[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Readington 3-19-1984. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership,
firm, corporation or entity to establish, operate, maintain, occupy,
offer for occupation or permit to be established, operated, maintained,
occupied or offered for occupation upon any property owned or controlled
or leased by him a motel, hotel or residential rental housing having
three or more rental units or apartments without first having secured
a license from the Township of Readington. Such license shall be for
a period of no longer than one year commencing on January 1 and terminating
on December 31 of said year and shall be renewable for additional
periods of one year. Licenses shall not be transferable from one person,
firm, partnership, corporation or entity to another person, firm,
partnership, corporation or entity except as provided in this chapter.
The application for issuance of a license hereunder
shall constitute the consent of the applicant to an inspection of
the entire licensed premises at reasonable times by the Health and
Building Inspectors, Uniform Construction Code officials, Zoning Officer,
Plumbing Inspector, Fire Inspector and other authorized agencies of
the Township of Readington for the purpose of determining whether
there is any violation on the premises of any ordinances of the Township
of Readington, any law of the State of New Jersey or any rules, regulations
or standards established pursuant to said ordinances or laws.
Any license issued hereunder shall terminate
at any time after its issuance in the event that the use of the building
or part thereof for such purposes shall cease.
Each applicant for such license shall make written
application on forms prescribed and supplied by the Township Clerk,
setting forth:
A.
The full name, residence and post office address of
the applicant.
B.
The exact location of the proposed licensed premises,
giving the street address, block and lot number as shown on the Tax
Assessment Map of the township and the exact dimensions of the land
upon which the business is to be conducted.
C.
A description of the building, structure and accommodations
upon said land, including a statement of the number of sleeping units,
the maximum number of persons who can be accommodated at any given
time, a description of the character of said building or structure
as to the size, type of construction, whether or not the same is fireproof,
has fireproof walls, and a description of the automobile parking spaces
and facilities.
D.
The name and address of the owner of said lands and
buildings and the name and address of the individual or firm renting
said buildings; in the event that the entity who owns or leases the
licensed premises then happens to be a corporation, the name and address
of the officers of the corporation and the particular position they
hold, and the name and address of any stockholder holding 5% or more
of the stock, directly or indirectly or in any way beneficially, of
the corporation which is seeking a license.
E.
The name or names of the person or persons on the
licensed premises upon whom process may be served.
The application shall be accompanied by payment
of the amount of the license fee for the period involved.
If the applicant is not the owner of the site
where the business is to be conducted, the owner's written consent
to the conduct of the business described in the application shall
be annexed to the application.
Sixty days prior to the expiration of the existing
license, each applicant shall make an application annually upon forms
issued by the Township Clerk. This section shall apply to any individual,
firm, partnership, corporation or entity who is now or in the future
conducting any activity within the township limits regulated by this
chapter.
Upon application for a license, the Township
Clerk shall forthwith forward a copy of such application to the Health
Officer, the Fire Inspectors, Plumbing Inspector, Chief of Police,
Building or Uniform Construction Code Officer and any other authorized
agency who has an officer who shall have the duty to inspect each
premises which will be regulated by this chapter. Each of the foregoing
individuals shall inspect the premises to determine whether or not
the premises comply with the rules and regulations and ordinances
of the Township of Readington and State of New Jersey. If the premises
do comply, the respective officers shall provide the Township Clerk
with a written certificate of such approval. Thereupon the Township
Clerk shall issue a license in accordance with the terms and conditions
of this chapter.
If the premises do not comply, the respective
inspectors or officials shall provide the Township Clerk with a written
report setting forth the specific violations of applicable ordinances,
statutes, rules, regulations or standards. The Township Clerk shall
thereupon transmit a copy of such reports citing violations to the
applicant, together with written notice that a license for the property
will not be issued until the violations contained in the reports are
corrected. The applicant shall have the right to request a hearing
before the Township Committee to reconsider the denial of the license.
Such request must be in writing.
