[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parking regulations — See Ch. 234.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 250.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 265.
Solid waste — See Ch. 310.
Towing — See Ch. 349.
Zoning — See Ch. 380.
[Adopted 10-3-1988 by Ord. No. 88-7 (Ch. 249, Art. I, of the 1985 Code)]
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this article:
ABANDONED OR JUNKED VEHICLE
A vehicle which is in such defective condition as to be unable to be moved under its own power or which does not show proper license plates and inspection certificate as required by the laws of New Jersey.
IMPOUNDED VEHICLE
A vehicle (as herein defined) taken into custody of law and stored by the municipality.
PERSONS
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PROPERTY
Any real property within the Borough which is not a street or highway.
STREET or HIGHWAY
The entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
VEHICLE
A machine, propelled by power other than human power, designed to travel along the ground by use of wheels, treads, runners or slides and transport persons or property or pull machinery and shall include, without limitation, automobile, truck, trailer, motorcycle, tractor, buggy and wagon.
It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon any vehicle within the Borough of Woodcliff Lake, and no person shall leave any vehicle on any street, highway or municipally owned property within the Borough for such time and under such circumstances as to cause such vehicle reasonably to appear to have been abandoned.
When a vehicle has been abandoned or impounded within the Borough of Woodcliff Lake and has been removed and stored at a place designated by the municipality for this purpose, the municipality shall be permitted to charge storage fees, as set forth in Chapter 163, Fees, in addition to any charges permitted by any other ordinance of the Borough:
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
In the event that an abandoned vehicle has been stored by the municipality after being removed by the municipality, the owner, should he or she present proper proof of ownership, may reclaim said vehicle upon payment of all storage fees or other costs ascertained to be due to the municipality.
B. 
In the event that the vehicle shall not have been reclaimed, the municipality may, after 30 days' notice to owner if such owner can be ascertained, sell such abandoned or junked vehicle as provided by law in the following manner:
(1) 
When the municipality shall have taken possession of a motor vehicle found abandoned, such taking of possession shall be reported immediately to the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, on a form prescribed by him, for verification of ownership.
(2) 
When such motor vehicle which has been ascertained not to be stolen and which can be certified for a junk title certificate under Section 3 of P.L. 1964, c. 81 (N.J.S.A. 39:10A-3) shall have remained unclaimed by the owner or other person having a legal right thereto for a period of 15 business days, even if at that time the owner has not been identified as a result of efforts to make identification by the public agency or the Division of Motor Vehicles, the same may be sold at auction in a public place. If the certified motor vehicle is sold at auction prior to identification of the owner, the municipality shall document the condition of the motor vehicle and notify the owner, if his name and address are identified after the sale, of the actions taken by the public agency to dispose of the motor vehicle.
(3) 
When a motor vehicle which cannot be certified for a junk title certificate under Section 3 of P.L. 1964, c. 81 (N.J.S.A. 39:10A-3) remains unclaimed by the owner or other person having a legal right thereto for a period of 20 business days, the motor vehicle may be sold at auction in a public place, but shall be sold not later than 90 business days after the public agency takes possession of the vehicle, except that a waiver of the ninety-day limit may be obtained for good cause from the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs.
(4) 
The public agency shall give notice of a sale conducted pursuant to Subsection B(2) or (3) of this section, by certified mail, to the owner, if his name and address be known, and to the holder of any security interest filed with the director, and by publication, in a form to be prescribed by the Director, by one insertion, at least five days before the date of the sale, in one or more newspapers published in this state and circulating in the municipality in which such motor vehicle is held.
Any person, firm or corporation being convicted of a violation of the provisions of this article, where applicable, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed the sum of $250 or to imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the Municipal Judge.
[Adopted 9-8-1992 as Ord. No. 92-4 (Ch. 249, Art. II, of the 1985 Code)]
This article shall be known as the "Junk Vehicle Ordinance of Woodcliff Lake."
Whereas a clean, wholesome, attractive environment is declared to be of importance to the health, safety and well-being of the inhabitants of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake; and whereas such environment is deemed essential to the economy and general welfare of its citizens; and whereas the unrestrained accumulation of motor vehicles not in operating order can be a hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake, therefore, it is deemed to be in the best interest of the citizens of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake and for the general welfare that the following regulation restraints are adopted pursuant to this article.
A. 
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Woodcliff Lake and its officers and agents; also public and private areas within the Borough.
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
The Chief of Police of the Borough, unless the Borough Council, by resolution, designates some other Borough official as enforcement officer or, by resolution, establishes the position of enforcement officer for the Borough and appoints some qualified person thereto at a salary specified in such resolution.
JUNK VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle, whether automobile, bus, truck, tractor, mobile home, motorcycle, motorbicycle, minibicycle or snowmobile or any other contraption abandoned, stored, left or located by its owner or any other person on public or private property in the Borough of Woodcliff Lake. The term "junk vehicle" shall expressly exclude vehicles granted historical registration or "Q Q" license plates.
(1) 
Any motor vehicle which is not registered for operation on the public highways and which has not been registered for the preceding 12 months or is in an unsafe condition as defined in N.J.S.A. 39:3-44 shall be defined as a junk vehicle.
(2) 
For the purposes of this article, a motor vehicle registered as a farm vehicle or which is operable and used by the owner on his own property for the transport of wood, snowplowing or similar uses shall not be considered a junk vehicle.
LEGAL OCCUPANT
Any person who, singularly or together with other persons, is in possession of real property pursuant to an agreement with the owner thereof. The term shall include tenants, contract vendees and licensees.
