City of Northampton, MA Vendors

Pursuant to 520 CMR 15.00, the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety requires each municipality to issues permits to persons engaging in ice cream vending. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

ICE CREAM

Any frozen dairy or frozen water-based food product.

ICE CREAM TRUCK

Any motor vehicle used for selling, displaying or offering to sell ice cream.

ICE CREAM TRUCK VENDING

The selling, displaying or offering to sell ice cream or any other prepackaged food product from an ice cream truck.

ICE CREAM TRUCK VENDOR/OPERATOR

Any person who owns, sells, displays, or offers to sell ice cream from an ice cream truck or any person who drives or operates such a vehicle.

No person shall engage in ice cream truck vending within the City of Northampton unless the applicant has been issued a valid permit to do so by the Chief of Police or his designee. Said permit shall only be valid for use within the City limits. A separate permit is required for every person who engages in ice cream truck vending/operation.

All permits issued shall be conspicuously displaced and clearly visible on the windshield dash of any ice cream truck operated or from which ice cream or any prepackaged food product is sold.

Only the uniform application and permit form approved by the Department of Public Safety shall be utilized. The permit shall include a current color photograph of the applicant, encased in plastic. Permits shall be numbered in order as granted and be encased in plastic.

In order to obtain an initial permit or to renew a permit, each applicant shall submit the following to the permitting authority:

(1)

A completed uniform application form;

(2)

A copy of his/her fingerprints;

(3)

Two current one-and-one-half-inch by two-inch (color) photographs; and

(4)

A valid driver's license.

The Police Department shall collect an administrative fee as set forth in Chapter 174, Fees, upon the issuance of each permit.

Both initial and renewal permits shall expire annually on January 1.

Upon receipt of the permit application or application for renewal, the Chief of Police or his designee shall conduct an investigation into the criminal history of a permit applicant to determine eligibility. The investigation shall include performing a state and national criminal history records check as authorized by MGL c. 6, § 172B 1/2. As part of this investigation, the Chief of Police or his designee shall ensure that the identity of the applicant is true and accurate and, in the case of a renewal, that the applicant is linked to the original permit number.

The Chief of Police or his designee may deny issuance of a permit or revoke a permit for just cause. Pursuant to 520 CMR 15.05, no permit shall be issued to any person who is a sex offender, as defined by MGL c. 6, § 178C. Upon denial of the issuance or the revocation of a permit, an applicant shall have the right of appeal to the Committee on Public Safety of the City Council. All such appeals must be made in writing and addressed to the Committee on Public Safety. Appeals will be heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting of said Committee. The decision of the Committee shall be final and binding. No such right of appeal shall attach for the denial of a permit to an applicant who is a sex offender.

Whoever conducts himself/herself as an ice cream vendor/operator without a valid City-issued permit or with an expired permit, or whoever improperly displays a permit, shall be subject to a fine of no more than $100 for the first offense, $200 for a second offense, and $300 for a third or subsequent offense.

Every ice cream vendor/operator shall comply with all state motor vehicle laws, regulations specific to the operation of ice cream trucks, City ordinances, health codes, as well as any zoning or Department of Public Works regulations that may restrict or prohibit vending in certain areas. Violation of any such law, regulation, ordinance or health code shall be grounds for the revocation of the vendor's permit.

[Added 5-2-2019 by Ord. No. 19.011]

Permits and fees.

(1)

No private SMD program shall allow their vehicles to park on any City right-of-way or public space without a permit. The permit requirement shall not apply to city-owned or contracted public docks placed within the public way. Parking shall be in compliance with § 312-49.

(2)

The Office of Planning and Sustainability shall issue a permit to operate a docked or dockless SMD program within the City if the applicant submits the application materials set forth in Subsection B, below.

(3)

The permit fee to operate a SMD program is based on the size of the fleet. Applicants shall pay $15 per SMD annually for an SMD operator's permit.

Application.

(1)

Applications and renewals for SMD permits shall be submitted to Northampton Office of Planning and Sustainability and shall include these items:

(a)

Completed annual permit;

(b)

Fee;

(c)

Insurance documentation;

(d)

Images and description of SMDs and mobile application;

(e)

Size of fleet at launch, including any planned fleet expansions during the permit period;

(f)

Service area at launch, including any planned expansions during the permit period;

(g)

Plan for educating users on proper SMD parking;

(h)

Location of all planned stations. No stations shall be created without approval from Office of Planning and Sustainability; and

(i)

Permissions for overnight parking on private property.

Service area.

(1)

Permits for private programs, not operated for or by the city, may only be issued for systems that operate in and serve at least the URA, B, C districts and Florence Center.

(2)

Programs are encouraged to serve areas outside the area already served by any City-owned or City-contracted SMD program.

SMD fleet parking and stations.

(1)

SMD parking on the public way shall be in accordance with § 312-49.

(2)

Share operators shall inform customers on how to park their SMD properly.

(3)

Between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11:59 p.m., SMDs shall be parked either on private property outside pedestrian zones or in the landscape/furniture zone of the sidewalk.

