[Adopted 10-27-1993 by Ord. No. 93-30 as
Ch. 84 of the 1993 Code]
The Township of Manalapan finds that certain
unsafe, unsanitary and unhealthy conditions tend to occur at various
commercial and industrial properties in the Township unless proper
maintenance procedures are followed. Since many persons are attracted
to and actually use the facilities at these commercial and industrial
properties, the public health, safety and welfare require the prevention
of unsafe, unsanitary and unhealthy conditions on any commercial and
industrial properties in the Township.
This article shall be known as the "Commercial
and Industrial Maintenance Code of the Township of Manalapan."
The purpose of this code is to protect health,
safety and welfare by establishing minimum standards governing the
exterior or maintenance of commercial and industrial premises; to
prescribe certain responsibilities and duties on owners and operators
and prescribe distinct and separate responsibilities and duties on
occupants; to authorize and establish procedures for the inspection
of commercial and industrial premises; to fix penalties for violations
of this code; and to provide for the right of access to permit repairs
when necessary. This code is declared to be remedial and essential
for the public interest, and it is intended that it be liberally construed
to effectuate the purpose stated herein.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
A lot or tract of land on which or on any part of which commercial
or industrial activity of any kind takes place. Such activity includes
all commercial and industrial uses permitted, conditionally permitted
or allowed as a preexisting nonconforming use in any zoning district
within the Township of Manalapan.[1]
To cover, mark, write on, paint, color or otherwise mar,
disfigure or draw whatsoever on any private or public property of
any nature, without the express consent of the owner.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-17]
The exterior facades or external portions of a building and
the open space of any premises outside of any building erected thereon
which are exposed to public view.
Any form of inscription, word, figure, marking or design
that is marked, etched, scratched, drawn down or painted on any building,
structure, fixture or other improvement, whether permanent or temporary,
on public or private real or personal property without the permission
of the owner.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-17]
The presence of insects, rodents, vermin or other pests on
the premises, in sufficient numbers to constitute a health hazard
in the opinion of the Township Health Officer.
Any common law nuisance, or as provided by the
laws of the State of New Jersey or ordinances of the Township.
Any attractive nuisance which may prove detrimental
to the health or safety of children, whether in a building or on a
lot. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: structurally
unsound fences or structures, lumber, trash, fences or debris.
Physical conditions dangerous to human life
or detrimental to the health of persons on or near the premises where
conditions exist.
Unsanitary conditions or anything unreasonably
offensive or dangerous to health or safety.
Whatever renders air, food and drink unwholesome
or detrimental to the health of human beings, or whatever creates
an unreasonable nuisance through odor or noise so as to deprive adjacent
owners of the quiet enjoyment of their property.
Fire hazards.
A person having actual possession of any commercial or industrial
premises or any part thereof.
A person who has charge, care or control of commercial or
industrial premises, or any part thereof, whether with or without
the consent of the owner.
A person who, alone or jointly with others, has legal or
equitable title to any commercial or industrial premises, with or
without accompanying actual possession, or who has charge, care or
control of any commercial or industrial premises as owner or agent
of the owner or as fiduciary, including but not limited to an executor,
executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee, receiver or guardian
of an 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 a commercial or industrial 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.
One or more building or parts thereof, designed as a unit,
to be occupied by one or more businesses for the conduct of businesses
primarily engaged in retail merchandising.
A.
Compliance with code.
(1)
This code establishes minimum standards for the initial
and continued occupancy and use of all commercial and industrial premises,
including those occupied and used before the adoption of this code,
and does not replace or modify standards otherwise established for
the construction, repair, alteration or use of the commercial or industrial
buildings or premises contained therein. Where there is mixed occupancy
with commercial or industrial and other uses on the same premises,
all such uses shall be regulated by and subject to the provisions
of this code.
(2)
Where the provisions of this code impose a higher
standard than is set forth in any other ordinances of the Township
or under the laws of the State of New Jersey, then the standards set
forth herein shall prevail, but, if the provisions of this code impose
a lower standard than other ordinances of the Township or laws of
the State of New Jersey, then the higher standard contained in such
ordinances or laws shall prevail.
B.
Responsibility of owners and occupants.
(1)
Owners and operators shall have all the duties and
responsibilities prescribed in this code, and no owner or operator
shall be relieved from any duty and responsibility or be entitled
to defend against any charge of violation by reason of the fact that
the occupant is also responsible and in violation thereof.
