[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Mount Holly 5-9-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-8. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Except as set forth herein, any term contained
in this chapter shall be defined in accordance with the definitions
contained in N.J.S.A. 55:13B-1 et seq., and the regulations promulgated
thereunder at N.J.A.C. 5:27-1.1 et seq.
The owner, operator, person or entity that files the application
for a license under this chapter.
The Township Council of the Township of Mount Holly.
Any person, including for the purposes of this chapter any
corporation or association of persons, and any agency or instrumentality
of state or local government, which operates or proposes to operate
a rooming or boarding house.
The holder of title in fee simple to premises, and any lessor
or sublessor who is or proposes to be an operator.
A dwelling having one kitchen and used for the purpose of
providing lodging, or both meals and lodging, for pay or compensation
of any kind, whether computed by day, week or month, to persons occupying
such dwellings, other than to members of the owner's family or
where one apartment is used by the owner or operator and the rest
of the building is used as a rooming or boardinghouse. A rooming or
boardinghouse licensed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 55:13B-1 et seq.
[Amended 6-13-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-18]
[Amended 6-13-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-18]
No rooming or boardinghouse shall hereafter be located or operated in the Township unless the owner and the operator have complied with the terms and conditions of this chapter, N.J.S.A. 55:13B-1 et seq., and the regulations promulgated thereunder at N.J.A.C. 5:27-1.1 et seq. and shall have previously been approved for that purpose. Nothing in this article shall permit the establishment of a new multifamily dwelling in any zone, except where permitted by Chapter 149, Article III, Zoning; or the conversion of a single-family dwelling to a multifamily dwelling in any zone nor the continuation of such nonconforming use in any zone.
A.
All owners and operators of lawful rooming and boarding
houses within the Township shall make application to the Township
Council for a license to permit operation of the rooming and boarding
house prior to beginning operation.
B.
The application shall be in a form and shall contain
such information and declarations as is prescribed by resolution of
the Township Council and shall be filed with the Township Clerk.
C.
The form of application required by the Township Council
shall require the submission of such information and supporting documentation
as necessary to form a basis upon which the Licensing Authority may
conduct the investigation and reach the conclusions required for licensing,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:52-9 et seq.
D.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner and operator
to provide all information required by the application, exercising
all due care and diligence to assure its completeness and accuracy.
The license application shall be duly sworn by the owner and operator
prior to presenting such application to the Township Clerk.
A.
The duly sworn application, together with a check
in the amount of $200, must be presented by the owner/operator to
the Township Clerk.
B.
In the event that the Licensing Authority denies the
application for a license, $20 of the application fee shall be returned
to the applicant within 30 days of denial. In the event that the license
is granted, the $200 application fee shall be retained by the Licensing
Authority to defray the expenses of the licensing proceeding.
C.
All applications by a natural person, partnership
or unincorporated association of natural persons shall be duly sworn
to by each of the applicants. An application by a corporation shall
be duly sworn to by the President or Vice President of the corporation.
All statements in an application shall be deemed material, and any
person who knowingly misstates any material fact therein shall be
guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
D.
Every applicant for a license, or renewal of a license, shall, after filing the application, cause notice of the pendency of the application to be published in the official newspaper selected by the Licensing Authority, once a week for two weeks successively in such newspaper, printed in the English language, published and circulated in Burlington County. The notice shall include the time, date and place of the public hearing prescribed in § 220-6 below. The second publication thereof shall be made not less than one week, nor more than two weeks, prior to the date set by the Licensing Authority for that hearing. In addition to the newspaper publication, the applicant shall serve on all property owners located within 200 feet of any portion of the real property upon which the licensed premises are located, or to be located, a written notice advising such property owners of the time, place and date of the public hearing prescribed in § 220-6. The notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for the public hearing. Verified proof of both the newspaper publications and the notice to property owners shall be filed with the Township Clerk prior to the time of the hearing.
The Licensing Authority may refuse to issue
a license unless the applicant has established to the satisfaction
of the Licensing Authority the following matters:
A.
With respect to the premises for which a license is
sought:
(1)
That they are in compliance with all applicable building,
housing, health and safety codes and regulations;
(2)
That the location of the premises, in conjunction
with the proximity of other rooming and boarding houses, will not
lead to an excessive concentration of such facilities in the Township,
or a particular section thereof;
B.
With respect to the owner or owners of the premises:
(1)
If a natural person or persons, that (s)he or they
are 21 years of age or older, citizens of the United States and residents
of the State of New Jersey, and never convicted, in this state or
elsewhere, of a crime involving moral turpitude, or of any crime under
any law of this state licensing or regulating a rooming or boarding
house, and have never had a license required pursuant to N.J.S.A.
55:13B-1 et seq. revoked;
(2)
If a corporation, that all officers and members of
the board of directors, and every stockholder holding 10% or more
of the stock of the corporation, directly or indirectly having a beneficial
interest therein, have the name qualifications as set forth in this
subsection for an applicant who is a natural person;
C.
