[HISTORY: Derived from Section 10-1 of the 1972 Revised General Ordinances, as amended through 10-1-1998; amended in its entirety 7-18-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-14. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Regional Construction Department — See Ch. 30, Art. III.
Land use procedures — See Ch. 33.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 94.
Flood damage prevention — See Ch. 96.
Housing — See Ch. 104.
Site plan and general development plan review — See Ch. 147.
A. 
No person shall erect or construct or proceed with the erection or construction of any building or structure nor add to, enlarge or alter any building or structure or cause the same to be done without first obtaining a building permit in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code Act and the Regulations.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 5:23.
B. 
Any person desiring a building permit shall file with the Uniform Construction Code enforcing agency a written application on a form to be furnished for that purpose.
Where an applicant desires to construct a driveway alone from the street to a building or structure existing on a parcel of land, the applicant shall submit a sketch showing the location and nature of materials for the driveway from the street to the structure and showing the manner of intersecting the driveway with the street. This plan shall be submitted in duplicate and shall be approved by the Building Inspector or other official designated by the Township and shall be processed as set forth herein.
A. 
The applicant shall furnish the approximate cost of the construction to be done on the building to the building official upon filing application and the building official shall make the valuation of the cost.
B. 
Each application shall be accompanied by the permit fee required in accordance with the plans and specifications.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 88, Fees.
C. 
Waiver of fees. Notwithstanding any other provision of the chapter to the contrary, the Township Council may, upon request, grant waiver of up to 50% of local permit fees for nonprofit organizations where it is deemed to be in the best interest of the Township of Hardyston; provided, however, that said waiver shall not include state fees or any review fee escrow deposits. The Township Council may, upon request, grant waiver of up to 100% of local permit fees and escrow deposits for the Hardyston Township Fire Department and the Hardyston Township First Aid Squad. Waivers shall be expressed in a formal resolution of the Township Council adopted by two-thirds of the full membership thereof.
[Added 6-19-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-06]
Prior to the issuance of a building permit for any single-family dwelling, the applicant for the permit shall submit to the Building Inspector for his or her approval two copies of a detailed site plan at a scale of one inch equals 30 feet, sheet size 8 1/2 inches by 14 inches, prepared by a licensed professional engineer or licensed land surveyor, showing the existing and proposed contour lines at two-foot intervals of the plot on which the dwelling is to be constructed, final elevations in accordance with an assumed datum proposed for the corners of the plot, corner and floor levels of the structure to be erected thereon. A bench mark shall be shown on the plan. In addition, the detailed site plan shall show swales, brooks, streams, springs, retaining walls, terraces, sidewalks, slopes, major rock formations, existing easements, building line setback and elevation at the curb, where existing, and, if no curb, elevation at existing opposite lot corners and center line of driveway where building is to be located, and all provisions for the proper drainage thereof shall be shown on the plan. No site plan is required to show an area of land in excess of one acre nor to show any area of land more than 100 feet from any exterior wall of any main building shown on the site plan, if the applicant shall own more than one acre.
All site plans shall be reviewed by the Township Engineer within five days of filing date, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. He or she shall determine whether or not adequate provision has been made by way of proper grading to prevent wet basements, muddy yards, eroding banks and other conditions injurious to the block and lot for which application for the building permit is made; and whether or not further adequate provisions have been made considering the relationship of the lot in question with other adjoining properties, for the surface drainage away from the dwelling and lot in question on a sound neighborhood development basis and without adverse effect upon adjoining properties or public streets. Upon making such determination, the Township Engineer shall forward to the Building Inspector the site plan with his or her findings. No permit shall be issued unless the report of the Township Engineer is favorable.
If, after excavation of the property shown on the site plan, subsurface conditions, by way of rock shelf, underground streams or other natural obstacles, shall prevent the location of the dwelling as shown on the site plan, and the applicant shall deem it an emergency and shall find it necessary to move the location of the dwelling to a place other than shown on the site plan, then the applicant shall communicate with the Township Engineer and request an emergency approval for such relocation which shall be acted upon by the Township Engineer within 72 hours, excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays, of the receipt of such notice by the Township Engineer.
