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 ORDINANCE NO. 08-01

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF BRIDGE CITY, TEXAS, RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS OF ROAD USE, PROHIBITING WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS; PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS; PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCES NOT TO EXCEED $500.00; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT.

WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council to protect the public health, safety and welfare; and

WHEREAS, municipalities may, under their police powers, enact reasonable regulations to promote the health, safety and welfare of citizens; and

WHEREAS, Texas Local Government Code Section 51.001(1) provides that the governing body of a municipality may adopt, publish, amend, or repeal an ordinance, rule or police regulation that is for the good government, peace, or order of the municipality; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRIDGE CITY, TEXAS:

DEFINITIONS

 “Predominantly Residential Street” means any city street that is directly adjacent to real property zoned R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 or a one mile area of city street that is directly adjacent to more than five buildings that are designed and constructed for use as residential dwellings.

JAKE BRAKING

It shall be unlawful for any person to stop or slow a vehicle upon any street by the use of an exhaust blowdown, and/or compression release breaking system, and/or “Jake” brake, and/or engine braking unless circumstances on the roadway or with traffic create a situation where such usage is necessary to avoid an actual or potential accident.

RESTRICTION OF TRUCK ACCESS
 
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any commercial vehicle on any street or alley within the city, except on a designated United States or State highway or on a designated truck route approved by the city.

 A commercial vehicle may leave any designated United States or State Highway or a designated truck route and travel on any street or alley within the city for the purpose of delivering or picking up goods, wares, materials, and/or merchandise or returning to its established place of business or home.  When a commercial vehicle enters a street or alley as herein permitted, such vehicle shall enter such street or alley at the intersection nearest the point of pick-up or delivery or its established place of business or home and return to the truck route by the nearest route.  Where more than one pick-up or delivery off the truck route is required, a local commercial vehicle other than a diesel-powered tractor or tractor-trailer combination shall not be required to return to the truck route after each individual pick-up or delivery if the next pick-up or delivery is less than one-half mile from the preceding pick-up or delivery, but in any event, the vehicle shall return to the truck routes upon the completion of all pick-ups and deliveries.

TRUCK ROUTES

 The following are designated “truck routes”:
 1.  Any truck route under Federal and State transportation laws.
2.  Any truck route as authorized by the Bridge City Public Works Director by special permit.

TRUCKS PROHIBITED

 A person may operate a diesel-powered tractor or tractor-trailer upon a prohibited city streets if the operator first:
1. Obtains a Prohibited Truck permit from the public works director.
2. Provides a minimum of two flag persons to provide an adequate turning radii, vertical clearance, and lateral clearance for safe operation at each intersection on prohibited city streets.
3. Follows the route of travel as listed in the Prohibited Truck permit.

EXEMPT

Emergency vehicles, municipal vehicles, and vehicles operated by a public utility company to provide maintenance service, vehicles operated by nonprofit corporations and mass transit vehicles are exempt from this ordinance.

TIME OF DAY AND DAY OF WEEK

 It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a diesel-powered tractor or truck-tractor combination on any predominantly residential street at any time other than between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

NOISE

 It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a commercial vehicle in such a manner to cause the noise generated by said vehicle, when measured three feet from the loudest source, to exceed 78 decibels while said commercial vehicle is located within a predominantly residential street. 

STANDING MOTOR VEHICLES

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or permit the operation of any commercial vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) in excess of ten thousand pounds, for a period longer than two minutes in any hour while the vehicle is stationary within one hundred fifty feet (forty-six meters) of a residential structure.  This section shall not apply to buses operated for the transportation of passengers while standing in established bus stop, bus terminals, bus parking lots or bus storage yard.

PENALTY

 Any person who violates this Ordinance shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).

 A person who violates a provision of this Ordinance is guilty of a separate offense for each day the violation is committed.

REPEALING CLAUSE;

 All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms of this Ordinance are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent of such inconsistency and in all other respects this Ordinance shall be cumulative of other ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this Ordinance.

SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;

If any provision, section, sentence, clause, or phrase, of this ordinance, or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, void, invalid, or for any reason unenforceable, the validity of the remaining portion of this ordinance or its application to other persons or sets of circumstances shall not be affected thereby, it being the intent of the City Council of the City of Bridge City in adopting this ordinance that no portion hereof or provision or regulation contained herein, shall become inoperative or fail by reason of any unconstitutional or invalidity of any other portion, provision or regulation.

EFFECTIVE DATE AND PUBLICATION;

This Ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after its publication date, in caption form only, after its passage by the City Council of the CITY OF BRIDGE CITY, TEXAS, after its reading at any two (2) regularly scheduled City Council meetings of the CITY OF BRIDGE CITY, TEXAS, such passage to be within ninety (90) days of the first reading hereof.

  First Reading:  February 5, 2008

  Second Reading: February 19, 2008

 PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, OF THE CITY OF BRIDGE CITY, TEXAS, this 19th day of February 2008.

/s/ Kirk Roccaforte     
________________________________
      KIRK ROCCAFORTE, Mayor

ATTEST:

/s/ Sherry Tisdale
________________________________
SHERRY TISDALE, City Secretary

/s/ Paul M. Fukuda
_________________________________
PAUL M. FUKUDA, City Attorney

Publication dates: 

February 24, 2008
February 27, 2008

Effective date:  March 8, 2008