ARTICLE 10
POLICE REGULATIONS
SECTION 1. No owner or person having the care of any sheep, goats, swine, oxen, cows, horses, or other grazing animals, shall permit or suffer the same to go at large, or to graze on any street, way, common, square, or other public places within the town, nor permit any such animal to go upon any sidewalk therein, except for the purpose of crossing same.
SECTION 2. No person shall hitch his horse to any tree standing or growing upon or near any sidewalk, or suffer any horse to remain hitched across any sidewalk, or draw or propel any handcart, wheelbarrow, or any carriage of burden or pleasure (except children's carriages, drawn by hand), over any sidewalk, so as thereby to cause any injury either to person or property of others, or to obstruct the safe and convenient passing of persons lawfully using the same, or to injure or encumber any such sidewalk.
No person shall stop his team, carriage, or other vehicle, or unnecessarily place any obstruction on any foot crossing made in and across any public way in the town.
SECTION 3. No person shall ride any horse or drive any horses attached to a vehicle of any description, in or upon any street or way for public travel, at such immoderate rate of speed as to injure or expose to injury or inconvenience any person standing, walking, or riding therein.
SECTION 4. No person shall, by any means, or in any manner, willfully frighten any horse, or play at any game in which a ball is used, or shoot with bows and arrows, fly any kites, or throw stones or other missiles in any street or on any sidewalk.
SECTION 5. No person having the charge of a vehicle in any street shall neglect or refuse to stop the same, when so directed by a police officer.
SECTION 6. No owner or driver of a vehicle shall bait or feed, in a street or public place, a horse or beast connected with such vehicle, except in a place or places designated by the Chief of Police, nor unless the horse or beast, while being baited or fed under the care of some suitable person, and is properly secured to prevent it from getting beyond such person's control.
SECTION 7. No person shall leave any vehicle or material, or place any obstruction on any sidewalk, street, or public place, and suffer the same to remain there over night, without maintaining sufficient light and suitable guards, over or near the same throughout the night, nor allow the same to remain after a notice from a police officer, constable, or the Selectmen to remove the same.
SECTION 8. No person shall place or maintain over any sidewalk, any awning, shade, shadeframe, canopy, sign or signboard, without a permit from the Board of Selectmen, but no such awning, shade, shadeframe, canopy, sign or signboard shall be less than seven feet from the ground, in the lowest part, nor extended beyond the line of the sidewalk.
SECTION 8A.
A. No person shall place or maintain on any public sidewalk, public place, or public way any tables, chairs, benches, counters, or similar items unless the Selectmen first grant a permit to do so.
B. The Selectmen may issue a permit to place and maintain tables, chairs, benches, counters or similar items on a public sidewalk, public way or public place if the placement of these items (1) does not materially impair the traffic flow or other public use of the space; (2) does not pose a hazard to the public; and (3) does not materially impair the character of the public space or the immediate neighborhood. In issuing such a permit, the Selectmen may set conditions on the placement of these items so as to preserve the public character of the space or the character of the neighborhood, prevent the destruction of the space, or protect the safety of the public. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, restrictions on the number and type of items maintained on the public space, the nature of the items so placed, or the area where the items are placed.
C. Resident may hold yard sales, tag sales, garage sales or similar private sales or used articles at their residences without obtaining a permit under this section.
D. The non-criminal penalties provided in Article 11, Section 2.1 shall apply to this section.
SECTION 9. No person shall skate or coast upon any sidewalk or street or public place, except as at such times and upon such streets or places as the Selectmen may, by public notice, designate for such purpose.
SECTION 10. No person shall discharge any guns, fowling-piece, pistol, or firearms, or set fire to any materials known as fireworks or combustible matter, or throw any such lighted fireworks in any of the public ways or streets of the town, except on such occasions and such character and kind, as the Board of Selectmen may by public notice permit. Provided, however, this section shall not apply to any person in the exercise of a duty required or justified by law.
