[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council (now Board of Commissioners) of the City of Ventnor City 6-14-1949 by Ord. No. 10-1949. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BUSINESS
Includes businesses, trades, callings, professions and vocations.
PERSON
Includes persons, firms, copartnerships and corporations.
[Amended 12-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-44; 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-12]
A. 
No person shall engage in or carry on any business, or lease any property for a period of one to less than 30 days, as described below, in Ventnor City nor aid or assist, as employee, clerk or otherwise, in carrying on such business, or extending such rental or in using any vehicle, stand, store, property or other place or thing nor sell or offer for sale any goods or thing for which a license is required by the terms of this chapter, unless a license as herein provided for shall have first been obtained therefor.
B. 
Residential properties containing one bedroom and studio apartments must obtain and display an annual mercantile license, the fee for which shall be $500. One-bedroom or studio apartments may be rented for one or more days but less than 30 days.
C. 
Residential properties containing two bedrooms must obtain and display an annual mercantile license for which the fee shall be $750. Two-bedroom residential properties may be rented short-term for a period not less than two days but less than 30 days.
D. 
Residential properties containing three or more bedrooms must obtain and display an annual mercantile license the fee for which shall be $1,000. Three-bedroom residential properties may be rented short-term for a period not less than three days but less than 30 days.
[Amended 7-6-1970 by Ord. No. 11-1970]
A. 
Application for a license shall be made to the City Clerk of Ventnor City, and no license shall be granted until the payment therefor has been made. Every license shall specify, by name, the person to whom issued, the business for which it is granted, the owners of the property being rented and the location at which such business or rental is to occur.
[Amended 12-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-44]
B. 
No license shall be granted until the Electrical Subcode Official, Building Subcode Official, Plumbing Subcode Official, Board of Health and Fire Marshal have certified in writing to the City Clerk that the applicant has complied with all ordinances and regulations respecting protection of life and property relating to such place.
C. 
No license certificate shall be issued to any person who has not complied with the laws of the State of New Jersey or the ordinances of the City of Ventnor City providing regulations respecting the safety of persons who may have occasion to use the premises, place or thing licensed; and in case any person licensed fails to comply with such laws or ordinances after the due notice of 10 days and an opportunity to be heard within 10 days thereafter, the Board of Commissioners of the City of Ventnor City and the City Clerk may revoke said license. No license provided for by this chapter shall be transferred from one person to another, and no license shall cover any other place of business other than that for which it was issued.
D. 
At the time of the filing of the registration certificate referred to in Subsection A, or at the time of any registration amendment due to tenant turnover, every owner shall present to the Code Enforcement Office notice of the last tenant turnover date, as well as a valid lead-based paint evaluation report prepared by a certified lead evaluation contractor as set forth in Subsection G below. Should the owner fail to provide such a report within 30 days of filing, the City, shall have said inspection performed with the City's cost for same to be assessed against the landlord's rental property as a municipal lien.
[Added 5-25-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11]
E. 
Should the evaluation report identify lead-based hazards, then the owner shall remediate the hazards through abatement or lead-based hazard control mechanisms. The remediation shall be confirmed through a subsequent lead-based hazard inspection. The identification of a lead-based hazard will result in the City, or the inspector retained to conduct such inspections, providing notification of same to the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
[Added 5-25-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11]
F. 
If there are no findings of a lead-based hazard in the initial or any subsequent inspection conducted pursuant to the provisions of Subsections D and E above, the lead evaluation inspector or representative of the City shall certify the unit as lead-safe, on a form proscribed by the Department of Community Affairs. This lead-safe certification shall be valid for two years. A copy of this certification shall be provided to the tenants of the unit inspected.
[Added 5-25-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11]
G. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection D above, a dwelling unit in a single-family, two-family, or rental dwelling shall not be subject to inspection and evaluation for the presence of lead-based paint hazards if the unit:
[Added 5-25-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11]
(1) 
Has been certified to be free of lead-based paint;
(2) 
Has previously been inspected, and three years will not have passed before the next required registration of the property and there has not been a tenant turnover since the last inspection;
(3) 
Was constructed during or after 1978;
(4) 
Is in a multiple dwelling that has been registered with the Department of Community Affairs as a multiple dwelling for at least 10 years, either under the current or a previous owner, and has no outstanding lead violations from the most recent cyclical inspection performed on the multiple dwelling under the "Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law," N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 et seq.;
(5) 
Is a single-family or a two-family seasonal rental dwelling which is rented for less than six months during each year by tenants that do not have consecutive lease renewals; or
(6) 
Has a valid lead-safe certification issued pursuant to Subsection D, above.
H. 
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.16, unless a unit owner demonstrates that the Department of Community Affairs has already assessed an additional inspection fee of $20, a fee of $20 for each inspection per unit shall be paid by the owner at the time of the registration of the unit. Said fee shall be deposited by the City into the "Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund" established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.4.
[Added 5-25-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11]
All license fees shall be due and payable to the City of Ventnor City at the City Hall, Cambridge and Atlantic Avenues, Ventnor City, New Jersey, on the first day of July in each year, and all such licenses shall expire on the 30th day of June following.
[Amended 6-26-1950 by Ord. No. 9-1950; 6-11-1951 by Ord. No. 6-1951; 6-4-1979 by Ord. No. 7904; 8-16-1983 by Ord. No. 8329; 11-1-1983 by Ord. No. 8338; 4-3-1984 by Ord. No. 8402; 8-15-1985 by Ord. No. 8514; 6-21-1990 by Ord. No. 9014; 11-5-1992 by Ord. No. 9215; 7-23-1993 by Ord. No. 9311; 8-24-1995 by Ord. No. 9517; 11-12-1998 by Ord. No. 9825; 5-19-2004 by Ord. No. 2005-11; 3-20-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-09; 6-24-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-12; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The license fees to be paid annually as above provided to the City of Ventnor City for conducting the businesses herein named at the places to be designated in the license certificate issued therefor or for using any vehicle, stand, store, place or thing or for the type of service designated shall be in the amounts set forth in Chapter 114, Fee Schedule.
