[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Garfield 7-1-1975 by Ord. No. 1561 (Ch. 240 of the 1979 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BUSINESS
The buying, selling or offering for sale of more than two motor vehicles, during any prescribed license period, for profit.
This chapter is deemed necessary and proper for the protection of persons and property, for the preservation of the public safety of the municipality and to reduce traffic congestion and hazards in the public streets and along the county and state highways in the City.
It shall be unlawful for any person to use any land, building or premises for the sale or the storage for sale of used or new motor vehicles without first obtaining a license therefor from the Council. A license shall be required whenever more than one motor vehicle is stored for sale on any such land, building or premises. A separate license shall be required for each separate place or location of business.
A. 
Any person desiring a license under this chapter shall file with the City Clerk an original and four copies of an application, under oath, in writing, on a form furnished by the City Clerk.
B. 
The application shall set forth the following information:
(1) 
The applicant's name, business name and business address.
(2) 
Whether the applicant is an individual, a partnership, a corporation or another entity, and if another entity, a full explanation and description thereof.
(3) 
If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's residence address and date and place of birth.
(4) 
If the applicant is a partnership, the full name, residence address, date and place of birth of each partner.
(5) 
If the applicant is a corporation or other entity, in the case of a corporation the full name, residence address, date and place of birth of each major officer and each stockholder, and the name and address of the registered agent and the address of the principal office (the term "stockholder" as used herein means and includes any person owning or having an interest, either legal or equitable in 10% or more of the stock issued and outstanding of the applicant corporation); in the case of another entity, the full name, residence address, date and place of birth of each person owning or having any interest, either legal or equitable, aggregating in value 10% or more of the total capital of the said entity, and the name and address of the registered agent, if any, and the address of the principal office.
(6) 
Whether the applicant or any partners, officers or stockholders thereof have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime, and, if so, the name of the person arrested or convicted, the date of arrest, the crime or charge involved and the disposition thereof (the term "officers" as used herein means and includes the president, vice presidents, secretary and treasurer of a corporate applicant).
(7) 
The business addresses of the manager or the person in charge of the licensed premises during the five-year period preceding the date of application.
(8) 
A description in metes and bounds of the place where the business is to be located and carried on.
(9) 
A survey or scale drawing of the plot showing structures and open areas to be used in the business, approved existing or proposed entrances to and from the place where the business is to be conducted, the location and place of said business, the location and size of all structures and fences thereon and the setback thereof from street lines.
(10) 
If the applicant is not the owner of the site where the said business is to be conducted, the owner's consent to the conduct of said business shall be endorsed on the application.
A. 
Upon receipt of such application, the City Clerk shall submit the same to the Police Department, Fire Department, Building Department and Health Department for reports with reference to the compliance or noncompliance of the proposed establishment with municipal and state rules, regulations, statutes and ordinances and the truth of the matters contained in the application. In addition to the foregoing, the reports of the respective Departments shall include the following:
(1) 
Police Department.
(a) 
The traffic conditions, including a traffic count, which prevail in the neighborhood surrounding the premises sought to be licensed.
(b) 
A statement of whether, in the opinion of the Department, the granting of the application would tend to increase the traffic congestion materially or to constitute a hazard to the public safety.
(2) 
Building Department. A description of the nature and character of the surrounding neighborhood and a report of any violations of the Building Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 114, Construction Codes, Uniform.
B. 
Upon return of said application and reports, the City Clerk shall submit the same to the Municipal Council for its consent and approval.
C. 
Upon the consent and approval of the Municipal Council and upon receipt of a copy of a certificate of occupancy for the licensed premises from the Zoning Officer, the City Clerk shall issue such license.
A. 
The annual fee for a license under this chapter shall be as follows:
(1) 
For any licensed premises having a square foot area of not more than 15,000 square feet, exclusive of a showroom, garage or service station: $365.
(2) 
For any licensed premises having a square foot area in excess of 15,000 square feet, exclusive of a showroom, garage or service station: $500.
(3) 
An additional fee, based on the square footage above detailed, will be charged for any licensed business having more than one location, which location is not adjoining or contiguous thereof.
B. 
Such license shall run for a period of one year commencing January 1 and ending December 31 of the year of its issuance.
No license shall be granted by the Council if:
A. 
The applicant has failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
The proposed use of the premises is prohibited by the terms and provisions of Chapter 341, Zoning.
C. 
The premises proposed to be licensed, if an open lot, do not contain at least 5,000 square feet of usable area.
D. 
The individual applicant, or any officer or manager of a corporate applicant, or the principals and manager of a firm applicant, or any of them, have been convicted of the crime of larceny or receiving stolen goods or of crime involving moral turpitude.
E. 
The approval of the license will be detrimental to the public health, safety, welfare and morals.
F. 
The applicant is not the holder of a motor vehicle dealer's license issued by the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles of New Jersey.
All existing licenses and those hereafter issued may, upon payment of the prescribed license fee and compliance with the terms of this chapter, be renewed annually. Renewals of an expiring license shall be made upon payment of the annual fee and the filing of a short-form application, supplied by the City Clerk, stating that no changes have been made in any of the facts or information stated in the original application or to the licensed premises during the preceding license period.
The license shall authorize the licensee to conduct business only on the premises specified in the license. Without the consent of the Council, the license shall not be transferable to any other premises nor assignable or transferable in any manner or to any other person.
[Amended 2-14-2023 by Ord. No. 2963]
A. 
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be suspended or revoked by the City Council after notice and hearing for any of the following causes:
(1) 
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application for license.
(2) 
Any violation of this chapter.