SECTION 11. No person, firm, organization or corporation shall disturb, dig up, or excavate the ground or pavement in or under a public way, street, sidewalk, curb or treebelt within the Town unless a permit for such work has been issued by the Superintendent of Public Works in accordance with Street Opening Rules and Regulations adopted by the Selectmen. In adopting the Street Opening Rules and Regulations the Selectmen shall consider, but shall not be limited to, provisions for bonding and insurance requirements, fees to be paid the Town, conditions under which work may be accomplished, pavement restoration, utility notification procedures, and emergency situations.
SECTION 12. No person shall behave in a rude, indecent, or disorderly manner, or use any indecent, profane, or insulting language in any public place, or on any street or sidewalk in the town, or near any dwelling house or other building therein, or upon any doorstep, portico, or other projection from any such house or other building, to the annoyance or disturbance of any person.
SECTION 13. Three or more persons shall not stand in a group or near each other, in any way, public way or sidewalk, in such a manner as to obstruct a free passage for pedestrians, after a request to move on, made by any constable or police officer.
SECTION 14. No owner or occupant of property shall permit any gate leading to premises, abutting on any public way in the town, to swing outwardly upon any public way.
SECTION 15. No person shall throw or deposit, in any manner, upon any public way, place, or square in the town, any article, substance or material which may prove injurious in any respect to the hoofs of animals, the tires of bicycles, or the rubber tires of automobiles and other vehicles, or be a source of danger or annoyance to anyone lawfully passing over or using the same.
SECTION 16. No person shall distribute or deposit advertising circular, papers, or other matter on the streets of the town, or shall team, cart, truck, or trailer manure, hay, rubbish, ashes, liquid, or other material in such a manner as to litter, pollute, or injure the streets of the town, nor shall any person throw or deposit in any street or any sidewalk ashes, dirt, rubbish or other refuse of any kind, except in a manner provided by the Board of Health.
SECTION 17. No person shall cart or convey garbage or filth of any kind, nor any noxious or refuse liquid or solid matter of substance in any public street or place, except in such manner, and at such times as the Board of Health by regulation or permit shall prescribe.
SECTION 18. No person shall make any indecent figures, or write any indecent or obscene words upon any fence, building, or structure in any public place, or commit a nuisance upon any sidewalk or against any tree, building, or any of the furniture therein.
SECTION 19. No person shall spit upon the floor or walls of any town building, or injure, deface, destroy or mar in any way or manner any part of a town building, or any of the furniture therein.
SECTION 20. No child under sixteen years of age shall be, loiter or remain upon the street, highway, park or public way or place, in this town, in the afternoon of any day, after the hour of nine o'clock p.m., when standard time is in effect and ten o'clock p.m. when daylight saving time is in effect, unless accompanied by or under the control or care of a parent, guardian, or other adult person; or unless in some employment, or in the performance of some duty directed in writing by said parent, guardian, or other adult person; and no child, while in such employment or performance of such duty, shall loiter upon any such street, highway, park or other public way or place. The Chief Engineer of the Fire Department shall cause three blows to be sounded on the fire alarm bell each evening at nine o'clock p.m. when standard time is in effect and ten o'clock p.m. when daylight saving time is in effect.
SECTION 21. No person shall dump or deposit any refuse or waste material upon any privately owned property in the town without permission of the owner of said property.
SECTION 22. Except as otherwise provided, the creation of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise in the town is prohibited. Noise of such character, intensity and duration as to be detrimental to the life, health, comfort or property of any individual is prohibited. The unreasonable or unnecessary use of any horn or signal device on any motor vehicle, the playing or use of any radio, phonograph, musical instrument, loud speaker or other device, for any purpose, so as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of persons in any dwelling or other place of residence, and the creation of any excessive noise on any street adjacent to any school, hospital, institution or place of public assembly which unreasonably interferes with the working thereof, shall constitute acts which, among others, are declared to be loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of this section.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a commercial vehicle in a residential area of the Town of Sharon between the hours of 9 PM and 6:30 AM in a manner which creates unnecessary, objectionable and unreasonable noise. Vehicles equipped with audible warning systems shall be operated in a manner which limits the objectionable noise within these hours to the maximum extent feasible while complying with any applicable laws. For purposes of this paragraph, noise which is plainly audible at a distance of one hundred feet from the vehicle, shall be prima facie evidence of unnecessary, objectionable and unreasonable noise. Activities necessitated by exigent emergency circumstances impacting on life, safety or protection of property shall be exempt from this paragraph.