(2)
Occupants shall have such duties and responsibilities as are prescribed for them in § 176-6 of this code and shall not be relieved of any duty and responsibility or be entitled to defend against any charge of violation by reason of the fact that the owner or operator is also responsible and in violation thereof.
A.
Exterior to be kept free of all nuisances.[1] The exterior of premises and structures shall be kept
free of nuisances, unsanitary conditions and any other hazards to
the health or safety of occupants, pedestrians and other persons utilizing
the premises. Any nuisance, unsanitary condition or other hazard shall
be promptly removed and abated by the owner and/or operator to keep
the premises free of health hazards, including but not limited to
the following:
(1)
Refuse: broken glass, filth, garbage, trash, litter
and debris.
(2)
Natural growth in the vicinity of business: brush,
weeds, ragweed, stumps, roots and obnoxious growth; dead and dying
trees and limbs or other natural growth which, through rotting or
deteriorating conditions or storm damage, constitute a hazard to persons
in the vicinity. Trees shall be kept pruned and trimmed to prevent
such conditions.
(3)
Overhangings: loose and overhanging objects and accumulations
of ice and snow above ground level, which constitute a danger of falling
on persons in the vicinity of such conditions.
(4)
Ground surface hazards or unsanitary conditions: holes,
excavations, breaks, projections, obstructions or broken or missing
pavement. All holes and excavations shall be filled and repaired,
walks and steps repaired and other conditions removed where necessary
to eliminate hazards or unsanitary conditions. It shall be the responsibility
of owners and operators to take reasonable steps to discover and remove
any such hazards or unsanitary conditions which may exist on their
premises.
(5)
Recurring accumulations of stormwater: Adequate runoff
drains shall be provided and maintained to eliminate any recurrent
or excessive accumulation of stormwater.
(6)
Sources of infestation.
B.
Signs. All signs, pavement markings and printed matter
and pictures or illustrations contained thereon, permitted by reasons
or other regulations or as a lawful nonconforming use, shall be maintained
in good repair.
C.
Landscaping. Lawns, hedges and bushes shall be kept
trimmed and maintained from becoming overgrown.
D.
Premises to be kept in good repair. The exterior of
every structure or accessory structure, including fences and storefronts,
shall be maintained in good repair. All structural surfaces shall
be kept painted where necessary for preservation and appearance, free
of excessive peeling paint and maintained free of safety hazards,
such as broken windows, loose and falling shingles and crumbling and
falling stone or brick, further subject to the following regulations:
(1)
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.
(2)
Signs and billboards: All permanent signs and billboards
exposed to public view, permitted by ordinance 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.
(3)
Windows exposed to public view: All windows exposed
to public view shall be kept clean and free of marks, dirt and grime
and shall be unbroken. Except when necessary in the course of changing
displays, no storage of materials, stocks or inventory shall be permitted
in window display areas ordinarily exposed to public view unless such
areas are first screened from view by draperies, venetian blinds or
other means. All screening of interiors shall be maintained in a clean
and attractive manner and in a good state of repair.
(4)
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 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 an awning, marquee
or its accompanying structural members on streets, sidewalks or other
parts of the public domain.
(5)
Temporary scaffolding or equipment: No temporary painting
scaffold 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.
(6)
Storefronts: All storefronts shall be maintained in
good repair and all surfaces thereof shall be kept painted when necessary
for the purposes of preservation and appearance. In the event that
repairs to a portion of a storefront are made, such repairs shall
be performed with materials identical or compatible with the materials
used in the area not undergoing repair, to the end that the appearance
of the storefront shall be uniform and attractive.
(7)
Unoccupied buildings: All unoccupied buildings shall
be subject to the provisions hereof.
E.
Removal of garbage and refuse. The owner, operator
and occupant shall have the duty and responsibility of removing refuse
and garbage as often as required.
F.
Maintenance of sidewalks. 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.
G.
Premises to be maintained in a clean and sanitary
manner.
(1)
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 required duty in this code
for maintaining the premises in a clean and sanitary condition.
(2)
Each operator shall be responsible for the elimination
of infestation in and on the premises subject to his control.
(3)
No person shall deposit any litter on the ground in
any commercial or industrial premises.
