[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Manalapan 10-27-1993 by Ord. No. 93-30 as Ch. 58 of the 1993 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licenses and permits — See Ch. 137.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DISTRIBUTOR
Any person who supplies any mechanical or electronic amusement device to another for use in his place of business, whether under lease or any similar arrangement.
MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONIC AMUSEMENT DEVICES
Any machine which may be operated by the public for entertainment or amusement, whether the machine is coin-operated or not, and whether or not it registers scores or tallies. Examples of mechanical and electronic amusement devices are pinball machines, bowling machines, mechanical grab machines, Skee-Ball machines, pokerino machines, jukeboxes, video games, electronic computer games and similar devices. This enumeration is intended to be typical and shall not be construed as exclusive.
OPERATOR
Any person in whose place of business any mechanical or electronic amusement device is placed or kept for operation by the public.
[Amended 10-12-1994 by Ord. No. 94-18]
No person shall install, maintain or operate an amusement device within the Township of Manalapan without having first obtained a license and paid the required license fee. All licenses shall expire on the 31st day of December, following the issuance of the license.
[Amended 10-12-1994 by Ord. No. 94-18]
Applicants shall supply the information required by § 137-2 of Chapter 137, Licenses and Permits. Applicants which are associations or partnerships shall supply the information required by § 137-2 of Chapter 137, Licenses and Permits, for all members of the association or partnership. Applicants which are corporations shall supply the information required by § 137-2 for all officers and directors and for all stockholders of the corporation who own more than 10% of the issued and outstanding capital stock. Corporations shall also supply the name and address of their registered agent. Applicants for licenses under this chapter shall not be required to be fingerprinted or to supply photographs required by § 137-2 but shall be required to supply a description of the machine sought to be licensed, together with its serial number.
[Amended 10-12-1994 by Ord. No. 94-18]
A. 
Applicants shall be charged $100 per machine.
B. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the sole fee for jukeboxes and similar music-producing devices shall be $15 per year and shall be charged to the operator.
A license may be transferred from one machine to another, by giving notice to the Code Enforcement Officer to that effect and giving a description of the new machine, together with its serial number. A license may be transferred from one place to another by giving notice to the Code Enforcement Officer to that effect and supplying the required information as to the new premises or location.
No mechanical amusement device shall be located in any premises within 500 feet of a church or other religious institution or a public or private school. The distance shall be measured from the nearest entrance of the church or school to the nearest entrance of the premises on which the mechanical or electronic amusement device is located or is sought to be located along the route that a pedestrian would normally walk.
The following regulations shall apply to all mechanical and electronic amusement devices:
A. 
The premises shall be so arranged as to permit a clear view of the interior from the exterior at all times.
B. 
No operator shall knowingly permit any person convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude to be associated with him in the ownership or management of the business or to be in his employ or to loiter on the premises.
C. 
No operator shall offer or permit to be offered any prizes or awards, whether in cash or otherwise, as an inducement to use mechanical or electronic amusement devices except for trophies, plaques or items of a similar nature of nominal value.
D. 
No operator shall permit any minor under the age of 16 years unaccompanied by a parent or guardian to remain on the premises after 10:00 p.m.
E. 
No operator shall permit any activity which is illegal or immoral or which creates an undue amount of noise or a danger of a breath of the peace to occur on the premises.
F. 
Each mechanical or electronic amusement device shall be located at least 10 feet from any entranceway or exit to the premises and placed so that it does not obstruct or interfere with passage to and from the premises by patrons or users of the premises.
G. 
Each mechanical or electronic amusement device shall have an unobstructed perimeter zone or distance of four feet around the sides and front thereof, wherein the users of said device may use, watch or wait to use said device, in a manner designed to promote safe passage and prevent overcrowding. No perimeter zone of any device shall intrude upon the perimeter zone of another device.
H. 
In any location where a mechanical or electronic amusement device is located there shall be an unencumbered aisle at least five feet in width at all points from the front door to the rear exit. Aisles shall be so arranged that there is not more than one turn to any exit from the premises.
I. 
No mechanical or electronic amusement device shall be in operation when other business activities on the premises are not being conducted.
J. 
No perimeter zone shall intrude upon any other activity or business use function of the premises.
K. 
As to any premises wherein 10 mechanical or electronic amusement devices are located, an attendant shall be present for each 10 machines for the purpose of overseeing the proper operation and policing of same. No establishment containing 10 or more mechanical or electronic amusement devices shall be located within 5,000 feet, measured in any direction, from any other premises wherein mechanical or electronic amusement devices are permitted and located.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize any gambling device of any kind whatsoever, including any device that dispenses any kind of payoff or reward or any device that has been judicially determined to be a gambling device under any law of the State of New Jersey. If the Code Enforcement Officer has reason to believe any mechanical amusement device is used as a gambling device, he shall cause that machine to be seized and impounded. If, after trial, it is determined that the machine was in fact being used as a gambling device, it shall be destroyed, and the license of the operator or distributor shall be revoked. Revocation of license and seizure of machine are in addition to any other penalty which may be imposed for a violation of this chapter.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a fine in an amount not to exceed $500 or imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not exceeding 90 days, or both, within the discretion of the Judge. Each day that a violation shall continue shall be considered and shall constitute a separate offense.