SECTION 23.
a) Subject to the provisions of the Town’s Zoning By-Laws, no person or entity, corporate or otherwise, as owner or as one in control of premises, shall keep in the open in any area of the Town of Sharon any junk or other waste material including, but not limited to any junk automobile, wagon, truck, bus, cycle, or trailer as define in paragraph (b) of this section.
b) For the purposes of this By-Law, junk is defined as (1)waste material, and/or (2)worn out, cast-off or discarded articles, worn out, cast-off or discarded appliances, parts stripped from vehicles, entire vehicle bodies or parts of vehicle bodies that are in disrepair, or materials that are ready for destruction or have been stored or collected for salvage or conversion into some other use.
c) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (a) and (b) above, no person or entity, corporate or otherwise, including, but not limited to, an individual or entity who repairs or remodels vehicles as a hobby, shall have more than one unregistered vehicle, car, truck or trailer ungaraged on his or her premises at any one time unless authorized by the Board of Selectmen.
d) Exemptions: This Section 23 shall not apply to land used for the primary purpose of agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, or viticulture; land owned by the Town of Sharon and used for municipal purposed; and land designated by the Board of Selectmen for public dumping purposes.
e) Violations
1. Once a written violation notice is issued, the owner and/or person or entity in control of the property shall have thirty days to correct the violation without penalty. If the violation is not corrected within said thirty days, a fine of $100 per violation shall be imposed upon the owner and/or person or entity in control of the property. Such fines may be imposed as criminal fines, pursuant to M.G.L. S21 or civil fines pursuant to M.G.L. c. 40, S21D, and Article 11 of these By-Laws.
2. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Building Inspector, Police Department and/or a Prosecuting Officer of the Town of Sharon Police Department. The Building Inspector shall be responsible for maintenance of records pertaining to violations and penalties imposed hereunder.
3. For purpose of this section, the existence of a violation shall be deemed a separated offense for each day that such violation continues.
4. If the owner or person or entity in control of the property fails to pay fines issued for violations of this section, the Town may impose a lien upon the property pursuant to M.G.L. c 40,S58.
SECTION 24. (Repealed - See instead Tow-Away and Parking Regulations)
SECTION 25. No person shall enter upon the premises of another with the intention of peeping into the windows of a house or spying upon in any manner any person or persons therein.
SECTION 26. Street numbers shall be provided for each dwelling and each business, industrial, and other building in the Town of Sharon by the owner of such structures in accordance with the following:
1. The numbers shall be made of permanent, weather resistant material, shall be at least three (3) inches in height and shall be clearly visible from the street or roadway upon which the structure fronts.
2. The numbers shall be placed on each structure, or on a suitable support, near the main entrance to the structure.
3. The numbers shall be those assigned to each structure in accordance with the street numbering used by the Board of Assessors, on file at the office of that Board.
4. The owner of each affected structure in the town shall install the assigned number in accordance with the provisions of this by-law within three (3) months of the effective date of this by-law.
SECTION 27. It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute advertising material at any residence within the Town of Sharon, other than at the residence of a person soliciting the same, by placing such material at the home or on the property of the person owning or occupying the home, unless the person distributing such advertising material has obtained the written consent of the person occupying the home.
The foregoing provision shall not apply to the distribution of advertising material through the United States mail, or to the distribution of advertising material by or for any non-profit charitable organization.
