the capacity of
five but less than 10 passengers, plus driver, engaged in the business
of carrying passengers for hire and which is hired by charter or for
a particular contract or by the day or hour or other fixed period
or to transport passengers to a specified place or places or which
charges a fare or price agreed upon in advance between the operator
and the passenger; provided, however, that the term "limousine" shall
not include taxicabs, hotel buses or buses employed solely in transporting
school children or teachers or autobuses which are subject to the
jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utility Commissioners or interstate
autobuses required by federal law or the rules of the Board of Public
Utility Commissioners to carry insurance against loss from liability
imposed by law on account of bodily injury or death. Furthermore,
limousine shall not be deemed to include a vehicle utilized for the
pickup and discharge of passengers within the Township of Rochelle
Park. A vehicle used for that purpose shall be deemed a "taxicab."
The total number of limousine owners' licenses that may be
issued and outstanding at one time is hereby fixed at three as of
April 2003.
[Amended 8-21-2002 by Ord. No. 862-02; 5-21-2003 by Ord. No.
884-03]
Consists of accepting and transporting in such limousine
one or more persons for hire from a point within the Township. The
operation of a limousine by one other than the owner shall be deemed
operation by the owner thereof as well as by the person actually driving
the same. Operation shall also be deemed to include parking, storing
or otherwise maintaining said vehicle within the borders of the Township
of Rochelle Park.
Any person, corporation or association in whose name title
to any limousine is registered with the New Jersey Department of Motor
Vehicles or who appears in such records to be the conditional vendee
or lessee thereof.
The Township of Rochelle Park.
The members of the Township Committee of Rochelle Park.
No limousine shall be operated within the Township
of Rochelle Park unless both the limousine and the driver thereof
are licensed pursuant to this article and conform to all of the provisions
hereof.
There are hereby established two classes of
limousine licenses to be known as "limousine driver's license" and
"limousine owner's license," respectively.
A limousine driver's license shall entitle the
person named therein to operate within the Township of Rochelle Park
any limousine duly licensed hereunder until the license either expires
or is surrendered, suspended or revoked and shall not be transferable.
A limousine owner's license shall entitle the
limousine therein described to be operated in this Township by a driver
duly licensed hereunder until the license either expires or is surrendered,
suspended or revoked and shall not be transferable.
Any license issued pursuant to the terms of
this article shall expire at 12:00 midnight on December 31 of the
year in which it was issued, unless sooner surrendered, suspended
or revoked.
A.
All applications for the issuance or the renewal of
any license of either class shall be made by the Township Clerk and
designed to elicit information respecting the identification, responsibility
and law-abiding habits of the applicant.
B.
Each applicant for a license of any class shall supply
the information requested on the application in full and verify the
correctness thereof by his oath or affirmation and thereafter file
the completed application with the Township Clerk, together with the
full amount of the proper fee hereinafter fixed therefor.
C.
All applications shall be submitted to the Construction
Code Department for review regarding compliance with municipal planning
and zoning regulations.[1] Said applicant, if requested by the Construction Code
Official, shall submit plans or drawings showing the location of the
vehicles on the premises in which the vehicles are to be located.
Said license shall not be issued by the Township Clerk unless or until
approval is obtained from the Construction Code Department. The Construction
Code Department shall have the right, if it deems necessary, to require
the applicant to submit a formal application to the Planning Board
for site plan approval. In that event, the applicant shall comply
with all the municipal land use requirements pertaining to site plans.
[Amended 6-16-2010 by Ord. No. 1015-10; 8-17-2011 by Ord. No.
1038-11]
A.
All applications for the issuance or renewal of a
limousine owner's license shall be made, in writing, in duplicate,
and shall contain the full name and address of the owner, the serial
number, type, color, year and make of the limousine, the number of
persons it is to carry and a detailed description of the manner in
which all vehicles shall be parked or otherwise stored in accordance
with the provisions of this article. Any and every change of address
of the owner shall be reported to the Township Clerk within three
days after such change.
B.
Every person obtaining a limousine owner's license
shall be at least 18 years of age, and if operating more than one
vehicle with the owner's license, shall have a regularly registered
business office located within the Township of Rochelle Park in compliance
with all local building and zoning ordinances and shall therein have
a telephone operating.
C.
No limousine owner's license shall be issued until
the limousine has been thoroughly inspected by the Police Department
and found to be in a safe, clean and sanitary condition for the transportation
of passengers.
D.
No limousine licensed under this article shall be
maintained or operated on the streets of the Township, except by a
driver licensed in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
E.
No limousine owner's license shall be issued without
satisfactory proof of the availability of off-street parking for all
vehicles. Said proofs must be approved, in writing, by the Construction
Code Department.
F.
No limousine owner's license shall be issued unless
the applicant shall possess a valid New Jersey driver's license.
G.
No limousine owner's license shall be issued unless
the applicant first submits fingerprints to the Township of Rochelle
Park Police Department which shall conduct an appropriate background
check of the limousine owner prior to the issuance of a limousine
owner's license pursuant to this section.
[Added 7-17-2002 by Ord. No. 856-02]
A.
Each applicant for a limousine driver's license shall
be at least 18 years of age and a holder of a valid driver's license
issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, State of New Jersey.
B.
