Simi Valley Municipal Code Ch. 7 Motorcycles and Motor-Driven Vehicles

The provisions of this chapter are designed to regulate the traffic on private and public lands, except the public streets and highways, of registered and unregistered motorcycles and motor-driven vehicles in the City by all persons, whether they possess a valid motor vehicle operator's license from the State or not.

(§ 7400, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

(a) "Highway" shall mean a way or place, of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purposes of vehicular travel. "Highway" shall include freeway, street, sidewalk, parkway, and driveway.

(b) "Immediate family" shall mean the spouse and children of the owner or lessee of private property within the City.

(c) "Motorcycle" shall mean any motor vehicle, other than a tractor, having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on no more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground, and weighing less than 1,500 pounds.

(d) "Motor-driven vehicle" shall mean any motorcycle, mini-bike, trail bike, motor scooter, dune buggy, truck, or passenger vehicle.

(e) "Operate" shall mean to start, drive, or run a vehicle.

(f) "Person" shall mean any individual human, several humans, association, partnership, firm, business, joint venture, corporation, or public or private entity.

(g) "Private property" shall mean any real property, including unimproved property, which is owned, leased, or rented by persons other than a governmental unit of the State, or units of any county or city, or units of the United States of America.

(h) "Public property" shall mean any real property, including unimproved property, which is owned, leased, or rented by the State, or units of any county or city, or units of the United States of America.

(i) "Unimproved property" shall mean any private or public real property which contains no structures, or which is not surfaced with cement, concrete, asphaltic concrete, or other similar material, or which does not have a hard surface composed of mixtures of rock, sand, or gravel bound together with a chemical or mineral substance other than natural soil.

(j) "Vehicle" shall mean a motorcycle or motor-driven vehicle.

(§ 7400-1, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any motorcycle or motor-driven vehicle on, over, or across any private or public property without first having secured a permit as set forth in this chapter, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4-7.04 of this chapter.

(§ 7400-2, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

No permit for the operation of motorcycles or motor-driven vehicles shall be required as follows:

(a) Neither the owner, lessee, renter, nor agent possessing a recorded power of attorney of private property, nor their immediate families, shall be required to possess such permit for the operation of vehicles on property owned, leased, rented, or managed by them.

(b) No such permit shall be required for the operation of vehicles upon the public highways.

(c) City police officers and other City agents and employees designated to enforce the provisions of this chapter, the emergency personnel of any other public entity, and other personnel performing lawful rescue or emergency work shall not be required to possess such permit.

(d) Vehicles may be operated to gain access to a parking lot open to the public for the purpose of parking such vehicles and for removing such vehicles from the parking lot without such permit.

(e) No such permit shall be required for vehicles operated in raceways, racing stadiums, or other racing facilities which are otherwise permitted by applicable City laws and regulations.

(f) No such permit shall be required for vehicles operated on private property used for the display, sale, service, repair, manufacture, distribution, warehousing, storage, or dismantling of vehicles; provided, however, no such operation shall include racing, competition, exhibitions of speed, demonstrations of stunts, or entertainment unless otherwise permitted in this Code.

(§§ 7400-3 and 7400-3.1 through 7400-3.6, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

The Chief of Police is hereby authorized to accept, process, and approve or deny applications for permits to operate motorcycles and motor-driven vehicles on, over, and across private and public property. Such permits shall not be issued unless the following requirements have been satisfied:

(a) The applicant has delivered to the Chief of Police for permanent filing with the City a written statement, dated and signed by the owner, lessee, renter, or agent possessing recorded powers of attorney, containing:

(1) Consent to the use of the property for the operation of vehicles;

(2) The name of the proposed permittee;

(3) A description of the property (the address, Assessor's parcel number, or legal description);

(4) The types of vehicles to be operated;

(5) The length of time for which the consent is given (but not to exceed one year);

(6) The hours of operation (but limited to the hours of 8:00 a.m. to one-half (½) hour past the official sunset);

(7) The statement that such consent is not valid unless the permittee has such permit in his possession during the operation of the vehicles on the property;

(8) The statement that such consent shall automatically expire upon the transfer of title by the owner or the termination of the lease or tenancy of the tenant executing the consent;

(9) The current name, address, and telephone number of the owner, lessee, renter, or agent possessing a recorded power of attorney executing the consent;

(10) The current name, address, and telephone number of the owner (to be used for the verification of the ownership of the property); and

(11) That the consent shall not be valid unless used in conformance with applicable laws.

(b) The Director of Environmental Affairs or his designated agent has been able to verify from the public records that the stated owner is the owner of record of the property;

(c) The Director of Environmental Affairs or his designated agent has evaluated the proposed use and has determined that the use will not have a significant effect on the environment. In this regard the Director shall adhere to the City's adopted environmental guidelines and procedures;

(d) The Captain of the Ventura County Fire Prevention District or his designated agent has stated in the indicated place on the application form that the proposed use will not create any risk of fire hazard by reason of flammable conditions on the property where the vehicles are proposed to be operated;

(e) The Chief of Police has determined that the proposed use is not likely to create a safety hazard to the residents in the area of the proposed use. The criteria used shall be:

(1) Whether the foreseeable speeds which will be obtained will constitute a reasonable use of the land for the type of terrain involved;

(2) Whether the contours which will be traversed will create a risk of harm to property or persons as a result of traversing the terrain; and

(3) Whether the vehicle is in good repair and its condition is in compliance with applicable laws; and

(f) That the Chief of Police has determined that the operation of vehicles will be conducted at least 200 yards from occupied dwellings, operative churches, assembly halls, schools, barns, offices, medical facilities, recreation facilities, and other facilities occupied or operated by human beings or used for keeping animals.

