[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township of Washington
(now Township of Robbinsville) 12-31-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-37 as Ch.
VI of the 2001 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 8-30-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-29]
This chapter is enacted to regulate the sale
and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the Township of Robbinsville
in accordance with the provisions N.J.S.A. 33:1-1 et seq. and in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the State Director of Alcoholic
Beverage Control.
For the purpose of this article, words and phrases
herein shall have the same meanings as in N.J.S.A. 33:1-1 et seq.
and the rules and regulations of the Director of the Division of Alcoholic
Beverage Control.
A.
Laws applicable. All applications for licenses, all licenses issued and all proceedings under this article shall be in accordance with the act, rules and regulations referred to in § 66-1, and all other applicable laws of the State of New Jersey or the United States.
B.
Issuing authority. All licenses required by this article
shall be issued by the governing body which shall also administer
the provisions of this article.
C.
Compliance with provisions. It shall not be lawful
to possess, sell, distribute or transport alcoholic beverages within
the Township otherwise than as provided in this article and/or the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, P.L. 1933, c. 436 (N.J.S.A. 33:1-1
et seq.), as amended and supplemented.
[Added 1-24-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-2]
A.
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 33:1-12.20, the Township
may issue a plenary retail consumption license to a person or entity
operating a hotel or motel containing 100 guest sleeping rooms or
who may hereafter constitute and establish a new hotel or motel containing
100 guest sleeping rooms which has not received a license prior to
the effective date of this section.
B.
The plenary retail consumption licenses for a new
qualified hotel or motel shall be publicly bid on notice based on
such terms as the Township Council may establish by resolution in
accordance with the procedures, including notice, set forth in N.J.S.A.
33:1-19.1 et seq.
C.
A guest sleeping room shall be defined as a partitioned
part of the inside of a hotel/motel building, which contains a bed
or beds, and is maintained primarily for sleeping purposes and which
is let out by its owner, or any agent of its owner, at any time for
compensation, whether on a daily, periodic, weekly or seasonal basis
and whether to relatives, friends, guests or other third parties,
as defined in N.J.S.A. 33:1-12.20.
D.
All hotel or motel retail consumption licenses which
have been issued at any time shall be confined to that hotel or motel
property and shall not be subject to a transfer to another premises.
A.
The license fees for the sale or distribution of the alcoholic beverages in the Township shall be the maximum allowable fees pursuant to N.J.S.A. 33:1-12, as provided in Chapter 109, Fees.
[Amended by Ord. No. 90-1; Ord. No. 2000-5;
2-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-1]
B.
The license fees for plenary retail consumption, plenary
retail distribution and club licenses shall automatically increase
each July by 20% until such time as the fees are equal to the maximum
allowable fees pursuant to N.J.S.A. 33:1-12.
[Amended 8-30-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-29]
C.
The provisions of this section with respect to the
limitation on the number of licenses shall not apply to the renewal
or transfer of licenses presently issued.
[Added 5-28-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-11]
A.
No plenary
retail consumption license shall be granted for or transferred to
any premises, the entrance of which is within a one-thousand-foot
walking distance of the entrance of an existing licensed premises
having a license of the same classification. For the purposes of this
subsection “walking distance” shall be measured in the
shortest way that a pedestrian would lawfully walk from the nearest
entrance of the licensed premises to the nearest entrance of the premises
sought to be licensed.
B.
No plenary
retail distribution license shall be granted for or transferred to
any premises, the entrance of which is within a three-thousand-five-hundred-foot
walking distance of the entrance of an existing licensed premises
having a license of the same classification. For the purposes of this
subsection “walking distance” shall be measured in the
shortest way that a pedestrian would lawfully walk from the nearest
entrance of the licensed premises to the nearest entrance of the premises
sought to be licensed.
C.
