[HISTORY: Adopted by the North Wildwood City
Council 2-15-2022 by Ord. No. 1861.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 178, Bulkhead Construction, adopted 3-4-2008 by Ord. No. 1528, as amended.
It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to establish uniform
regulations for the construction, reconstruction, or repair of existing
or new bulkheads and to require the elevation of all bulkheads within
the City of North Wildwood to further the policy of the City to mitigate
storm and tidal flooding and to promote the health, safety or welfare
of the residents of the City and protect persons and public and private
property within the City.
A.
This chapter applies to all existing bulkheads in the City as well
as all bulkheads that are newly constructed, reconstructed, replaced,
renovated and repaired shall be done in accordance with the requirements
of this chapter.
B.
Bay-front bulkhead. Any property owner that demolishes an existing building or proposes to make a "substantial improvement", that requires compliance with Chapter 252, Flood Damage Prevention, shall be required to bring the existing bay-front bulkhead into compliance with this chapter notwithstanding the time periods set forth in § 178-11, Existing nonconforming bulkhead compliance, below. "Substantial improvement" shall mean any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred damage regardless of the actual repair work performed.
A.
Permit required. No person or legal entity shall construct, reconstruct,
renovate or repair any bulkhead within the City without first obtaining
and having in possession a valid permit to do such work that has been
issued by the office of the Construction Official, upon approval of
the City Engineer.
B.
Permit application.
(1)
Applications for bulkhead permits shall be made on an application
form obtained from the Construction Official. Completed applications
shall be returned to the Construction Official with the required fee
along with two copies of the following items:
(a)
Plans and specifications of the bulkhead that have been prepared,
signed and sealed by a New Jersey licensed professional engineer.
(b)
A property survey, prepared, signed and sealed by a New Jersey
licensed professional land surveyor.
(c)
Authorization from the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection and any other state or federal agency having jurisdiction
over the property affected by the proposed work.
(d)
Proof of notice of application to adjoining property owners.
(2)
The City Engineer may relax or waive any or all of the requirements
that are set forth above within the application for a permit that
pertains to reconstruction, renovation or repair work for which the
cost of completion is less than $10,000; however, in relaxing or waiving
any such requirements, the City Engineer shall have the authority
to require the submission of such plans, drawings and contract documents
as the Engineer, in his sole and absolute discretion, determines will
accurately depict the reconstruction, renovations or repair work to
be performed.
(3)
The City Engineer shall review the application and plans and grant
or deny the application within 20 business days upon receipt of a
complete application.
C.
Notice of application.
(1)
Notice of application for a bulkhead permit, the form of which is
to be obtained from the Construction Official, shall be given by the
applicant to the owners of all real property, as shown on the current
tax duplicate, within 100 feet, provided that this requirement shall
be deemed satisfied by notice to a condominium association. Notice
shall be given by mailing a copy thereof by regular, first class mail
and by certified mail to the property owner at his address as shown
on the said current tax duplicate. Notice to a partnership owner may
be made by service upon any partner. Notice to a corporate owner may
be made by service upon its president, a vice president, secretary
or other person authorized by appointment or by law to accept service
on behalf of the corporation. Notice to a condominium association,
horizontal property regime, community trust or homeowners' association
because of its ownership of common elements or areas located within
100 feet of the property which is the subject of the bulkhead application
may be made in the same manner as to a corporation without further
notice to unit owners, co-owners or homeowners on account of such
common elements or areas.
(2)
Upon written request of an applicant, the Tax Assessor, within seven
days, shall make and certify a list from said current tax duplicate
of names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required
to give notice pursuant to this section. A sum of $25 may be charged
for preparation of such list.
D.
Permit issuance. Upon receipt by the Construction Official of an
application for a bulkhead permit, the Construction Official immediately
shall transmit copies of the application and all accompanying documents
to the City Engineer for review. No permit shall be issued by the
Construction Official unless the permit is approved for issuance by
the City Engineer. In the event that, upon review of the permit application,
deficiencies are noted by the City Engineer, the City Engineer shall
provide written notice, by certified mail, of the deficiencies to
the applicant at the address set forth on the application and the
applicant then shall be afforded the opportunity to correct any application
deficiencies.
E.
Permit fee. The nonrefundable permit fee shall be calculated in the
following manner: for new construction, renovation, reconstruction
and repairs: $350 for the first 60 feet of bulkhead to be constructed,
and thereafter, $10 per foot or any portion thereof.
