[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of North Arlington as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-6-1965 by Ord. No. 875; amended
in its entirety 4-4-1978 by Ord. No. 1135 (Ch. 68 of the 1984 Code)]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to establish, carry on, conduct or operate merry-go-rounds
or other types of mobile mechanical rides on public streets or on
any vacant land in the Borough of North Arlington without first having
made application and received permission to do so in accordance with
the provisions hereinafter set forth.
A.
The applicant for such permission shall file an application,
in writing, with the Borough Clerk of the Borough of North Arlington,
setting forth the name and address of the applicant and, if the applicant
is a corporation, the names and addresses of its officers; whether
or not the applicant, or if the applicant is a corporation its officers,
has ever been arrested or convicted of a crime or a violation of a
town ordinance; a detailed description of the proposed merry-go-rounds
or other rides; and the name and address of the liability insurance
company, with a minimum coverage of $300,000/$1,000,000. The Borough
shall be shown as an additional insured on the policy.
B.
Said application must be accompanied by a permit fee
of $50, which fee is hereby imposed for revenue and regulation.
Upon receipt of such application, the Borough
Clerk shall forward the application to the Chief of Police who shall
cause an investigation to be made of the applicant and the proposed
merry-go-rounds or other rides and shall thereupon return the application
to the Mayor and Council stating his/her findings and recommendations.
If the application is approved by the Mayor and Council, the Borough
Clerk shall issue the permit.
All permits issued pursuant to this article
shall be valid for a period of one month from the date of issue, unless
sooner revoked, and shall not be transferable without the consent
of the Mayor and Council.
Every merry-go-round or other ride permitted
by this article shall operate only between the hours of 11:00 a.m.
and 11:00 p.m. every day, unless specified otherwise in the permit.
The Mayor and Council shall have the power to
revoke any such permit, for cause, after notice to the applicant and
an opportunity to be heard.
[Adopted 4-17-1984 by Ord. No. 1292 (Ch.
66 of the 1984 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Administrator of the Borough of North Arlington.
Clerk of the Borough of North Arlington.
Construction Official of the Borough of North Arlington.
Any music vending machine, contrivance or device which, upon
the insertion of a coin, slug, token, plate, disc, or key into any
slot, crevice or other opening, by the payment of any price, operates
or may be operated for the emission of songs, music or similar amusement.
Any machine, whether operated mechanically, electrically
or by other means, or regardless of whether or not it registers scores
or tallies, which upon the insertion of a coin, slug, token, plate,
disc or key may be operated by the general public as a game, or for
entertainment or amusement. Examples of "mechanical amusement devices"
include marble machines, pinball machines, bagatelle, skill ball,
mechanical grab machines, video games and computerized games. The
preceding list is intended to be illustrative only, and the term "mechanical
amusement device" shall include all games, machines or devices similar
thereto under whatever name they may be indicated.
The gross floor area of the licensee's premises less deductions
for counter space areas, storage areas, shelving areas, aisle areas,
rest rooms, areas of ingress and egress, office space and other areas
which are not intended or held out for public use. The Construction
Official shall determine the net floor area in each prospective licensed
premises.
Any person in whose place of business any jukebox or mechanical
amusement device is displayed for public patronage or is placed or
kept for operation by the public.
Any individual, association, partnership or corporation.
No person shall operate, maintain or use any mechanical amusement device or jukebox, as defined in § 87-8 herein, in any public or quasi-public place or in any building, store or other place to which the public is invited or the public may enter, unless said machine has been licensed as provided herein.
A.
The application for a license to operate, maintain
or use any mechanical amusement device or jukebox shall be filed in
quadruplicate on a form furnished by the Borough Clerk, which form
shall indicate the following:
(1)
The name, date and place of birth, home address and
business address, if any, and the home and business telephone numbers
of the applicant, and, if the applicant is a partnership, firm, association,
corporation or other business entity, the same information shall be
supplied for each of the stockholders, officers and directors of the
corporation or the partners, members or principals, except that if
the corporation has on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission
a registration statement in connection with the listing of any class
of its stock on any stock exchange or the sale thereof to the general
public, it shall apply such information for each of its officers and
directors and each of the owners of 5% or more of any class of its
stock.
