[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Jefferson 6-4-1973
by Ord. No. 15-73 (Ch. 64 of the 1967 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter shall be to require the clear display of
house numbers from public streets, for all properties that contain principal
buildings within the Township of Jefferson, in order to assist the general
public or the authorities in identifying any property in case of an emergency,
as well as for the welfare of the general public in conducting their normal
affairs, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:67-1 et seq.
All dwelling houses, stores or other buildings erected within the Township
of Jefferson shall display numbers in conformity with the street numbers on
the Tax Maps of the Township of Jefferson as they appear on file in the office
of the Tax Assessor of the Township of Jefferson.
Said street numbers shall be assigned, placed on the Tax Maps and allotted
to the owners of said lands by the Tax Assessor of the Township or such other
person as may be designated from time to time by resolution of the Township
Council. When assignment of a number takes place, said numbers shall be placed
upon the Official Map of the Township of Jefferson, and, thereafter, all persons
shall take due notice thereof and shall comply with the provisions of this
chapter. Said Tax Assessor or such other person as may be designated shall
also have the power and duty of correcting any errors with respect to assignment
of said street numbers, if and when they are discovered.
Every owner or occupant of said lands shall apply to the Tax Assessor,
who shall furnish them with the correct street number assigned thereto.
The Tax Assessor shall be responsible for assigning proper number sequences
to each lot which is created as the result of a subdivision or resubdivision.
Said number shall be in proper municipal sequence in relation to the number
assigned to other lots fronting on the same street and shall be properly recorded
on the Tax Map of the Township.
In order to comply with this chapter, house numbers shall be Arabic
in design, shall have a minimum height of three inches and shall be mounted
in a secure fashion to the building's front wall, or to a porch or other fixed
appurtenance in front of the building, in the general vicinity of the main
entryway or main path of travel which leads to the main entrance from a public
street, or otherwise separately mounted in an approved manner upon the face
of a wall or upon a post in the front yard of the premises. Auxiliary numbers
shall be mounted at a height between four feet and 10 feet upon the adjacent
grade or exterior landing beneath, but never higher than 15 feet above the
adjoining grade. They shall be sufficiently legible as to contrasting background,
arrangement, spacing, size and uniformity of integers so that the numbers
may be read with ease during daylight hours by a person possessing at least
20/40 vision if he views the numbers from the center line of the facing street.
The numbers shall be so placed that trees, shrubs and other obstructions do
not block the line of sight of the numbers from the center of the street to
any appreciable degree.
The absence of house numbers, or the insecure fastening or absence of
any integers thereof, or the use of any number not assigned by the Tax Assessor,
or the attempt to comply by using the numbers on or attached to a mailbox,
or the failure of a number to meet the elevation requirement or the visibility
requirements, shall be considered a violation of this chapter. Failure on
the part of the property owner to comply with the provisions of this chapter
within a period of 15 days from the date of issuance of a notice of violation
shall be sufficient cause for the Tax Assessor or his designated representative
to proceed with carrying out the provisions of this chapter, and upon conviction
thereof the person shall be fined not more than $100 at the discretion of
the Municipal Court Judge.
The final authority for determining and assigning the number or numbers to be used upon any particular property, as well as the enforcement of this chapter, shall be in the office of the Tax Assessor of the Township of Jefferson, his agent or employee, or such other person as provided for in § 330-3 of this chapter.
