CHAPTER 9-400. CARRIERS


§9-402. Animal Drawn Carriages. [386]


(1) Definitions.

(a) Animal Drawn Carriage or Carriage. Any type of vehicle used for carting or delivery of goods or transportation of passengers which is drawn by an animal.

(b) Center City. The area bounded by Spring Garden street, Bainbridge street, and the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers.

(c) Vehicle Code. Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes.

(2) License Required.

(a) No person shall engage in the business of operating an animal drawn carriage unless that person has first obtained a license from the Department for each carriage owned.

(b) All applications for such license shall be made on forms supplied by the Department and shall contain the following information;

(.1) Name and home address of the owner and, if the owner is a corporation or a partnership, the name and home address of a principal partner or corporate officer;

(.2) The business telephone number of the owner;

(.3) Location of stables where animals and carriages are stored and/or maintained;

(.4) Business privilege license number;

(.5) Billing address;

(.6) Philadelphia business tax number; and

(.7) Federal tax or Social Security Number.

(c) The applicant must also submit the following to the Department before the license will be issued;

(.1) A certificate of insurance indicating compliance with Section 9-402(3)(a); and
(.2) A copy of the carriage driver certificate for each of the applicant’s drivers, as required by subsection 9-402(3)(c).

(.3) payment of an annual license fee of three hundred (300) dollars for the first carriage license obtained by a company, one hundred fifty (150) dollars for each additional carriage license obtained by a company, for up to nine (9) additional carriages, and one hundred twenty-five (125) dollars for each additional license obtained thereafter by a company for each additional carriage. The Department may from time to time by regulation revise the annual license fee (including the structure of the fee) to reflect the City’s costs of regulating animal drawn carriage businesses and the special costs incurred by the City because of the operation of such businesses, including, but not limited to, the cost of extra cleaning of carriage routes.[387]

(d) Licenses will be renewed annually upon payment of the license renewal fee equal to the annual license fee as established in 9-402(2)(c)(.3).

(3) License Requirements. Every person licensed to engage in the business of operating an animal drawn carriage shall, as a condition of retaining such license, comply with each of the following:

(a) The licensee shall maintain liability and workers’ compensation insurance in an amount determined by the City Solicitor.

(b) The licensee must comply with the regulations promulgated by the Department of Public Health on Commercial Horse Stables and Rental and Carriage Horses pursuant to Sections 10-107 and 10-108 of The Philadelphia Code.

(c) All carriage drivers employed by the licensee must satisfactorily complete a carriage driver certification program approved by the Department of Health as required in Section IIIC of the Regulations on Commercial Horse Stables and Rental and Carriage Horses. A carriage driver shall carry proof of certification at all times when operating a carriage.

(d) All carriages shall be identified by the licensee’s name (or company name) and license number issued by the Department.

(.1) Each carriage owned by a licensee shall be sequentially numbered and that number shall be placed next to the license number issued by the Department.

(.2) The licensee shall provide a license plate with the license number and carriage number as provided in subsection 9-402(3)(d)(.1). Such license plate must be placed on the right rear portion of the carriage so as to be visible to the public from a distance of twenty-five feet. The annual renewal sticker shall be affixed to the license plate.

(e) All carriages must adhere to all animal drawn vehicle requirements set forth in the Vehicle Code, and carriage drivers must obey all provisions of the Vehicle Code.

(f) Routes and hours of operation.[388]

(.1) Carriages shall be operated only on the carriage routes approved by ordinance pursuant to subsection 9-402(4), except that a carriage operator may apply for a special permit from the Department of Streets to use other routes on a trip-by-trip basis to accommodate a special event. An application for such special permit setting forth the date, time and nature of the special event and the exact route requested must be filed with the Department of Streets, on a form provided by that Department, at least five (5) business days prior to the date of the special event. The special permit will be issued only if the Department of Streets determines that the operation of a carriage on the requested route, on the date and at the time requested, will not cause undue interference with traffic, except that no special permit shall be granted which would permit a carriage to be on any street at any time prohibited by subsection 9-402(3)0(.2). Every special permit shall set forth the date, time and nature of the special event, and shall be kept with the carriage and readily available for inspection at all times the carriage is being operated under the terms of the special permit.

(.2) No carriage shall be permitted on any street (whether the carriage is parked or in operation) during the following hours:

(.a) From April 1 to October 31:

(i) Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., or after 10:30 p.m.

(ii) On Saturdays and Sundays, after 10:30 p.m.

(.b) From November 1 to March 31:

(i) Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., or after 9:00 p.m.

(ii) On Saturdays and Sundays, after 9:00 p.m.

(g) Carriages may be parked only within a carriage stand zone that is posted as such by the Department of Streets. The Department of Streets shall post carriage stand zones only at the following locations:[389]

(.1) On the west side of Fifth street, between Chestnut street and Market street, not longer than one hundred fifty feet (150');

(.2) On the east side of Sixth street between Chestnut street and Market street, not longer than one hundred fifty feet (150'); and

(.3) On the west side of Second street between South street and Lombard street, not longer than one hundred feet (100').

