Parowan

Chapter 1 -- ADOPTION OF THE STATE TRAFFIC CODE

Section 22-1-1. Adoption of the State Traffic Code Section 22-1-2. Authority of the Chief of Police

22-1-1. Adoption of the State Traffic Code. The traffic code of the State of Utah set forth as Chapter 6, Title 41, Utah Code Annotated, 1953, and amendments thereto is hereby approved and adopted as the Traffic Code for the City of Parowan, Iron County, Utah, except as hereinafter specified and by this reference is made a part of this Ordinance as though set forth verbatim herein.

Whenever any amendment, revision or supplement is made to the Traffic Code of the State of Utah, the same shall become a revision, supplement, and amendment to this Ordinance, providing at least 3 copies of said revision, supplement, and amendment are kept on file in the office of the City Recorder.

22-1-2. Authority of the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police of Parowan City along with his officers and agents shall enforce all provisions of this title. The Chief of Police may, after traffic study, and upon recommendation of the City Council post any street, or portion thereof which is not under the control of the State authorities, as having a speed limit different than that provided by State Law. The Chief of Police may also designate and post any intersection, with appropriate traffic control signs including yield signs, stop signs, and turn direction. It shall be the duty of Chief of Police to identify traffic control problems and hazards and areas of frequent violation to the City Council for their action. The Chief of Police or his officers and agents, shall after consultation with the City Council and upon recommendation of the City Council, place such traffic control devices, remove such hazards, or take other action as necessary to eliminate the traffic problem, the hazards, and the area of frequent violation of this Title.

Chapter 2 -- SPECIFIC REGULATIONS FOR PAROWAN CITY

Section 22-2-1. Prima Facia Speed Section 22-2-2. Angle Parking Section 22-2-3. U-Turns Prohibited Section 22-2-4. Parking or Stopping of Oversized Vehicles Section 22-2-5. Littering the Highway Section 22-2-6. Improper Lookout Section 22-2-7. Off-Highway Vehicle Operation and Equipment Section 22-2-8. Penalty

22-2-1. Prima Facia Speed. Except as otherwise provided herein, the prima facia speed limits applicable to public streets shall be those provided by State Law for the particular kind of street and nature of area through which the street runs. The Chief of Police may, however, pursuant to his authority in 22-1-2 above, post certain streets or portions of streets as having different speed limits in which case the posted limits shall be the prima facia speed limit for that street or portion of street. Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with the power of the state authorities to provide for different speed limits on streets and highways which are under their jurisdiction, within the City of Parowan.

22-2-2. Angle Parking. Except as otherwise indicated by posted signs, 45 degree angle parking shall be permitted on the following streets or parts of streets: (1) Center Street from Main Street to First West Street; (2) First West Street from Center street to First South Street; (3) First South Street from Main Street to First West Street; (4) First North Street from Second West Street to First East Street; (5) First East Street from Center Street to First South Street.

22-2-3. U-Turns Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to make a U-turn with a motor vehicle at any place on Main Street, except at street intersections.

22-2-4. Parking or Stopping of Oversized Vehicles. It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of any semi-truck, semi-trailer, tractor truck, or any other vehicle which exceed thirty (30) feet in length and has as its primary purpose and is designed for carrying persons, livestock or personal property for commercial transportation to stop, stand, or park a vehicle on any City easement, street, sidewalk, intersection, crosswalk, roadway, highway access, or any other public roadway except for the express purpose of unloading or loading said vehicle for commercial purposes. The Chief of Police is authorized to install signs regulating upon public thoroughfare of oversized vehicles including but not limited to a semi-trailer, tractor trailer, tractor truck, or any other commercial vehicle or oversized vehicle that may be operated.

Operation of any oversized or other motor vehicle with a dynamic braking device engaged, at any point within Parowan City limits is prohibited, except as otherwise permitted. Engine or dynamic braking devices may be utilized beyond mile marker 4 on Highway SR 143 or for the avoidance of imminent danger.

22-2-5. Littering the Highway. No person shall throw, deposit, or place in or upon a public street in Parowan City any nails, tacks, crockery, scrap iron, tin, wire, bottles, glass, boxes, wood, boards, stones, thorns, or thorny clippings, or branches of a tree or bush, or any other article or thing likely to puncture the tire of any vehicle.

22-2-6. Improper Lookout. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive a motor vehicle on the streets of Parowan City, and to become involved in a traffic accident as a direct result of failing to keep a reasonable and proper lookout for other traffic, objects, fixtures, or property in the streets or adjacent thereto. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be deemed guilty of an infraction, and shall be punished by a fine up to $299.

