[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Shelter Island as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-30-1962; amended in its entirety 2-5-2021 by L.L. No. 2-2021]
The Town Board of the Town of Shelter Island does hereby find that there exists a threat to public safety any time that snow, freezing rain, sleet, or ice is permitted to accumulate on Town highways and roadways. The parking or abandonment of vehicles along the highways and roadways during snow and other winter-weather-related events prohibits and/or restricts the Town's ability to remediate the hazardous conditions on the highways and impedes the ability of fire, police, and ambulance vehicles and personnel to provide necessary services to Town residents. For the above reasons, the Town Board of the T§ 1.own of Shelter Island finds it necessary to enact legislation prohibiting parking and standing of vehicles on Town highways and roadways in anticipation of and during major snow or winter weather events and such other restrictions related to highway safety during snow and other related winter weather events, including travel ban for nonemergency vehicles and/or temporary closure of highways/roads. Pursuant to and consistent with Executive Law § 24, a snow or winter storm emergency declaration and local emergency proclamations shall be made by the Supervisor or his/her designee. Such declaration may be made when weather conditions are forecasted or exist such that the accumulation of snow, freezing rain, sleet, or ice on any roadway will imperil the public safety, render vehicle travel potentially hazardous and necessitate snow removal operation or such other remediation efforts to address a winter storm by the Town.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
VEHICLE, OWNER AND PARKED
Shall have the meanings as defined in the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York.
A. 
The Town Supervisor or his or her designee shall declare a snow emergency or winter storm emergency in a signed written notice to the Town Clerk or Deputy Town Clerk. Said notice shall become effective immediately after signing and shall indicate the date and exact time of the declaration. The Chief of Police and Superintendent of Highways shall be notified immediately following a snow or winter storm emergency declaration. In addition to and during the declaration of a snow or winter storm emergency, the Supervisor or his/her designee may promulgate local emergency orders to protect life and property or bring emergency situations under control.
B. 
The Supervisor or his/her designee shall notify at least one local media immediately following a snow or winter storm emergency declaration and local emergency orders, and the Supervisor or his/her designee may cause same to be posted on the Town's official website and/or social media platforms.
C. 
The snow or winter storm emergency declaration and local emergency orders shall be in effect until such time as a snow or winter storm emergency and/or local emergency order termination has been received by the Town Clerk or Deputy Town Clerk.
No parking is permitted on either side of any roadway during a snow or winter storm emergency declaration.
The declaration of a snow or winter storm emergency or local emergency orders may designate and declare certain highways and roads closed such that vehicular travel is prohibited during the snow or winter storm emergency or for such other period of time recited in the declaration of snow or winter storm emergency or local emergency orders. The only vehicles allowed on the highways and roads declared closed are emergency vehicles (police and designated police tow vehicles, fire, ambulance), Highway Department vehicles and other essential public service vehicles.
Any vehicle parked or abandoned on any public highway within the Town of Shelter Island, except highways in the Incorporated Village of Dering Harbor, during and after a snowstorm, which interferes with snow removal operations or which constitutes an obstruction to traffic, may be removed by the Superintendent of Highways of the Town of Shelter Island.
After such removal, the Superintendent of Highways may store such vehicle in a suitable place at the expense of the owner of such vehicle. Such owner or person in charge of the vehicle may redeem the vehicle upon payment to the Superintendent of Highways of the amount of all expenses actually and necessarily incurred in effecting such removal, such charges not to exceed $15, together with any charges not to exceed $2 per day or fraction thereof.
The Superintendent of Highways shall, without delay, report the removal and the disposition of such vehicle to the Town Clerk, who shall ascertain the owner or person in charge of such vehicle and notify him of the removal and disposition of such vehicle and the amount which will be required to redeem same.
A. 
The termination of a snow or winter storm emergency and/or rescission of local emergency orders shall be declared by the Supervisor or his/her designee. Such termination or rescission shall be made at the discretion of the Supervisor when snow removal operations or such other required remediation efforts have been completed to the satisfaction of the Supervisor.
B. 
The Supervisor or his/her designee shall declare a snow or winter storm emergency termination or rescission of local emergency orders in a signed written notice to the Town Clerk or Deputy Town Clerk. Said notice shall become effective immediately upon receipt and shall include the date and exact time of the snow emergency termination or rescission of local emergency orders. The Chief of Police and Superintendent of Highways shall be notified immediately following a snow or winter storm emergency termination or rescission of local emergency orders.
C. 
The rescission of a snow or winter storm emergency shall be published on the Town's website.
D. 
The snow or winter storm emergency termination or rescission of local emergency orders related thereto shall nullify any provisions or conditions resulting from a snow or winter storm emergency declaration or local emergency order, as the case may be, as provided for in this article.
A. 
Any person, association, firm or corporation, owner or occupant who or which violates § 124-4 or 124-5 shall be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of not less than $250. Each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate additional violation.
B. 
Any vehicle parked on any highway within the Town of Shelter Island during a snow or winter storm emergency as set forth in § 124-4 shall be deemed to affect the ability of the Town to remediate hazardous roadway conditions or create a hazardous condition and/or impede or potentially impede the ability of fire, police, highway and ambulance vehicles and personnel to provide necessary services to Town residents on that portion of the public highway on which said vehicle is parked such that said vehicle may be removed by the Shelter Island Town Police or other personnel so authorized by the Town Board, and all procedures set forth in §§ 124-6, 124-7 and 124-8, including payment of all fees related to storage and removal, shall apply to vehicles removed from the highway pursuant to this provision.
C. 
Any vehicle traveling on any highway or road within the Town of Shelter Island that has been declared temporarily closed pursuant to a declaration of a snow or winter storm emergency and/or local emergency order related to such snow or winter event as set forth in § 124-5 shall be deemed to affect the ability of the Town to remediate hazardous roadway conditions or create a hazardous condition and/or impede or potentially impede the ability of fire, police, highway and ambulance vehicles and personnel to provide necessary services to Town residents on that highway or road or portion thereof on which said vehicle traveled such that said vehicle may be removed by the Shelter Island Town Police or other personnel so authorized by the Town Board, and all procedures set forth in §§ 124-6, 124-7 and 124-8, including payment of all fees related to storage and removal, shall apply to vehicles removed from the highway pursuant to this provision.