It is hereby determined and declared that the abandonment or
storage out of doors of any motor vehicle not currently in use for
transportation and not currently licensed or registered, on any public
streets or on any private lands within the Borough of Rutherford,
is contrary and inimical to the public welfare in that such vehicles
so abandoned or stored attract or may attract persons of tender years
who, being so attracted, may play in and about them and be injured
in so doing, and in that such vehicles so abandoned or stored out
of doors, exposed to the elements, deteriorate and in themselves are
unsightly and, deteriorating, become more unsightly and are detrimental
to and depreciate the value of properties in the neighborhood where
they are located and in the Borough as a whole.
No person shall place, keep or store any junk automobile or
junk automobile body, as heretofore defined in this chapter, on any
public or private property within the Borough of Rutherford, unless
same is in an enclosed garage, barn or other building.
Whenever any vehicle impounded by the Police Department shall
remain unclaimed by the owner or person entitled thereto for a period
of 90 days, or if the cost of removal, storage, fine and/or court
costs remain unpaid, the Chief of Police may cause the vehicle to
be sold or disposed of, as provided by N.J.S.A. 39:10A-1 et seq. The
address of the owner as shown on the records of the State Division
of Motor Vehicles shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose of this
chapter.
Whenever a violation of this chapter occurs on Borough property
or any public roads or rights-of-way within the Borough of Rutherford,
enforcement of this chapter shall be exclusively by the Rutherford
Police Department, in accordance with the following standards:
A. If a vehicle constitutes or may constitute a traffic hazard to the
public, it may be removed by a licensed towing operator to the place
of business of the tow operator until the owner shall come to claim
it.
B. If a vehicle is parked on public property due to it becoming mechanically
disabled during operation, the owner/operator shall be afforded a
reasonable opportunity to arrange for its removal by a towing service
of the owner's choice, provided the owner timely alerts the Rutherford
Police Department when the vehicle becomes inoperable, and the same
is not creating a hazard.
C. The owner or person entitled to possession of any vehicle removed
from public property shall be responsible for all reasonable costs
of removal and storage in conjunction with recovering possession of
the vehicle.
D. Enforcement as set forth in this section with respect to violations
on public property shall be in addition to the authority of the Police
Department to issue summonses for any applicable violations of the
motor vehicle laws of the State of New Jersey.
Whenever a violation of this chapter occurs on private property
within the Borough of Rutherford, enforcement of this chapter shall
be by the Zoning Officer and/or the Construction Code Official.
A continuance of a violation or a noncompliance with the provisions
of this chapter shall be deemed a nuisance, and the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Rutherford shall have the right to apply to the
courts of this state for injunctive relief or other relief, in addition
to the penalties imposed herein.
This chapter shall not be deemed to limit any other remedy or
enforcement of remedy provided by state statute or local ordinance.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of
this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional
by a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate, distinct, and independent provision, and such holding
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions hereof.