A. The City, with respect to streets and highways under its jurisdiction may, in its discretion, upon application and good cause being shown therefor, issue a special permit authorizing the applicant to operate or move a vehicle or combination of vehicles of a size or weight of vehicle or load exceeding the maximum specified in this Chapter or otherwise not in conformity with this Chapter upon any street or highway under its jurisdiction and for the maintenance of which the City is responsible. Applications and permits other than those in written or printed form may only be accepted from and issued to the company or individual making the movement. Except for an application to move directly across a street or highway the application shall show that the load to be moved by such vehicle or combination of vehicles cannot reasonably be dismantled or disassembled.
B. The application for any such permit shall: 1) state whether such permit is requested for a single trip or for limited continuous operation; 2) state if the applicant is an authorized carrier under the Illinois Motor Carrier of Property Law, if so, his certificate, registration or permit number issued by the Illinois Commerce Commission; 3) specifically describe and identify the vehicle or vehicles and load to be operated or moved; 4) state the routing requested including the points of origin and destination; and 5) state if the vehicles or loads are being transported for hire. No permits for the movement of a vehicle or load for hire shall be issued to any applicant who is required under the Illinois Motor Carrier of Property Law to have a certificate, registration or permit and does not have such certificate, registration or permit.
C. The Police Department when not inconsistent with traffic safety, is authorized to issue or withhold such permit at its discretion; or, if such permit is issued at its discretion to prescribe the route or routes to be traveled, to limit the number of trips, to establish seasonal or other time limitations within which the vehicles described may be operated on the highways indicated, or otherwise to limit or prescribe conditions of operations of such vehicle or vehicles, when necessary to assure against undue damage to the road foundation, surfaces or structures, and may require such undertaking or other security as may be deemed necessary to compensate for any injury to any roadway or road structure. The Police Department shall maintain a daily record of each permit issued along with the fee and the stipulated dimensions, weights, conditions and restrictions authorized and this record shall be presumed correct in any case of questions or dispute.
D. The Police Department shall, upon application in writing from any local authority, issue a semiannual permit authorizing the local authority to move oversize highway construction, transportation, utility and maintenance equipment over roads under the jurisdiction of the City. The permit shall be applicable only to equipment and vehicles owned by or registered in the name of the local authority, and no fee shall be charged for the issuance of such permits.
E. Reserved.
F. The form and content of the permit shall be determined by the Police Department. Every permit shall be carried in the vehicle or combination of vehicles to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any police officer or authorized agent of the City and no person shall violate any of the terms or conditions of such special permit. Violation of the terms and conditions of the permit shall not be deemed a revocation of the permit. No rule or regulation, nor anything herein shall be construed to authorize any police officer, or authorized agent of the City to remove the permit from the possession of the permittee. However, upon arrest for a violation of permit, the permittee, or his agent, must produce the permit at any court hearing concerning the alleged violation of permit.
If the permit designates and includes a routing to a certified scale, the permittee, while en route to the designated scale, shall be deemed in compliance with the weight provisions of the permit provided the axle or gross weights do no exceed any of the permitted limits by more than the following amounts:
Single axle | 2,000 pounds |
Tandem axle | 3,000 pounds |
Gross | 5,000 pounds |
G. The Police Department is authorized to adopt, amend, and to make available to interested persons a policy concerning reasonable rules, limitations and conditions or provisions of operation upon streets and highways under the City's jurisdiction in addition to those contained in this Section for the movement by special permit of vehicles, combinations, or loads which cannot reasonably be dismantled or disassembled. All rules, limitations and conditions or provisions adopted in the policy shall have due regard for the safety of the traveling public and the protection of the highway and street system. The requirements of the policy for flagmen and escort vehicles shall be the same for all moves of comparable size and weight. When escort vehicles are required, they shall meet the following requirements:
1. All operators shall be eighteen (18) years of age or over and properly licensed to operate the vehicle.
2. Vehicles escorting oversized loads more than twelve feet (12') wide must be equipped with a rotating or flashing amber light mounted on top as specified under 625 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/12-215.
Applicants shall be required to furnish a bond in the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) to the City conditioned so as to save the City, its officers, agents and employees harmless from any claim, loss or damage that may result from the granting of such permit or that may arise from or on account of any work done thereunder, and further conditioned that the grantee shall restore at his own cost, to a condition satisfactory to the City, any pavement, subway, tunnel, sewer, pipe, conduit, or other public utility that may be injured by reason of the transportation of such article under such permit. In addition, the applicant shall carry general liability insurance in an amount of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) and shall tender to the City a certificate of insurance evidencing same. Police vehicles may be required for escort under circumstances as required by rules and regulations of the Police Department.
H. Violation of any rule, limitation or condition or provision of any permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall render the permit void and the violator shall be deemed guilty of exceeding any size, weight or load limitations in excess of those authorized by the permit.
I. It shall be unlawful for any vehicle to be operated or movement made under a fraudulent permit and said permit shall be void. The Police Department shall not issue permits to the person, convicted of such violation for a period one year after the date of conviction. Penalties for violation of this Section shall be in addition to any penalties imposed for violation of other sections of this Chapter.
J. Whenever any vehicle is operated or movement made in violation of a permit issued in accordance with this Section, the person to whom such permit was granted, or the driver of such vehicle, is guilty of such violation and either, but not both, persons may be prosecuted for such violation as stated in this subsection. Any person, convicted of such violation shall be fined for the first offense, not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and, for the second offense by the same person, within a period of one year, not less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) and, for the third offense by the same person, within a period of one year after the date of the first offense, not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) and the Police Department shall not issue permits to the person convicted of a third offense during a period of one year after the date of conviction for such third offense.
Penalties for violations of this Section shall be in addition to any penalties imposed for violation of the sections of this Chapter. (Ord. O-01-98, 1-5-1998)