[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Tuxedo 2-13-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided
that the duty of the Town, its officers, employees and agents, shall
be a general duty. No one is authorized to create, imply or infer
a special duty for which the Town, officers, employees or agents are
liable. Any action against the Town, officers, employees or agents
alleging a special duty or requiring the allegation of a special duty
shall be deemed frivolous.
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate the
landscaping services within the territorial limits of the Town of
Tuxedo in pursuance of securing and protecting the public health,
convenience, safety and the welfare of its inhabitants and preserving
the peace, good order and physical appearance of the Town of Tuxedo.
As used in this chapter, the following terms,
phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings indicated
herein. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
Any individual, partnership, corporation or business which
is paid or barters to perform landscaping services in the Town of
Tuxedo.
Functions which include, but are not limited to, the cultivation,
fertilization, seeding, planting, cutting, trimming, pruning or maintenance
of grass, shrubs, plants, trees or other foliage.
No person, firm or corporation shall be a landscaper
or perform landscaping services within the Town of Tuxedo, outside
of the Village of Tuxedo Park, unless a permit therefor, as hereinafter
prescribed, authorized by the Town Board and issued by the Town Clerk,
is in full force and effect.
A.
Application forms. Except as herein otherwise provided,
every person desiring to engage in the business of providing landscaping
services within the Town of Tuxedo shall make application for such
permit to the Town Board on a form provided by the Town Clerk. The
applicant shall subscribe the application under an oath and provide
the following information thereon:
(1)
The name, address, phone number and driver's license
number of the applicant and of each driver employed by the applicant.
Laborers who do not drive in the performance of their duties need
not be listed.
(2)
The number of vehicles proposed to be operated by
the applicant and a description of each such vehicle, including the
make, model, year of manufacture, license plate number and vehicle
identification number.
(3)
Proof of valid registration and inspection of each
vehicle to be operated.
(4)
All crimes, if any, of which the applicant, member,
officer, director or shareholder has been convicted, stating the name
and location of the courts in which convicted and the dates on which
such convictions were had and the penalties imposed therefor.
(5)
Any other relevant information which the Town Board
may require from time to time as it deems appropriate.
B.
Permit fee. The applicant shall, at the time of the
filing for such permit, pay a permit fee for each vehicle as provided
in the Standard Schedule of Fees of the Town of Tuxedo on file with
the Town Clerk, as may be set from time to time by resolution of the
Town Board.
C.
Indemnification. The applicant shall sign an indemnification
statement on the permit application indicating that he agrees to hold
the Town of Tuxedo, its agents, servants and employees harmless from
any and all damages and/or causes of action which may arise out of
his landscaping operations within the Town.
Within seven days after receipt of an application,
the Town Clerk shall refer the application to the Town of Tuxedo Superintendent
of Highways and Police Department for investigation. The Chief of
Police shall cause an investigation to be made of the applicant and
his proposed business operation and vehicles to be permitted. All
applicants shall execute consents for release of information as may
be required. Within 14 days after referral, the Chief of Police shall
report to the Town Board the results of the investigation.
Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Town
Board approving the application, the Town Clerk shall issue a permit
to the applicant, a copy of which must be kept in all vehicles at
all times while conducting operations under the permit. All permits
issued hereunder shall commence on March 1 and expire on February
28 of the following year, unless sooner suspended or revoked by the
Tuxedo Town Board as hereinafter provided. Permits are not transferable,
delegable or assignable. Any permit issued hereunder may be renewed
annually for an additional one-year period upon filing of an application
containing all the information required by the provisions of this
chapter for original applications, upon payment of the required fee,
and upon satisfactory completion of the required investigations.
The Town Board may deny the issuance of a permit for good cause on the advisement of the Superintendent of Highways or the Chief of Police, or upon receipt of evidence of prior noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter, improper conduct or incompetent or destructive landscaping operations performed in the Town. The applicant may appeal such denial by filing with the Town Clerk a written request therefor, upon receipt of which a hearing will be conducted in the manner as set for in § 63-11, Hearings.
A.
No person shall cause or permit anyone to blow or
rake leaves, grass or other debris onto the public highway or right-of-way
or onto adjoining property. As a precondition to the issuance of a
permit hereunder, a landscaper will be required to furnish proof that
he, she or it has a permit to deposit leaves, grass clippings and
other debris at a duly licensed depository or other lawful place of
disposal.
B.
No person shall cause or permit anyone to spill or
dump oil, gasoline or other petroleum products or any pesticides on
the public highway or right-of-way or anywhere on the ground. No equipment
shall be filled or refilled except over a drop cloth or other device
designed to catch and retain any accidental spillage
C.
No person shall cause or permit anyone to remove any tree in violation of § 98-22P or Q of this Code, nor operate machinery in violation of Chapter 68 of this Code.
D.
All work shall be performed in accordance with the
laws, ordinances and rules and regulations of the United States, New
York State, Orange County and the Town of Tuxedo. Every applicant
for a license shall review the applicable laws, ordinances, rules
and regulations and shall so state that the applicant and all of its
employees are familiar with such prior to the issuance of any license.
E.
The Town Board may promulgate or amend, by resolution,
such additional rules and regulations as it deems necessary to further
the purposes of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced
by the members of the Town of Tuxedo Police Department, the Building
Inspector and the Superintendent of Highways, or such other persons
as they shall designate.
A.
Any permit issued hereunder may be suspended by the
Town Board if the holder thereof shall violate any provision of this
chapter, any rule or regulation adopted hereunder or any local law
of the Town, or if the permit holder is convicted of the violation
of any traffic law, ordinance or regulation of the State of New York
or of any municipality of the State of New York or of any crime or
is guilty of making a false statement or misrepresentation in his
application. Any permit issued hereunder may be suspended, pending
a hearing for revocation, by the Town Board if the holder thereof
shall be convicted of the commission of any crime or offense. Any
person who takes part in or assists in any violation of this chapter
shall likewise be subject to the penalties provided herein.
B.
No permit shall be revoked by the Town Board hereunder
without a hearing thereon.
Whenever it shall be provided herein that a
hearing shall be held, the following procedure shall be followed:
A.
Notice. The Town Clerk shall give notice thereof,
stating the name and address of the applicant or permit holder concerned,
the subject matter of the hearing and the date, place and hour designated
therefor, by mailing a copy of the notice of hearing to the applicant
or permit holder concerned at the address shown upon the most recent
application of such applicant or permit holder at least 20 days before
such hearing, by certified mail.
B.
Rights of parties. Upon any hearing, the applicant
or permit holder involved shall be entitled to be represented by legal
counsel and to present such competent and material testimony or other
evidence in his own behalf as may be relevant to the subject matter
of the hearing.
C.
Examination of witnesses. All witnesses shall be sworn
and examined under oath.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not
to exceed $250 or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 30 days,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each violation of any of the
provisions of this chapter and each day there is a violation thereof
shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense. In
addition, the Town Board, after a hearing, may revoke or suspend any
permit issued hereunder or may refuse to renew any permit previously
issued hereunder for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.
Exempted herefrom shall be:
A.
The Highway Department of the Town of Tuxedo, or any
federal, state, municipal corporation or public utility and their
lawful contractors;
B.
Persons, firms or corporations conducting landscaping
activities within the confines of his or its own property, whether
owned or leased; and
C.
Minors under 18 years of age, or under 21 years of
age if enrolled in higher education, providing services such as grass
cutting, leaf raking, lawn clearing and other similar home services
as independent contractors.
