[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Ho-Ho-Kus 7-23-1985 by Ord. No. 583.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch.
26, Fire Control, adopted 2-26-1980 by Ord. No. 544.
Pursuant to Section 11 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act (P.L.
1983, c. 383),[1] the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code shall be locally enforced
in the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-202.
The local enforcing agency shall be the Bureau of Fire Prevention
in the Ho-Ho-Kus Fire Department.
The local enforcement agency shall enforce the Uniform Fire
Safety Act[1] and the codes and regulations adopted under it in all
buildings, structures and premises within the established boundaries
of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, other than owner-occupied one- and two-family
dwellings, and shall faithfully comply with the requirements of the
Uniform Fire Safety Act and the Uniform Fire Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-192 et seq.
The local enforcing agency established by § 26-2 hereof shall carry out the periodic inspections of life-hazard uses required by the Uniform Fire Code on behalf of the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
The local enforcing agency established by § 26-2 hereof shall be a part of Ho-Ho-Kus Fire Department and shall be under the direct supervision and control of the Fire Official.
A.
Appointment of Fire Official. The local enforcing agency shall be
under the direct supervision of a Fire Official who shall be appointed
by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus with advice and
recommendation of the Chief of the Fire Department. The Fire Official
shall be subject to removal by the Mayor and Council, upon recommendation
of the Fire Chief, for inefficiency or misconduct in office after
a hearing conducted by the appointing authority.
B.
Term of office. The Fire Official shall serve a term of four years.
Any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term.
C.
Inspectors and employees. Such inspectors and other employees as
may be necessary in the local enforcing agency shall be appointed
by the Mayor and Council with the advice and recommendation of the
Fire Official for terms of two years. Inspectors and other employees
of the enforcing agency shall be subject to removal by the Fire Official
for inefficiency or misconduct after a hearing by the appointing authority.
Pursuant to Sections 15 and 17 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act,[1] any person aggrieved by any order of the local enforcement
agency shall have the right to appeal to the Construction Board of
Appeals of Bergen County.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-206 and 52:27D-208.
[Amended 4-24-1990 by Ord. No. 656]
In addition to the inspection and fees required pursuant to
the Act and the regulations of the Department of Community Affairs,
the following additional inspections, fees and registration shall
be required annually:
A.
All industrial and commercial buildings and structures within the
boundaries of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus not covered under the Uniform
Fire Safety Act as a life-hazard use shall be registered with the
Bureau and inspected annually.
B.
Eating establishments with a maximum permitted occupancy of fewer
than 50 in which no alcoholic beverages are served shall be registered
with the Bureau and inspected annually.
C.
Annual registration fees.
[Amended 10-28-1997 by Ord. No. 785]
(1)
Each annual registration required herein shall have a fee paid annually
to the enforcing agency to be used in the enforcement of the New Jersey
Fire Code. The following fees shall be applicable:
[Amended 5-24-2011 by Ord. No. 989]
|
Use Group
|
Fee Amount
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Assembly
|
$100
| ||
|
Business (gross floor area of the building or part of the building
used for business):
| |||
|
Up to 4,000 square feet
|
$50
| ||
|
4,001 to 8,000 square feet
|
$55
| ||
|
8,001 to 11,999 square feet
|
$60
| ||
|
12,000 to 17,999 square feet
|
$65
| ||
|
18,000 square feet and up
|
$70
| ||
|
Factory and industrial
|
$150
| ||
|
Mercantile:
| |||
|
Up to 4,000 square feet
|
$50
| ||
|
4,001 to 8,000 square feet
|
$55
| ||
|
8,001 to 11,999 square feet
|
$60
| ||
|
Mercantile establishments in excess of 12,000 square feet are
regulated by the state.
| |||
|
Residential (multifamily):
| |||
|
3 to 10 units
|
$75
| ||
|
11 to 20 units
|
$85
| ||
|
21 to 30 units
|
$100
| ||
|
31 or more units
|
$125
| ||
|
Storage buildings
|
$150
| ||
(2)
The Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus may amend the foregoing fee schedule from
time to time by resolution.
