As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
PHYSICAL HANDICAP
A physical impairment which confines a person to a wheelchair,
causes a person to walk with difficulty or insecurity, affects the
sight or hearing to the extent that a person functioning in public
areas is insecure or exposed to danger, causes faulty coordination,
or reduces mobility, flexibility, coordination and perception to the
extent that facilities are needed to provide for the safety of that
person.
PUBLIC BUILDING
Any building, structure, facility or complex used by the
general public or to which the general public is invited, including
but not limited to theaters, concert halls, auditoriums, museums,
schools, libraries, municipal facilities, recreation facilities, public
transportation terminals and stations, factories, office buildings,
businesses, shopping centers, hotels or motels and public eating places,
whether privately or publicly owned, except that this term shall not
include one to four-family private residences, warehouse storage areas
or buildings conducting hazardous occupancies that involve highly
combustible, highly flammable or explosive material.
The owners of all public buildings which provide
parking spaces adjacent to or used in conjunction with the public
building shall, within 180 days of the effective date hereof, provide
for parking spaces for handicapped persons in accordance with the
guidelines set forth herein and in a location and manner as determined
by the Code Enforcement Officer. Any parking facility with less than
16 existing spaces shall be exempt from the provisions of this article.
Parking spaces for the physically handicapped shall be constructed
according to the following guidelines:
A. A minimum of 1% of the total number of parking spaces
in the parking facility shall be used for handicapped parking, but
there shall not be less than two parking spaces in each such facility.
B. The location of the physically handicapped spaces
shall be in an area of the parking facility which is most accessible
and approximate to the building or buildings which the facility serves.
The determination of said location shall be made by the Code Enforcement
Officer in conjunction and consultation with the owner. In shopping
centers and other multistore facilities, the handicapped spaces shall
be as near to the flagship store as possible and/or at such other
locations as may be agreeable between the Code Enforcement Officer
and the owner.
C. Each space or group of spaces shall be identified
with a clearly visible sign displaying the International Symbol of
Access along with the following words: "These Spaces Reserved for
Physically Handicapped Only. Special Vehicle Identification Required."
The lines designating the area shall be painted in fluorescent yellow
paint, and the center of the space shall have painted thereon the
capital letter "H." On or before June 1, 1991, all signs identifying
handicapped parking spaces shall also state the penalties which may
be imposed for a violation, pursuant to the requirements of N.J.S.A.
39:4-198.
D. Each space shall be 12 feet wide to allow room for
persons in wheelchairs or on braces or crutches to get in or out of
either side of the automobile on a level paved surface suitable for
wheeling and walking.
E. Where possible, such spaces shall be located so that
persons in wheelchairs or using braces or crutches are not compelled
to wheel or walk behind parked cars.
F. Where applicable, curb ramps shall be provided to
permit handicapped people access from parking area to sidewalk.
Any person who parks a motor vehicle in a parking
space which is restricted for handicapped parking without a special
vehicle identification card shall be upon conviction fined the sum
of $100 for the first such offense and for subsequent offenses shall
upon conviction be subject to a fine of at least $100 and shall be
subject to a period of community service upon such terms and in such
form as the court may deem appropriate, or both, at the discretion
of the Municipal Court Judge.