(a) The City of Bedford shall administer and enforce the Statewide Fire Prevention Code as adopted and promulgated by the applicable state agencies. Such additional fire prevention regulations, as are adopted by the City of Bedford which are more restrictive or more extensive in scope than the Statewide Fire Prevention Code shall be controlling, provided such regulations do not affect the manner of construction, or materials to be used in the erection, alteration, repair, or use of a building or structure.

(b) Terms used in this Article shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Virginia State Fire Prevention Act, unless the context or subject matter requires otherwise.

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the City building official or the duly authorized representative or such official to administer and enforce the Statewide Fire Prevention Code and any other fire prevention regulations of the City. In enforcing the City of Bedford Fire Prevention Regulations and the Statewide Fire Prevention Code, the City Building Office shall have all powers authorized under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code.

There shall be no fee for permits required by the fire prevention code. The term "permit" and "permit fee" as stated in the fire prevention code shall in no way relieve any one from obtaining the required building permits and payment of fees as required in Chapter 5 of the City Code.

Any appeals of a decision of the building official under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code or the City Fire Prevention Regulations shall be referred to the Building Board of Appeals as set forth in Section 5-13 of the City Code.

Violations of the Statewide Fire Prevention Code and of any other City of Bedford fire regulations shall constitute Class One Misdemeanors. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.

A. The Code Official shall require and designate public or private fire lanes as deemed necessary for the efficient and effective use of fire apparatus.

B. All fire lanes, including those required by the Code Official and any others designated by property owners, shall have a minimum width of 18 feet and shall be marked in a manner approved by the Building Code Official. All designated fire lanes, signs or markings shall be maintained in a clean and legible condition at all times and replaced when necessary to insure adequate visibility.

Sec. 8-13. Obstruction of fire lanes.

It shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct a designated and marked fire lane on public or private property or to deface, remove, destroy or impair the usefulness of any posted firelane sign.

(a) No person shall park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:

(4) Within fifteen (15) feet of a fire hydrant;

(5) On a crosswalk;

(6) Within twenty (20) feet of a crosswalk at an intersection; provided, that where there is no crosswalk at an intersection, no person shall so park a vehicle within twenty (20) feet from the intersection or curb line or, if none, within fifteen (15) feet of the intersection of property lines;

(7) Within thirty (30) feet upon the approach to any flashing beacon, stop sign or traffic-control signal located at the side of a roadway.

(8) Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within thirty (30) feet of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone, unless a different length is indicated by official signs or markings;

(9) Within fifty (50) feet of the nearest rail of a railroad grade crossing;

(10) Upon a highway in front of a private driveway or within fifteen (15) feet in either direction of the entrance to a fire station, or within fifteen (15) feet of the entrance to a building housing rescue squad equipment or ambulances provided such buildings are plainly designated, nor within fifteen (15) feet of the intersection of property lines at the intersection of highways;

(11) Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when such parking would obstruct traffic;

(12) On the roadway side of any vehicle parked at the edge or curb of a street;

(13) Upon any bridge or other elevated structure upon a street or highway or within a tunnel;

(14) At any place where official signs prohibit parking;

(15) At any place designated as handicapped parking. Vehicles parking in these places must be designated as a handicapped vehicle by appropriate license plate or bumper sticker.

(16) Within any area designated by the property owner or by the City as a fire lane on any public or private property and marked in accordance with the requirements of the city building official.

(b) No person other than a police officer shall move a vehicle into any such prohibited area or away from a curb such distance as is unlawful, or start or cause to be started the motor of any motor vehicle, or shift, change or move the levers, brake, starting device, gears or other mechanism of a parked motor vehicle to a position other than that in which it was left by the owner or driver thereof, or attempt to do so.

(a) Whenever a motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer involved in an accident is so located as to impede the orderly flow of traffic, the police may (i) at no cost to the owner or operator remove the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer to some point in the vicinity where it will not impede the flow of traffic or (ii) have the vehicle removed to a storage area for safe keeping.

(b) If a motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer, or parts thereof is illegally parked in a fire lane or within fifteen (15) feet of a fire hydrant, then the police may have the vehicle removed to a storage area for safe keeping.

(c) As soon as possible after such removal, the removal shall be reported to the owner of the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer, to the chief of police, and to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

(d) Whenever a motor vehicle is removed to a storage area under this section, the owner shall pay to the parties entitled thereto all costs incidental to its removal and storage and the cost of locating the owner.

Pursuant to the authority of Section 46.2-1313 of the Code of Virginia, the provisions and requirements of the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia contained in Title 46.2 in Article 9 (Sec. 16.1-278 et seq) of Chapter 11 of Title 16.1, and in Article 2 (Sec. 18.2-266 et seq) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, of the Code of Virginia, except those provisions and requirements the violation of which constitute a felony, and except those provisions and requirements which by their very nature can have no application to or within the City, are hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference and made applicable within the City. References to "Highways of the State" contained in such provisions and requirements hereby adopted, shall be deemed to refer to streets, highways and other public ways within the City. Such provisions and requirements are hereby adopted, mutatis mutandis, and made a part of this Chapter as fully as those set forth at length herein, and it shall be unlawful for any person, within the City, to violate or fail, neglect or refuse to comply with any provision of Title 46.2 or of Article 9 of Chapter 11 of Title 16.1 or of Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia, which are adopted by this Section; provided, that in no event shall the penalty imposed for the violation of any provision or requirement hereby adopted exceed the penalty imposed for a similar offense under such titles of the Code of Virginia.