D.
A hazardous material registration permit is hereby established and
required on an annual basis. The fee for this permit shall be $100,
paid to the enforcement agency, to be used in the enforcement of the
New Jersey Uniform Fire Code. "Hazardous materials" are hereby defined
as follows:
[Amended 5-24-2011 by Ord. No. 989]
E.
The owner or user of any building or structure, lot or land or part
thereof where anything in violation of this chapter shall be placed
or shall exist or who shall fail to comply with the orders of the
Fire Official or his designee shall each be guilty of a separate misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall each be liable to a fine of not
less than $500 and not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not
more than 90 days, or both. Each and every day such violation continues
after the expiration of an abatement notice shall be deemed a separate
and distinct violation.
[Amended 5-24-2011 by Ord. No. 989]
[Added 8-27-1991 by Ord. No. 684]
A.
Installation. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors shall
be installed in each dwelling, as defined in N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.3, upon
a sale, rental, transfer, lease or change of occupancy of any dwelling
in the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus. Each dwelling that is sold, rented, leased
or transferred shall have smoke-sensitive and carbon-monoxide-sensitive
alarms on each level of the structure and outside each separate sleeping
area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms and located on or near
the ceiling in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association
standard for the installation, maintenance and use of household fire
and carbon monoxide warning equipment. The installation of battery-operated
smoke and carbon monoxide alarm devices shall be accepted as meeting
the requirements of this section. Smoke and carbon monoxide devices
shall be tested and listed by a product certification agency recognized
by the State Division of Fire Safety.
[Amended 5-27-2008 by Ord. No. 936]
B.
Maintenance responsibility.
(1)
Sellers, transferors, lessors, buyers, transferees and tenants of
all dwelling units subject to this chapter shall be responsible for
the correct installation and maintenance of smoke detectors as described
herein. The owner of a rental unit shall, at the time of installation
of smoke detectors and thereafter at the commencement of each tenancy,
provide to the tenant at least one copy of written instructions on
the operation, maintenance and testing of the smoke detector, including
the replacement of batteries in the battery-operated unit.
(2)
The owner and tenant of each rental unit shall be responsible for
the proper maintenance of the smoke detectors, including the replacing
of batteries and the repair or replacement of the unit in accordance
with the standards herein set forth.
C.
Inspection and records. Upon the sale of a dwelling unit or the rental,
lease or transfer of any dwelling unit, the seller, landlord, transferor,
buyer, transferee or tenant is required to obtain from the Ho-Ho-Kus
Bureau of Fire Prevention a certificate of inspection stating that
the property is in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
D.
Fee. The fee for the certificate of inspection shall be $50 for the
first inspection visit and $25 for each inspection visit required
thereafter to obtain compliance. Applications for certificates of
inspection shall be submitted to the Fire Official of the Borough
of Ho-Ho-Kus with the application fee prepaid. Within 10 to 15 days
of the receipt of the application and fee, the designated inspector
of the Ho-Ho-Kus Bureau of Fire Prevention shall inspect the premises
to determine whether the same complies with the provisions of this
chapter.
E.
Violations and penalties. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 26-8E of the Code of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, any person or corporation, including an officer, director or employee of a corporation, who or which violates any of the provisions of this § 26-9 shall commit a violation of the Uniform Fire Safety Act of New Jersey[1] and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000
for a first offense and for each and every subsequent and separate
offense which shall be enforceable by civil action in a summary manner
under the Penalty Enforcement Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:58-1 et seq.,[2] with further provisions that a violator who fails to pay
may be imprisoned for up to six months. In case of continuing violations,
each day that the violation persists shall be deemed a separate violation.
In addition, the violator shall become liable to the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus
for the cost of suppressing any fire directly or indirectly resulting
from the violation pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 52:27D-210.
