[Adopted 3-23-1981 by Ord. No. 889]
Community impact statements must be filed with
the Borough Clerk by all businesses which are not family-oriented.
No business license shall be issued to any proposed business which
is determined by the Borough Clerk to be oriented towards serving
or attracting a special population of customers or patrons and not
oriented toward activities reasonably related to the health, education,
safety and welfare of the family, until said business has first prepared
and submitted to the Borough a community impact statement, as hereinafter
described.
Businesses which are not family-oriented and
which may have an adverse impact upon family commerce, recreation,
education and worship should be encouraged to locate in other communities
where their patronage would be more probable and profitable and where
their impact would be more acceptable. In order to identify such businesses
to determine whether or not they should be licensed and what special
requirements, if any, should be imposed, the Borough of Middlesex
shall require a study and review of probable impact on the community
of any proposed business activity oriented towards serving or attracting
a special population of customers and not oriented toward activities
reasonably related to the health, education, safety and welfare of
the family.
Community impact statements shall contain the
following elements:
A.
A detailed description of the proposed business; names
and addresses of all owners and shareholders, officers and directors
thereof; proposed location; description of building and facilities;
description of merchandise or services to be sold or otherwise provided;
proposed hours of operation; profile of expected customers; projected
market area; reference to other similar business operations.
B.
An analysis of the existing business community within
a three-hundred-foot radius of the proposed location, including the
following factors, at a minimum:
D.
The impact of proposed business upon the physical
health, mental health and social health, and social environment of
the Middlesex Borough community.
E.
The names, addresses and signatures of a majority of the eligible registered voters of the Borough of Middlesex attesting to the fact that by evidence of their signature, those signing the community impact statement gave no objection to the type of business to be conducted under Subsection A above.
F.
Alternative locations for the proposed business and/or
alternative business for the proposed location.
A.
A completed community impact statement, together with
20 copies, shall be filed by the applicant with the Borough Clerk
to the Borough Planning Board Engineer, Police Department, Fire Department
and Public Works Department, and to the Middlesex Public Library,
the Secretary of the Middlesex School Board, the Secretary of the
Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, and to any other parties requesting
the same. The Borough Clerk may assess a charge for the cost of copying
any completed community impact statement issued to private parties.
B.
The Clerk shall invite comment, to be made within
30 days, on the community impact statement from the above-identified
parties. Within 60 days the Clerk shall make recommendations to the
Borough Council on whether the applicant's business license shall
be granted or denied and/or whether certain steps shall be taken by
the applicant to reduce the adverse impacts of its proposed business
on the Middlesex community.
C.
The Borough Council shall then schedule a public hearing
for the purpose of considering issuance of the business license to
the applicant. At the conclusion of the public hearing and any continuances
thereof, the Borough Council shall either grant or deny the business
license or grant the business license subject to conditions.
D.
It shall be valid grounds for the denial of a business
license if the Borough Council finds that a proposed business will
have a significant adverse impact upon the community and will be significantly
inconsistent with the purposes of this article. The possibility of
mitigating measures agreed to by the applicant shall be taken into
account.
E.
No business license shall be denied solely on the
basis of the content of written, audio or visual communications sold
or made available to customers unless the same is found to be obscene
as defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2 et seq.
All procedural elements of this article shall
have retroactive as well as prospective application to any and all
businesses that have not received a final and unconditional business
license on the date of enactment hereof. The substantive elements
of this article are deemed to be necessary for the immediate protection
of the public health, safety and general welfare and shall also apply
to aid businesses.
A.
The Borough Council shall maintain continuing jurisdiction
to review the license of all businesses which were granted after Borough
Council review of the business's community impact statement in order
to assure that the public interest is served by the businesses having
been issued the same.
B.
Review proceedings may be initiated in any of the
following ways:
(1)
Upon written request of the Mayor or his designee
on any of the following grounds:
(a)
Violation of the Middlesex Borough Code, including
but not limited to zoning, subdivision, building, plumbing, mechanical
or fire code of the Borough or of the Borough's antiobscenity ordinance.
(b)
Conducting activities other than as described
in the community impact statement.
(c)
Violation of any condition of the business license.
(d)
If there has been a material change in the licensee's
business activities and/or in the merchandise or services provided
to customers, which change may have adverse impact on the community
in violation of the goals and purposes of this article.
(2)
Upon petition filed with the Borough Clerk of not
fewer than 25 property owners or tenants or 50% of all of the property
owners or tenants within a three-hundred-foot radius of the subject
business, stating that said business has a significant adverse impact
on the community and is significantly inconsistent with the criteria
for family-oriented businesses established by this article.
A.
Upon receipt of a request for review proceedings,
the Borough Council shall set a date for a public hearing and direct
the Borough Clerk to mail the licensee notice.
B.
The Borough Clerk shall send the licensee notice of
the date, time and place of the public hearing by mail to the licensee's
business address as stated on its business license. Notices shall
also be mailed to those persons whose names and addresses appear on
the petition, if such was filed.
C.
After the public hearing, the Borough Council may
revoke the business license on any of the following grounds:
(1)
The licensee has made a materially false, incomplete
or misleading statement in any application for the business license
or in the community impact statement.
(2)
The nature of the business and/or the character of
the surrounding area has so changed, such that the business will have
a significant adverse impact upon the community and will be significantly
inconsistent with the purposes of this article.
(3)
There are material violations of zoning, subdivision,
building, plumbing, mechanical or fire codes of the Borough or of
any other ordinances of the Borough.
(4)
The licensee has failed or refused to comply with
any mitigating measures or conditions imposed by the Council.
Any person violating any provisions of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not
more than $500, and each day that the violation continues shall be
a separate offense, punishable by a separate fine.