No license shall be granted for any theater, scenic theater, moving-picture show, electric illusion or other exhibition or amusement until the City Electrician, Building Subcode Official and Chief Engineer of the Fire Department certify, in writing, to the City Clerk that the applicant has complied with all the ordinances and regulations respecting protection of life and property relating to such places. The certificate of license shall be conspicuously displayed on the premises where the business is conducted.
[Amended 6-4-1979 by Ord. No. 7904]
No person or persons shall be allowed to transact any business under any license granted under this chapter except the business for which such license was especially granted.
[Amended 6-26-1972 by Ord. No. 12-1972; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
No license certificate shall be issued to any person who has not complied with the laws of the State of New Jersey or the ordinances of the City of Ventnor City providing regulations respecting the safety of persons who may have occasion to use the premises, place or thing licensed, and in case any person licensed fails to comply with such laws or ordinances after due notice and opportunity to be heard, the Board of Commissioners may revoke such license. No license provided for by this chapter shall be transferred from one person to another person, and no license shall cover any other place of business than that for which it was issued. A license may be transferred from place to place upon proper application to the City Clerk, and following inspection and approval by the Building Official and Fire Official, the City Clerk shall then endorse the address of the new location upon the face of the mercantile license.
[Amended 2-1-1990 by Ord. No. 9001]
All licenses issued in accordance herewith shall be effective on the date issued, and said licenses shall expire on the 30th day of June following. No license fee shall be reduced or prorated, whether issued for a full or partial year.
The fees herein imposed for such license are imposed for revenue.
Any proper officer is hereby authorized and directed to use such of the police force of the City as is necessary to execute and enforce all necessary and lawful police regulations that may best facilitate the carrying on of the business of cars used for local passenger traffic and as may best protect and facilitate the carrying on of the several businesses, trades and occupations licensed by this chapter.
[Amended 6-4-1979 by Ord. No. 7904]
The license to peddle goods, wares and merchandise, flowers or other articles shall not permit the peddling of such articles upon the Boardwalk, the approaches thereto or upon any platform or building connected with said Boardwalk, on the beach or on any street or sidewalk. Additionally, no peddling or huckstering shall be permitted from trucks on any street or any portion of the Boardwalk, or entrance thereto, within the City of Ventnor City.
It shall be a condition to the issuance of any and all licenses under this chapter that said business shall be used and operated only for lawful purposes.
[Added 12-20-1982 by Ord. No. 8237[1]; amended 3-20-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-09; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any and all persons, individuals, estates, or entities of similar type who seek to have a personal property sale shall be required to register with the City of Ventnor City and pay a fee in the amount set forth in Chapter 114, Fee Schedule, for said registration. Personal property sales shall be limited to those persons who are in fact owners of a residential property or occupants of a residential property selling those personal items located in the facility in which said sale is occupying. The sale shall be limited to those items on the premises, and at no time shall any person, individual, estate or entity be permitted to offer for sale any asset that is, in fact, brought to the location in Ventnor City from some other area or jurisdiction. It should be further noted that any such sale shall be limited in duration to two consecutive days. In addition, at no time shall there be more than two sales per year from any one property in said City.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also renumbered former §§ 149-14, 149-15 and 149-16 as §§ 149-15, 149-16 and 149-17, respectively.
[Amended 6-4-1979 by Ord. No. 7904; 8-15-1985 by Ord. No. 8514; 2-2-1989 by Ord. No. 8903; 1-9-1997 by Ord. No. 9616; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of Ventnor City, be subject to the penalty provisions of Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty. The Judge before whom any person is convicted of violating this chapter shall have the power to impose any fine or term of imprisonment, not exceeding the maximum fixed in Chapter 1, Article II.
[Amended 6-4-1979 by Ord. No. 7904; 12-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-44]
Every person conducting a business or allowing a rental required to be licensed hereby shall permit the building subcode official or his designee or his accredited agents or assistants to have access to any building, house, lot or premises for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been compliance with the provisions of this chapter and other ordinances and to determine the fees to be paid, and any refusal thereof shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties provided for herein.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to amend, alter or repeal the provisions of any ordinance or ordinances establishing license fees for any type of business not included in the provisions hereof.
[Added 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-12]
A. 
Each residential rental property shall have an occupancy limit which shall be established by the City's Code Enforcement Office utilizing the International Property Maintenance Code, as may be amended from time to time. The occupancy limit and mercantile license shall be prominently displayed and posted conspicuously inside near the main entrance of the short-term rental property.
B. 
If the owner of the short-term rental is not a local resident and is unable to allow access for inspection or otherwise, the owner must fill out an agent authorization form to have a local agent who resides in Atlantic County available to do so. The agent may be any resident adult, 21 years of age or older who is authorized to act on behalf of the owner and need not be a real estate agent. The name and contact information of the local agent shall be provided to the Construction Code Office.
C. 
All short-term rental occupants must abide by the City of Ventnor's ordinances regarding noise, trash, and parking.
D. 
All short-term rentals must be inspected within 30 days of the application for the mercantile license which must be delivered to the Construction Code Office.
E. 
A short-term rental owner or agent shall only rent to persons (tenants) who have attained the age of 21 years and shall obtain from tenant a government identification card which shall be provided to the Construction Code Office upon request.
F. 
Violations of the regulations contained herein shall subject the owner to suspension or loss of the mercantile license and fines and penalties.