(2)
The name and address of the registered agent of the
applicant or person upon whom service of process is authorized to
be made.
(3)
The name, date and place of birth, home address and
home telephone number of the manager or other agent of the applicant
who shall be in charge of or conduct the business of the applicant
within the Borough of North Arlington.
(4)
With respect to each person whose name is listed on
the license application, whether or not said person has ever been
convicted of a crime in any jurisdiction or a violation of any Borough
ordinance involving gambling or an offense which under the laws of
New Jersey is denominated a first, second, third or fourth degree
offense involving moral turpitude with a full disclosure of the offense,
time and place of commission, legal proceedings in connection therewith
and punishment. When any person whose name is listed on the license
application under any section hereof because of the ownership of stock
did not himself or herself furnish the consideration for which the
stock was purchased or issued, the same information required above
as to such conviction for any such offense shall be disclosed with
respect to the person actually furnishing such consideration.
(5)
With respect to any person whose name is listed on
the license application under any section hereof because of the ownership
of stock of any class, there shall be filed with the application an
affidavit of the owner of the said stock setting forth the name and
address of the person or persons who actually furnished the considerations
for which the stock was purchased or issued, and stating that the
affiant has read the license application and that the information
contained therein is complete, accurate and truthful to the best of
his/her knowledge and belief.
(6)
The number, location, type, manufacturer and serial
number of the mechanical amusement device or jukebox to be operated,
maintained or used under the license applied for.
(7)
The terms, conditions and arrangements under which
the applicant is to operate, maintain or use the mechanical amusement
device or jukebox within the Borough of North Arlington.
(8)
The application shall contain a certification, under
oath, made by the applicant that the information contained in the
application and all attachments thereto are complete, accurate and
truthful to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.
(9)
The applicant shall provide any such information as
the Borough Clerk or Mayor and Council of the Borough of North Arlington
shall deem necessary or proper.
B.
The Borough Clerk shall be satisfied that the applications
and all attachments thereto are complete and accurate.
A.
A license for the operation, maintenance or use of
such machine shall be issued by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of North Arlington and in the name of the operator of the business
where the machine will be located. Said license shall be issued for
one year or any portion thereof, commencing January 1 of the year
of issuance. License issuance shall be subject to the following inspections
and approvals, which inspections and approval reports shall be submitted
in writing to the Borough Clerk:
(1)
By the Construction Official or his/her designee,
to determine if the proposed operation of any machine and the premises
where the operation shall take place shall comply with municipal zoning
and Building Code requirements[1] and the provisions of this article.
(3)
By the Chief of Police or the Chief's designee, who
shall immediately institute whatever investigation of the applicant's
business responsibility, moral character and ability to properly conduct
the licensed activity considered necessary for the protection of the
public. The Chief shall communicate the findings in writing to the
Borough Clerk within a reasonable time after the application has been
filed. If the investigator decides that the applicant's character,
ability or business responsibility is unsatisfactory or the products,
services or activity are not free from fraud, the application shall
be disapproved.
B.
Upon receipt of an application to operate a machine
and the inspection and approval reports, the Borough Clerk shall promptly
submit said application and accompanying materials with said reports
to the Mayor and Council of the Borough of North Arlington, who, in
accordance with the standards set forth herein, may grant or refuse
the license. The Mayor and Council shall be satisfied that those persons
whose names are required to be disclosed on the license application
are all persons capable of owning, controlling and conducting the
proposed business of distribution or operation of mechanical amusement
devices within the Borough of North Arlington in a manner consistent
with the public safety, good morals and general welfare of the community;
that all those persons whose names are required to be disclosed on
the license application can reasonably be expected to own, control
or operate the proposed business in accordance with all applicable
laws, ordinances, rules and regulations and free from any gambling,
immoral or illegal conduct or activity.
A.