F.
Review and inspection fee. The inspection and review fee shall be
$650 for any bulkhead up to 60 linear feet, and thereafter, $10 per
foot or any portion thereof.
(1)
The review and inspection fee recited above is a minimum which must
accompany the application. An application shall not be deemed complete
until the review and inspection fee required has been paid.
(2)
The review and inspection fee shall be made payable to the City of
North Wildwood.
(3)
If the initial review and inspection fee submitted by the applicant
becomes insufficient due to excessive review of deficient plans or
the number of required inspections increases due to deficient construction
methods, then additional funds shall be required to be submitted by
the applicant. The amount of additional funds needed shall be determined
by the City Engineer. Additional funds required by the City Engineer
shall be applied to professional costs charged to the City by the
City Engineer for services.
(4)
If the applicant has failed to pay any amounts due or has begun work
prior to the issuance of a permit, the City may stop construction
until such amounts are paid. No construction permit or certificate
of occupancy may be issued if such amounts are due and payable. In
addition, all fees which are due and owing shall become a lien on
the premises, with respect to which said charges are required, and
shall remain so until paid. Said overdue charges shall accrue the
same interest from time to time as taxes upon real estate in the City.
The City shall have the same remedies for the collection thereof with
interest, costs, and penalties as it has by law for the collection
of taxes upon real estate.
(5)
The applicant shall agree to pay all reasonable costs associated
with professional review and processing of the application and for
inspection of the improvements beyond the initial application charge.
G.
Appeal of permit denial. Any applicant aggrieved by the denial of
a bulkhead permit may appeal the permit denial by submitting to the
City Clerk written correspondence appealing the permit denial. Such
written appeal correspondence shall describe the reason for the appeal.
Such written appeal correspondence shall be submitted to the City
Clerk within 20 days of the permit denial. Upon receipt of the appeal
correspondence, the City Clerk shall transmit to the City Administrator
copies of the permit application, all attachments thereto and any
copies of any documents that have been generated by the City Engineer
in connection with review of the permit application. Thereafter, upon
direction by the City Administrator, the City Clerk shall schedule
a date for the hearing of the appeal with a Hearing Officer, and notice
of the hearing date shall be provided to the permit applicant. In
all instances the City Clerk shall endeavor to schedule the appeal
hearing date not later than 30 days after receipt of the appeal correspondence.
The applicant shall be permitted to produce evidence to the Hearing
Officer in support of the permit application. The Hearing Officer
may consider evidence presented by the City Engineer or any other
individual that the Hearing Officer deems to have relevant information.
The decision of the Hearing Officer to approve or deny the permit
application shall be memorialized through adoption of a formal resolution
by City Council.
A.
The permittee shall provide to the City Engineer and to the City
Construction Official notice of commencement of construction not less
than two business days in advance of said commencement of construction.
Not less than 10 days in advance of commencement of construction,
the permittee shall provide notice of commencement of construction,
on a form to be obtained from the Construction Official, to all property
owners to whom the permittee would be required to provide notice of
bulkhead permit application if the permittee were, at the time, making
application for a bulkhead permit. Such notice shall be given in the
same manner as is required for notices of permit application.
B.
The City Engineer shall inspect the materials delivered to the job
site and verify that they are in conformance with the permit issued
for that work, in size, quantity and quality. If such materials do
not conform to permit requirements, they shall be marked as "rejected"
and removed from the job site by the permittee and shall not be incorporated
into the bulkhead construction.
C.
Prior to backfilling, the City Engineer shall make periodic visits
to the job site (up to three) to verify that the work is proceeding
in accordance with permit requirements.
D.
Prior to final acceptance, the applicant shall provide an as-built
plans prepared by a New Jersey licensed professional land surveyor
to demonstrate compliance with the approved plan including but not
limited to the minimum bulkhead height.
Prior to the backfilling of any bulkhead construction, reconstruction,
renovation or repair, the City Engineer shall perform an inspection
to ascertain that the bulkhead has been constructed pursuant to the
plans that were submitted with the permit application. Written notice
of project completion shall be given to the City Engineer and to the
Construction Official within seven business days of substantial completion
of the project, but prior to backfilling, and said written notification
shall be accompanied by a certification from a licensed engineer or
land surveyor of the elevations of the completed bulkhead height.