SECTION 28. Except as herein provided, no person shall fire or discharge any firearms, rifles or shotguns of any caliber or gauge anywhere within the limits of the town unless issued a permit to do so by the Chief of Police or his authorized designees, except when the person is discharging a firearm, rifle or shotgun on his own property. No permit shall be issued allowing the firing or discharging of a firearm, rifle or shotgun within the limits of any private property unless the applicant first obtains the written permission of the property owner or authorized designee.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any law enforcement officer acting in the performance of his duty, nor the use of a firearm, rifle or shotgun in the lawful defense of life or property, or in any military exercise or at any established firing range of a fish and game or sportsmen's club.
SECTION 28B. No person shall trap wildlife on any land owned by the Town or by the Town's Conservation Commission unless a written permit shall have been obtained prior to the opening of each trapping season from the Selectmen in the case of land owned by the Town or from the Conservation Commission in the case of land owned by the Conservation Commission. Such permit must be worn in a visible manner and must be shown on demand to any Sharon Police Officer or to the Town's Conservation Officer.
SECTION 29. Public Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages
A. DEFINITIONS: The following words as used in this Section unless the context otherwise requires, shall have the following meanings:
1. PUBLIC WAYS: All ways to which the public has the right of access.
2. PARKS: Any public park under the care and control of the town.
3. TOWN FOREST: Any town forest under the care and control of the town.
4. PLAYGROUND: Any playground under the care and control of the town.
5. BEACH: Any beach under the care and control of the town and beaches within the limits of the town to which the public has a right of access.
6. PUBLIC LAND: Any land owned by the town or under the care and control of its Conservation Commission.
7. PUBLIC PARKING AREAS: Any public parking area under the care and control of the town.
8. PUBLIC BUILDINGS: Within any public building except by vote, consent, and conditions as stipulated by the Board of Selectmen.
9. PRIVATE PARKING AREAS: Any private parking area throughout the town to which the public has the general right of access.
B. No person shall drink or consume alcoholic beverages as defined in Chapter 138, Section 1, of the General Laws while on, in, or upon the public ways and places set forth in A above, whether in or upon a vehicle, motor vehicle or on foot, or place to which members of the public have access as invitees or licensees, or park, town forest, public parking areas, or playgrounds, or any beach within the limits of the town to which the public has a right of access, or private land or place without the consent of the owner or person in control.
C. Notwithstanding subsection B above, the Board of Selectmen, in conjunction with the issuance of a license to serve alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, in accordance with Chapter 138 of the General Laws, may permit the consumption of alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, on public sidewalks as part of outdoor restaurant seating and food consumption.
D. ARREST: A Police Officer may arrest without a warrant anyone who violates this section while committing a breach of the peace. Whoever violates any provisions of this Section shall be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty ($50) dollars for each violation.
SECTION 30. Burglar Alarm Systems, Registration and Regulations.
Section 1. Definitions.
A. For the purpose of this By-Law the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
1) The term "Alarm System" means an assembly of equipment and devices or a single device such as solid state unit which plugs directly into a 110 volt AC line, arranged to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention or an incident to which Police customarily or reasonably are expected to respond. Fire Alarm Systems and alarm systems which monitor temperature, smoke, humidity or any other condition not directly related to the detection of an unauthorized intrusion into a premises or an attempted robbery at a premises are specifically excluded from the provisions of this By-Law.
2) The term "False Alarm" means:
i) The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation or negligence of the user of an alarm system or of his employees or agents.
ii) Any signal or oral communication transmitted to the Police Department requesting or requiring, or resulting in a response on the part of the Police Department when in fact there has been no unauthorized intrusion into a premises and/or no attempted robbery, or burglary, or attempt thereat. For purposes of this definition activation of alarm systems by acts of God, including but not limited to power outages, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and similar weather or atmospheric disturbances shall not be deemed to be a false alarm.
Section 2. Control and Curtailment of Signals Emitted by Alarm Systems
A. Every alarm system user shall submit to the Chief of Police the names and telephone numbers of at least two persons who are authorized to respond to an emergency transmitted by the alarm system, and who can open the premises wherein the alarm system is installed and reset the alarm system. Users who subscribe to a private monitoring service shall supply said information to said service. Users who are directly linked to the alarm receiving panel at the Police Station shall supply such information on a 3" x 5" Rolodex Card.