All written reports and certificates by the
various officers charged with making an inspection under this chapter
shall be completed within 14 days from the time an application is
made. All written reports and certificates shall be transmitted to
the Township Clerk.
The Township Committee shall set a date for
a hearing to be held on the denial of said application at a reasonable
time thereafter, which hearing, however, shall not be later than December
15 of each year, or in the case of a new license, not later than 30
days from receipt of a written request for a hearing unless the applicant
requests or consents to a postponement.
A copy of all reports, certificates or investigations
shall be made available to the applicant, if he so requests, at least
seven days prior to any hearing date set by the Township Committee
on a particular license.
After considering all evidence with respect
to the application, the Township Committee may uphold the denial,
direct that the license be granted or take other appropriate action
for good cause, and if any application for a license is denied, the
Township Committee shall state in writing the reason for the denial.
The license, when issued by the township, shall
be displayed in a conspicuous place upon the licensed premises at
all times.
Every applicant for and/or holder of a license
under this chapter shall give the Township of Readington, through
its officers, agents and employees, free access to the licensed premises
to inspect the same at any time. It shall be unlawful to refuse such
access or to impede, hinder or interfere with any official in the
proper performance of his duties hereunder.
In the event that the Township Committee finds,
upon a written report filed, that there is such a serious infraction
of the rules, regulations and ordinances of the Township of Readington
or the rules, regulations and laws of the State of New Jersey that
the operation of a premises licensed hereunder will constitute a serious
menace to the health, safety, welfare and morals of the people of
the Township of Readington or the occupants of such licensed premises,
the Township Committee shall have the right, upon the finding of good
cause, to suspend the license of such person, firm, partnership, corporation
or entity licensed under this chapter immediately. In the event that
a license is suspended in this manner, the Township Committee shall,
within seven business days, hold a hearing, unless the licensee requests
an adjournment. A written report upon which the Township Committee
originally based its determination shall be given to the licensee
at the time it originally suspends a license. The hearing to continue
the suspension or take such action as the Township Committee deems
in its lawful discretion shall proceed, where applicable, in the same
manner as if the proceeding were for the issuance of a new license.
Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Township
of Readington or the officers of the township from proceeding against
an applicant who is in violation of any of the provisions of this
chapter by filing a summons in the Municipal Court of the Township
of Readington.
[Amended 6-18-1984]
At least 85% of the sleeping accommodations
of a hotel or motel shall be rented only for the use of transient
occupants and shall be offered for limited tenure only as defined
by N.J.S.A. 55:13B-3d, unless said hotel or motel holds a valid and
current license issued pursuant to the Rooming and Boarding House
Act of 1979. Every licensed premises shall maintain at all times a
complete register of all rentals therein, setting forth the true identification
and correct hours of occupancy of each person using any room on the
licensed premises.
A licensee shall have the authority to ask the
head of a party or any person renting accommodations on the licensed
premises for written evidence of his or her identity and residence
and, in addition thereto, the full and true name and address of each
member of his or her party; and in the case of an operator of a motor
vehicle, the state, license or registration number of the motor vehicle
conveying him or her to the licensed premises. In addition to the
other rules and regulations proposed hereunder, no licensee shall
knowingly rent, allow or permit any room on the licensed premises
to be used for any immoral or illegal purpose, and the failure to
set forth the true identity and correct hours of occupancy of any
person shall be deemed knowledge on the part of the license holder
of such immoral or illegal purpose or use.
All structures, buildings, dwellings, houses
or parts thereof used for the purposes herein regulated shall comply
with the requirements of state laws and regulations and with the requirements
of this chapter or any other applicable ordinance of the township.
All fire escapes shall comply with the rules,
regulations and ordinances of the Township of Readington and State
of New Jersey. An exit light shall be installed in the passageway
or doorway leading to any such fire escapes. Doors leading to fire
escapes shall be unlocked from the inside at all times and shall open
outward.
All structures, buildings, dwellings, houses
or parts thereof shall comply with the Uniform Construction Codes,
the Land Development Ordinances, the Uniform Fire Safety Code, health
ordinances and other applicable ordinances of the township.
