Chapter 9.62
OVERSIZE LOADS ON PUBLIC STREETS
Sections:
9.62.020 Transportation permits—Overall width limits—Exceptions.
9.62.030 Transportation permits—Oversize loads—Fees.
9.62.040 Transportation permits—Oversize load—Liability insurance required.
9.62.050 Safety and warning signs and devices—Required.
9.62.060 Enforcement procedures—Penalties—Rules.
9.62.010 Permit required.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to move any building, mobile home (as defined in RCW 46.04.302), structure, or any vehicle or combination of vehicles, unladen or with load, which exceeds the restrictions set forth in RCW 46.44.010, 46.44.020, 46.44.030, 46.44.034, 46.44.036, 46.44.041, and 46.44.042, across or upon any public street, alley, roadway, or public place in the city of Sumas without first having obtained and being the owner or agent of the owner and holder of a valid permit thereof, the same to be known as a “transportation permit,” from the city. (Ord. 1486 § 1 (part), 2007)
9.62.020 Transportation permits—Overall width limits—Exceptions.
A. A permit may be issued for the movement of structures or vehicles with a total outside width not to exceed ten feet on the following city streets, or portions thereof:
1. That portion of Railroad Avenue lying north of Garfield Street;
2. That portion of Garfield Street including, and lying west of, its intersection with Railroad Avenue;
3. That portion of Bob Mitchell Avenue from its intersection with Garfield Street up to, and including, its intersection with Hesselgrave Way;
4. Hesselgrave Way, including that portion crossing West Front Street at 601 West Front Street and that portion crossing West Front Street at Darrell Jones Way; and
5. Darell Jones Way.
B. Application shall be made in writing on special forms provided by the Sumas police department at the Sumas City Hall and shall be submitted at least three working days, Monday through Friday, in advance of the proposed movement. All application forms, and information requested therein, must be completed prior to the issuance of any city of Sumas transportation permit.
C. The applicant for a permit shall specifically describe the vehicle or vehicles, including license numbers, and load to be operated or moved and the route over city streets for which a permit to operate is requested and whether such permit is requested for a single trip or for continuous operation. (Ord. 1486 § 1 (part), 2007)
9.62.030 Transportation permits—Oversize loads—Fees.
The following fees, in addition to any regular license and tonnage fees, shall be paid for all movements, under a transportation permit, made upon the streets of the city of Sumas:
A. All overwidth loads, with a total width not to exceed ten feet, single trip: ten dollars per vehicle;
B. Continuous operation of overwidth loads, with a total width not to exceed ten feet, for a period of one year: one hundred fifty dollars per vehicle. (Ord. 1486 § 1 (part), 2007)
9.62.040 Transportation permits—Oversize load—Liability insurance required.
A. Every person applying for a transportation permit, in addition to the requirements contained in this chapter, shall submit evidence of adequate liability and property damage insurance coverage, including the provision of any requested copies, which shall not be less than one hundred thousand dollars per person and three hundred thousand dollars per accident and not less than one hundred thousand dollars for property damage, which insurance coverage shall adequately protect the city of Sumas against any loss to property or bodily injury, or other damages sustained or claimed by any person, or sustained or claimed by the city of Sumas, arising out of the granting or use of this permit or any acts or omissions done or performed under or in connection with such moving activities.
B. In addition to the foregoing insurance coverage, the application shall be conditioned upon the applicant’s compliance with all the provisions of this chapter and agreeing to pay and hold blameless and harmless and indemnify the city of Sumas, its officers, agents, and employees against any accident, liability, loss, injury, action, and the costs thereof arising from the conduct or operations of the permittee in connection with this permit. (Ord. 1486 § 1 (part), 2007)
9.62.050 Safety and warning signs and devices—Required.
The permittee shall comply with all federal and state requirements related to safety and, at a minimum, shall have warning signs and devices that shall meet the following requirements:
A. An “OVERSIZED LOAD” sign must measure at least five feet wide and ten inches in height with one-inch black stroke on yellow background.
B. Oversize load signs shall be mounted on the front of the towing vehicle and on the rear of the load or trailing unit a minimum of five feet above the roadway surface measured from the bottom of the sign.
C. Oversize load signs are to be displayed when the unit is in transit.
D. All over-legal-size loads shall display the prescribed twelve-inch square red colored flag on each corner of the load.
E. Every towing vehicle shall display either two four-inch minimum flashing amber lights or a single rotating flashing beacon mounted above the roof line and plainly visible. The amber lights shall meet SAE Standard Specifications (SAE J565b), “Flashing Warning Lamps for Authorized Emergency, Maintenance, and Service Vehicles.” These amber lights shall operate at all times during the movement of any over-legal-size load. (Ord. 1486 § 1 (part), 2007)
9.62.060 Enforcement procedures—Penalties—Rules.
A. Every permit issued as provided for in this chapter shall be carried in the vehicle or combination of vehicles to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any law enforcement officer, state, county, or local.
B. Violations of any of the provisions of the chapter, or failure to obtain a transportation permit as provided by this chapter, or misrepresentation of the size or weight of any load or failure to follow the requirements and conditions of a transportation permit issued hereunder is a traffic infraction, and upon the first finding thereof shall be assessed a basic penalty of not less than seventy-five dollars; upon the second finding thereof there shall be assessed a basic penalty of not less than one hundred twenty-five dollars; and upon the third or subsequent finding shall be assessed a basic penalty of not less than one hundred seventy-five dollars.
C. Any law enforcement officer who finds a person operating a vehicle, or a combination of vehicles, in violation of the conditions of a transportation permit issued under this chapter may confiscate said permit and forward it to the Sumas permit center, which may return it to the permittee, or revoke, cancel, or suspend it without refund. Any permittee whose permit is suspended or revoked may, upon written request, receive a hearing before the police chief or his agent. After the hearing, the police chief or his agent may reinstate any permit or revise the permit. Upon a third finding within a calendar year of a violation of the requirements and conditions of a permit issued under this chapter, the permit shall be canceled, and the canceled permit shall be immediately transmitted by the court or arresting officer to the Sumas police department. The vehicle covered by the canceled permit is not eligible for a new permit for a period of thirty days.
D. Pursuant to RCW 46.44.100, any law enforcement officer is authorized to require the driver of any vehicle or combination of vehicles to stop and submit to weighing, either by means of a portable or stationary scale, and may require that the vehicle be driven to the nearest public scale.
E. It shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle to fail or refuse to stop and submit the vehicle and load to a weighing, or to fail or refuse, when directed by an officer upon a weighing of a vehicle, to stop the vehicle and otherwise comply with the provisions of this section.
F. It is a traffic infraction to direct the loading of a vehicle with knowledge that it violates the requirements set forth in Chapter 46.44 RCW and this chapter, and that it is to be operated on the public streets and roadways of the city of Sumas. (Ord. 1486 § 1 (part), 2007)