[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Delran as Sec. 4-16 of the 1993 Revised General
Ordinances; amended in its entirety 5-28-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-8.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Whenever it shall be necessary and expedient for the preservation
of the public health, safety or general welfare, the owner or tenant
of lands lying within the Township of Delran shall be required, within
10 days after written notice, to remove from such lands overgrown
grass, brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, other obnoxious
growths, filth, garbage, trash and debris.
B.
Overgrown grass, as defined throughout this chapter, shall exist
when more than 10% of the grass or weeds growing on a property shall
exceed six inches in height.
C.
In addition to any officials designated by the Township with power
to enforce provisions of the Township Code, the Superintendent of
the Township's Public Works Department shall also have the ability
to enforce the provisions of this section of the Code.
The notice required in § 89-1 hereof shall be addressed to the owner or tenant of such lands, and shall include the address and/or the block and lot number(s) of such lands and shall advise the owner or tenant of such lands that if he fails to comply within the time required he shall be subject to a penalty, and further that, upon his failure to comply, the removal will be accomplished by the Township of Delran, and the cost thereof shall be assessed against such land and collected in the same manner as taxes. If the person or corporation to whom such notice is addressed cannot be served with such a notice within the Township of Delran, such notice may be served by registered or certified mail addressed to the last known address of such person or corporation.
A.
If any owner or tenant of lands lying within the Township of Delran shall, within 10 days after service of such notice, fail or neglect to remove any of the growths or materials described in § 89-1, in accordance with said notice, said removal may be accomplished by the Township of Delran in accordance with the International Property Maintenance Code, and the Township Administrator shall certify the cost thereof to the Township Council, who shall examine the certificate and, if found correct, shall cause the cost as shown thereon to be charged against such lands. The amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien upon such lands and shall be added to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
B.
If the Township is required to perform removal and/or maintenance as described in § 89-3A above, the Township shall forward notice to the owner or tenant of the subject property explaining that the owner or tenant of the subject property must submit proof to the Township within 10 days after service of such notice that the owner or tenant has arranged for ongoing maintenance of the property to remain in compliance with § 89-1 above. Should the owner or tenant of the subject property fail to submit such proof, the Township shall have the ability to arrange for ongoing maintenance of the subject property, either through the use of Township employees or a contractor hired by the Township. This ongoing maintenance of the subject property shall continue until the Township receives proof that the owner or tenant of the subject property has arranged for the ongoing maintenance of the property. Any amount so charged for ongoing maintenance shall forthwith become a lien upon such lands and shall be added to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
In any case where the provisions of this section impose a higher
or stricter standard than set forth elsewhere in this chapter, in
the International Property Maintenance Code as adopted by the Township,
or in any other ordinance or regulation of the Township or under the
laws or regulations of the State of New Jersey or any of its agencies,
then the standards as set forth herein shall prevail, but if the provisions
of this section impose a lower or lesser standard than any other regulation
in this chapter, in the International Property Maintenance Code as
adopted by the Township, or in any other ordinance of the Township
or of the laws and regulations of the State of New Jersey or any of
its agencies, then the higher standard contained in any such other
ordinance, regulation or law shall prevail.
In addition to any remedies listed above, any person violating any provision of this section shall, upon conviction, be punishable as provided in Chapter 1 of this Code.