A licensee shall report to the proper authorities
of the Township of Readington all cases of persons or animals affected
or suspected of being affected with any communicable disease in or
about the licensed premises.
The operation, conduct and management of a motel
or hotel shall not be under the management, control or supervision
of any person convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or suffering
from any contagious disease. No person shall own, directly or indirectly,
more than 5% of stock or be an officer or director of any corporation
or participate in any way in the management of any licensed premises
if he shall be convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.
A.
The annual fee for each license issued hereunder shall
be the sum of $5 for each unit containing sleeping quarters.
B.
The annual fee for each license issued hereunder shall
be prorated where the license shall not have been issued on January
1 of a year, and any period of a month over 15 days shall constitute
a full month, and any period less than 15 days shall constitute a
half month for the purposes of prorating the annual fee.
C.
Payment of said fees shall accompany the filing of
all applications for licenses or for any intention to renew thereafter.
A.
Applications for such license shall be made on or
before November 1 of each year on a form as set forth in this chapter
and shall be signed and sworn to by the person, firm, partnership,
corporation or entity actually engaged in such business and actually
the true owners thereof.
B.
All licenses issued hereunder shall be issued for
a period of one year commencing on January 1 and expiring at 12:00
midnight on December 31 of the same year. All renewals shall be applied
for and issued in a similar manner as the original application.
A.
Noncompliance with the terms of this chapter shall
constitute a violation.
B.
Each and every day any violation of this chapter exists
or continues to exist shall be determined a separate violation or
offense under this chapter.
Within 60 days of the effective date of this
chapter, all parties subject to the provisions hereof shall make application
for a license to the Township Clerk. Failure to make such application
within the sixty-day period shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
[Added 11-6-2023 by Ord.
No. 27-2023]
There is hereby established a hotel and motel room occupancy
tax ("Hotel Tax") in the Township of Readington which shall be fixed
at a rate of 3% on charges of rent for every occupancy on or after
January 1, 2024, of a room or rooms in a hotel subject to taxation
pursuant to subsection (d) of section 3 of P.L. 1966, c. 30, (N.J.S.A.
54:32B-3). The Hotel Tax shall be in addition to any other tax or
fee imposed pursuant to statute or local ordinance or resolution by
any governmental entity upon the occupancy of a hotel room.
[Added 11-6-2023 by Ord.
No. 27-2023]
In accordance with the requirement of P.L. 2003, c. 114[1]:
A.
The Hotel Tax shall be paid by the purchaser.
B.
A vendor shall not assume or absorb any part of the Hotel Tax.
C.
A vendor shall not in any manner advertise or hold out to any person
or to the public in general, in any manner, directly or indirectly,
that the Hotel Tax will be assumed or absorbed by the vendor, that
the Hotel Tax will not be separately charged and stated to the customer,
or that the Hotel Tax will be refunded to the customer.
D.
Each assumption or absorption by a vendor of the tax shall be deemed
a separate offense and each representation or advertisement by a vendor
for each day that the representation or advertisement continues shall
be deemed a separate offense.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:48F-1.
[Added 11-6-2023 by Ord.
No. 27-2023]
The Hotel Tax shall be collected on behalf of the Township by
the person collecting the rent from the hotel or motel customer. Each
person required to collect the Hotel Tax shall be personally liable
for the tax imposed, collected, or required to be collected. Any such
person shall have the same right in respect to collecting the Hotel
Tax from a customer as if the tax were a part of the rent and payable
at the same time; provided that the Chief Financial Officer of the
Township shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought
to collect the Hotel Tax.
[Added 11-6-2023 by Ord.
No. 27-2023]
This tax shall be collected and administered in accordance with
the provisions of P.L. 2003, c. 114.
[Added 11-6-2023 by Ord.
No. 27-2023]
Any person who shall cause, assist in, contribute to or permit
a violation of this chapter shall be penalized upon conviction by
a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1,500, or imprisonment
for not more than 90 days, or both. Each day during which any violation
shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