H.
Access and parking areas.
(1)
The owner of any accessways and parking areas serving
commercial and industrial premises shall be responsible for keeping
the same free from congestion and open to emergency and service vehicles
by:
(a)
Keeping all accessways and parking areas free
from snow and ice.
(2)
For the purposes of this subsection, "continuous"
shall mean the presence on the same Tax Map lot for a period of 72
consecutive hours, and "regular" shall mean being observed at least
twice within a twenty-day period on the same Tax Map lot when, on
both occasions, such vehicle was either in a state of disassembly
or disrepair so that it could not be driven or when, on both occasions,
such vehicle did not display current license plates and inspection
sticker.
(3)
This subsection shall not apply with regard to a vehicle on the premises of a business enterprise operated in a lawful place and manner, which conforms to the requirements of Chapter 95, Development Regulations, regulating vehicle storage facilities or similar enactments.
(4)
Parking lots or parking areas, including the entrances
and exits thereto, shall be kept in a good state of repair. Signage
as to ownership and use restrictions shall be maintained so as to
assure visibility.
(5)
Means of ingress and egress shall be clearly marked
by signs.
(6)
Parking spaces shall be clearly indicated by painted
lines.
(7)
Lanes for the movement of traffic in each direction
shall be indicated by arrows indicating one-way traffic, which shall
be painted in these lanes at both ends.
(8)
A trash basket with at least a twenty-gallon capacity
shall be provided for each 150 feet of store frontage in any shopping
area. These baskets shall be placed in the walking or pedestrian area
and shall be provided with covers and shall not be allowed to overflow.
(9)
Fire zones shall be kept clear of all vehicular traffic
and parking, as designated by the Bureau of Fire Prevention.
I.
Graffiti.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-17]
(1)
No person shall damage, deface or vandalize any public
or private property by painting, writing, drawing or otherwise inscribing
in any fashion graffiti thereon without the express permission or
consent of the owner. No person shall aid anyone in defacing public
or private property.
(2)
The record owner of any building or structure which
has any form of graffiti on said building or structure shall be required
to remove said graffiti within 10 business days upon receiving notice
from the Township of Manalapan to remove said graffiti.
(3)
If said graffiti is not removed, the Township of Manalapan
shall have the right to issue a summons and to enter the premises
to remove the graffiti and/or repaint the premises, and the cost of
the removal of the graffiti and/or repainting shall be at the sole
cost and expense of the record owner of said building or structure.
The actual cost of the removal of the graffiti and/or repainting,
plus the cost of inspection of said graffiti and/or repainting and
other costs incidental to such removal, shall be certified by the
Business Administrator to the Township Committee and therefor shall
be entered as a lien upon the real property upon which the graffiti
was found to be placed and shall be added to and become a part of
the taxes to be assessed against and levied on the real property,
and the same shall be collected and reinforced in the same manner
as taxes.
(4)
The Township of Manalapan may enforce the payment
of such assessment, together with interest, as a debt of the owner
of the premises and may authorize the institution of an action at
law for the collection thereof in the Superior Court of New Jersey.
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 any other official charged
with the duty of enforcing regulations governing any aspect or conduct
of the activity on the premises. At the time of such inspection, all
portions of the premises must be available and accessible for such
inspection, and the owner, operator and occupant are required to provide
the necessary arrangements to facilitate such inspection. Such inspection
shall be made during regular business hours of the business occupying
said premises unless there is reason to believe that 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 Code Enforcement
Officer, Health Officer or Police Department 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 operator, owner or occupant to correct said condition, the Police
Department, Code Enforcement Officer or Health Officer shall cause
said condition to be immediately abated, thereafter subject to N.J.S.A.
40:48-2.12f.
A.
Except as otherwise provided § 176-8 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 on 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, the last known
address shall be the address of the owner as shown in the records
of 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 period
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 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 his final determination shall
be made within 10 days from the completion of the hearing. He shall
then issue an order incorporating the determinations and directions
contained in the notice, modifying said 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.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this article or any order promulgated hereunder shall, upon conviction,
be punished by a fine not to exceed $500 or by imprisonment in the
county jail for a period not to exceed 90 days, or by both such fine
and imprisonment, and each violation of any of the provisions of this
article and each day that such violation shall continue shall be deemed
to be a separate and distinct offense.