If the City Engineer determines that the work that was performed pursuant
to the bulkhead permit and the subject bulkhead fail to comply with
the plans, drawings or documents that were submitted with the permit
application or fail to comply with the provisions of this chapter,
then written notice of final inspection failure shall be transmitted
by the City Engineer by regular first class mail to the permittee
at the address set forth on the permit application. The notice of
final inspection failure shall detail the reasons for inspection failure.
Permittees shall correct all deficiencies that resulted in final inspection
failure within 20 days of the date of the written notice of final
inspection failure. If, upon the expiration of those 20 days, the
bulkhead is not approved upon inspection by the City Engineer then
the permittee is deemed to be in violation of the duty to maintain
and repair the subject bulkhead as established by this chapter.
All bulkheads constructed, reconstructed renovated or repaired
within the City shall conform to the following minimum specifications:
A.
All new bulkheads shall be designed by a New Jersey licensed professional
engineer.
B.
All piles shall have a butt diameter of not less than 12 inches and
a tip diameter of not less than eight inches.
C.
All piles will be Douglas Fir or Southern Yellow Pine and shall be
treated with an acceptable preservative for marine construction according
to the latest American Wood Preservers' Association (A.W.P.A.)
specifications.
D.
All new sheet piles shall be vinyl unless approved by the City Engineer.
Wales shall be Douglas Fir or Southern Yellow Pine. Wood sheet piles
shall be a minimum of two inches thick. Wood sheet piles shall be
constructed in two rows with staggered joints. All timber materials
shall be treated with an acceptable preservative designed for use
in a salt-water environment.
E.
All components of the bulkhead system up to the minimum required
elevation shall be constructed to be watertight. Watertight may include
backfilling up against the landward side of the bulkhead, water stop
sealants for steel and PVC sheet piles, continuous and solid landward
capping and any other methods approved by the City Engineer.
F.
All bulkhead construction, reconstruction, renovation or repair shall
be constructed to the property line and shall tie in with bulkheading
on the adjoining property and said tie in shall be made watertight.
Where no adjoining bulkhead exists, the bulkhead shall be constructed
in such manner that it can be tied in with any future adjoining bulkhead.
G.
All hardware shall be hot-dipped galvanized steel or stainless steel
in accordance with latest standards for salt-water applications.
H.
All outfall piping shall be fitted with a tide-control device that
is approved by the City Engineer.
I.
The means and methods for outfall piping extensions that are required
to accommodate the new bulkhead shall be approved by the City Engineer.
J.
Bulkhead construction, reconstruction, renovation or repair shall
not adversely affect adjoining properties.
K.
All old, deteriorated sections of bulkhead shall be completely removed
or cut off a minimum of four inches below the mudline.
L.
All existing utilities shall be protected from damage during any
work performed pursuant to a bulkhead permit. The bulkhead permittee
shall be responsible for obtaining current "utility markout" from
all appropriate state and local agencies prior to commencement of
work.
M.
Deviations from construction materials set forth herein are allowed
so long as all specifications and technical data concerning the proposed
construction material are submitted to the City and are approved in
writing by the City Engineer prior to installation. The use of any
construction material that is not specifically set forth above or
approved by the City Engineer is strictly prohibited.
N.
All design materials herein shall be subject to the requirements
of the NJDEP and USACOE.
A.
All bulkheads shall be constructed to tie into existing bulkheads
on either or both sides, if any exist, or shall be constructed with
returns (at 90° to the main bulkhead) into the protected property,
to prevent flanking of the main bulkhead. If the requirements of the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection do not permit either
of these alternatives, then the Department's determination shall
govern.
B.
If the bulkhead is constructed of interlocking vinyl sheet piles
and the adjacent bulkheads are also interlocking vinyl sheet piles,
then every effort shall be made to connect both bulkheads thru their
respective interlocking joints so as to provide a continuous connection.
C.
A construction detail illustrating the proposed connection method
shall be provided on the plans and shall be subject to the approval
by the City Engineer.
A.
Bay-front bulkhead. The top elevation of any new bay-front bulkhead
to be constructed or reconstructed shall be set at a minimum elevation
of 8.00 NAVD 1988.
B.
Ocean-front bulkhead. The top elevation of any ocean-front bulkhead
to be constructed or reconstructed shall be set at a minimum elevation
of 12.00 NAVD 1988 unless otherwise required by the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1887]
All bulkheads within the City shall be maintained in such a
condition so that they shall pose no danger to the health, safety
or welfare of the residents of the City or to public or private property
within the City. Bulkheads shall be kept in a state of repair so as
to prevent erosion or damage to abutting, adjacent or adjoining properties.