B. All audible alarm systems installed after the effective date of this By-Law which use an audible horn or bell shall be equipped with a device that will shut off such horn or bell within fifteen (15) minutes of the activation of the alarm system.
C. Any alarm system emitting a continuous and uninterrupted signal for more than fifteen (15) minutes which cannot be shut off or otherwise curtailed due to the absence or unavailability of the alarm user or those persons designated under paragraph (a) of this section and which disturbs the peace, comfort, or repose of a community, a neighborhood, or a number of inhabitants of the area where the alarm system is located, shall constitute a public nuisance.
Upon receiving complaint of such a continuous and uninterrupted signal, the Chief of Police shall endeavor to contact the alarm user, or members of the alarm user's family, or those persons designated by the alarm user under paragraph (a) of this section in an effort to abate the nuisance. If such efforts do not result in the silencing of the alarm within thirty (30) minutes of its activation, or such other reasonable time as determined by the Chief or his designee, the Police Chief may, at the expense of the owner, order its deactivation using whatever means may be appropriate to the occasion.
The Police Chief shall cause to be recorded the names and addresses of all complainants, and the time of each complaint.
Section 3. Penalties.
Upon receipt of three or more false alarms within a calendar year:
1. The Police Chief may order the user
a. to discontinue the use of the alarm,
b. may disconnect any direct connections to the Police Department, and/or
c. may order that further connections to the communications console in the Police Department will be contingent upon the user equipping any alarm system with a device that will shut off any audible horn or bell within fifteen (15) minutes after activation of the alarm system.
2. The user shall be assessed $50.00 as a false alarm service fine for each false alarm in excess of three occurring within a calendar year. If a user has not complied with Section 2, subsection (A) of this Section 30 by failing to register with the Chief of Police the required information or by failing to provide a private monitoring service with the required information, then said user shall be required to pay such fine upon their first false alarm and for each subsequent false alarm. A grace period of 30 days shall apply to the first offense and, if said user files the appropriate information with the Chief of Police or provides proof that they have filed the appropriate information with their private monitoring service within said 30 day period, then the fine shall be waived. All fines assessed hereunder shall be paid to the Town Treasurer for deposit to the General Fund.
SECTION 30A. False 911 Calls
A. Definitions.
1. 911 Call: A call received by the Sharon Police Department as a result of a user of telephone service dialing or causing to be dialed the numbers “911" on a telephone, whether by manually dialing such numbers or by the use of an automatic alarm or other alerting device used to dial the numbers “911" automatically or a prerecorded message which accesses emergency services directly.
2. False Alarm: The dialing of the numbers “911" on a telephone by either:
(a) activation, through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation or negligence of the user or its employees or agents, of an automatic alarm or other alerting device used to dial the numbers “911" automatically; or
(b) a user of a telephone system who negligently dials, causes to be dialed, or allows to be dialed, the numbers “911" when in fact where has been no emergency or event requiring a response by public safety officials, including, but not limited to, the police department, the fire department, or emergency medical technicians.
(c) for purposes of this Section 30A, activation of 911 telephone calls by acts of God, including but not limited to, power outages, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and similar weather or atmospheric disturbances shall not be deemed to be a false alarm. In addition, any documented error or omission of the company providing telephone service which causes to be place a 911 call in error shall not be deemed to be a false alarm.
B. Penalties
Upon receipt of three or more false alarms within a calendar year from the same user, said user shall be assessed $50.00 as a false alarm service fee for each false alarm in excess of three occurring within a calendar year. All fees assessed hereunder shall be paid to the Town Treasurer for deposit into the General Fund.
SECTION 31. Regulation of On and Off-Street Disabled Veteran or Handicapped Person Parking
A. Any person or body that has lawful control of a public or private enclosed property used as off‑street parking areas for businesses, shopping malls, theaters, auditoriums, sporting or recreational facilities, cultural centers, residential dwellings, or for any other place where the public has a right of access as invitees or licensees, is required to reserve parking spaces in said off‑street parking areas for any vehicle owned and operated by a disabled veteran or handicapped person whose vehicle bears the distinguishing license plate authorized by chapter ninety or for any vehicle transporting a handicapped person and displaying the special identification plate authorized by section two of chapter ninety of the General Laws of Massachusetts or for any vehicle bearing the official identification of handicapped person issued by any other state, or any Canadian Province.