(4)

Between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. no SMDs shall be parked in the public way or on public bike racks. SMD program operators shall incorporate mechanisms to ensure that overnight parking is on private property or on previously approved SMD stations/racks. Any overnight parking within the right-of-way will subject the SMDs to impoundment in accordance with § 312-49.

(5)

SMDs shall be upright when parked.

(6)

Any SMD that is parked incorrectly shall be reparked in a correct manner or shall be removed by the operator based on these times:

(a)

6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, not including holidays: within two hours of receiving notice.

(b)

All other times: by 8:00 a.m. f the next weekday.

(7)

SMDs may be parked only on hard surfaces (e.g., concrete, asphalt) within the landscape/furniture zone and may not be parked in landscaped areas.

Pedal-assist/electric specifications. All fleets of pedal-assist or E-SMDs shall have governors that allow them to operate on the City's multiuse paths in accordance with § 312-78.

Signage and advertising.

(1)

The company logo, a unique SMD ID number, and a customer service number shall appear on each SMD.

(2)

Additional regulations for logos outside of the SMD program logo, such as a system sponsorships or advertisements, are subject to City of Northampton sign ordinances.

Safety and maintenance.

(1)

All SMDs shall meet the minimum standards set forth in United States requirements for bicycles in 16 CFR Part 1512, and safety requirements for bicycles in ISO 4210-2:2015.

(2)

All SMDs shall be equipped with working front and rear lights.

(3)

All SMDs shall be equipped with GPS or other geolocation technology needed for monitoring, enforcement, and for use in crime detection if SMDs are involved.

(4)

All permitted SMDs within an SMD program shall have visible language that notifies the user that:

(a)

Helmets are recommended to be worn while riding a bicycle;

(b)

Where sidewalk riding is allowed, SMD users shall yield to pedestrians on sidewalks.

(5)

The operator shall establish and operate a twenty-four-hour customer service number, which is available and staffed at all times the system is operable. This number shall allow the company to be notified that there is a safety or maintenance issue with the SMD.

(6)

All permitted operators shall have a staffed operations center within half hour drive of Northampton and shall provide a contact person from their company with phone number and email (outside of the public customer service number) for City of Northampton officials to contact directly.

(7)

Any inoperable SMD, or any SMD that is not safe to operate shall be removed from the right-of-way within 24 hours of notice by any means to the operator by any individual or entity, and shall be repaired before returning it to service.

(8)

If any department incurs any costs addressing or abating any violations of these requirements that results in the repair or maintenance of public property to abate any violations, upon receiving written notice of the City costs, the permitted operator shall reimburse for such costs within 30 days of receiving itemized notification of such costs.

(9)

The City may immediately lock or impound SMDs that are found left in violation of these requirements. There will be a fee set annually by the City of up to $100 per SMD to release any locked vehicle that has been locked in violation of these regulations·.

(10)

Prior to the permit being issued, all permittees shall sign and record an indemnification agreement indemnifying and holding harmless the City, its employees, officials, agents and assignees to the greatest extent allowed by law.

(11)

Permitted operators agree that the City of Northampton is not responsible for educating users regarding helmet requirements or for educating users on how to ride or operate an SMD. Permitted operators agree to educate users regarding laws applicable to riding and operating such SMD.

Equitable SMD program.

(1)

Operators that provide general service to the community are required to submit an equity plan for SMD access for low income and under-served populations. Applications shall show:

(a)

Service areas where 10% of stations are within 500 feet of public housing or DHCD/federally defined CDBG majority moderate and low income areas or environmental justice areas;

(b)

Demonstrated community engagement events/actions;

(c)

Payment options, including solutions for unbanked citizens;

(d)

Customer service plan including staffing, hours, response protocols;

(e)

Subsidized rates for low income populations, and defined by the current HUD area median incomes;

(f)

Engaging local partnerships to assist in subsidized rates;

(g)

Hiring policies and workforce opportunities as a component of the equity plan.

Insurance and indemnity required.

(1)

General liability insurance $1,000,000 minimum per occurrence; and $2,000,000 total.

(2)

Workers compensation that meets Massachusetts requirements;

(3)

Automobile liability insurance $1,000,000 minimum per occurrence;

(4)

A surety or performance bond to protect the City if the private SMD operator goes out of business or is failing to meet certain terms under a contractual agreement. The bond amount will be linked to the system fleet size. The goal of a surety bond is to protect the City in the possible event that they incur the costs of fleet removal due to noncompliance in accordance with the contract. Applicants shall submit vehicle unit costs and decommissioning estimates with a proposed bond amount.

Reporting.

(1)

In order to renew annual permits, operators are required to submit a report of the previous year's statistics indicating on a monthly basis:

(a)

Number of SMDs in service;

(b)

Number of SMDs out of service (damaged);

(c)

Aggregated system usage including: total unique users, total miles ridden, total number of rentals, average rental duration etc.;

(d)

Monthly summary of SMD distribution and GPS-based natural movement in heat map format;

(e)