OPEN STORAGE
Storage other than in a completely enclosed structure, such as a garage constructed of wood, brick and metal.
OWNER
A person owning real property in the Borough. A parcel of real property owned by more than one person shall be considered as having each such person being an owner.
PARCEL OF PROPERTY
Real property appearing on the tax rolls of the Borough as one unit.
PERSON
Includes natural persons, corporations, copartnerships, unincorporated associates or any other organizations of one or more persons.
B. 
The term "shall" is always mandatory. Words used in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.
Open storage of one or more junk vehicles shall not be permitted on private or public property within the Borough, except as permitted by this article.
A. 
Any person wishing to store or locate a junk vehicle on a parcel of property must first obtain a no-fee permit from the Borough's enforcement officer allowing such storage.
B. 
That permit may be granted after an application has been made showing:
(1) 
The make, model and year of the vehicle.
(2) 
The name and address of the last registered owner and the last registration plate number as issued by the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles.
(3) 
The vehicle identification number.
(4) 
The nature of the applicant's ownership or title to such vehicle.
(5) 
The purpose(s) for which the junk vehicle(s) are being stored or located.
C. 
Issuance of permits.
(1) 
Purposes for which junk vehicles can be stored or located are as follows:
(a) 
Antique or classic car restoration for vehicles 25 or more years old. A permit will be issued on an annual basis, renewable for a year at a time.
(b) 
Restoration. A permit will be issued for a one-year period, renewable for an additional one-year period. The renewal shall be granted only if the junk vehicle has been substantially improved since the issuance of the original permit.
(c) 
Removal of parts or components. A permit will be issued for a sixty-day period, renewable for one sixty-day period only.
(2) 
Permits shall not be granted under this article for a motor vehicle junk business or a motor vehicle junkyard.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Any owner or occupant of a parcel of property in the Borough who shall abandon, store, locate, leave or allow or condone any other person to abandon, store, locate or leave a junk vehicle upon a parcel of property owned or occupied by him within said Borough contrary to the provisions hereof shall be guilty of a violation hereof. Any person, whether as owner or driver of a vehicle or an operator of a towing vehicle or carrier, who shall abandon, store, locate or leave a junk vehicle upon a parcel of property in the Borough of which he is not either the owner or legal occupant, without the written permission of the legal occupant, shall be guilty of a violation hereof.
A violation of this article shall be punishable by a fine of up to $100 for each violation and by imprisonment for up to 30 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. A violation of this article shall also subject the violator to a civil penalty of $100 for each violation, less any criminal monetary fine which may be imposed. Each junk vehicle abandoned, stored, left or located in violation of this article shall constitute a separate violation. Each week of continuous violation shall constitute a separate and distinct violation.
In addition to the penalties set forth above, the Borough may commence an action in its own name against any person in any civil court of competent jurisdiction to seek an injunction to enforce compliance with this article. Such an action for injunctive relief may be independent of or part of an action to collect the civil penalties as hereinabove provided.
In addition to any penalty or fine as provided in § 362-13 hereof or the remedy provided in § 362-14 hereof, any junk vehicle may be removed from the premises upon which it is located by the Borough in the manner hereinafter provided:
A. 
The enforcement officer, upon detecting a junk vehicle, shall serve written notice on the person owning the parcel of property on which the same is located, ordering such person to remove the same or cause the same to be removed therefrom within 30 days of the date of such service. Such notice shall contain a description of the parcel of property, a statement as to the location thereon of a junk vehicle and a reference to this article and to the fact that the location of such junk vehicle on such parcel of property is in violation of this article. If such parcel of property is owned by more than one person, personal service on any one of such owners shall suffice; however, as to any owner not personally served with such notice or if no owner can be located upon whom to make personal service, the enforcement officer shall mail such notice to the owners not personally served by registered mail to their or his last known address as shown on the latest completed assessment roll of the Borough. In addition, the enforcement officer shall post conspicuously a copy of such notice on the parcel or property upon which said junk vehicle is located.
B. 
At the expiration of 30 days after the service or mailing and posting of such notice, if such junk vehicle has not been removed, the Borough may cause such junk vehicle to be removed, and the cost of such removal shall be certified by the enforcement officer to the Collector of Taxes and shall thereupon become and be a lien upon the real property from which said junk vehicle was removed and shall be added to and form part of the taxes next to be assessed on said real property and shall be collected and enforced by the same office and in the same manner as taxes.
C. 
Any junk vehicle released to the Borough by its owner shall be disposed of at a public auction to the highest bidder, and the proceeds shall be added to the general fund of the Borough. Any junk vehicle released to the Borough by the owner or legal occupant of the parcel of property from which it is removed, who is not the owner of the junk vehicle, shall be disposed of by the procedure set forth in Subsections A and B hereof. In the event that the junk vehicle is released to the Borough by the owner or legal occupant of the parcel of property who is not the owner of the junk vehicle, there shall be no expense for the removal thereof chargeable to the person so releasing said junk vehicle.
The Borough's enforcement officer or his designee shall have and is hereby given the authority to go upon any parcel of real property in the Borough, public or private, exclusive of enclosed structures or buildings, at any time during daylight hours, to examine and inspect any vehicles or parts or components thereof to determine whether a violation of this article has been committed or to determine the condition of any vehicles or parts or components thereof. The officer shall notify the property owner, in writing, prior to the entering of such property.
Nothing herein contained shall be interpreted as amending or abrogating the effect or provisions of Chapter 380, Zoning, of the Code of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake, or any amendments to such chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).