[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake 1-2-1990 by Ord. No. 89-16 (Ch. 164, Art. I, of the 1985 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 114.
Certificates, permits and licenses — See Ch. 131.
Uniform Construction Codes — See Ch. 140.
Fees — See Ch. 163.
This chapter shall apply to all persons, partnerships, corporations or other entities who shall undertake any services in the Borough of Woodcliff Lake for a fee, the purpose of which is to add or remove rooms, dormers or other structures, or to improve, modernize or affect the basic structural integrity of existing rooms, or to install swimming pools, tennis courts and paddle tennis courts or any improvements for which a building permit is required, provided that such work shall be accomplished upon any structure in the Borough of Woodcliff Lake, including the Municipal Building, where persons reside or will reside upon completion of the work and further provided that the persons or firm offering the service shall not be otherwise licensed by the State of New Jersey pursuant to the terms of law and regulations promulgated pursuant to statute by state agencies having control over such services.
Any person or firm to whom this chapter applies, as set forth in § 145-1 above, shall, prior to commencing any work or service in the Borough of Woodcliff Lake, make application to the Construction Code Official for a local contract or license, which shall include the completion of the required information form which shall be verified by the applicant under oath. The failure to obtain such license prior to commencement of work or services shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
All applications shall be submitted, in writing, upon the form provided by the Construction Code Official and shall contain the following information covering the period of the last 10 years:
A. 
The applicant's name, business name and business address and all names used, whether operating as a sole proprietor, partnership or corporation.
B. 
Whether the applicant is an individual, a partnership, a corporation or any other entity and, if any other entity, a full explanation and description thereof.
C. 
If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's residence address, date and place of birth and social security number.
D. 
If the applicant is a partnership, the full name, residence address, date and place of birth of each partner, and his social security number.
E. 
If the applicant is a corporation or other entity: in the case of a corporation, the full name, residence address, date and place of birth and Social Security number of each major officer and each stockholder, the name and address of the registered agent and the address of the principal office (The term "stockholder," as used herein, means and includes any person owning or having an interest, either legal or equitable, in 10% or more of the stock issued and outstanding of the applicant corporation.); in the case of another entity, the full name, residence address, date and place of birth of each person owning or having any interest, either legal or equitable, aggregating in value 10% or more of the total capital of said entity, the name and address of the registered agent, if any, and the address of the principal office.
F. 
Whether the applicant or any partners, officers or stockholders thereof have ever been convicted of a crime and, if so, the name of the person convicted, the date of arrest, the crime or charge involved and the disposition thereof. (The term "officers," as used herein, means and includes the President, Secretary and Treasurer of a corporate applicant.)
G. 
Whether the applicant or any partners, officers or stockholders thereof have filed for bankruptcy and, if so, the date of filing and whether discharged from bankruptcy.
H. 
The number of years the applicant has been in the construction business at its present business address and/or at any prior location, including the addresses of such prior locations, if any, and all individual, partnership and corporate names under which the applicant has operated and all corporate officers or major interest holders exceeding ten-percent interest in said corporation.
I. 
How much liability insurance is carried by the applicant, stating the amount of coverage and evidenced by a certificate of insurance, the name and address of the company that wrote the policy and the policy number.
J. 
A statement of the municipalities in which the applicant has been required to obtain a license to work and whether any license issued by a municipality has been revoked for any reason and, if so revoked, the reasons for revocation.
K. 
A statement of the amount of workmen's compensation insurance to be carried on this particular job as required by law, setting forth the name and address of the company that underwrites the policy, the policy number and the expiration date of the policy.
L. 
In detail the last five consecutive jobs undertaken by the applicant, setting forth name address and phone number of the party for whom the work has been done.
M. 
Any existing judgments or pending litigation taken against the applicant as a sole proprietor, partner or principal of any corporation.
A. 
The initial fee for a local contractor's license and thereafter renewals of such license shall be given upon payment of a fee as set forth in Chapter 163, Fees.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
Upon filing such application, the applicant shall pay to the Construction Code Official for such license or for the relicensing after renovation of a license previously issued to such applicant in accordance with the provisions of § 145-5.
