447.01 Definitions
447.02 Licenses Required
447.03 License Applications
447.04 Fees
447.05 Insurance
447.06 Route Map and Operations Schedule
447.07 License Issuance and Renewal
447.08 Regulations Governing Carriages and Carriage Businesses
447.09 Impounding of Horses
447.10 Suspension and Revocation of License; Appeal
447.99 Penalties
(a) "Carriage" means a horse-drawn or manually-or mechanically-driven vehicle the owner or operator of which secures or accepts passengers for hire on public streets or in public or quasi-public places, including, but not limited to, horse-drawn carriages, pedal-propelled carriages, and pedicabs.
(b) "Carriage Operator" means the person in actual physical control of a carriage.
(c) "Carriage Operator's Assistant" means the person required by division (b) of Section 447.08 to assist the Carriage Operator with those duties which are ancillary to the operation of the carriage.
(d) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses or his or her designee.
(e) "Carriage Business" means the business of transporting persons for hire by carriage.
(f) "For hire" has the same meaning as defined in Section 401.30.
(g) "Police Traffic Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Traffic Control of the Division of Police.
(Ord. No. 481-13. Passed 4-29-13, eff. 5-1-13)
(a) No person shall operate any carriage upon the public rights of way of the City without a carriage license and a carriage operator’s license, each issued pursuant to Section 447.07.
(b) No person shall operate a carriage business in the City without a carriage business license issued pursuant to Section 447.07.
(c) A carriage operator or business that operates, without charging the public a fee, as part of a special event permitted under Section 133.07 that lasts less than three (3) consecutive days shall be exempt from the license requirements of divisions (a) and (b) of this section but shall comply with all other provisions in this chapter unless specifically exempted.
(Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)
(a) The application for a carriage business license shall be made to the Commissioner on forms to be prescribed by the Commissioner, and shall contain the following information:
(1) The name and business address of the applicant, and if a corporation or partnership, the name and address of any person owning directly or indirectly five percent (5%) or more of the ownership interest in said business;
(2) The number of carriages to be operated by the carriage business;
(3) A schedule of rates and charges to be made to passengers;
(4) A statement signed by the applicant that the applicant will operate the carriage business strictly in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and other applicable provisions of these Codified Ordinances;
(5) The route map and operations schedule described in Section 447.06;
(6) Such other information as the Commissioner may require.
No carriage business license shall be issued to an owner of a carriage business if the applicant has been convicted of a felony, or of a violation of any law involving theft or any form of stealing, or of any crime involving moral turpitude that is reasonably related to the business license referred to herein, unless such conviction occurred more than five (5) years prior to the application date. No carriage business license shall be issued to an owner of a carriage business who makes a false statement in connection with an application for a business license. No carriage business license shall be issued to a business which will transport persons for hire in horse-drawn carriages until an officer of the Cleveland Police Mounted Unit has inspected every horse that will pull such carriages and has determined that each horse complies with the requirements of division (n) of Section 447.08. After a carriage business license has been issued to a business which transports persons for hire in horse-drawn carriages and a new horse is acquired for such purpose, the licensee shall have the new horse inspected by an officer of the Cleveland Police Mounted Unit to determine that the horse complies with the requirements of division (n) of Section 447.08 prior to using the horse in the business.
(b) The application for a carriage license shall be made to the Commissioner on forms to be prescribed by the Commissioner, and shall contain the following information:
(1) The name and address of the carriage’s owner;
(2) The number of persons the carriage is capable of carrying; and
(3) Such other information as the Commissioner may require.
(c) No carriage other than a horse-drawn carriage shall be licensed until the Commissioner has inspected the carriage and no horse-drawn carriage shall be licensed until an officer of the Cleveland Police Mounted Unit has inspected the carriage. Any such inspection shall determine that, consistent with the standards set forth herein, the carriage is clean, sightly, and in such condition as to be completely safe for the transporting of passengers. Only those carriages which contain the following equipment may be licensed:
(1) On the rear of the carriage, brakes, brakelights, taillights, and turn signals;
(2) On each side of the front of the carriage, lights that emit light to the front and to the side, and that are visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet; and
(3) Attached to the rear of the vehicle, a “slow-moving vehicle” sign approved by the State of Ohio.
(d) The application for a carriage operator’s license shall be made to the Commissioner on forms to be prescribed by the Commissioner, and shall contain the following:
(1) A statement signed by the applicant that the applicant is:
A. Licensed by the State of Ohio to operate a motor vehicle;
B. At least eighteen (18) years of age;
C. Able to speak, read, and write English:
D. Free of hearing, vision, and other problems that would render the applicant unable to safely operate a horse-drawn vehicle; and
E. Free of drugs and alcohol addiction.
(2) The type or types of carriage the applicant will be driving;
(3) Written evidence, satisfactory to the Commissioner, of experience in driving the type or types of carriage specified in division (d)(2) of this section or of successful completion of a course in such driving, or both;
(4) Two (2) front face photographs of the applicant taken within thirty (30) days of the date of the application. The photographs shall be two (2) inches by two (2) inches in size;
(5) A list of all criminal or city ordinances violated, convictions, forfeiture of bond and pleadings of nolo contendere on all charges, except minor traffic violations, within the last five (5) years.
(e) Each applicant for a carriage operator’s license shall be examined by a person designated by the Commissioner as to the applicant’s knowledge of the City Traffic Code and geography of the City. If the result of the examination is unsatisfactory, the applicant shall be refused a license.