22-2-7. Off-Highway Vehicle Operation and Equipment. All off-highway vehicles (OHV) shall be operated in a safe and cautious manner as follows:

A. All operators of off-highway vehicles throughout Parowan City shall comply with all state laws, rules and regulations, including registration of and the obtaining of a safety driving certificate issued by the Division of Parks and Recreation, as applicable.

B. All operators of off-highway vehicles, who are ages eight (8) through thirteen (13) inclusive, shall be accompanied by an adult while operating such vehicles within City limits. All operators of off-highway vehicles who are fourteen (14) through sixteen (16) years of age, need not be accompanied by an adult, on condition that they have approval of a parent to operate the off-highway vehicles, and have no prior record of violations of this ordinance. C. Off-highway vehicle use shall be restricted to roads which constitute the most direct route to and from homes, farms, businesses, and those roads leading from Parowan City to nearby mountain and riding areas. City streets designated for ingress and egress are to include 600 West, 300 East, 300 South, 400 North, 700 North, and Airport Road.

D. Off-highway vehicles shall be operated at all times in accordance with all applicable State, County, and City laws and regulations and shall not operate at speeds in excess of twenty-five (25) miles per hour (MPH) within Parowan City limits. Furthermore, if equipped with a headlight, the off-highway vehicle shall be operated with the headlight(s) functioning and turned on at all times. Off-highway vehicles shall not be operated in a dangerous or reckless manner, nor shall the operation of off-highway vehicles be operated in a manner which shall endanger a person's health, safety and welfare.

E. Off-highway vehicles shall not be permitted along, across, or on the boundaries of an interstate highway except on an overpass or underpass. Also off-highway vehicles shall not be permitted on any trails, walking paths, and sidewalks within Parowan City limits, except for the purpose of ingressing or egressing the operator's property.

F. Off-highway vehicles shall not be permitted in or on City parks for recreation or to use City roadways as an area for recreation. Roadways should only be used as the most direct route possible to obtain the destination in accordance with the above regulations and laws.

G. Off-highway vehicles shall not be permitted on any privately owned property without obtaining written permission from the owner of the property.

H. The violation of this section shall be punishable as an infraction with a maximum fine of fifty dollars ($50.00).

22-2-8. Penalty.** Unless otherwise designated, any person violating any provision of this Title either by failing to do the acts required herein or doing any act prohibited herein shall be guilty of a Class C Misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to punishment by a fine not to exceed $750.00, by imprisonment for a term not to exceed ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Chapter 3 -- IMPOUNDING OF VEHICLES

Section 22-3-1. Towing and Impounding Vehicles Parked in Violation Section 22-3-2. Procedures for Abatement of Nuisance Section 22-3-3. Liability of Parowan City Officials

22-3-1. Towing and Impounding Vehicles Parked in Violation of Law. The following, together with or in addition to any other vehicles parked in violation of any Ordinance of Parowan City or the Laws of the State of Utah, are hereby declared to be nuisances:

a) Any unattended vehicle stopped, standing or parked in violation of any of the provisions of this code;

b) Any vehicle found upon the streets or alleys of this City with faulty or defective equipment;

c) Any vehicle left unattended upon any bridge, viaduct or any subway where such vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic;

d) Any vehicle upon a street so disabled as to constitute any obstruction to traffic and the person or persons in charge of the vehicle are by reason of physical injury incapacitated to such an extent as to be unable to provide for its custody or removal;

e) Any vehicle left unattended upon a street or alley and so parked illegally as to constitute a definite hazard or obstruction to the normal movement of traffic;

f) Any unattended vehicle left parked on any street, right of way, or alley continuously for 72 hours after said vehicle has been tagged or marked by the police department in a fashion calculated to give notice to the vehicle's owner that the vehicle is about to be impounded. Placing a red tag in a clearly visible portion of the vehicle's window shall constitute proper notice hereunder.

g) Any vehicle, the driver of which has been taken into custody by the police department and under such circumstances as would leave such vehicle unattended in a street, alley, or limited parking area;

h) Any vehicle found being driven on the streets, not in a proper condition to be driven or;

I) Any vehicle found so parked as to constitute a fire hazard, a health hazard, an obstruction to fire fighting apparatus or an obstruction to snow removal.

Any vehicle constituting a nuisance under the above conditions may be summarily abated by removing said vehicle by or under the direction or at the request of a police officer of Parowan City to a place of storage within the City by means of towing or otherwise.

