[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Stanhope 7-28-1965 as Ord. No. 1965-7; amended in
its entirety 10-30-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-21. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
In all cases where it shall be necessary and
expedient for the preservation of the public health, safety or general
welfare or to eliminate a fire hazard, the owners and the tenants
of lands within the Borough of Stanhope upon which there are brush,
weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, filth,
garbage, trash and debris shall be notified in writing by the Zoning
Officer of the Borough of Stanhope to remove the same.
Said notice shall be delivered to the owner
or tenant personally, if a resident of the Borough of Stanhope or
found therein, or mailed to him at his last known place of address
by certified mail, return receipt requested, if residing outside said
borough and not found therein.
Said notice shall inform the person, firm or
corporation to whom it is directed that the presence on said lands
(specifying the location of the same) of such brush, weeds, dead and
dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, filth, garbage, trash
and debris constitutes a menace to the public health, safety or general
welfare or constitutes a fire hazard; specify the items to be removed;
direct that their removal be completed within 10 days following delivery
of said notice; and advise that if removal is not completed within
the time specified, the removal will be done under the direction of
the Zoning Officer of the Borough of Stanhope, and the cost thereof
will be charged as taxes and constitute a lien against the said lands,
to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and to be collected and
enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
Upon the failure, neglect or refusal of any
owner or tenant of lands upon whom such notice has been served, as
aforesaid, to remove from said lands the items specified in such notice
within the time fixed therefor, the Zoning Officer of the Borough
of Stanhope shall either remove the same or cause the same to be removed
under his direction to a dump or other suitable place, either within
or outside the limits of the borough, and shall certify the cost thereof
to the Mayor and Council, who shall examine said certificate and,
if found correct, shall cause the cost as shown to be charged against
said lands, and the amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien
upon said lands and shall be added to and become and form part of
the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon said 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.
If, after diligent effort by the Zoning Officer of the Borough of Stanhope, neither the owner nor the tenant of lands upon which such menace to public health, safety or general welfare or fire hazard exists can be served with notice as hereinabove prescribed, then said Zoning Officer of the Borough of Stanhope shall proceed to remove or cause to be removed said items, or any of them, from said lands and shall certify the cost thereof to the Mayor and Council, who shall examine said certificate and, if found correct, shall cause the cost thereof to be charged against said lands, with the same effect and to be collected in the same manner as provided in § 111-4 hereof.
[Added 10-27-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-17]
A.
The owner of every residential structure in the Borough of Stanhope shall at all times be required to properly maintain the exterior of the residential structure and/or appurtenant structures thereto. Improper exterior maintenance shall include, but shall not be limited to, such items as cracked, broken or missing windows and doors, cracked, curling, broken or missing roofing, peeling paint, loose, broken or missing siding, facia or trim, unpainted, unstained or otherwise uncovered, untreated raw wood or any other condition which would constitute a violation of the Uniform Construction Code, as adopted by Chapter 72 of the Code of the Borough of Stanhope.
B.
In all
cases where improper exterior maintenance has occurred, the property
owner shall be notified in writing by the Zoning Officer of the Borough
of Stanhope to correct same within 30 days of the date of the notice
unless such improper maintenance constitutes an immediate threat to
the public’s health, safety or welfare, in which event the property
owner shall be required to remedy the improper exterior maintenance
in such time as the Zoning Officer shall deem appropriate to adequately
protect the public’s health, safety or welfare.
C.
The notice
of improper exterior maintenance may be delivered to the property
owner personally or mailed to him at his last known place of address
by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by first-class mail.
This article shall be known as the "Commercial
Property Maintenance Code of the Borough of Stanhope" and is hereinafter
referred to as "this code."
The purpose of this code is to protect the public
health, safety and welfare by establishing minimum standards for the
maintenance of commercial premises hereinafter defined; to fix responsibilities
and duties upon owners, operators and occupants; to authorize and
establish procedures for the inspection of such premises; to fix penalties
for the violations of this code; and to provide for the right of access
to permit repairs when necessary. This code is hereby declared to
be remedial and essential for the public interest, and it is intended
that this code be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes as
stated herein.
The following terms, whenever used herein, shall
have the following meanings, unless a different meaning clearly appears
from the context:
A lot or tract of land on which or on any part of which commercial activity takes place and is the principal use thereon. Commercial activity shall include all nonresidential uses enumerated under the Village Business, Planned Light Industrial/Commercial, Highway Commercial and Industrial Zones in Chapter 100 of the Borough Code, excluding home occupations and governmental, quasi-governmental, and not-for-profit uses. It shall also include multifamily residential uses, whether owner-occupied or not, and single-family residential uses that are not owner occupied. Properties owned and operated by nonprofit organizations are hereby expressly exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 11-25-1997 by Ord. No. 1997-18]
Those portions of a building which are exposed to public
view and the open space of any premises outside of any building erected
thereon.