The number of handicapped spaces required in each off‑street parking area shall be determined according to the following formula:
If the number of parking spaces in any such area is more than fifteen but not more than twenty‑five, one parking space; more than twenty‑five but not more than forty, five per cent of such spaces but not less than two; more than forty but not more than one hundred, four per cent of such spaces but not less than three; more than one hundred but not more than two hundred, three per cent of such spaces but not less than four; more than two hundred but not more than five hundred, two per cent of such spaces but not less than six; more than five hundred but not more than one thousand, one and one‑half per cent but not less than ten; more than one thousand but not more than two thousand, one per cent of such spaces but not less than fifteen; more than two thousand but less than five thousand, three‑fourths of one per cent of such spaces but not less than twenty; and more than five thousand, one‑half of one per cent of such spaces but not less than thirty.
Parking spaces designated as reserved under the above provisions shall be identified by the use of above grade signs with white lettering against a blue background and shall bear the words "Handicapped Parking; Special Plate Required. Unauthorized Vehicles May be Removed at Owner's Expense"; shall be as near as possible to a building entrance or walkway; shall be adjacent to curb ramps or other unobstructed methods permitting sidewalk access to a handicapped person; and shall be twelve feet wide or two eight‑foot wide areas with four feet of cross hatch between them.
B. A penalty for failure to reserve such parking spaces in said off‑street parking areas as provided above will be imposed in the amount of three hundred dollars ($300.00) per offense.
C. No vehicle shall be removed from any parking spaces designated as reserved under the above provisions unless the person who has lawful control of such property has notified the Sharon Chief of Police or his/her designee. Such notification shall be made before any such vehicle shall be removed, and shall be in writing unless otherwise specified by the Chief of Police and shall include the address from which the vehicle is to be removed, the address to which the vehicle is to be removed, the registration number of the vehicle, the name of the person in lawful control of the property from which such vehicle is being removed and the name of the person or company or other business entity removing the vehicle. Vehicles so removed shall be stored in a convenient location. Neither the town, nor the Chief of Police shall be liable for any damages incurred during the removal or storage of any such vehicle removed under this bylaw.
D. No person shall leave an unauthorized vehicle within parking spaces designated for use by disabled veterans or handicapped persons as authorized above or in such manner as to obstruct a curb ramp designed for use by handicapped persons as a means of egress to a street or public way.
E. The Board of Selectmen, pursuant to the authority contained in G. L. ch.40, sec. 22A shall further regulate the parking of vehicles on ways within the control of the Town by restricting certain areas thereon for the parking of any vehicle owned and driven by a disabled veteran or handicapped person whose vehicle bears the distinctive number plates authorized by section two of chapter ninety or for any vehicle transporting a handicapped person and displaying the special parking identification plate authorized by said section two of said chapter ninety, or for any vehicle bearing the official identification of a handicapped person issued by any other state, or any Canadian Province, or by prohibiting the parking or standing of any vehicles in such a manner as to obstruct any curb ramp designed for use by handicapped persons. Parking spaces designated as reserved under the provisions of this paragraph shall be identified by the use of above grade blue signs with white lettering against a blue background and shall bear the words "Handicapped Parking: Special Plate Required Unauthorized Vehicles May Be Removed at Owner's Expense"; shall be as near as possible to a building entrance or walkway; shall be adjacent to curb ramps or other unobstructed methods permitting sidewalk access to a handicapped person; and shall be twelve feet wide or two eight foot wide areas with four feet of cross hatch between them. The cost of acquisition, installation and maintenance and operation of any signs or other regulatory devices used to designate such restricted areas shall be considered as a necessary expense for the regulation of parking and shall be paid from appropriations authorized by this section.
