[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Jefferson 11-6-2002
by Ord. No. 28-02 (Ch. 52 of the 1967 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
It is the intent of this chapter to regulate the installation and use
of ice-retardant systems on waterfront properties within the Township of Jefferson
for the protection of persons and property and to provide for the public health,
safety and welfare of the Township of Jefferson and its inhabitants.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The area of the water body or ice surface disturbed by the operation
of an ice-retardant system. Said disturbed or affected area includes open
water, weakened ice (excessively cracked), thin ice (less than four inches
in depth) and areas where adjacent ice is covered by a film of water.
The high-water mark of 10.30 feet above the dam as recorded at Lake
Hopatcong State Park or the line established by the Bureau of Navigation,
State Department of Environmental Protection, defining the lake's permanent
shoreline.
A mechanical device(s) or a series of mechanical devices designed
to retard or prevent the formation of ice in or around lakefront structures.
Said devices utilize as their mode of operation one or more of the following
mechanisms: pumped air, artificial water turbulence or the addition of heat
to the water body.
The average winter conditions to be utilized in the design or operation
of an ice-retardant system and to be utilized in gauging compliance with the
terms of this chapter. Said "normal operating conditions" are defined as an
average of four or more inches of ice on the applicable water body. Such term
excludes any time period characterized by unseasonably warm temperature (average
daily temperature above 40° F. for three or more consecutive days) or
rainfall (greater than 1/2 inch of rainfall per day) and the three days immediately
thereafter. In any enforcement action under the terms of this chapter, the
burden is on the operator of the ice-retardant system to establish that normal
operating conditions were not existent on the date of the alleged violation.
The owner of record of a tract of land according to the tax rolls
of the Township of Jefferson or any person occupying said premises or utilizing
the property.
Any individual, association of individuals, corporation or partnership.
Any lakefront or within lake structure which the ice-retardant system
is designed to protect. Such protected structures include but are not limited
to docks, piers, bulkheads, catwalks, seawalls and boathouses.
A.
No person shall operate an ice-retardant system within
the municipal limits of the Township of Jefferson unless said operation is
in conformance with this chapter.
B.
The provisions of this chapter shall only be effective
for the operation of an ice-retardant system from December 1 of each year
through April 1 of the following year. Nothing herein shall prevent the operation
of an ice-retardant system at other times during the year.
A.
All ice-retardant systems shall be marked with an appropriate
sign placed along the shore or on the protected structure specifying "Danger,
Thin Ice." Such sign shall be a minimum of two feet by three feet in size
and shall feature letters of a minimum height of three inches and colors in
such a way as to be clearly visible on the ice from a distance of 100 feet.
Where the ice-retardant system will disturb a distance measured horizontally
along the shoreline of more than 25 feet, an additional sign shall be required
for each 25 feet of shoreline or fraction thereof.
B.
Under normal operating conditions, the affected area
of ice created by the ice-retardant system shall not extend more than 25 feet
beyond the protected structure.
C.
Under normal operating conditions, the affected area
of ice should not extend more than 25 feet, measured along the shoreline,
from the protected structure.
D.
Irrespective of the standard appearing in Subsections B and C above, the affected area of ice, under normal operating conditions, should not extend beyond the side property lines of the property for which the ice-retardant system is being used, as if said property lines were extended into the lake. Said requirement may be waived if the owner and/or operator of the ice-retardant system obtains written permission from the adjacent property owner.
The Township Council may, by resolution, waive the requirements of this
chapter in situations of hardship or exceptional public necessity. Exceptional
public necessity shall include but is not limited to a necessity to maintain
an open channel of water for ferry service or access to island lakefront homes.
In considering such an application, the Township Council may refer the application
to the Lake Hopatcong Commission for comment. In adopting the resolution,
Council shall specify requirements as to markings and lighting. Such requirements
can include but are not limited to requiring buoys to be placed in the frozen
water body to clearly mark the approach, requiring nighttime illumination
or flashing lights to indicate that open water is present, limiting the size
of the affected ice area to the minimal necessary for the use and/or publishing
public notice of the condition to specify minimal levels of insurance requirements.
A.
The Construction Official is hereby designated as the
enforcement officer under the terms of this chapter. All complaints received
by any municipal agency concerning the operation of ice-retardant systems
shall be referred to the Construction Official. Upon receipt of a complaint,
the Construction Official shall investigate within five days and, if the complaint
is found justified, notify the owner and operator of the terms of this chapter
and require compliance within an additional 10 days. The Construction Official
may reduce the time period for compliance when the interest of public safety
so requires. If the owner or operator of the system fails to undertake the
corrections within the specified time frame, the Construction Official may
cause a summons to be issued in the Municipal Court of the Township of Jefferson
to enforce the requirements of this chapter.
[Amended 2-16-2005 by Ord. No. 4-05]
B.
A violation of the terms of this chapter, including the
operational requirements, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $50
for the first offense, $100 for the second offense and $250 for the third
and subsequent offenses. Each day that a violation of this chapter continues
may be deemed to be a separate offense.
Compliance and/or noncompliance with the requirements of this chapter
shall not preclude any civil action for damages arising from injuries incurred
through the operation of an ice-retardant system.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as repealing any provision
of any other municipal ordinance. In the event that any regulation provided
above shall vary from the same or a similar regulation of any other municipal
ordinance, the more restrictive provision of such ordinance shall be deemed
to control.