An operator's license, when issued, shall designate
the number of mechanical amusement devices or jukeboxes operated thereunder.
B.
Each such license shall bear a number and the number
of the license shall be placed in some permanent way upon each mechanical
amusement device or jukebox operated under this article.
C.
All license fees shall be payable to the Borough of
North Arlington with the filing of the application, and all licenses
shall expire on December 31 next succeeding the date of issuance.
D.
Each operator's license shall be posted permanently
and conspicuously in the licensed premises.
A.
A license may be transferred from one machine to another
by giving notice to the Borough Clerk to that effect and giving a
description of the new machine.
B.
A license may be transferred from one place to another
by giving notice to the Borough Clerk to that effect and supplying
the required information as to the new premises.
No more than six mechanical amusement devices
shall be licensed or permitted to be distributed or operated or maintained
in one place of business of at one location.
A.
Where the principal business in a location is the
operation of a mechanical amusement device, no other place of business
where the principal business is the operation of a mechanical amusement
device shall be located in any premises within 200 feet of the other
place of business. The distance shall be measured from the nearest
entrance of the premises on which the mechanical amusement device
is located to the nearest entrance of the premises on which the mechanical
amusement device is sought to be located along the route that a pedestrian
would normally walk.
B.
No mechanical amusement device shall be located in
any premises within 200 feet of a church or other religious institution
or a public or private school. The distance shall be measured from
the nearest entrance of the church or school to the nearest entrance
of the premises on which the mechanical amusement device is located
or is sought to be located along the route that a pedestrian would
normally walk.
A.
No establishment containing mechanical amusement devices
shall permit them to be operated between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and
7:00 a.m.
B.
No operator shall knowingly permit any person convicted
of a crime involving moral turpitude to be associated with him/her
in the ownership or management of the business or to be in his/her
employ or to loiter on the premises.
C.
No operator shall offer or permit to be offered any
prizes or awards, whether in cash or otherwise, as an inducement to
use mechanical amusement devices except for trophies or plaques or
items of a similar nature of nominal value.
D.
No operator shall permit any minor under the age of
16 years to operate any mechanical amusement device between the hours
of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on days that public schools in North Arlington
are in regular session.
E.
No operator shall permit any minor under the age of
16 years unaccompanied by a parent or guardian to remain on the premises
after 10:00 p.m.
F.
No operator shall permit any activity which is illegal
or immoral or which creates an undue amount of noise or a danger of
a breach of the peace to occur on the premises.
G.
No mechanical amusement device or jukebox required
to be licensed under this article shall be so placed in any premises
as to interfere with or obstruct any entrance or exit as to create
a fire or safety hazard.
Any time after issuance of said license, the
Mayor and Council of the Borough of North Arlington, in the reasonable
exercise of its discretion, may revoke the same if it finds:
A.
Gambling on the premises.
B.
False or incorrect material on the application or
information furnished by the applicant.
C.
A failure to maintain good and safe conduct on the
premises.
D.
The presence of the machines results in gambling,
obscene or loud language disturbing to the public or to other patrons
of the premises, creation of a nuisance, excessive noise, litter,
traffic or rowdyism by the patron.
E.
A violation of the laws of the State of New Jersey
or this or other ordinance of the Borough of North Arlington.
Any of the following inspections shall be made
with respect to the operation of any mechanical amusement device or
jukebox as may be necessary during the term of the license:
A.
Any person aggrieved by any action of the Borough
Clerk, Construction Official, Fire Chief or Chief of Police in the
suspension of a license shall have the right of appeal to the Mayor
and Council.
B.
Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Borough
Clerk, within 20 days after notice of said decision has been made,
a written statement setting forth fully the grounds of the appeal,
along with a fee of $25. The Borough Clerk shall set a time and place
of hearing for the appeal, at which time the Mayor and Council of
the Borough of North Arlington shall conduct a hearing and affirm,
modify or reverse the decision appealed from.
Any person violating any provisions of this article or failing to comply therewith shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article I, General Penalty, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation or failure to comply occurs or continues.