No person shall drive a commercial horse-drawn vehicle/carriage unless the following requirements are met and a permit to engage in that occupation has been issued by the Finance Department.
(A) The applicant must have a valid chauffeur’s license issued by the State of Ohio or Commonwealth of Kentucky for the duration of the permit period.
(B) The applicant shall be free of alcohol and drug addiction.
(C) The applicant shall be free of defective vision, defective hearing and any other infirmities that would render such driver unfit for the safe operation of a public vehicle.
(D) Each applicant must file a sworn affidavit that he or she has successfully completed an apprenticeship of 40 hours with horse-drawn vehicles/ carriages or has previous experience exceeding 40 hours therein, which shall include, but is not limited to:
(1) The proper method of fitting a harness to a horse and hitching and unhitching a properly harnessed horse;
(2) Has ridden with a licensed driver the first 24 hours of the apprenticeship to observe the proper handling and driving of a horse-drawn vehicle/ carriage and has been trained in emergency situations for unexpected animal behavior;
(3) Has driven the horse-drawn vehicle/ carriage under the supervision of a licensed driver for the last 16 hours of the apprenticeship; and
(4) Is familiar with the traffic regulations and designated horse-drawn vehicle/ carriage routes.
(E) Upon compliance with the requirements of this section, the Finance Department may issue a permit to the individual to engage in the occupation of driving horse-drawn vehicles/carriages in the city. Such permit shall contain a photograph of the holder, his or her name, address, date of birth and date of issuance. The applicant must make himself or herself available to the Police Department for photographic purposes.
(F) Such permit is renewable annually and expires one year from the date of issuance by the city. There shall be a charge of $10 for each permit.
(G) The permit required herein must be in the possession of the driver at all times while driving vehicles/carriages upon city streets, and must be shown to any officer of the city’s Police Department upon request.
(H) Any person who knowingly and intentionally falsifies a driver permit application shall have the license issued by the city to drive horse-drawn vehicles/carriages revoked, in addition to any other penalties provided in this chapter.
(1984 Code, § 111.402) (Ord. O-16-87, passed 3-24-1987; Ord. O-56-04, passed 8-24-2004) Penalty, see § 119.999