Any condition, man-made or natural, which affords a breeding
place or hiding place for rodents, insects or other pests.
Any common-law nuisance or as provided by the
laws of New Jersey or the ordinances of the Borough of Stanhope.
Any attractive nuisance which may prove detrimental
to the health or safety of minor children, whether in a building or
upon a lot. This includes but is not limited to any structurally unsound
fences or structures, lumber, trash, fences, debris or vegetation,
such as poison ivy, poison sumac or poison oak, which may prove a
hazard to minor children.
Physical conditions dangerous to human life
or detrimental to the health of persons on or near the premises on
which the condition exists.
Unsanitary conditions or anything offensive
to the senses or dangerous to health in violation of the laws of the
State of New Jersey or ordinances of the Borough of Stanhope.
Whatever renders air, food or drink unwholesome
or detrimental to the health of human beings.
Fire hazards.
Any person having actual possession of the premises or part
thereof.
Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others,
shall have legal or equitable title to any commercial premises with
or without accompanying actual possession thereof or shall have charge,
care or control of any commercial premises as owner or agent of the
owner or as a fiduciary, including but not limited to executor, administrator,
trustee, receiver or guardian of the estate, or as a mortgagee in
possession, regardless of how such possession was obtained. Any person
who is a lessee subletting or reassigning any part or all of any commercial
premises shall be deemed to be a co-owner with the lessor and shall
have joint responsibility over the portion of the premises sublet
or assigned by said lessee.
One or more buildings or parts thereof designed as a unit
to be occupied by one or more businesses for the conduct of business
and conducted as an integrated planned area development.
A.
Every commercial premises and any building situated
thereon in the Borough of Stanhope used or intended to be used for
commercial occupancy shall comply with the provisions of this code,
whether or not such building shall have been constructed, altered
or repaired before or after the enactment of this code. This code
establishes minimum standards for the initial and continued occupancy
and use of all such commercial buildings and does not replace or modify
standards otherwise established for the construction, repair, alteration
or use of such commercial buildings or premises contained herein.
B.
In any case where the standards established by this
code differ from those of the State of New Jersey or other ordinances
of the Borough of Stanhope in degree, the higher standard shall prevail.
Owners and operators shall have all the duties
and responsibilities prescribed in this code, and no owner or operator
shall be relieved from any such duty and responsibility nor be entitled
to defend against any charge of violation thereof by reason of the
fact that the occupant is also responsible therefor and in violation
thereof.
Occupants shall have all the duties and responsibilities as prescribed in §§ 111-19 through 111-24 of this code, and the occupant shall not be relieved from any such duty and responsibility nor be entitled to defend against any charge of violation thereof by reason of the fact that the owner or operator is also responsible therefor and in violation thereof.
The exterior of the premises and all structures
thereon shall be kept free of all nuisances and any hazards to the
safety of occupants, pedestrians and other persons utilizing the premises
and free of unsanitary conditions, and any of the foregoing shall
be promptly removed and abated by the owner or operator. It shall
be the duty of the owner or operator to keep the premises free of
hazards, which include but are not limited to the following:
A.
Refuse: broken glass, filth, garbage, trash, litter
and debris.
B.
Natural growth: brush, weeds, ragweeds, stumps, roots
and obnoxious growths and dead and dying trees and limbs or other
natural growth which, by reason of deteriorating or rotting conditions
or storm damage, constitutes a hazard to persons in the vicinity thereof.
Trees shall be kept pruned to prevent such conditions.
C.
Overhangings: loose and overhanging objects and accumulations
of ice and snow which, by reason of location above ground level, constitute
a danger of falling on persons in the vicinity thereof.
D.
Ground surface hazards or unsanitary conditions, holes,
broken or missing pavement, loose stone excavations, breaks, projections,
obstructions, ice, uncleared snow and excretions of pets and other
animals on paths, walks, driveways, parking lots and parking areas
and other parts of the premises which are accessible to and used by
the persons on the premises. All such holes and excavations shall
be filled and repaired, walks and steps shall be repaired and other
conditions shall be removed where necessary to eliminate hazards or
unsanitary conditions with reasonable dispatch upon discovery thereof.
It shall be the responsibility of owners and operators to take reasonable
steps to discover such hazards or unsanitary conditions which may
exist on their premises.
E.
Recurring accumulations of stormwater. Adequate runoff
drains shall be provided and maintained to eliminate any recurrent
or excessive accumulation of stormwater.
F.
Sources of infestation.
Premises shall be kept landscaped, and lawns,
hedges and bushes shall be kept trimmed and from becoming overgrown.
Plantings required by site plan approval shall be replaced whenever
the same have died.
All signs, pavement markings and printed matter
and pictures or illustrations contained thereon, permitted by reason
of other regulations or as a lawful nonconforming use, shall be maintained
in good repair.