The distance limitations in Subsections A and B above do not apply to a hotel, motel, or restaurant serving alcoholic beverages for consumption solely on its premises, or to licensed premises of different classifications (consumption license/distribution license). The Township Council, in its discretion, may waive the distance limitations in Subsections A and B above as to the relocation/transfer of any alcoholic beverage license whose premises have been taken or acquired for public purposes by any public agency having the power of eminent domain.
[Amended by Ord. No. 82-11; Ord. Added No.
82-14; Ord. No. 82-17; 6-24-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-23]
A.
Hours of sale. No alcoholic beverages shall be sold,
delivered, served or consumed in any licensed premises on any day
between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
B.
Sundays. Provisions of Subsection A shall not apply on Sundays. On Sundays, no alcoholic beverages shall be sold, served, delivered or consumed in any licensed premises between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
C.
New Year's Day. On New Year's Day alcoholic beverages
may be sold, served, delivered to or consumed in the licensed premises
at all hours. If January 1 is a Sunday, alcoholic beverages may not
be sold, served, delivered to or consumed in the licensed premises
between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.
[Amended 5-19-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-15]
Notwithstanding any other provision of this
article, the holders of plenary retail consumption licenses, the holders
of plenary retail distribution licenses, and the holders of limited
brewery licenses, in accordance with the requirements and restrictions
placed on each type of license by the State of New Jersey, may sell
wine and malt alcoholic beverages in original bottles or can containers
for consumption off the premises on the same days and during the same
hours as the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises
is permitted and authorized by this article.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 6-4.5, Sales
to Certain Persons, which immediately followed this section, was deleted
8-30-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-29.
During the hours that the sale or distribution
of alcoholic beverages is prohibited, the entire licensed premises
shall be closed, and no person shall be admitted or permitted to remain
thereon except the licensee or bona fide employees of the licensee.
This provision shall not apply to hotels and restaurants as defined
in N.J.S.A. 33:1-1 et seq. or clubs where the principal business is
other than the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Every license shall be exposed to public view
in a conspicuous place in the licensed premises, and any omission
to do so shall be presumptive evidence that the place where alcoholic
beverages are being sold is unlicensed. [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 6-4.8, Display
of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (F.A.S.) Warning Signs, which was added
by Ord. No. 90-17 and amended by 2000-5 and which immediately followed
this section, was deleted 8-30-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-29.
A.
Applications; payment of fees; records. Applications
for licenses may be made to the Municipal Clerk in accordance with
the terms and conditions set forth by state law and with payment of
fees as therein required. The Municipal Clerk shall keep a complete
record of such applications and of the licenses granted hereunder.
B.
Form of applications; licensees to comply with state
and municipal law. All applications for licenses shall be in the form
required by law and as prepared and furnished by the Municipal Clerk,
and each licensee shall comply with the terms of state law and be
subject to the terms and provisions thereof and of these regulations. [1]
A.
Any license issued under this article may be suspended
or revoked for violation of any of the provisions of this article
or any provision of any applicable statute or any of the rules or
regulations of the State Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
B.
Proceedings for suspension or revocation shall be
in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 33:1-31 by a service
of a five-day notice of charges preferred against the licensee and
affording a reasonable opportunity for a hearing.
B.
Any license issued pursuant to this article may be
suspended or revoked for violation of any of the provisions of this
article or for violation of any of the provisions of the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Act (N.J.S.A. 33:1-1 et seq.) or the Alcoholic Beverage
Tax Law (N.J.S.A. 54:41-1 et seq.) or of any of the rules and regulation
promulgated or to be promulgated by the State Commissioner of Alcoholic
Beverage Control.
C.
In all cases in which any license holder shall be
convicted of any violation of this article, the court or Judge before
which the conviction is had shall certify such conviction to the licensing
authority, and the licensing authority may, in addition to the penalties
herein provided, revoke the license in case there are more than two
violations of any section of this article in any one-year period covered
by the license issued to any holder thereof.
[Adopted 7-10-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-24]
It is hereby unlawful for any person under the
legal age ("underage person") who, without legal authority, knowingly
possesses or knowingly consumes an alcoholic beverage on private property.