C. 
The term of such license shall expire on December 31 of the calendar year in which such license was issued.
D. 
Such license shall be renewed by the Construction Code Official upon filing of a renewal statement, verified by affidavit to the effect that there has been no change in the facts as stated on the original application, and upon payment by the applicant to the Construction Code Official of an annual renewal fee as set forth in Chapter 163, Fees. Such renewal shall be for the calendar year in which such renewal occurs. Upon failure to renew any license on or before January 31 of the immediately succeeding calendar year, any subsequent license shall be and constitute a new or original license subject to the filing of a new application in accordance with the provisions of § 145-2 above and to the payment of the initial license fee specified in Chapter 163, Fees.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
The following shall constitute the grounds for which the Construction Code Official may revoke a license or deny the issuance of an initial license or the renewal thereof:
A. 
Failure to carry workers' compensation insurance or contractor's or manufacturer's liability insurance.
B. 
Failure to comply with construction standards required by state laws or regulations or local ordinance or codes after having been given 30 days' written notice to cure such noncompliance and after the contractor having failed to effect compliance without just cause, except when the Construction Code Official shall determine the people's safety or financial loss may be imminent.
C. 
Failure to comply with the lawful instructions of the Construction Code Official regarding:
(1) 
Site safety.
(2) 
Altering plans submitted for the obtaining of the building permit without first receiving the approval of the Construction Code Official.
(3) 
Failure to obtain a building permit where required.
(4) 
One owner/resident complaint against the contractor for unworkmanlike or unsafe services, which complaint has been personally verified by the Construction Code Official or his deputy.
D. 
Failure to give truthful answers to any application or form or to give misleading responses thereto or failure to give appropriate and factual responses to information required under § 145-3 of this chapter.
E. 
Failure to carry contractor's or manufacturer's liability insurance in the minimum amount of $300,000 and to file a copy thereof with the Construction Code Official.
F. 
Failure to correct a violation within 10 working days after receiving written notice thereof from the Construction Code Official.
In the event that the Construction Code Official has revoked or denied a license to an applicant or has refused to renew such license upon submission of the required fee, the aggrieved contractor may appeal such denial, in writing, to the Mayor and Council. Upon such appeal, the following steps shall be taken:
A. 
Upon receipt of the written appeal, the Borough Clerk shall set a date for the Mayor and Council to hear such appeal. This date may be adjourned for a reasonable time (not to exceed 20 days) at the requirement of the Mayor and Council or the contractor.
B. 
At the time, date and place set for the hearing, the Mayor and Council shall conduct an inquiry into the reasons for the denial by the Construction Code Official and shall hear the contractor as to why such denial was unreasonable or improper. At the hearing, the contractor shall be entitled to call witnesses and to be represented by counsel.
C. 
At the conclusion of the hearing, the contractor and the Construction Code Official shall be dismissed from the hearing room and the Mayor and Council shall immediately determine whether or not the denial of the license was proper under the circumstances and, if determined to be improper, the Council shall direct the Construction Code Official to issue the license. If the Council determines that the license denial was proper, it shall, in its discretion, take one of the following actions:
(1) 
Uphold the denial without further action.
(2) 
If circumstances warrant, issue the license conditioned upon the contractor's adherence to steps imposed by the Mayor and Council which are designed to reasonably ensure compliance by the contractor with this chapter.
(3) 
If circumstances warrant, direct the issuance of the license at such time as any deficiencies, which were the grounds for denial, have been cured by the contractor. The Council shall set forth the deficiencies in its ruling.
D. 
Within 10 business days of the hearing date, the Council shall notify the Construction Code Official and the contractor, in writing, of its determination and any conditions which have been placed upon the issuance of the license by the Mayor and Council.
In addition to the enforcement of this chapter, the Construction Code Official shall ensure the following:
A. 
That the information contained in the application for the local contractor's license is current and verifiable.
B. 
That the applications for the local contractor's licenses are public documents and made available for inspection and copying by any interested person.
Any person or firm which fails to obtain a local contractor's license when required to do so by this chapter shall, if any work is commenced on any project covered by this chapter, be subject to a penalty of a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.