[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Hanover 6-22-1989 by Ord. No. 19-89. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
On and after the effective date of this chapter,
no person, firm or corporation or paid employee thereof shall keep
or maintain for hire or profit, by commission or otherwise, directly
or indirectly, any amusement devices in any public or quasi-public
place where the public is invited or may enter in the Township of
Hanover unless said amusement devices comply with the following requirements:
For purposes of administering this chapter,
the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any machine, contrivance or device which, upon the insertion
of a coin, token, plate, disc or key into a slot, crevice or other
opening, or by the payment of any price, is operated or may be operated
by the public generally for use as a game, entertainment or amusement,
whether or not registering a score, and shall include, without limitation,
such devices as marble machines, skill ball, pinball, mechanical games
or contrivances commonly known as "baseball," "hockey," "basketball,"
"football," "target shooting" or "bowling" or any similarly named
device or any device which utilizes an electronic display to reproduce
symbolic figures and lines intended to be representative of real games
or activities.
Prior to the issuance of any license for an
automatic amusement device(s), it shall be the responsibility of the
Township's Detective Bureau to make an inspection of the business
location and certify to the Township Clerk the number of automatic
amusement devices to be licensed and located on the premises noted
in the application. In addition, it shall also be the responsibility
of the Detective Bureau to conduct periodic on-site inspections of
each premise issued a license to make certain that said premises have
not increased the number of amusement devices above that number which
have been licensed by the Township. Any license for an amusement device(s)
issued in accordance with provisions of this chapter shall be subject
to revocation for the placement, operation or maintenance of any additional
amusement devices above those permitted under the license issued by
the Township Clerk.
The proprietor of the premises where the automatic
amusement device is to be installed shall, before the installation
of any machine, make written application to the Township Clerk, on
a form prescribed by the Township Clerk for a license for each automatic
amusement device to be so installed in the premises. Such application
shall state:
A.
The name, residence address and social security number
of the proprietor and the business location where the automatic amusement
device is to be installed.
B.
The number and type of automatic amusement devices
to be kept.
C.
The name and address of the persons, firm or corporation
owning the automatic amusement devices.
D.
The serial numbers and descriptions of the automatic
amusement devices to be licensed.
[Amended 7-11-1991 by Ord. No. 16-91]
The application shall be accompanied by a license fee, as provided in Chapter 125, Fees, of the Code of the Township of Hanover, for each coin-operated amusement device to be licensed. Licenses shall expire on December 31 of each year and shall be renewed during the month of December each year by filing a written application for renewal with the Township Clerk. The application shall contain the statement required by this chapter. The fee for any license issued for an automatic amusement device installed in any establishment in any calendar year after July 1 shall be 1/2 of the license fee for that year. There shall also be a late penalty assessed as provided in Chapter 125, Fees, of the Code of the Township of Hanover.
The license issued for each automatic amusement
device shall contain the serial number and description of the automatic
amusement device, and the license shall be firmly attached in a conspicuous
place on the automatic amusement device so that the license shall
be easily and quickly readable and the automatic amusement device
identified, and no such device shall be placed, operated, maintained
or used in the premises unless and until this is done.
It shall be unlawful to place, operate or maintain
any automatic amusement device within the Township of Hanover that
in any way violates any provision of the Township Land Use Ordinance[1] or this chapter.
A.
In the event that any licensee shall be convicted
of any offense under the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice,[1] or any offense under the New Jersey Controlled Dangerous
Substances Act,[2] the license of such person shall be forthwith canceled,
and any automatic amusement device shall not be thereafter kept, operated,
maintained or used in the licensed premises, and each automatic amusement
device shall be forthwith removed from the premises.
B.
If any such automatic amusement device is so kept,
operated, maintained or used in the licensed premises after the license
is canceled under this section, it shall be deemed to be in violation
of this chapter.
C.
The word "person," as used in this section, shall,
in the case of a corporate applicant or licensee, refer to and include
any officer or director of such corporation.
A.
No license shall be issued under this chapter to any
person who has made in his application any misstatement or misrepresentation,
and, in the event that any license has been issued under any false
application, the license shall be immediately canceled, and the automatic
amusement device shall not be thereafter kept, operated, maintained
or used in the premises, and the automatic amusement device(s) shall
be forthwith removed from the premises.
B.
If any such automatic device is so kept, operated,
maintained or used in the licensed premises after the license is canceled
under this section, it shall be deemed to be in violation of this
chapter.
No licensee shall offer any prize or other reward
to any person playing any such automatic amusement device, nor shall
any licensee permit any said automatic amusement device to be used
for gambling purposes, and no prizes or return of any money, except
in the case of a device malfunction, shall be allowed.
Any person convicted of violating any of the
provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of not more
than $1,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding
90 days, or both.
No license shall be granted for any automatic
amusement device which shall be in the nature of a gambling device
or machine or for any automatic amusement device which states thereon
that there is any prize or the return of any money, or no such automatic
amusement device shall be placed, operated, maintained or used in
the premises.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Township
Clerk with the assistance of the Police Department, Construction Code
Official and Zoning Officer.