An application shall be submitted to the Township Engineer, prior to the issuance of any certificate of occupancy for any dwelling shown on the submitted site plan, for approval of such after completion of the items shown on the proposed site plan. In the event that the Township Engineer shall find that the premises, as completed by the applicant, shall not have been in substantial compliance with the site plan submitted showing the aforementioned items to be completed, such report shall be forwarded to the Building Inspector, and a copy to the applicant, and no certificate of occupancy shall be issued until substantial compliance with the work on the site, in accordance with the site plan submitted at the time of application for the building permit, shall have been made.
A site plan shall not be required in connection with any building permit that shall be issued when the applicant is adding less than 500 square feet of new construction to an existing dwelling, or does not require the extension, construction or addition of foundation or footing, or where the permit is issued or applied for repairs to an existing dwelling.
All data shown on maps of major subdivisions approved subsequent to the date of the existing land subdivision chapter of the Township may be used in compilation of any site plan for any plot shown on such map.
A. 
The carrying on of excavation, demolition, outdoor construction, repair or alteration in conjunction with any project approved by the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment or any license issued by the Township Council shall be limited to the following hours unless alternate hours are approved by the Township Council to address a special situation:
[Amended 4-25-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-05]
(1) 
Monday through Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
(2) 
Saturdays, state and federal holidays: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
B. 
Excavation, demolition, outdoor construction, repair or alteration deemed by the Hardyston Township Construction Official as necessary to protect public health and safety shall be exempt from the above restrictions.
Any building constructed or altered in violation of this chapter shall be corrected within a period of 30 days following notice by the building official, notwithstanding any penalty for a violation which has been paid.
No person, whether owner or otherwise, shall be permitted to occupy any new construction for which a building permit was obtained until final completion, except portions not used for habitation such as garages, breezeways and accessory buildings, and issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the building official, and except under certain conditions where the building has been substantially completed and all requirements of the Board of Health have been complied with, the building official may issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for a period not longer than 45 days during which time the building shall be completed in accordance with this section.
A. 
Purpose. A certificate of continued occupancy shall be required upon the change of ownership or occupancy of any building or portion thereof in the Township of Hardyston. The construction official shall visually inspect and determine whether or not any potentially hazardous conditions exist, or any outstanding violations of the Uniform Construction Code or ordinances of the Township.
B. 
Application. The owner, purchaser, tenant or the occupier of any premises shall, prior to commencing occupancy, apply to the Township construction official for the issuance of a certificate of continued occupancy at least 21 calendar days prior to the anticipated date of occupancy upon forms obtained from the Building Department.
C. 
Inspections. The construction official and, if necessary, one or more subcode officials, shall make a physical inspection of the premises to determine whether or not the dwellings or other structures meet all current requirements of the Uniform Construction Code and all other regulations governing building requirements established by the Department of Community Affairs.
D. 
Issuance. Upon satisfactory completion of inspections a certificate of continued occupancy may be issued upon receipt of the proper fee as set forth in this chapter and issuance of a current zoning permit covering the premises in question, in accordance with § 185-85 of this Code.
E. 
Exemptions. The construction official may waive all inspection requirements whenever the transfer of title or occupancy is between immediate members of a family, including but not limited to husband and wife, or where the premises are purchased specifically for the building thereon to be demolished and a demolition permit has been applied for.
F. 
Smoke detectors. No certificate of occupancy or certificate of continued occupancy shall be issued for any structure unless smoke detectors are installed in such structure. The standard for installation shall be in accordance with MFPB 74, Installation of household fire warning equipment, as amended; however, existing one-family and two-family dwellings may utilize approved battery-operated smoke detectors.
The fire limits of the Township are hereby established as follows:
A. 
B-1 Retail Business and B-2 Commercial/Industrial as shown on the Zoning Map; also, 400 feet on either side of Route 23, Route 94, Route 515, Route 517 and Wheatsworth Road.
B. 
The following exception is made to the restrictions of the code within fire limits: farm buildings of an active farm.