[Adopted 12-30-1974 by Ord. No. 250 as
Art. I of Ch. 34 of the 1974 Code of the Township of Lopatcong]
This Article is enacted under the authority
granted by N.J.S.A. 33:1-1 to 33:1-96, also known as Chapter 436 of
the Laws of 1933, as supplemented and amended. The purposes of this
Article are to render effective provisions of the Act cited, the rules
and regulations issued by the Director of the Division of Alcoholic
Beverage Control of the State of New Jersey and other applicable laws
of the State of New Jersey and the United States of America.
For the purposes of this Article, words and
phrases herein shall have the same meanings as they have in N.J.S.A.
33:1-1 to 33:1-96 and the rules and regulations of the Director of
the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The Township Council is designated as the authority
which shall issue all licenses and otherwise administer the provisions
of this Article.
All applications for licenses shall be filed
with the Township Clerk in the form prescribed by the Director of
the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The application shall
be addressed to the Township Council and shall be accompanied by evidence
of payment of the federal tax stamp.
Proof of publication of a notice of an application
for a license or renewal or transfer of a license shall be in the
form prescribed by state rules and regulations and shall be filed
with the Township Clerk immediately after the second publication of
the notice.
All applications for licenses shall be referred
by the Township Clerk to the Chief of Police, who shall investigate
the character and fitness of the applicant and the premises proposed
for license and report his recommendations to the Township Council.
All licenses, except those issued by the State
Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control under N.J.S.A.
33:1-20, shall be granted by the Township Council, signed by the Mayor
and attested to by the Township Clerk.
The number of licenses permitted for each class
of license shall be determined according to the procedure established
by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, based on current population
figures for the Township of Lopatcong.
All licenses shall be for a term of one (1)
year from the first day of July in each year, and all fees shall be
paid in advance, upon presentation of the application. Any licensee
who voluntarily surrenders his license and who has not committed any
violation of this Article or any state law or rule or regulation and
who has paid all taxes and other charges that are due to the State
of New Jersey or to the Township of Lopatcong shall be entitled to
fifty percent (50%) of the prorated fee for the unexpired term.
B.
[1]Annual fees for plenary retail consumption and plenary
retail distribution licenses shall be as follows:
|
Annual Fee
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Year
(Beginning July 1)
|
Retail
Consumption
|
Retail
Distribution
|
|
1991
|
$1,200.00
|
$1,200.00
|
|
1992
|
1,400.00
|
1,400.00
|
|
1993
|
1,600.00
|
1,600.00
|
|
1994
|
1,800.00
|
1,800.00
|
|
1995 and thereafter
|
2,000.00
|
2,000.00
|
C.
The annual fee for a club license shall be one hundred
fifty dollars ($150.).
A.
Restrictions. No plenary retail consumption license
or plenary retail distribution license shall be issued, or a place-to-place
transfer of an existing license granted, for the sale of alcoholic
beverages upon premises which are within seven hundred fifty (750)
feet of any existing premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages
under another plenary retail consumption or plenary retail distribution
license, the distance being measured from the nearest entrance of
the nearest licensed premises to the nearest entrance of the premises
sought to be licensed in the normal way that a pedestrian would properly
walk, as provided in N.J.S.A. 33:1-76.
B.
Exceptions. Subsection A shall not apply in the following cases:
(1)
The renewal or person-to-person transfer of any plenary
retail consumption license or plenary retail distribution license
which is in existence at the time of the adoption of this Article.
(2)
The transfer of a license to another place within five hundred (500) feet, measured in the manner provided in Subsection A, of the premises for which the license was granted, where the licensee has been forced to vacate the licensed premises for any reason not under his control which could not have been foreseen when the license was granted. Once a transfer is granted under this subsection, future transfers of the same license shall be only to a place within five hundred (500) feet of the premises initially licensed and vacated. Place-to-place transfers under the provisions of this subsection are not a matter of right but shall be granted only in the discretion of the Township Council.[1]
(3)
A licensee who has been permitted to relocate within seven hundred fifty (750) feet of another licensed premises in accordance with Subsection B(2) shall have the same right to expand or enlarge the premises covered by his license as he would had he remained at the premises initially licensed and vacated.
A.
No alcoholic beverage shall be sold, served, delivered
or consumed on any licensed premises between the hours of 3:00 a.m.
and 10:00 a.m. on Sundays and between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 7:00
a.m. on other days.
[Amended 10-20-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-33]
B.
Exceptions. On December 31, licensed premises may remain open and sell or offer to sell alcoholic beverages until the hour of 4:00 a.m. on January 1, the succeeding day. At no other time and upon no other occasion may licensed premises remain open during the closing hours specified in Subsection A of this section.
C.
Closing of premises. During the hours that sales are
prohibited by this section, the entire licensed premises shall be
closed. This provision shall not apply to any premises licensed under
a club license or to any licensed premises where a restaurant is conducted.
The foregoing places may remain open during the prohibited hours in
order to carry on normal business activities, except the sale of alcoholic
beverages. If the premises remains open, however, the bar and any
other place upon the licensed premises from which the sale or service
of alcoholic beverages is made shall be closed.
Sales of alcoholic beverages shall be permitted
on election days during the same hours the licensed premises would
normally be open.
A.
Presence in licensed premises restricted.
B.
All licensee operating premises where alcoholic beverages
are sold or served for consumption on the premises shall have permanently
displayed within clear view of each entrance to the room in which
alcoholic beverages are served, a sign with letters large enough to
be easily read by anyone entering the premises, stating "No minors
permitted in barroom unaccompanied by parent or guardian. Maximum
penalty one thousand dollars ($1,000.), imprisonment for a term not
exceeding ninety (90) days or a period of community service not exceeding
ninety (90) days, or any combination thereof."[1]
A.
Sales to certain persons prohibited. No licensee or
employee of a licensee shall sell, serve or deliver, directly or indirectly,
any alcoholic beverages to any mentally defective, habitual drunkard,
intoxicated person or minor, nor permit the consumption of alcoholic
beverages on any licensed premises by any of the above-named classes
of persons or permit any such persons to congregate in or about the
licensed premises.
B.
No sales of alcoholic beverages for consumption on
the licensed premises shall be made on credit; however, this shall
not be construed to preclude the extension of credit to holders of
credit cards, such as American Express, Bank of America and those
of like nature and character. This subsection shall not apply to persons
holding a club license.
C.
Outside view of premises required. All licensed premises
other than those for which club licenses are issued shall be so located
that a normal-sized adult can, on inspection from the exterior, view
the interior of the premises.
A.
Enforcement authority. This Article shall be enforced
by the Police Department of the Township of Lopatcong. This subsection
shall not be construed as affecting the enforcement powers of the
New Jersey State Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
B.
Revocation of license. Any license issued under this
Article may be suspended or revoked for violation of any of the provisions
of this Article or any provision of any applicable statute or any
of the rules and regulations of the State Director of Alcoholic Beverage
Control. Proceedings for suspension or revocation shall be in accordance
with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 33:1-1 to 33:1-96, by service of a
five-day notice of charges preferred against the licensee and affording
a reasonable opportunity for hearing. Any suspension or revocation
shall carry the penalties and prohibitions provided in the statutes
referred to. Suspension or revocation of a license shall be in addition
to any other penalty which may be imposed for a violation of this
Article.
Any violation of this Article shall, upon conviction,
be punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.),
imprisonment for a term not exceeding ninety (90) days or a period
of community service not exceeding ninety (90) days, or any combination
thereof.