In order to preserve property value and eliminate
safety hazards and protect adjacent properties and the neighborhood
from blighting influences, the exterior of every structure or accessory
structure, including fences, shall be maintained in good repair, and
all surfaces thereof shall be kept painted and whitewashed where necessary
for purposes of preservation and appearance, free of broken glass,
loose shingles, crumbling stone or brick or excessive peeling paint.
A.
Unsafe exterior facilities. Unsafe exterior facilities
include exterior porches, landings, balconies, stairs and fire escapes,
all of which shall be kept structurally sound and in good repair and
shall be provided with banisters or railings properly designed and
maintained.
B.
Signs and billboards. All permanent signs and billboards
exposed to public view permitted by the Land Development Ordinance
and regulated by the Building Code[1] or other regulations or as a lawful nonconforming use
shall be maintained in good repair. Any sign or billboard which has
weathered excessively or faded or the paint on which has excessively
peeled or cracked shall, with its supporting members, be removed forthwith
or put into a state of good repair. All nonoperative or broken electrical
signs shall be repaired or shall, with their supporting members, be
removed forthwith.
C.
Windows exposed to public view. All windows exposed
to public view shall be kept clean and free of marks and foreign substances
and be unbroken.
D.
Awnings or marquees. Any awning or marquee and its
accompanying structural members which extend over any street, sidewalk
or other portion of the premises shall be so maintained as not to
constitute a nuisance or safety hazard. In the event that any such
awning or marquee is not properly maintained in accordance with the
foregoing, it shall, together with its supporting members, be removed
forthwith. In the event that any such awning or marquee is made of
cloth, plastic or of similar materials, said materials, where exposed
to public view, shall be maintained in good condition and shall not
show evidence of excessive weathering, discoloration, ripping, tearing
or other deterioration. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize
any encroachment of any awning, marquee or its structural members
on streets, sidewalks or other parts of the public domain.
E.
Temporary scaffolding or equipment. No temporary scaffolding
or other temporary equipment used for construction, repair or maintenance
shall be permitted to remain in place beyond a period necessary to
reasonably complete the purpose for which such equipment was intended
to be used without permission of the Code Enforcement Officer.
F.
Store fronts. All store fronts shall be maintained
in good repair, and all surfaces thereof shall be kept painted when
necessary for purposes of preservation and appearance. In the event
that repairs to a portion of the store front are made, such repairs
shall be made with materials identical or compatible with the materials
used in the area not undergoing repair, to the end that the appearance
of the store front shall be uniform and attractive and shall not constitute
a blighting factor depreciating adjoining properties.
G.
Unoccupied buildings. All unoccupied buildings, including
those areas visible by the public from the public street or sidewalk,
must be maintained in broom-clean fashion and free from litter.
A.
Outside storage or display of merchandise or equipment
shall be forbidden. However, this section shall not apply to outside
storage of motor vehicles, trailers, campers, boats, horticulture
or agricultural products or equipment, utility sheds, outdoor furniture
or other similar merchandise held for retail sale. This section shall
apply but not be limited to storage of merchandise or equipment in
trailers, motor vehicles, shacks, sheds or other outside containers,
unless specifically approved by the Borough Planning Board or Board
of Adjustment.
B.
Waiver of this provision may be applied for by written
request to the Borough Council and granted based upon the size and
kind of merchandise or equipment, duration and location of the outside
storage and the purpose of this code.
Parking lots or areas, including the entrances and exits thereto, shall be kept in a good state of repair and maintained so as to comply with § 111-13 of this code. Signs indicating ownership and use restrictions shall be maintained in good repair, clearly visible to potential parkers. Striping, where appropriate, shall indicate spaces, direction of flow and entrances and exits and be maintained so as to assure visibility.
The owner, operator and occupant shall have
the duty and responsibility of removing refuse and garbage at least
twice per week, but if twice-weekly pickup is not sufficient to remove
all garbage that accumulates, more frequent removal shall be required.
Every day that the premises is open for business,
the occupant shall be responsible for removing litter from the sidewalk
or other pedestrian areas, if any, in front of the occupant's commercial
premises. The area shall be swept as often as necessary to maintain
it free of litter, spillage and other debris.
All parts of the premises under the control
of the occupant shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition, and
the occupant shall refrain from performing any acts which would render
other parts of the premises unclean or unsanitary or which would obstruct
the owner or operator from performing any duty required hereunder
or maintaining the premises in a clean and sanitary condition.
Every operator and occupant shall be responsible
for the elimination of infestation in and on the premises subject
to his control.
No person shall deposit any litter on the ground
in any commercial premises.
The owner and operator of every shopping area
shall be responsible for providing, maintaining and policing the following:
A.