22-3-2. Procedures for Abatement of a Nuisance.

a) As soon as is reasonable under the circumstances, a written notice that a vehicle has been impounded under this section shall be mailed to the registered owner and recorded lien holder, of any, of said vehicle, at their last known address as shown by the recorders of the motor vehicle division of the Utah State Tax Commission. If the license plates on said vehicle are from another state, written notice shall be mailed to the Department of Motor Vehicles in such State, requesting such Department to notify the registered owner of such vehicle that the same has been impounded by the police department of Parowan City and that the same will be sold at public auction as is provided by the ordinances of Parowan City if not claimed by the owner or its proper representative as provided by Parowan City Ordinances.

b) The impounding of the vehicle shall not prevent or preclude the institution and prosecution of criminal proceedings in the appropriate Court against the owner or operator of such impounded vehicle.

c) Before the owner or his agent shall be permitted to remove a vehicle from storage, which vehicle has been impounded under the provisions of this Section, said owner or agent shall:

(1) Furnish satisfactory evidence to the Police Department of his identity and his ownership of said vehicle.

(2) Request and obtain from the Police Department a written order directed to the place of storage in which said vehicle is impounded, authorizing the release of said vehicle to said owner or his agent upon the payment to said place of storage of all towing and storage charges, reasonably incurred in the towing and storage of said vehicle from the date of the impounding to the time of presenting the order of release from the Police Department.

(3) Sign a written receipt for said vehicle and deliver the same to the place of storage upon receipt of said impound of the vehicle.

d) If, at the expiration of 15 days after mailing the notice provided for in paragraph (a) hereof, said vehicle is not redeemed by the owner, or his proper representative, the Chief of Police or his authorized agent may proceed to sell the vehicle at public auction to the highest bidder after first giving 10 days notice of said sale by publishing said notice at least once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in Parowan City, Iron County, Utah, stating in said notice the time and place of the sale and a proper description of the vehicle to be sold as well as the names of the record owner and the lien holder as contained in the records of the Office of the Motor Vehicle Division of the Sate Tax Commission, or if the name of the owner and lien holder be unknown, stating that fact. If the owner or record lien holder, if any, is known, the police department shall send such owner or record lien holder a copy of such notice as published immediately after the publication of same, which notice shall be mailed to the last known address or the address as shown of the records of the Motor Vehicle Division of the Utah State Tax Commission for said owner or lien holder. A copy of this notice as published shall immediately, after publication, be mailed to the owner of the place of storage. The money received by the Chief of Police, or his authorized agent, from the sale of any such vehicle shall be applied first, to the actual costs of towing and storage of such impounded vehicle, then to the payment of the costs of advertising the Notice of Sale for each vehicle so impounded and the costs of mailing the notices as set forth hereinabove, and the balance of the proceeds, if any, shall be then transferred to the City Treasurer of Parowan City to be used as hereinafter provided.

e) At anytime within 1 year from and after such sale, the former owner of the vehicle sold, upon application to the City Council of Parowan City and upon presentation of satisfactory proof that he was the owner of the vehicle sold, shall be paid the proceeds of such sales, less the necessary expenses of the sale and less the towing, impounding, and storage charges provided for in paragraph (d) of this Ordinance.

f) The Parowan Police Department shall keep a record of all vehicles impounded by manufacturer's trade name or make, body type, or motor number, and license number as well as the names and address of all persons claiming any interest in the vehicle, and such other descriptive matter as may identify such vehicles, the nature and circumstances of the impounding thereof, and the impounding violation, and the violation by reason of which said vehicles were impounded, the date of such impounding, and name and address of any person to whom such vehicle was released.

g) The Police Department of Parowan City shall immediately impound in a proper place of storage in Parowan City, all vehicles found within said city which are improperly registered, stolen, or bear defaced motor numbers and shall within 96 hours thereafter notify in writing the Motor Vehicle Division of the State Tax Commission of such impounding, setting forth in such notice the date the vehicle was found, the address where the vehicle was found, information on the vehicle, and the date and place where the vehicle was stored.

22-3-3. Liability of Parowan City Officials. Any Parowan City Officer or Official who attempts in good faith to enforce the provisions of the foregoing Chapter, shall incur no civil or criminal liability for said actions and shall be held harmless from civil suit or prosecution by Parowan City Corporation.

This entire Title 22 - Traffic Code was adopted by the City Council on 03-05-1980 (Refer to Ordinance No. 80-7)

Dates of other ordinances pertaining to Traffic: August 4, 1976; January 20, 1971; November 13, 1950; April 5, 1933