Township of Shamong, NJ General Provisions

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Shamong as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Adoption of Code

[Adopted 10-7-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-6]

§ 1-1 Adoption of Code.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-4, the ordinances of the Township of Shamong of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Shamong, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters and sections by General Code Publishers Corp., and consisting of Chapters 1 through 159, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the "Code of the Township of Shamong," hereinafter known and referred to as the "Code."

§ 1-2 Code supersedes prior ordinances.

This ordinance and the Code shall supersede all other general and permanent ordinances enacted prior to the enactment of this Code, except such ordinances as are hereinafter expressly saved from repeal or continued in force.

§ 1-3 When effective.

This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage and publication according to law.

§ 1-4 Copy of Code on file.

A copy of the Code in loose-leaf form has been filed in the office of the Township Clerk and shall remain there for use and examination by the public until final action is taken on this ordinance; and, if this ordinance shall be adopted, such copy shall be certified to by the Clerk of the Township of Shamong by impressing thereon the Seal of the Township, as provided by law, and such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of the Clerk of the Township, to be made available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is in effect.

§ 1-5 Amendments to Code.

Any and all additions, amendments or supplements to the Code, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the intent of the governing body to make them a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the "Code of the Township of Shamong" shall be understood and intended to include such additions and amendments. Whenever such additions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the loose-leaf book containing said Code as amendments and supplements thereto.

§ 1-6 Publication; filing.

The Clerk of the Township of Shamong, pursuant to law, shall cause this Adopting Ordinance to be published, in the manner required, in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Sufficient copies of the Code shall be maintained in the office of the Clerk for inspection by the public at all times during regular office hours. The enactment and publication of this Adopting Ordinance, coupled with availability of copies of the Code for inspection by the public, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.

§ 1-7 Code book to be kept up-to-date.

It shall be the duty of the Clerk or someone authorized and directed by the Clerk to keep up-to-date the certified copy of the book containing the Code required to be filed in his or her office for the use of the public. All changes in said Code and all ordinances adopted subsequent to the effective date of this codification which shall be adopted specifically as part of the Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such changes or new ordinances are printed as supplements to said Code book, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.

§ 1-8 Sale of Code book.

Copies of the Code, or any chapter or portion of it, may be purchased from the Clerk, or an authorized agent of the Clerk, upon the payment of a fee to be set by the Township Committee. The Clerk may also arrange for procedures for the periodic supplementation of the Code.

§ 1-9 Altering or tampering with Code; penalties for violation.

[Amended 5-6-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-005]

It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of the Code or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the Township of Shamong to be misrepresented thereby. Any person, firm, corporation, association or legal party whatsoever who or which shall violate, or authorize or procure a violation, or cause to be violated, any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty, § 1-15, governing general penalty provisions.

§ 1-10 Severability of Code provisions.

Each section of the Code and every part of each section is an independent section or part of a section, and the holding of any section or a part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.

§ 1-11 Severability of ordinance provisions.

Each section of this ordinance is an independent section, and the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.

§ 1-12 Repealer.

All ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted and in force on the date of the adoption of this ordinance and not contained in the Code are hereby repealed as of the effective date of this Adopting Ordinance, except as hereinafter provided.

§ 1-13 Ordinances saved from repeal.

The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-12 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:

Any ordinance adopted subsequent to September 3, 2002.

Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative provision prior to the effective date of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability.

Any offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.

Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment rendered, prior to the effective date of this ordinance, brought pursuant to any legislative provision.

Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred.

Any ordinance providing for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing of grade, changing of name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, park or other public place or any portion thereof.

Any ordinance or resolution appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond or other instruments or evidence of the Township's indebtedness.

Ordinances authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or any lawful contract, agreement or obligation.

The levy or imposition of taxes, assessments or charges or the approval of the municipal budget.

The dedication of property or approval of preliminary or final subdivision plats.

All currently effective ordinances pertaining to the rate and manner of payment of salaries and compensation of officers and employees.

Any ordinance adopting or amending the Zoning Map.

Any ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for municipal employees.

§ 1-14 Changes in previously adopted ordinances.

In compiling and preparing the ordinances for adoption and revision as part of the Code pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-4, certain grammatical changes and other minor changes were made in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention of the Township Committee that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such.

Chapter 159, Vehicles and Traffic, is derived from various traffic ordinances adopted by the Township Committee since 1965. These ordinances have been grouped by subject (parking, speed limits, etc.) and duplicative provisions of the original ordinances have been eliminated for purposes of including the regulations in a schedule format.

Article II General Penalty

[Adopted 5-6-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-005]

§ 1-15 General penalty provisions.

Whenever any ordinance, rule, regulation, or order promulgated by any officer, agency, or governing body of the Township, acting under duly vested authority, shall prohibit or declare to be unlawful any act or omission, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of such provision shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000, which, upon a guilty plea, may be paid through the Violations Bureau of the Municipal Court, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or by a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Where the penalty for any particular offense is limited by state statute, such limitation shall be applicable and shall supersede the provisions of this article to the extent of any inconsistency therewith.

Any ordinance, rule, regulation, or order promulgated by any officer, agency, or governing body of the Township, acting under duly vested authority, which heretofore carried a fine not exceeding the amount of $1,000 as penalty for its violation, is hereby amended to carry a fine not exceeding the amount of $2,000.

Any person who is convicted of violating an ordinance within one year of the date of a previous violation of the same ordinance and who was fined for the previous violation, shall be sentenced by a court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed by the court upon a person for a repeated offense shall not be less than the minimum, if one exists, or exceed the maximum fine fixed for a violation of the same ordinance, but shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the violation of the ordinance.

Any person convicted of the violation of any ordinance may, in the discretion of the court by which he or she was convicted, and in default of the payment of any fine imposed therefor, be imprisoned in the county jail or place of detention provided by the Township, for any term not exceeding 90 days, or be required to perform community service for a period not exceeding 90 days.

Any person, upon conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction for the violation of an ordinance pertaining to unlawful solid waste disposal, shall be fined an amount not exceeding $2,500 for each and every offense to a maximum penalty by a fine not exceeding $10,000.

Before filing or imposing a fine greater than $1,250 for a violation of the housing or zoning codes enacted by the Township as may be amended from time to time, the Township shall provide a thirty-day period in which the owner shall be afforded the opportunity to cure or abate the condition and shall also be afforded an opportunity for a hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction for an independent determination concerning the violation. Subsequent to the expiration of the thirty-day period, a fine greater than $1,250 may be imposed if a court has not determined otherwise or, upon re-inspection of the property, it is determined that the abatement has not been substantially completed.