Means of ingress and egress shall be clearly marked
by signs.
B.
Parking spaces shall be clearly marked by painted
lines.
C.
Arrows shall be painted at each end of a lane indicating
the appropriate direction for the flow of traffic.
D.
A trash basket with at least a twenty-gallon capacity
shall be provided for each 150 feet of store frontage in the shopping
area. These baskets shall be placed in the walking area or pedestrian
area and shall be provided with tight-fitting covers fitted with hinged
doors and shall not be allowed to overflow.
E.
Fire zones should be kept clear of all vehicular traffic
and parking, as designated by the Fire Prevention Official of the
Borough of Stanhope.
It shall be the duty of owners and operators,
where parking spaces and lanes are provided for their customers, to
see that all parking is done in conformity with the spaces provided
and that the flow of traffic conforms to the directional arrows painted
in the lanes between the parking spaces.
All buildings and premises subject to this code
are subject to inspection from time to time by the Code Enforcement
Officer, Health Officer, Police Department or other borough official
charged with the responsibility of enforcing regulations governing
any aspect or conduct of the activity housed in said premises. At
the time of such inspections, all parts of the premises must be available
and accessible for such inspections, and the owner, operator and occupant
are required to provide the necessary arrangements to facilitate such
inspections. Such inspections shall be made during open hours of the
business occupying the premises unless there is reason to believe
a violation exists of a character which is an immediate threat to
health or safety requiring inspection and abatement without delay.
Where the violation or condition existing on
the premises is of such a nature as to constitute an immediate threat
to life and limb unless abated without delay, the Police Department,
Code Enforcement Officer or Health Officer may order the owner, operator
or occupant to correct the violation or condition within the period
of time consistent with the hazard involved and with the measures
necessary to remove the hazard; and, upon the failure of the owner,
operator or occupant to correct said violation or condition, the Police
Department, Code Enforcement Officer or Health Officer shall abate
the same immediately thereafter.
Where abatement of any nuisance, as defined
herein, or correction of a defect on the premises or the maintenance
of the premises in a proper condition to conform to applicable ordinances
of the Borough of Stanhope or the laws of the State of New Jersey
requires expenditure of the Borough of Stanhope's money therefor,
the Police Department, Code Enforcement Officer or Health Officer
shall present a report of the work accomplished to the governing body,
along with a summary of the proceedings undertaken to secure compliance,
including notice served upon owners, operators, occupants or their
agents, as the case may be, by telephone, telegram, etc. The governing
body shall then approve the expenditures made and assess the same
against the premises, collectible as provided by law. A copy of the
resolution approving said expenses shall be certified by the Municipal
Clerk and filed with the Tax Collector, who shall be responsible for
collection thereof, and a copy of the report and resolution shall
be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner.
A.
Except as provided in § 111-28 hereof, where violations of this code or the regulations hereunder are found to exist, a written notice from the Code Enforcement Officer shall be served upon the person or persons responsible for the correction thereof.
B.
Notice shall be served personally or by certified
mail, addressed to the last known address of the person to be served.
In the case of an occupant, notice may be posted upon the main entrance
door of the building, and in the case of an owner who does not reside
within the corporate limits of the Borough of Stanhope, the last known
address shall be the address of the owner as shown in the office of
the Tax Collector.
C.
The notice shall specify the violation or violations
committed, what must be done to correct the same, a reasonable amount
of time, not to exceed 30 days, to abate the violation, the right
of the person served to request a hearing and that the notice shall
become an order of the Code Enforcement Officer in 10 days after service
unless a hearing is requested pursuant to these provisions.
D.
Within 10 days of the date of the service of a notice,
the notice shall constitute a final order unless any person affected
by the notice requests a hearing thereon by serving a written request
within the ten-day period in person or by certified mail on the Code
Enforcement Officer. Such request for a hearing shall set forth briefly
the reasons for which the request for a hearing is made and the factual
matters contained in the notice of violation for which the hearing
is requested. The Code Enforcement Officer, upon receipt of the request
for hearing, shall, within 30 days therefrom and upon five days' notice
to the parties so requesting, conduct a hearing.
E.
At the hearing provided hereunder, the Code Enforcement
Officer shall hear all parties, and determination shall be made within
10 days of the completion of the hearing. He shall then issue an order
incorporating the determinations and directions contained in the notice,
modifying the notice if he so deems necessary. The Code Enforcement
Officer may extend the time for correction of the violations where
he deems necessary.
F.
In the event that the violation is not abated, removed,
cured or otherwise fully remedied within the time period prescribed
in the initial notice or extended time period as permitted by the
Code Enforcement Officer, a summons shall then be issued against such
person or persons charged with the violation.
[Amended 6-30-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-8]
Any person violating any provision of this chapter
shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community
service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof. Each violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter and each day that such offense
shall continue shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.
