Saratoga Municipal Code Art. 9-40 Truck Routes

As used in this Article, the phrase "gross weight in excess of five tons" shall mean the weight of the vehicle itself, unloaded, as well as the loaded weight of a vehicle which, unloaded, would not exceed five tons, and shall also include each major component part of any vehicle combination (e.g. tractor and semi-trailer) which, when combined, would exceed five tons, even though each component part, if separated and weighed alone, would not exceed five tons.

Except as may otherwise be provided in this Article, no street or portion thereof in the City which has not been designated a "truck route" by the terms of this Article or by any other ordinance of the City, may be used by any commercial vehicle having a gross weight in excess of five tons. All streets not designated truck routes are hereby designated and declared to be restricted streets. Use of a street shall include the stopping, standing or parking of a vehicle as well as the driving, operating or moving of such vehicle thereon.

(a) The following streets or portions thereof in the City are hereby designated as truck traffic routes:

(1) Prospect Road from Lawrence Expressway to Saratoga Avenue and the City limits.

(2) Saratoga Avenue from the intersection of State Highway 9 and State Highway 85 to the City limits.

(3) State Highway 9 from the City limits at Pierce Road to the City limits at Austin Way.

(4) State Highway 85 from Prospect Road to Saratoga Avenue.

(b) The Maintenance Director shall erect and maintain appropriate signs on each of the streets or portions thereof designated in Paragraph (a) of this Section, as well as any streets hereafter designated as truck traffic routes, identifying the same as "truck route" or "truck traffic route" or other language of similar import to give notice of such truck traffic route designations.

When truck traffic route or routes are established and designated by appropriate signs, the operator of any vehicle having a gross weight in excess of five tons, shall drive on such route or routes exclusively and on none other except when necessary to traverse another street or streets for the purpose of making pick-ups or deliveries of goods, wares or merchandise from or to any building or structure located on a restricted street or streets or for the purpose of delivering materials to be used in the actual and bona fide repair, alteration, remodeling or construction of any building or structure upon such restricted street, for which a building permit has been previously obtained, but then only by such deviation from the nearest truck route as is reasonably necessary.

No commercial vehicle or any component part thereof, having a gross weight in excess of five tons, shall be parked or left standing at any time on a restricted street or on any public or private property which is not immediately contiguous to and abutting upon a truck route, nor upon any public or private property in a residential zoning district, except for the temporary purpose of loading, unloading, pick-up or delivery, of goods, wares or merchandise otherwise permitted by Section 9-40.040.

(a) The following regulations shall be applicable to all commercial vehicles, regardless of whether any such vehicle has a gross weight in excess of five tons, except as provided in Paragraph (b) of this Section:

(1) Through trucks. All trucks entering the City for a destination point outside the City shall operate only over a truck traffic route.

(2) One inside destination point. All trucks entering the City for a destination point in the City shall enter the City only on an established truck traffic route and shall proceed only over an established truck route.

(3) Multiple inside destination points. All trucks entering the City for multiple destination points within the City shall enter the City only on an established truck traffic route. Upon leaving the first destination point, a deviating truck shall proceed to all other destination points by the shortest route. Upon leaving the last destination point, the deviating truck shall return to the nearest truck traffic route by the shortest route.

(4) Outside destination point. All trucks on a trip originating in the City and traveling in the City for a destination point outside the City shall proceed by the shortest route to the nearest truck traffic route.

(5) Inside destination point. All trucks on a trip originating in the City and traveling in the City for destination points in the City shall proceed to such destination points by the shortest route.

(b) Nothing contained in Paragraph (a) of this Section shall be construed to permit a commercial vehicle having a gross weight in excess of five tons to use or proceed upon any restricted street other than as expressly permitted in Sections 9-40.040 or 9-40.050.

The prohibitions of this Article shall not apply to any vehicle owned by a public utility or a licensed contractor while necessarily in use in the construction, installation or repair of any public utility, nor to any passenger stage subject to the provisions of Sections 1031 through 1036 inclusive of the Public Utilities Code, nor to any vehicle owned or operated by the City's garbage franchise holder which vehicle otherwise complies with the provisions of Vehicle Code Section 35722, nor to any other vehicles that may now or hereafter be exempted from the provisions of this type of regulation by virtue of State or federal law, nor to vehicles otherwise having a valid limited permit for designated streets under the provisions of Section 9-40.080.

(a) Authority of City Engineer. The City Engineer shall have power, in cases of undue hardship, to permit the use of certain designated restricted streets by any vehicle or vehicles otherwise prohibited from so using the same, for a limited purpose and for a limited period of time and upon compliance with all of the conditions and provisions set forth in this Section.

