(A) For the purpose of this section and, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
COMMERCIAL SELF-PROPELLED VEHICLE. Any device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported upon a street or highway which contains its own means of propulsion and is engaged in commerce. Said definition shall include privately owned school buses operated on a contract basis on behalf of a school corporation.
LARGE VEHICLES DEFINED. Any single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds, and any trailer whose function is to be towed which weighs in excess of 10,000 pounds. These include, but are not limited to, straight trucks, buses, tractors and trailers, and trailers in excess of 10,000 pounds.
(B) (1) The parking of a commercial self-propelled vehicle in residential zoning districts shall be prohibited, except that one commercial vehicle of not more than three tons in capacity may be parked on any lot on which there is located a principal building; provided, however, such a vehicle is parked in an enclosed garage, accessory building or rear yard that is used by a resident of the lot on which the vehicle is parked. This shall not be interpreted to prohibit commercial vehicles from temporarily loading and unloading in any residential district.
(2) The owner of any such commercial self-propelled vehicle found to be parked in a residential zoning district in violation of this provision shall be subject to citation and fines as set forth herein.
(3) In the event that the owner of a commercial self-propelled vehicle wishes to park such a vehicle in a residential zoning district, said owner shall apply to the Board of Works and Safety for a permit specifically allowing such parking. Any application for such parking must identify the specific location of such proposed parking and indicate the time of day and duration of said proposed parking. The Board of Public Works and Safety shall seek advice and comment from the city Police Department regarding any such application and may thereafter approve or deny said application on a case-by-case basis. There shall be no fee for any such parking permit if approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
(C) Whenever a member of the Police Department shall be informed in writing that any provision of division (B) above has been or is being violated by the owner or operator of any commercial self- propelled vehicle by three different landowners who reside within 500 feet of the alleged violation, the member of the Police Department shall issue a citation for the violation of this section.
(D) It shall be unlawful for any large vehicle to be parked in the areas designated in Chapter 75, Parking Schedule III.
(E) Notwithstanding the provisions of division (D) above, the parking of a large vehicle in the aforementioned restricted areas shall be allowed under the following exceptional circumstances:
(1) When necessary for the preservation of life or property, for example, fire or other emergency vehicles;
(2) When necessary in order for the operator of a large vehicle to load or unload; provided, however, that while loading or unloading, the operator of the large vehicle shall take precautions appropriate to the circumstances to insure that the large vehicle is visible to other vehicles using the street which precautions shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) The large vehicle must be properly attended and marked, front and rear, with a traffic cone or other similar device;
(b) The large vehicle must be parked in a manner so as to cause only a minimum of obstruction to the regular flow of traffic; and
(c) When loading or unloading in semidarkness, the large vehicle's flashers, front and rear, must be turned on and operating.
(3) When necessary for loading or unloading passengers on or from buses including, but not limited to, school buses, city buses and church buses, with the further provision that after unloading the passengers, no bus shall remain parked on the street for more than 30 minutes. If more than 30 minutes shall intervene between the time any bus offloads and onloads its passengers, the bus shall move to another location upon a different city street.
(F) Any commercial self-propelled vehicle shall not be allowed to have its engine operating, whether gas or diesel, in an idling mode for more than 30 minutes in a stationary, fixed position while parked on any city street within the city.
(G) No separate trailer whose function is to be towed which weighs in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be disconnected from any tractor and have its stanchions extended perpendicular to the trailer body and left parked on any paved street within the city.
(H) Any person, firm or corporation violating divisions (B) through (D) above shall be fined for each offense, which fines shall increase if compliance is not achieved within two hours of the time of the issuance of the citation. If any violation is allowed to continue for over 24 hours from the time of the issuance of the citation, then the city shall cause any vehicle in violation to be towed away at the owner's expense.
(I) Any person, firm or corporation violating division (F) above shall be fined, which fine shall be increased if the idling continues for more than 30 minutes after the citation is issued.
(J) Any person, firm or corporation violating division (G) above shall be fined, which fine shall be increased if the trailer is not removed within two hours after the operator is notified of the citation, or whenever the Street Department Superintendent in his or her discretion determines that it needs to be moved to prevent damage to the paved roadway. If the trailer is allowed to remain in a prohibited area for over 24 hours, the city shall cause the trailer to be towed away at the owner's or operator's expense.
(Ord. 808, passed 4-13-1998; Am. Ord. 1193, passed 11-7-2022) Penalty, see § 10.99