No person or owner of any vehicle shall park or leave a vehicle in a space on a public way designated as above authorized as a "Handicapped Parking Space" unless the vehicle bears the distinctive number plates, or displays the special parking identification plate authorized by section two of chapter ninety of the General Laws of Massachusetts, or bears the official identification of handicapped persons issued by any other state, or any Canadian Province.
F. The penalty for violation of the foregoing paragraphs D and/or E shall be fifty dollars for each offense, each day shall be a separate offense provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the removal, in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred and twenty D of chapter two hundred and sixty‑six of any vehicle which is in violation of this by‑law, and provided further nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the enforcement of any of the foregoing paragraphs pursuant to Article II, Section 2 of our General By‑Laws and the provisions of G. L. c. 40, sec. 21D.
SECTION 32. Public Safety Lanes - Leaving of Motor Vehicles in Certain Private Ways.
A. Public Safety Regulations: it shall be unlawful to obstruct or block a private way with a vehicle or any other means so as to prevent access by fire apparatus, fire equipment, ambulance service or police cruisers to any multiple family building, stores, shopping centers, schools and places of public assembly.
B. Public Safety Lanes: it shall be unlawful to obstruct or park a vehicle in any public safety lane, such public safety lanes to be designated by the Chief of the Fire Department and the Chief of Police and posted as such. Said public safety lanes to be a distance of twelve (12) feet from the curbing of a sidewalk in a shopping center, apartment complexes and similar locations. Where no sidewalk with curbing exists, the distance and locations shall be established by the Chief of the Fire Department and the Chief of the Police Department.
C. Any object or vehicle obstructing or blocking any public safety lane or private way may be removed or towed by the town under the direction of a police officer at the expense of the owner and without liability on the part of either the town or its Chief of Police or his designee; provided that in the case of the removal of a vehicle, such removal shall take place only after there has been compliance with the provisions of G.L.c.266, s.120D, as the same may hereafter be amended.
D. The owner of record of any building affected by these sections shall provide and install signs and road markings as provided in Paragraph B of this section. Said signs shall be no less than 12 inches by 18 inches and shall read "Public Safety Lane - No Parking-Tow Zone".
E. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine, established under the provisions of G.L. Chapter 90, Section 20-A1/2, not exceeding fifteen dollars, if paid to the Town's Parking Clerk within twenty-one days, twenty dollars if paid thereafter but before the Parking Clerk reports to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles as provided in said Section 20-A1/2, and thirty-five dollars if paid thereafter.
SECTION 33. Parades, Shows, etc.
A. No parade, procession, show, exhibition, or amusement shall take place on any public way or place if there is a reasonable likelihood that the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic may be impeded or that the public peace may be disturbed or that any public way or place may be littered, unless the sponsor or sponsors of the parade, procession, show, exhibition, or amusement shall first obtain a written permit from the Chief of Police Department or from his designee.
B. This section shall not apply to a funeral procession.
C. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the Chief or his designee to censor any show, exhibition, amusement, pamphlet, or literature.
D. The penalty for violation of this Section shall be as follows: for the first offense, $50.; for the second offense, $100.; and for each subsequent offense, $300.
SECTION 34.
WHEREAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that secondhand tobacco smoke is a Class A carcinogen, and more than two dozen international studies have determined secondhand smoke is a health hazard to nonsmokers;
WHEREAS, respiratory illnesses - most notably asthma - have risen dramatically among the general population, and most sharply among small children;
WHEREAS, the Town of Sharon has existing ordinances to protect public health and safety in outdoor public areas, i.e. prohibitions on alcoholic beverages and glass containers on the beaches at Lake Massapoag;
WHEREAS, the Town of Sharon has recognized its role in protecting the health of the general public from the hazards of secondhand smoke by passage of 1994 Board of Health regulations restricting tobacco use in indoor areas,
THEREFORE, the smoking of tobacco products at public playgrounds and the public beaches at Lake Massapoag is banned. This Article shall be enforced by the Board of Health and shall become effective fifteen (15) days after adoption hereof by Town Meeting.