(f) No carriage operator’s license shall be issued if the applicant has been convicted of any of the following offenses:
(1) Manslaughter or negligent homicide resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle;
(2) Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquors or drugs, unless such conviction occurred more than five (5) years prior to the application date;
(3) Failure to stop and render aid as required by the laws of this state, or leaving the scene of an accident contrary to the laws of this state, unless such conviction occurred more than five (5) years prior to the application date;
(4) Conviction of a felony, or of the violation of any law involving violence, theft or any form of stealing, or of any crime involving moral turpitude that is reasonably related to the license referred to herein, unless such conviction occurred more than five (5) years prior to the application date;
(5) Conviction, or forfeiture of bail, not vacated, upon three (3) charges of a violation of the motor vehicle laws of this state within a period of twelve (12) months;
(6) Repeated violations of the City ordinances which affect the safety of human life or limb on the streets of the City.
(g) No carriage operator’s license shall be issued to an applicant who makes a false statement in connection with an application for a carriage operator’s license.
(Ord. No. 2459-A-91. Passed 12-14-92, eff. 12-18-92)
The following license fees shall be paid to the Commissioner when the applications to which they apply are submitted:
(a) Carriage Business License.
Initial license fee | $150.00 |
Annual renewal fee | $150.00 |
(b) Carriage License.
Initial license fee per vehicle | $70.00 |
Annual renewal fee per vehicle | $70.00 |
(c) Carriage Operator’s License.
Initial license fee | $10.00 |
Annual renewal fee | $10.00 |
(Ord. No. 2393-02. Passed 2-3-03, eff. 2-3-03)
(a) No person shall operate a carriage business or a carriage, nor shall any carriage business or carriage license be issued until the applicant deposits with the Commissioner a policy or certificate of liability insurance for each carriage for which a license is sought, acceptable to and approved by the Commissioner and the Director of Law, insuring the applicant against property damage and personal injury liability in the following amounts: not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) for injuries, including accidental death, to any one (1) person, not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) on account of one (1) occurrence involving injury to more than one (1) person, and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) for property damage. The license shall expire upon the lapse or termination of the policy of insurance.
(b) The policy of insurance required by this section shall contain a provision for continuing liability thereunder to the full amount thereof, notwithstanding any recovery thereon. If at any time, in the judgment of the Commissioner, the policy is not sufficient for any cause, the Commissioner may require the policy to be replaced with another approved by the Commissioner and the Director of Law.
(Ord. No. 599-11. Passed 6-6-11, eff. 6-13-11)
(a) A carriage business shall operate only upon routes and under schedules which have been submitted to and approved by the Director of Public Works and the Police Traffic Commissioner.
(b) The route map and operations schedule shall be filed with the application for a carriage business license and shall contain the following:
(1) A map of the tour routes on which the business' carriages will operate;
(2) The location of any curbside areas to be designated as zones for pickup and discharge of passengers; and
(3) With respect to horse-drawn carriages, the location of the site or sites to be used for off-street storage, stabling, and loading of carriages and horses.
(c) The Director of Public Works and the Police Traffic Commissioner may reject any route map and operations schedule, the implementation of which would result in the unsafe use of public rights-of-way or an unreasonable impediment to the orderly flow of traffic.
(d) The licensee may file with the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses additional routes from time to time, provided that they have first been submitted to and approved by the Director of Public Works and the Police Traffic Commissioner.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a licensee from operating on special routes for special events, including without limitation weddings, dinner-and-theater packages, concerts and other performances, provided that the routes have first been submitted to and approved by the Director of Public Works and the Police Traffic Commissioner.
(f) Upon receipt of an application, the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses shall notify the Council Member or Members in whose ward or wards a carriage business intends to operate for their written recommendation of approval. No license shall be issued until the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of the notice, unless the period of thirty (30) days is expressly waived by the Council members in writing.
(Ord. No. 481-13. Passed 4-29-13, eff. 5-1-13)
(a) It is hereby determined that in order to prevent disruption of the use of public rights-of-way within the Downtown Area by motor vehicles and pedestrians, the number of carriage licenses shall at no time exceed thirty (30), and no carriage business shall operate more than eight (8) carriages. The carriage licenses shall be issued by the Commissioner on a first-come-first-serve basis.
(b) Upon receipt of the application required by division (a) of Section 447.03, the fee required by division (a) of Section 447.04, and the insurance policy required by Section 447.05, the Commissioner shall issue a carriage business license which, unless sooner revoked or suspended pursuant to Section 447.10, shall be valid for the period of one (1) year, commencing upon April 1 and ending upon March 31. The Commissioner shall issue to the licensee a number of copies of the carriage business license equal to that number of carriages for which the owner of the carriage business obtains licenses pursuant to division (c) of this section.
(c) Subject to the provisions of division (a) of this section, upon receipt of the application required by division (b) of Section 447.03 and the fee required by division (b) of Section 447.04, and upon a satisfactory conclusion to the inspection required by division (c) of Section 447.03, the Commissioner shall issue a carriage license which, unless sooner revoked or suspended pursuant to Section 447.10, shall be valid for the period of one (1) year, commencing April 1 and ending upon March 31.
(d) Upon receipt of the application required by division (d) of Section 447.03 and the fee required by division (c) of Section 447.04, the Commissioner shall issue a carriage operator's license which shall contain the photograph of the applicant and which, unless sooner revoked or suspended pursuant to Section 447.10, shall be valid for the period of one (1) year, commencing upon April 1 and ending upon March 31.
(e) Licenses issued pursuant to this chapter are not transferrable, but each license may be renewed from year to year upon filing of a renewal application and payment of the renewal fee specified in Section 447.04, provided that the Commissioner determines that the business, carriage, or operator, as the case may be, continues to meet the requirements for initial issuance contained in Section 447.03. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, division (a) of this section shall apply to renewals.
(Ord. No. 734-16. Passed 6-6-16, eff. 6-7-16)
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