With respect to the owner and proposed operator, that
they meet the requirements for licensing by the Department of Community
Affairs; and
D.
That the owner and operator, either individually or
jointly, have established sufficient guarantee of the financial and
other responsibility to insure appropriate relocation of the residents
of the rooming or boarding house to suitable facilities in the event
that the license is subsequently revoked or its renewal denied. The
Department of Community Affairs shall determine, in the case of each
type of rooming or boarding house under its jurisdiction, what constitutes
suitable facilities for this purpose. The guarantee required pursuant
to this subsection shall be determined based upon the number of roomers
or boarders that are permitted to occupy the premises.
In conducting its investigation pursuant to § 220-5 above, the Licensing Authority shall hold a public hearing at which the applicant, the operator or the proposed operator and all other parties in interest, including members of the general public, shall be entitled to be heard upon the merits of the application and the suitability of the premises for licensing. The time and place of the public hearing shall be determined within 30 days or receipt of the application and shall be communicated to the applicant in sufficient time to enable compliance with the publication and notice requirements set forth in § 220-4 above.
A.
No license shall be issued which would result in increasing
the total number of persons authorized to be residents in rooming
or boarding houses within the Township to more than 100, or to more
than 1/2 of 1% of the population of the Mount Holly Township, but
nothing in this subsection shall warrant refusal of a license or license
renewal for premises where a rooming or boarding house was in lawful
operation prior to the enactment of N.J.S.A. 40:52-9 et seq.
B.
No license shall be issued for premises when any part
of the boundary line of the premises is within 1,000 feet of the boundary
line of any other premises for which a license is in force, but nothing
in this subsection shall warrant refusal of a license or license renewal
for premises where a rooming or boarding house was in lawful operation
prior to the enactment of N.J.S.A. 40:52-9 et seq.
C.
Any license issued hereunder shall cover only the number of occupants
and that part of the premises described in the application therefor.
Any increase in rooming units or in the number of roomers to be accommodated
or of the part of the premises utilized as a rooming house, hotel
or nursing home or other structural changes affecting the date contained
in the application or change in the person or persons actually in
charge of operating or maintaining the premises shall require the
submission and filing of an amended application containing the additional
information as required by the Housing Officer.
[Added 6-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-18]
A.
After the public hearing, pursuant to § 220-6 above, the Licensing Authority shall determine, in accordance with the requirements under § 220-5 and, when appropriate, § 220-7 above, whether to grant the license. A license, when issued, shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance and until such time as the Licensing Authority has acted upon an application for renewal, unless sooner terminated by revocation pursuant to the terms of this chapter.
B.
Not later than the 60th day preceding the anniversary
date of issuance, the holder of a license shall make application to
the Licensing Authority for its renewal. Application for a renewal
shall follow the same procedure and requirements as prescribed for
a new application and shall necessitate de novo consideration and
determination by the Licensing Authority in the same manner as a new
application.
C.
The license issued hereunder shall be nontransferable, and no person
other than the licensee shall operate or be permitted by the owner
to operate the licensed premises.
[Added 6-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-18]
A.
The Licensing Authority may revoke a license for any
of the following reasons:
(1)
A finding that there was any misstatement of material
fact in the application upon which the license was issued.
(2)
The occurrence of any fact which, had it occurred
and been known to the Licensing Authority before issuance of the license,
would have resulted in the denial of the application.
(3)
Repeated violations or prolonged failure to correct
any violation of any applicable building, housing, health or safety
code or regulation.
(4)
Refusal to allow access to any portion of the licensed
premises at all reasonable times, with or without advance notice,
in order that officer or agents of the Licensing Authority, or any
official charged with enforcement within the Township, or any building,
housing, health or safety code or regulations applicable to the premises,
may determine compliance with such codes or regulations.
(5)
Revocation by the Department of Community Affairs
of the operator's license or other authorization to operate a rooming
or boarding house on the premises.
(6)
Notification by the Department of Community Affairs
that the premises are not, or are no longer, suitable for operation
of a rooming or boarding house on the premises.
(7)
Failure or refusal to comply with any lawful regulation
or order of the Licensing Authority.
B.
A license shall not be revoked until five days' prior
notice of the grounds thereof has been served upon the license, either
personally or by certified mail addressed to the license, at the licensed
premises, and a reasonable opportunity given to the licensee to be
heard thereon.
Upon determination by the Licensing Authority
to refuse the granting or renewal of a license, or to revoke a license,
the licensee affected shall be entitled to appeal to the Commissioner
of Community Affairs for a review of that determination; and the Commissioner
shall have authority to reverse the Licensing Authority's determination
if (s)he concludes that the application was improperly denied or the
revocation improperly imposed. Such review by the Commissioner shall
be in conformity with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure
Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq. The decision of the Commissioner in
such cases shall be subject to appeal to the Appellate Division of
the Superior Court. If an applicant for license renewal has made timely
and sufficient application for a renewal in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter and the rules pursuant thereto, his/her license shall
not expire until any appeals under this section have been finally
determined and disposed of.