(h) Carriages shall not be left unattended at any time.

(i) Carriage drivers must comply with all other provisions of The Philadelphia Code.

(j) Carriage drivers shall be in control of their carriages at all times and shall not permit their horses to trot, canter, or gallop unless required by an emergency.

(k) Carriage drivers shall not solicit business or pick up or discharge passengers on Walnut street, or solicit business in a manner that such solicitation can be heard beyond a distance of fifteen (15) feet from the horse drawn carriage.

(l) Licensees must maintain the area around the approved carriage stands clean of trash and debris generated by their operations, and deodorized.

(m) No customer shall be permitted to drive a carriage, or to ride next to the driver of a carriage.[390]

(n) All carriages shall have a flashing red light installed at the rear of the carriage which shall flash at all times the carriage is on any street. Such light shall meet the specifications set by the Department of Streets by regulation.[391]

(o) The Department of Public Health and the Department of Streets shall promulgate regulations to provide an animal waste management plan for carriage operators which addresses animal urine as well as solid waste, and is designed to keep carriage horse routes clean and sanitary. Licensed carriage operators shall have thirty (30) days from the date of enactment of this Section to submit written comments to the Health Commissioner and the Streets Commissioner on the contents of those regulations, and the Department of Public Health and the Department of Streets shall consider those comments prior to promulgating the regulations.[392]

(4) Carriage Routes.

(a) Council shall establish by ordinance approved routes within Center City upon which carriages may be operated.

(b) The Department of Streets shall promulgate regulations governing the operation of carriages on Center City streets and shall establish routes for horse drawn carriages to travel to and from their stables to the routes established pursuant to 9-402(4)(a).
(5) Horse Drawn Vendor Carts.

(a) Horse drawn vendor carts licensed under Section 9-203 are exempt from the provisions of this section, except for this subsection 9-204(5).

(b) Horse drawn vendor carts licensed under Section 9-203 may not be operated in Center City.

(6) Penalties and Enforcement; License Suspension and Revocation.

(a) The penalty for a violation of this section shall be a fine of not less than two hundred (200) dollars nor more than three hundred (300) dollars.

(b) Whenever a police officer or any other official authorized to enforce ordinances observes a violation of this section, he may hand to the violator a printed notice of violation. Such notices shall bear the date, time, location and nature of the violation, and when known, the identify and license number and carriage number of the violator. The notice shall further state the amount to be remitted in response to the notice of violation and the penalty which can be imposed by the court for the violation, shall be signed by the person issuing the notice, and shall bear the police officer’s badge number or other official identification number identifying the person issuing the violation notice.

(c) Any person who receives a notice of violation may, within ten (10) days, pay the amount of one hundred (100) dollars, admit the violation and waive appearance before a Municipal Court Judge. The notice of violation shall contain an appropriate statement for signature by the violator for the purpose of admitting the violation and waiving a hearing, and shall be returned by the violator when he remits the stipulated payment.

(d) If a person who receives a notice of violation fails to make the prescribed payment within ten (10) days of the issuance of the notice of violation, a code enforcement complaint shall be issued for such violation in such manner as provided by law. If the person named in the code enforcement complaint is found to have violated any provision of this section or fails to appear on the date set for hearing, he shall be subject to the imposition of fines in the amounts set forth in subsection 9-402(6)(a), plus court costs.

(e) In lieu of issuing a notice of violation, the Department may, at its option, enforce this section through the issuance of a code enforcement complaint in the manner provided by law.

(f) If protection of the health, safety or welfare of the public, passengers, or an animal requires the immediate removal of the animal or carriage, or if the carriage is being operated by an uncertified driver, then a code violation notice shall be issued, the license shall be revoked and, if the condition of the carriage is in violation of this section, a sticker shall be placed on the carriage stating that it is unfit for use,[393] which sticker may only be removed by the Department when a new animal drawn carriage license is obtained. The operator must then remove the carriage immediately from use and return it to the stable. If the operator refuses to so remove the carriage, or the operator is physically incapable of safely operating the carriage, then the City may itself or by contract remove the carriage to a City storage facility. If the carriage is so removed, the licensee must pay all costs of removal and storage before recovering the carriage.

(g) The Department and the Department of Public Health shall by regulation devise a point system for suspension of carriage licenses based upon a specified number of violations by the licensee or a carriage driver employed by the licensee within a specified period of time (such suspension to apply to all licenses held by a licensee), and revocation of carriage licenses after a specified number of suspensions (such revocation to apply to all licenses held by a licensee). Suspension periods shall be for a minimum of one day; and may increase with the number of suspensions to a maximum suspension period of one week. The regulations shall specify a procedure by which the imposition of points and the suspension and revocation of licenses may be administratively appealed. If licenses have been revoked, the licensee may not apply for any new licenses under this Section for one year after the date of revocation.[394]