§ 67-2. Licensing of horse-drawn carriage companies; headquarters.

(a)

License required.

(1)

No person, firm, corporation, or entity shall operate a business involving the use of a horse-drawn carriage on the streets of the city unless the current year's occupational tax has been paid in accordance with chapter 14 of the City Code, and a license for such business has first been granted by the city pursuant to the provisions contained here in chapter 67. The license shall be effective for only a single carriage, and only for the calendar year stated in the license, unless suspended or revoked sooner as provided by ordinance.

(2)

Any person, firm, corporation, or legal entity desiring a license required by this section shall submit an application in writing to the city manager on a form to be furnished by the city manager. The application shall be made under oath and shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:

a.

The legal name of the applicant;

b.

The trade name, if applicable, under which the applicant is to operate;

c.

All persons having an beneficial interest in the applicant greater than five percent;

d.

Mailing and physical address of applicant;

e.

The name and address of a contact person for all purposes under this chapter;

f.

The number required to be affixed to the carriage pursuant to this chapter;

g.

The passenger capacity of the vehicle; and

h.

A photograph of the carriage for which license is applied.

(b)

License fee. Before any license is granted under this section, an impact, enforcement, and administrative fee for the licensed activity in the amount of $130.00 shall be paid by the applicant.

(c)

License to be displayed in horse-drawn carriage. The license issued under the provisions of this section shall be placed on display in the horse-drawn carriage, where the license will be in clear view of the passengers at all times when the horse-drawn carriage is for hire.

(d)

Alteration of license prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to alter, deface, obliterate or destroy a horse-drawn carriage license, or cause or allow the same.

(e)

Multiple licenses allowable. It shall be permissible for any applicant to hold multiple licenses, and they shall be required to obtain multiple licenses to operate separate carriages.

(f)

License not transferable. Any horse-drawn carriage license issued under this section is not transferable, either from entity to entity, or from carriage to carriage, and is to be used solely by the applicant to whom issued, and solely for the carriage identified upon the license.

(g)

Duration of permit. Any horse-drawn carriage license shall be valid for that calendar year. License may be renewed, upon application and payment of the required fee.

(h)

Operating regulations. In addition to the license requirements imposed herein, each license holder shall be responsible for the following operating regulations:

(1)

Compliance with all laws cited as the "Humane Care for Equines Act" O.C.G.A., Title 4, Section 1, Chapter 13, as well as all other state and federal laws and regulations governing equines and humane treatment of animals.

(2)

No one animal may be worked more than eight hours per day.

(3)

No draft animal shall be permitted to pull a horse-drawn carriage when the outside temperature exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature reading shall be conclusively presumed to be that obtained at the communications desk of the city police department as adjunct to the National Weather Service.

(4)

At the time of permitting of any draft animal, and at anytime, upon demanded by the city inspector, a valid Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) certification for the draft animal then in service must be produced.

(5)

Each license holder shall require, and each driver must maintain, a log of the starting and ending times for each driver and each draft animal. Said log should be kept in a bound book form and continuously available upon the carriage being pulled for inspection by the city inspector.

(6)

No draft animal shall be permitted to pull a vehicle for hire without properly fitting shoes or boots on each properly trimmed hoof, with said shoes or boots to be made only of rubber or similar other synthetic material. No shoes or boots made of iron, drilltech, borium, studs, spikes or any other types of shoes that can cause damage to pavement, concrete, brick pavers, or similarly hard surface types will be permitted.

(i)

The inspector shall be empowered to inspect all operating practices of any carriage company to ensure continuous compliance with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 99-12-02, 12-2-8-99; Ord. No. 17-6-01 , 6-20-17)