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Borough of Berlin, NJ
Camden County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough of Berlin as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Storage of flammable liquids — See Ch. 162, Art. I.
Zoning requirements — See Ch. 335.
[Adopted 6-17-1968 by Ord. No. 68-3 as Ch. 41, Art. I,[1] of the 1968 Code]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article also provided that it shall not be construed to repeal any applicable part or provision of the Zoning Ordinance.
The following words and phrases and their derivatives, when used in this article, shall have the meanings hereafter attributed to them:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Berlin, in the County of Camden and State of New Jersey.
GASOLINE SERVICE STATION
Includes all buildings, structures, premises, enclosures or other places where a container or containers, tank or tanks, whether portable or stationary, containing gasoline, motor fuel or motor oils, or any of them, are kept and located for the purpose of selling or offering for sale any such liquids from such container or containers, tank or tanks, by means of pumps or otherwise.
LICENSED
Licensed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
PERSON
Includes the plural as well as the singular of any individual, copartnership, association, corporation or joint-stock company, their lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers or personal representatives appointed by any court whatsoever or otherwise.
PUBLIC GARAGE
Includes any building or structure of permanent construction erected upon land and permanently affixed thereto, used principally for the storage and/or repair of motor vehicles and having sufficient capacity for five or more such motor vehicles and offering such storage facilities to the general public or any member thereof for hire at fixed or regular fees.
STREETS and HIGHWAYS
Includes any street, avenue, park, public highway or any public place or any part thereof, including the sidewalk area adjacent to any of them.
From and after the effective date of this article, no person shall install, construct, maintain, conduct, operate or carry on the business of a gasoline service station as defined in and by this article without first having obtained a license therefor pursuant to the provisions hereof.
All applications for licenses under the terms of this article shall be in writing, shall be filed with the Borough Clerk and shall contain and accurately specify:
A. 
The name and address of the applicant.
B. 
The position and size of the lot to be used for the purposes specified in this article, and the number of square feet of area to be occupied therefor.
C. 
A map showing the location of the gasoline service station, its tanks, buildings and appurtenances in relation to the property upon which the service station is presently operated and maintained or is proposed to be constructed, installed, operated and maintained, and in relation to the adjoining property and public streets.
D. 
The written consent of the owner or owners of the land whereon such station is presently operated and maintained or is proposed to be constructed, erected, operated and maintained.
E. 
The type and construction of the tank or tanks and the material of which the tank or tanks are constructed or are proposed to be constructed.
F. 
The minimum depth of the top of the tank or tanks below the ground wherein the same are placed or are to be placed.
G. 
The method of extracting the liquids from said tank or tanks.
H. 
The dimensions of any building or buildings erected or to be erected thereon, and the material (in relation to fireproof qualities) used or to be used in erecting the same.
Each applicant for a license shall supply the information required by the terms of this article and shall verify the correctness thereof by his oath or affirmation, and file the completed application as herein provided, together with the full amount of the proper fee fixed in and by the terms of this article, at least one week before said application shall be presented to the Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough for action thereon.
Upon receipt of such application, the same shall be referred to the Police Department, the Building Inspector and the Zoning Officer of the Borough for investigation and report, which reports shall be made to the Mayor and Borough Council as herein provided. The Mayor and Borough Council shall thereupon determine the advisability of granting any such permit and shall authorize or deny the same by resolution.
[Amended 4-20-1970 by Ord. No. 70-2]
The annual fee for each license issued or renewal thereof under the terms of this article shall be $50 for each year for which the license shall be so issued or renewed, except that where any such license shall be issued on or after July 1 in any calendar year, the license fee shall, in such event, be $20. No part of such fee shall be refunded for any reason except upon the denial of an application for the issuance or renewal of a license by the Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough, in which event the entire license fee so deposited be returned to the applicant.
Any and all licenses issued pursuant to the terms of this article shall expire at 12:00 midnight the 31st day of December of the year for which the same shall be issued, unless sooner surrendered, suspended or revoked. Each and all such licenses shall be issued by the Borough Clerk pursuant to a resolution of the Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough.
No license issued under the provisions of this article shall authorize the maintenance and/or operation of a gasoline service station at any but the location specified therein.
[Amended 12-14-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-15]
No license shall be issued if any part of the principal building of such gasoline station is to be installed, constructed, maintained and/or operated within a radius of 300 feet of the nearest part of any building constituting a public or private school, a hospital, a place of worship, a theater (motion picture or otherwise), a post office building, a municipal hall or other place of public assemblage, or any of them.
[1]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 67-11, which originally adopted this article, also provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any gasoline service station installed, constructed, maintained and/or operated on the effective date of said ordinance.