(3) 
Conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude.
B. 
Notice of the hearing for revocation of a license shall be given to the licensee, in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of the complaint and the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be mailed by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the licensee at his last known address, at least five days prior to the date set for the hearing.
All licenses under this chapter shall at all times be subject to such reasonable rules as may be made from time to time by the Council for the proper operation and regulation of the places of business named in such licenses.
No motor vehicle for sale or exchange shall be exhibited, stored, parked or located on the licensed premises within 50 feet of any building occupied solely for residence purposes nor 200 feet of a school, church or other place of assembly.
No open lot or property maintained by a licensee under this chapter shall be used after sundown unless it is property illuminated with electric lights installed and arranged in such a manner as to deflect the light from the public highways. No unshaded string of lights or unshaded "streamers" shall be permitted. The purpose of this section is to eliminate the glare on the public highways in the City.
A. 
There shall be maintained on each licensed premises a rest room with toilet accommodations in accordance with the sanitary regulations of the health ordinances of the City.
B. 
Every office building or rest room constructed upon or used by any licensed premises shall be constructed only after the plans for such office building or rest room shall have been submitted to and approved by the City Building Department.
No entrance or entrances shall be constructed or maintained by the licensee until he has reset the adjoining curbing and reconstructed the adjoining sidewalk in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Division of Public Works. Upon abandonment of the business on the licensed premises, the licensee shall forthwith replace the curbing and sidewalk in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Division of Public Works, providing curbing previously existed.
The licensee shall not place any vehicle on the sidewalk, street or the front yard between the street and the setback line applicable thereto. The licensee shall not use or permit the use of the sidewalk, street or front yard areas aforesaid for the storage, display or sale of motor vehicles or for the parking of any other vehicles on any of said areas.
No licensee or his agent shall knowingly buy, sell, receive, dispose of, conceal or have in his possession any motor vehicle from which the manufacturer's serial number or any other number or identification mark has been removed, defaced, altered, tampered with, covered or destroyed for the purpose of concealing the identity of such vehicle.
A. 
Within 10 days after the issuance of a license under this chapter, that portion of the area included in the license which fronts upon a public street shall be enclosed by a fireproof barrier (i.e., concrete bumper). Such barrier shall be set back in accordance with this chapter and shall be of sturdy permanent construction conforming to the requirements of the Building Code.[1] The purposes of the barrier shall be to provide protection to the general public from damage by rolling or moving motor vehicles. The barrier shall be constructed to minimize said danger.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 114, Construction Codes, Uniform.
B. 
The barrier shall be at least six inches high and shall have no openings for entrance or exit along the street line except where the street curb has been lowered in accordance with City regulations, or if the licensed premises front on a county or state road, then in accordance with the applicable county or state requirements if such requirements are more restrictive than the City regulations. Such openings shall not exceed in number or width the portions of the curb so lowered. Where the street curb has not been lowered, there shall be permitted an entrance to the licensed premises through such barrier, not exceeding four feet in width. All barriers shall at all times be kept and maintained in the proper repair during the license period. No barrier shall be required where a building wall marks the boundary of the licensed area, except as herein provided.
Every barrier required under this chapter shall be set back at least one foot from the front and side yard setback lines of the premises as prescribed by Chapter 341, Zoning. Where any portion of the licensed premises is situate so as to make § 329-12 applicable, then the barrier shall be apart from or set back at least 15 feet from the building and structures set forth in § 329-12.
[Amended 2-14-2023 by Ord. No. 2963]
A. 
The licensee shall not create or allow undue noise on the premises so as to constitute a public or private nuisance.
B. 
The licensee shall not permit smoke, dust or any noxious odors to escape from the premises so as to constitute a public or private nuisance.
C. 
The licensee shall maintain all surface parking areas and driveways with concrete or asphalt paving.
D. 
The licensee shall have all vehicles displayed for sale parked in designated parking spaces with a minimum parking stall size of 162 square feet measured as nine feet by 18 feet.
E. 
Vehicles not displayed for sale shall be stored in an area separate from the sales display area and shall be enclosed with a solid fence not to exceed six feet in height. The fence shall not be used to place signage or other form of advertising.
F. 
All licensees whose business has a parking lot that abuts a sidewalk shall maintain a guardrail, concrete curb stop, or similar structure along that portion of the parking lot abutting the sidewalk to prevent motor vehicles from intruding on to the sidewalk. All licensees whose business has a parking lot that abuts a street where no sidewalk exists shall maintain a guardrail, concrete curb stop, or similar structure along that portion of the parking lot abutting the street at a minimum distance of five feet measured from the end of the street or an existing curb.
[Added 2-14-2023 by Ord. No. 2963[1]]
No business licensed under this section shall operate between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former §§ 329-21 and 329-22 as §§ 329-22 and 329-23.
[Amended 5-20-1980 by Ord. No. 1723; 2-14-2023 by Ord. No. 2963]
Every business licensed for vehicle sales shall at all times comply with the requirements of this chapter and with all authorities having jurisdiction in the licensed premises. Any violation of the terms of this chapter or any nuisances or hazard to health or safety which may exist or develop in or in consequence of or in connection with any such premises shall forthwith be abated and removed by the licensee upon receipt of a notice to that effect from the Construction Official, Police Department or other authority having jurisdiction in the licensed premises. The Construction Official's office and the Police Department shall be responsible for the enforcement of this chapter.
[Amended 5-20-1980 by Ord. No. 1723; 4-25-2006 by Ord. No. 2457; 2-14-2023 by Ord. No. 2963]
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding $2,000; imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days; and/or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.