Each applicant for a limousine driver's license shall
file with his application two photographs, each 3 1/2 inches square,
clearly depicting the facial features of the applicant, both of which
photographs shall thereupon become the property of the Township and
be retained with the application form unless the application shall
be issued, in which event one of the photographs shall be permanently
affixed to the license card in a space provided therein.
D.
All changes of residence on the part of the holder
of any limousine driver's license issued under this section shall
be reported, in writing, to the Township Clerk within three days after
such change and shall be directed to the Police Department of the
Township.
E.
The Township Clerk is hereby authorized to issue a
temporary limousine driver's license pending the approval by the Township
Committee of any application for a limousine driver's license submitted
in accordance with the provisions of this section, provided that the
Chief of Police of the Township shall first certify to the Township
Clerk, that after due investigation, the applicant is not ineligible
under the provisions of this section.
A.
Every applicant for a limousine driver's license shall
submit the insurance policy or bond required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-14
and 48:16-15[1] of the Statutes of New Jersey covering the limousine to
be licensed and shall execute and deliver to the Township Clerk, concurrently
with the filing of the policy or bond aforesaid, a power of attorney,
wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Township Clerk his
true and lawful attorney for the purpose of acknowledging service
of any process out of a court of competent jurisdiction to be served
against the insured by virtue of the indemnity granted under the insurance
policy or bond filed in accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:16-16 of the Statutes
of New Jersey.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 48:16-15 was repealed
by Chapter 224 of the Laws of 1979.
B.
The Township Clerk, upon filing of the required insurance
policy or bond, shall issue a certificate, in duplicate, showing the
owner of the limousine has complied with the terms of the New Jersey
Statutes aforementioned, which certificate shall recite the name of
the insurance company, the number and date of expiration of the policy
or bond, a description of the limousine insured thereunder and the
registration number of the same. The duplicate certificate shall be
filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles before any such car is
licensed as a limousine. The original certificate shall be posted
in a conspicuous place with the limousine.
The annual license fee for each limousine driver's
license hereafter issued or any renewal thereof shall be $25 for each
year or portion of a year for which the license is issued or renewed.
The annual fee for each limousine owner's license hereafter issued
or any renewal thereof shall be $50, plus $30 for each limousine for
each year or portion of a year for which the license is issued or
renewed, and all such licenses shall be under the charge and control
of the person applying therefor and he shall be responsible for the
operation of all cars so licensed to him.
The Township Committee may, in its discretion,
refuse to issue or renew or may, after notice and hearing, revoke
or suspend:
A.
Any license of either class if the applicant or licensee
has been once convicted of a crime in this or any other jurisdiction
or convicted of being a disorderly person or of a violation of Title
39, Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulations, of the Statutes of New
Jersey or has been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces of
the United States of America or who violates any provisions of this
article or has any judgment unsatisfied of record against him arising
out of an automobile accident or who has made false answers in his
application for such license or any renewal thereof or who has failed
or fails to render reasonably prompt, safe and adequate limousine
service or who has not complied fully with all requirements of this
section for such class of license.
B.
Any limousine driver's license if the licensee or
the applicant has in any degree contributed to any injury to persons
or damage to property arising out of negligent operation of a motor
vehicle or has any communicable or contagious disease.
C.
Any limousine owner's license if the motor vehicle
licensed or to be licensed, by reason of unsafe or unsanitary conditions,
is dangerous or unsafe to the occupants or others or if the policy
of insurance or bond or power of attorney required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-14,
48:16-15[1] and 48:16-16 of the New Jersey Statutes of the aforementioned
has not been furnished or kept in force or if the owner fails to comply
with any terms or conditions imposed by the Township Committee, or
any law of this state.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 48:16-15 was repealed
by Chapter 224 of the Laws of 1979.
A.
Each applicant granted a limousine driver's license
shall be issued a license card in evidence thereof, in a form approved
by the Township Committee and signed by the Township Clerk on its
behalf. Such license card shall at all times be prominently displayed
and adequately protected in the interior of any vehicle operated by
the licensee so that the fact thereof shall be at all times in full
view of and plainly legible to any passenger seated on the rear seat
of such limousine; and the license card shall at all times be and
remain the property of the Township and on direction of the Township
Committee shall at once be surrendered to the Township Clerk.
B.
No limousine driver's license card, other than that
of the licensee actually operating the limousine at the time, shall
be displayed therein.
A.
Drivers of limousines shall not receive or discharge
passengers in the roadway, but shall pull up to the right-hand sidewalk
or as nearly as possible thereto or, in the absence of sidewalk, to
the extreme right hand-side of the road, and there receive or discharge
passengers, except on one-way streets where passengers may be discharged
on either right- or left-hand sidewalks or at the side of a roadway
in the absence of a sidewalk.
B.
No limousine shall be operated about the streets of
the Township so as to solicit passengers or to bring the presence
of the limousine to the attention of prospective passengers.
A.
All vehicles herein required to be licensed, or used
or operated for the carrying of passengers within the scope of this
article, shall be automobile sedans with a minimum of three doors,
at least two of which doors shall be for the exclusive use of the
passengers. These automobiles shall at all times be clean and in good
repair.
B.
No person, other than the licensed driver of the limousine,
shall ride or sit in the compartment of the limousine reserved for
the driver.
No limousine shall be licensed until an insurance
policy or certificate in lieu thereof shall have been filed with the
Township Clerk with liability limits not less than $100,000/$300,000
for bodily injury and $10,000 for property damage.