(§§ 7400-4 and 7400-4.1 through 7400-4.6, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

All permits issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the following conditions:

(a) The operation of vehicles shall only be conducted between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and one-half (½) hour past the official sunset.

(b) The operation of vehicles shall not be conducted within 200 yards of any occupied dwelling, operative church, assembly hall, school, barn, office, medical facility, recreation facility, or other facilities occupied or operated by human beings or used for the keeping of animals, nor outside of the property described in such permit.

(c) The operation of vehicles shall only be conducted during the hours limited by the provisions of subsection (a) of this section and for the length of time stated in such permit.

(d) The vehicles being operated shall be of the type identified in such permit. The permit may include permission to operate more than one type of vehicle if so stated in the consent from the owner, lessee, or renter.

(e) The permittee shall at all times while operating vehicles pursuant to the provisions of this chapter have in his possession a current and valid permit and shall present such permit to any City police officer or to any agent or employee designated by the Chief of Police to enforce the provisions of this chapter for verification of the right to operate vehicles on the property and the validity of such permit.

(f) The vehicles operated by the permittee shall at all times be equipped with spark arrestors and muffler systems lawful in the State, and shall not be of a model or size which will create unreasonable noise which will likely interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of neighboring properties.

(g) Such permit shall automatically expire upon the transfer of title by the owner or the termination of the lease or tenancy by the tenant executing the consent.

(h) Such permit shall expire and be of no further effect one year after the date of the issuance of such permit.

(§§ 7400-5 and 7400-5.1 through 7400-5.8, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

Every permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall contain the following information and statements:

(a) The full correct name, address, telephone number, birth date, and physical description of the permittee;

(b) The hours of operation limited by the provisions of subsection (a) of Section 4-7.06 of this chapter and the length of time of the permit which shall not exceed one year;

(c) The description of the types of vehicles to be operated;

(d) The description of the property upon which the vehicles shall be operated (the address, Assessor's parcel number, or legal description);

(e) The current name, address, and telephone number of the owner and the lessee or renter, if executed by them;

(f) A statement in bold print that such permit is not an expression by the City that the proposed operation can be done with safety to the permittee or to other persons or property, all of which risks shall be assumed by the permittee or the property owner, lessee, or renter; and

(g) A statement in bold print that such permit shall be subject to the traffic provisions set forth in Chapter 9 of this title and that attention is drawn to the conditions set forth in Section 4-7.06 of this chapter.

(§§ 7400-6 and 7400-6.1 through 7400-6.7, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

Any permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be revoked or suspended by the Chief of Police under the following circumstances:

(a) When the consent to the permittee by the owner, lessee, renter, or agent possessing a recorded power of attorney has been withdrawn;

(b) When the conditions of operation or of the land have resulted in previously unforeseen fire or safety or environmental hazards, as determined under the applicable laws, regulations, and standards by the Captain of the Ventura County Fire Prevention District, the Chief of Police, or the Director of Environmental Affairs respectively; or

(c) When the permittee has violated any of the terms or conditions of such permit or the provisions of this chapter.

(§§ 7400-7 and 7400.7.1 through 7400-7.3, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

Any person who has been denied a permit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or who has been otherwise aggrieved by any determination, decision, requirement, order, or action made or taken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may appeal such denial or grievance to the Council by filing with the City Clerk a written notice stating the appellant's name, address, and telephone number, the subject matter of the appeal, and the specific reason for the appeal within ten (10) days after suffering such denial or grievance. The City Clerk shall set the matter for a public hearing to be held within thirty (30) days after the filing of the appeal. The City Clerk shall thereupon inform the appellant of the date, time, and place of the hearing. The Council shall consider all the relevant testimony, reports, and studies of the City staff, the appellant, and the public. The decision of the Council shall be rendered by a simple majority vote of the quorum and shall be final and conclusive upon all persons concerned.

(§ 7400-8, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

(a) Permits: Applications. Applications for the permits required by the provisions of this chapter shall be accompanied by a fee set by resolution of the Council and shall not be refundable.

(b) Appeals. The filing of an appeal, as set forth in Section 4-7.09 of this chapter, shall be accompanied by a fee of Five and no/100ths ($5.00) Dollars which shall not be refundable.

(§ 7400-9, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194, as amended by § 1, Ord. 570, eff. May 16, 1984)

The Public Services Director shall have the authority to post permanent signs at the entrances to the City, and at key locations from those entrances to those properties with which the City has experienced trespassing with vehicles, and at locations which the Director determines there is probable cause to believe trespassing is likely to occur.

Such signs shall read as follows: "Vehicle Operation Other Than by Owners or Tenants Prohibited Unless by Permit Under Chapter 7, Title 4, S.V.M.C."

(§ 7400-10, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

An operator of a motorcycle or motor-driven vehicle operating such vehicle within 200 yards of the perimeter of the City shall be presumed to have gained access to the area of operation by the use of real property within the City.

(§ 7400-11, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)

In addition to the remedies set forth in Section 4-7.08 of this chapter, any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of an infraction and shall be punishable as set forth in Chapter 2 of Title 1 of this Code.

The provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to deny the City the right to seek any other remedy, whether civil or criminal, available under the law.

(§§ 7400-12, 7400-12.1, and 7400-12.2, S.V.M.C., as added by § 3, Ord. 194)