Whenever a bulkhead has deteriorated or suffered damage to such a
degree that a danger to the property or adjoining properties is present,
the City Engineer, Construction Official, Zoning Official or Code
Enforcement Officer shall notify the property owner, in writing, by
certified mail to the address that is set forth on the City's
tax records, of the nature of the deterioration or damage and require
the owner to make the necessary repairs. When notified by the City
of a deteriorated bulkhead, a property owner shall submit a plan of
corrective action to the City no later than 30 days from the receipt
of said notice. Upon approval of the plan of corrective action by
the City Engineer, the property owner shall complete all necessary
repairs within 120 days. If permits are required from state or federal
government agencies, such permits shall be immediately applied for
upon receipt of City approval. Upon issuance of the bulkhead permit
and approval of the plan of corrective action, the property owner
immediately shall complete all necessary repairs. In the event that
the property owner fails to submit a corrective action plan, fails
to obtain a bulkhead permit to implement the corrective action plan
or fails to implement the corrective action plan, the property owner
shall be subject to the penalties set forth herein.
In addition to the above, in the event that the property owner
fails to submit a corrective action plan, fails to obtain a bulkhead
permit to implement the corrective action plan or fails to implement
the corrective action plan, the City of North Wildwood may implement
a corrective action plan upon approval of a corrective action plan
that has been prepared by the City Engineer or Special Projects Engineer.
Such approval of a corrective action plan to be undertaken by the
City shall be evidenced by a resolution of approval duly adopted by
the Mayor and Council at any regular or special meeting of the Governing
Body of the City. Upon adoption of such a resolution, a copy thereof
shall be served by the City Clerk upon the affected property owner
by certified mail to the address that is set forth on the City's
tax records. Upon implementation of a corrective action plan by the
City, the sum total of all costs incurred by the City in implementing
the correction action plan shall be a lien upon the subject property
and shall be added to and form a part of the taxes and municipal charges
to be assessed and levied upon the subject property and that sum total
amount shall bear the same rate of interest as unpaid municipal taxes
and shall be enforced in the same manner. The costs of implementing
the corrective action plan include, by way of example and not by way
of limitation, the engineering costs incurred for preparation of the
corrective action plan, preparation of bidding documents pursuant
to the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., publication
costs incurred in connection with any contract subject to the bidding
and publication requirements of the Local Public Contracts Law, legal
expenses incurred in connection with the review of contract bids,
construction permit fees, inspection fees and costs and all sums of
money paid to contractors.
A.
All existing nonconforming bay-front bulkheads will be required to be structurally extended, replaced, repaired or reconstructed pursuant to the procedure set forth above in § 178-9, Maintenance; duty to repair, subject to the time requirements set forth in the below subsections. The elevation survey prepared for the City by the City Engineer, as may be amended, shall be utilized to determine the bulkhead heights of all existing bulkheads in the City and to establish the compliance of all existing nonconforming bulkheads with this chapter.
B.
All bay-front bulkheads below elevation 6.0 feet NAVD88 pose a significant
threat to the flood frequency of the City and will be required to
be structurally extended to elevation 6.0 NAVD 1988, where possible,
no later than January 2030.
D.
All bay-front lots with a ground elevation below 6.0 feet NAVD88
without bulkheading or other shore protection measure as shown on
the survey prepared by the City Engineer shall install a bulkhead
or other shore protection measure that has been approved by the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection no later than January
2030.
E.
All other existing nonconforming bay-front bulkheads within the City
shall be structurally extended, replaced, repaired or reconstructed
to a minimum elevation of 8.00 NAVD 1988, where possible, no later
than January 2040.
F.
All compliance mandates codified in this section shall remain in
effect as written, unless the City of North Wildwood itself is not
otherwise already in compliance with the height and structural requirements
therein this chapter for all bayside public properties of ownership
and of the responsibility of the City of North Wildwood.
G.
If the City of North Wildwood is not already in compliance with any
of the mandates referenced in this chapter, according to the deadline(s)
herein, a recurring two-year extension shall be granted on private
and public properties until all public lands of the City of North
Wildwood subject to this chapter meet the requirements herein.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,000 or by imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both. A separate offense shall
be deemed to be committed on each and every day during or on which
a violation occurs or continues.