(b) Application for permit. Any person desiring to operate any truck having a gross weight in excess of five tons along any restricted street shall file an application for a permit to do so with the City Engineer, and shall pay an application fee in such amount as established from time to time by resolution of the City Council.

(c) Contents of application. The application shall set forth the following information:

(1) A full identification and the residence and business address of the applicant; if the applicant is the agent or employee of any person for whose benefit the permit is requested, this fact shall be included with the full identification of such person and his business and residence address;

(2) The facts constituting the necessity for such operation within the City;

(3) The dates and times on which such operation is intended to be commenced and completed and the times of day during which such operating is intended to be done;

(4) The route over public streets within the City which the applicant proposes to use;

(5) The time interval between vehicles and the number of vehicles per hour which travel over the route for which the permit is applied;

(6) The locations of the place or places of destination and origin; provided, that if delivery is to be made in small quantities to numerous places, a general description, satisfactory to the City Engineer, of the locations of the contemplated deliveries will be sufficient;

(7) Such further information as the City Engineer may require.

(d) Action by City Engineer. Immediately upon the filing of an application for a permit, the City Engineer shall make an investigation of the facts stated in the application and within ten days from the date of filing shall either grant a permit with or without modification or deny the same in whole or in part. The application shall be granted by the City Engineer only if he finds:

(1) That the public health, safety or welfare require the granting of a permit and the use of the route applied for or such modification thereof as he may deem advisable;

(2) That the hauling over the route specified will not be injurious to the public health, safety or welfare;

(3) That the City will be duly protected from liability for injury to persons and property;

(4) That the City will be indemnified from injury to its public streets and other places by reason of the use thereof for such hauling.

(e) Notification to applicant. If the application is denied or the permit is granted on modified terms, the City Engineer shall notify the applicant of such denial or modification, stating the reasons therefor.

(f) Conditions of permit. The City Engineer shall specify in granting the permit the following conditions:

(1) The gross weight limit of each truck or vehicle which shall be authorized to haul under the permit;

(2) The time interval between vehicles and the number of trucks per hour which shall be permitted to travel over the route specified;

(3) The hours of the day and the days of the week during which such trucks shall be permitted to travel over such route;

(4) The total volume or quantity of materials which may be hauled subject to the permit;

(5) The period during which the permit is effective.

(g) Insurance. No permit shall be issued until the applicant has furnished to the City, at his own cost and expense, a policy or policies of liability and other insurance coverage as may be required under the applicable insurance standards of the City, as established from time to time by resolution of the City Council. Such policy or policies shall be maintained in full force and effect in accordance with said insurance standards during the entire term of the permit. With the approval of the City Engineer, the applicant may furnish such policy or policies on an annual or continuing basis to cover one or more permits for hauling in the same or different locations.

(h) Establishment of required routes. The City Engineer shall establish the route or routes over restricted streets which all vehicles subject to the permit shall travel, and such vehicles shall travel only directly over such route or routes as may be directed by the City Engineer to be least dangerous to public safety and which shall cause the least interference with general traffic and the least damage to public streets.

(i) Revocation of permit. Any permit granted under this Section may be revoked by the City Engineer for any reason for which the issuance of such permit might lawfully be denied or for any failure to comply with any of the terms of this Article or of such permit. Revocation of such permit shall be made only upon a hearing before the City Engineer after at least five days notice to the permittee. Such notice shall be mailed to the permittee at his business or residence address as stated in his application for a permit. The City Engineer may suspend any permit granted under this Article pending the hearing if, in his opinion, the public health, safety or welfare require it.

(j) Expiration of permit. In the event that any hauling for which a permit has been granted under this Section is not commenced within the time specified in the permit for commencement, or in the event that such hauling is at any time abandoned or the permittee fails to operate as scheduled, such permit shall automatically expire without notice, and no further hauling shall be made; however, the conditions expressed in such permit shall remain binding upon the person to whom such permit was issued, and all legal and equitable remedies shall be available against him for any breach thereof. When the amount of material hauled equals the number of tons or cubic yards which such permit authorizes to be hauled or if haulings vary from the terms of the permit, no further hauling may be made until a new permit to haul has been issued.

The County Sheriff, his agents and deputies and any other police officer of the City shall have the authority to require any person driving or in control of any commercial vehicle on any public street or highway in the City to proceed to any public or private scale available for the purpose of weighing or determining whether this Article has been violated.

Except as otherwise provided in this Article, it shall be the duty of all policemen and Community Service Officers and all deputies of the County Sheriff performing police services in the City to enforce all of the regulations set forth in this Article and any State laws applicable to the operation of commercial vehicles in the City.