No person shall be considered to knowingly possess an alcoholic beverage
merely because he or she is present where alcoholic beverages are
being consumed.
A person under the legal age shall not be prohibited
from:
A.
Possessing or consuming an alcoholic beverage in connection
with a religious observance, ceremony, or rite or possessing or consuming
an alcoholic beverage in the presence of, or with the written permission
of, such person's parent or guardian or relative who has attained
the legal age to purchase or consume alcoholic beverages; or
B.
The possession of an alcoholic beverage in the preparation
of food while enrolled in a culinary arts or hotel management program
at a county vocational school or postsecondary educational institution.
Any person who affirmatively requests assistance
from authorities (such as via a 911 call) or from an off-site adult
(such as a parent, guardian or neighboring resident) for the purpose
of seeking aid for a person who is suffering from the effects of alcohol
or otherwise is in need of medical assistance shall not be charged
under this article with underage possession or consumption of alcohol
on private property, as long as assistance is provided as a result
of such request. In an instance where such an affirmative request
for assistance is made, and the person to whom assistance is provided
is under 21, that person also shall not be charged under this article
with underage possession or consumption of alcohol on private property.
Any person who is a resident of a dwelling on
private property and affirmatively requests assistance from authorities
(such as via a 911 call) or from an off-site adult (such as a parent,
guardian or neighboring resident) for the purpose of controlling or
removing nonresidents who are on that property shall not be charged
under this article with underage possession or consumption of alcohol
on private property, as long as assistance is provided as a result
of such request.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A person who has qualified as a guardian of the underage
person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment.
The underage person's grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling
or any other person related by blood or affinity.
A violation by an underage person of this article
shall be punished by a fine of $250 for a first offense and $350 for
any subsequent offense. In addition, the court may, in its discretion,
require the performance of community-related service.
A.
The court may, in addition to the penalty authorized
for this offense, suspend or postpone for six months the driving privileges
of the defendant underage person. Upon the conviction of any underage
person and the suspension or postponement of that person's driver's
license, the court shall forward a report to the Division of Motor
Vehicles (Division) stating the first and last day of the suspension
or postponement period imposed by the court pursuant to this article.
If a person at the time of the imposition of a sentence is less than
17 years of age, the period of license postponement, including a suspension
or postponement of the privilege of operating a motorized bicycle,
shall commence on the day the sentence is imposed and shall run for
a period of six months after the person reached the age of 17 years.
B.
If an underage person at the time of the imposition
of a sentence has a valid driver's license issued by this state, the
court may immediately collect the license and forward it to the Division
along with the report. If for any reason the license cannot be collected,
the court shall include in the report the complete name, address,
date of birth, eye color, and sex of the person, as well as the first
and last date of the license suspension period imposed by the court.
C.
The court shall inform the underage person orally
and in writing that if the person is convicted of operating a motor
vehicle during the period of license suspension or postponement, the
person shall be subject to the penalties set forth in N.J.S.A. 39:3-40.
A person shall be required to acknowledge receipt of the written notice
in writing. Failure to receive written notice or failure to acknowledge
in writing the receipt of a written notice shall not be a defense
to a subsequent charge of a violation of N.J.S.A. 39:3-40.
D.
If the underage person convicted under this article
is not a New Jersey resident, the court shall suspend or postpone,
as appropriate, the nonresident driving privilege of the person based
on the age of the person and submit to the Division the required report.
The court shall not collect the license of a nonresident convicted
under this section. Upon receipt of a report by the court, the Division
shall notify the appropriate officials in the licensing jurisdiction
of the suspension or postponement.
A.
Any person 18 years of age or younger who is convicted
of a violation of this article will be required to complete a court-approved
alcohol counseling program.
B.
Any person 19 years of age or older who is convicted
of a second or subsequent violation of this article will be required
to complete a court-approved alcohol counseling program.
The Chief of Police and the Health Officer will
annually present to the governing body a report on the effectiveness
of this article.
