A. Purpose: The purpose of this section is to protect the public health by reducing vehicular emissions and noise pollution near residential areas.
B. Applicability: The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to all diesel powered commercial motor vehicles, as that term is defined in 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 390.5T, which are designed to operate on highways and also to transportation refrigeration units (TRUs), defined as a climate control device that allows a trailer to be heated or cooled while the engine of the truck is shut off, and which is powered by diesel internal combustion engines or electricity.
C. General Restrictions: Except as permitted in Section D, no owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle or TRU that is located 1) anywhere within a residential zoning district; or 2) within 300 feet of any property located within a residential zoning district shall cause or permit the commercial motor vehicle or TRU to idle for more than fifteen (15) minutes in any three (3) hour period. For purposes of this chapter, idle or idling means the running of the engine of a commercial motor vehicle or the running of a TRU when the commercial motor vehicle or container housing the TRU is not moving.
No property owner or person in possession or control of real property shall allow or permit a commercial motor vehicle or TRU to idle on property owned or under the person’s possession or control in violation of this section. Any owner, tenant, occupant manager, other person in possession or control of real property who has the legal authority to control the activities occurring on the property and who knows or has reason to know of the violation and fails to immediately take reasonable steps to abate the violation is guilty of violating this section.
D. Exemptions: Section 6-6-1(C) does not apply to the following situations:
1. A vehicle or TRU idles while forced to remain motionless because of on-highway traffic, an official traffic control device or signal, or at the direction of a law enforcement official.
2. A police, fire, ambulance, public safety, military, other emergency or law enforcement vehicle, or any vehicle being used in an emergency capacity, idles while in an emergency or training mode and not for the convenience of the vehicle operator.
3. he primary propulsion engine or TRU idles for maintenance, servicing, repairing, or diagnostic purposes if idling is required for such activity.
4. A vehicle or TRU idles as part of a state or federal inspection to verify that all equipment is in good working order, provided idling is required as part of the inspection.
5. An armored vehicle idles when a person remains inside the vehicle to guard the contents, or while the vehicle is being loaded or unloaded.
6. A passenger bus idles a maximum of fifteen (15) minutes in any sixty-minute period to maintain passenger comfort while non-driver passengers are onboard.
7. A vehicle or TRU idles due to mechanical difficulties over which the driver has no control; an officer or inspector enforcing this chapter may require that the owner or operator of the vehicle submit repair documentation or receipt within a specified number of days in order for this conditional exemption to apply.
8. A vehicle or TRU idles during active loading or unloading of cargo from the vehicle or a trailer attached to the vehicle.
9. A vehicle in active use on a construction site, provided that such vehicle idling does not violate any other provision of the City Code.
10. A mobile food unit (food truck) while individuals are present within the food truck and are actively engaged in the preparation for sale or sale of food from the food truck.
E. Penalties. Violations of the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable as a misdemeanor under Section 1-4-1(A). This chapter may also be enforced by injunction, abatement, mandamus, or any other appropriate remedy in any court of competent jurisdiction. (Ord. 1427, 6-13-2022)