The following restrictions shall be observed in reviewing applications for licenses hereunder, which shall be granted conditioned upon the observance by the applicant of them:
A. 
Driveways into the plot on which the station is to be maintained shall possess a maximum width of 30 feet.
B. 
Adjacent building lines shall be approached not nearer than 10 feet by any driveway.
C. 
No driveway shall approach nearer than 10 feet to an intersecting corner of public streets.
D. 
A minimum distance of 15 feet shall separate driveways in order to afford space for a pedestrian's island.
E. 
Any construction shall comply with the area and bulk conditions set forth in the revised Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Berlin, New Jersey, 1966,[2] relating to C-1 Central Commercial District or C-2 Highway Commercial District, whichever shall be applicable to the site, and to any and all other terms, conditions and restrictions of said Zoning Ordinance applicable thereto.
[2]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 335, Zoning.
[1]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 67-11, which originally adopted this article, also provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any gasoline service station installed, constructed, maintained and/or operated on the effective date of said ordinance.
No gasoline service station shall hereafter be installed, constructed, maintained and/or operated on the curb of any street in the Borough. Any further construction in respect of a gasoline service station actually constructed, maintained and/or operated on the effective date of this article, involving the installation of containers, tanks or pumps, shall be at such distance from the curb of the street as to require any person procuring gasoline or oil from said containers, tanks or gasoline service station to leave the street and enter upon the property where the gasoline service station is located. No license for a gasoline service station shall hereafter be issued unless all pumps and service appliances are placed a sufficient distance from any street line so as to prevent a motor vehicle receiving service from being on a sidewalk or any part thereof.
[Added 6-4-1990 by Ord. No. 90-12]
Each and every vehicle delivering either gasoline, kerosene, gasohol, diesel fuel or any other type of petroleum product to a gasoline service station within the Borough of Berlin shall secure its rear wheels with wheel chocks during the entire time that the product is being pumped from the vehicle into the in-ground or aboveground tank. Wheel chocks shall be supplied by the owner of each gasoline service station and shall be maintained at each gasoline service station for use by vehicles delivering the products referred to in this section.
[Added 6-4-1990 by Ord. No. 90-12]
Any and all vehicles delivering gasoline, kerosene, gasohol, diesel fuel, oil or any other type of petroleum product to a gasoline service station in the Borough of Berlin shall be parked during the time of delivery in such a manner to ensure that the entire vehicle is within the property lines of the gasoline service station. Vehicles delivering the supplies referred to herein are specifically prohibited from parking their vehicles during delivery so that any portion of the vehicle extends over the sidewalk, abutting curb or property line.
No license shall be issued hereunder for a gasoline service station having location thereon any frame building or any building wholly or partially used for dwelling purposes.
[1]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 67-11, which originally adopted this article, also provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any gasoline service station installed, constructed, maintained and/or operated on the effective date of said ordinance.
No license shall be issued under the terms of this article for the installation, construction, management and/or operation of a gasoline service station to be situate in or on any lot or parcel of land located in the residential zone of the Borough as defined in the Zoning Ordinance[2] of the Borough and the supplements thereto and amendments thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 67-11, which originally adopted this article, also provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any gasoline service station installed, constructed, maintained and/or operated on the effective date of said ordinance.
[2]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 335, Zoning.
No license issued under the terms of this article shall be transferred or assigned except with the consent in writing of the Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough first had and obtained.
The Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough may, in its discretion, refuse to issue or renew any such license or may, after notice and hearing, revoke or suspend any such license for the violation of any of the terms of this article or of any statute of the State of New Jersey or of any regulation of any agency of the State of New Jersey applicable to the business referred to.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding $200 or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days, in the discretion of the Judge by whom such person shall be convicted.
The terms and provisions of this article shall not be construed or held to apply to any lot or parcel of land occupied by a public garage as herein defined; provided that this section shall not be construed to exempt any premises adjacent to any such public garage from all of the terms and provisions of this article.
[Adopted 6-17-1968 by Ord. No. 68-3 as Ch. 41, Art. II of the 1968 Code; amended in its entirety 12-19-1977 by Ord. No. 77-18[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided that it shall take effect and be in force from and after 12-19-1977.
The establishment and maintenance of gasoline filling stations on the White Horse Pike (U.S. 30) bounded by Elm Avenue on the north and Marshall Avenue on the south is restricted to those seven presently established and being maintained in the described area. In the event that any of those seven gasoline filling stations do not continue service to the public for any one twelve-month period, the maintenance portion of this article shall be considered breached, and the number of gasoline filling stations permitted in this restricted area shall be reduced by that number.