[HISTORY: Adopted by the Bloomfield Board
of Health 12-1-1976 as Ch. 6 of the 1976 Revised Ordinances; amended in its entirety 11-4-2003 (Ch. 292 of
the 1987 Code). Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:
Any structure, whether public or private, whether vacant
or occupied, that is adapted to or used for dwelling occupancy; for
the transaction of business; for the rendering of professional services,
amusement; the display, or sale or storage of goods, wares, merchandise,
articles or equipment; for the performance of work or labor; for office
buildings, public buildings, stores, theaters, markets, restaurants,
warehouses, houses of worship, garages; or structures where domestic
or other animals or fowl are kept; for sheds, outbuildings, or other
structures or premises used as accessory to any such use.
The actual owner of the buildings, whether individual, partnership
or corporation, or the agent of the building or other person having
custody of the buildings or to whom the rent is paid.
The elimination or extermination of rodents/vermin within
buildings by any or all of accepted measures, such as poisoning, fumigation
or trapping, so that the buildings are completely freed of rodents
and there is no evidence of rodent infestation.
Any condition which provides shelter or protection for rodents/vermin,
thus favoring their multiplying and continued existence.
One which is so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary,
unsafe, vermin-infested or so located that it creates a serious hazard
to the health or safety of the occupants and/or lacks illumination,
ventilation, is structurally unstable, constitutes a fire hazard,
lacks exit and sanitation facilities adequate to protect the health
or safety of the occupants or of the public.
Includes rodents, and other objectionable little animals
or insects such as larvae, flies, bedbugs, roaches, fleas, lice and
mites.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
A.
Whenever it shall be decided by the Health Officer
that any building or part thereof occupied as a residence or business
is unfit for human habitation by reason of its unsanitary condition,
the Director or their designee shall cause a notice of such decision,
together with the reasons therefor, to be served in the following
manner:
B.
The notice shall state that the building or a designated
part thereof shall be vacated within the time as is specified in the
notice and/or the violations shall be abated within the time as is
specified in the notice.
No owner or lessee of any building or any part
thereof shall lease or let or hire out the same or any portion thereof
to be occupied by any person or allow the same to be occupied as a
place in which or for anyone to dwell or lodge, except when such building
or such part thereof is sufficiently lighted and ventilated and is
in all respects in that condition of cleanliness and wholesomeness
required by this Code, any ordinance of the Township or any law of
this state or in which they require such premises to be kept.
No person shall occupy or let to another for
occupancy any basement space within a dwelling or dwelling unit, for
the purpose of living therein, which does not comply with the following
requirements:
A.
The floor level of rooms used for sleeping is less
than 3 1/2 feet below the average grade of ground adjacent to
and within 15 feet of the exterior walls of such rooms. The floors
and walls must be impervious to leakage of underground and surface
runoff water and insulated against dampness, and provided that the
windows thereof are at least 15 feet from the nearest building or
wall.
B.
The total of window area in each room is equal to
at least the minimum of not less than 8% of the floor area.
C.
Such required minimum window area is located entirely
above the grade of the ground adjoining such window area.
D.
The total of openable window area in each room is
equal to at least the minimum of 4% of the floor area being ventilated,
except where there is supplied some other device affording adequate
ventilation and approved by the public officer.
No owner, agent, lessee or keeper of any tenement
house, lodging or boardinghouse or dwelling shall cause so great a
number of persons to dwell, be or sleep in any such house or any portion
thereof as to provide less than the minimum standards of the Housing
Code of the Township[1] in regard to occupancy and air space.
A.
Every house, apartment, building or dwelling and every
yard, court, passage, area and alley connected therewith or belonging
thereto shall be kept clean.
B.
The owner, agent, lessee and occupant of any tenement
house, apartment, house, building or dwelling or part thereof shall
maintain the interior and exterior premises free of garbage, filth,
decaying organic matter, organic waste, stagnant water, vermin or
any condition that may become a detriment or menace to the health
of the inhabitants of this municipality.
C.
The use of any paint or any pigmented liquid substance
applied to surfaces by brush, roller or spray or other means in which
the total nonvolatile ingredients contain more than 0.5% of lead by
weight or 5,000 parts per million (PPM) by atomic absorption analysis
or one milligram per square centimeter on the interior or exterior
surfaces of any dwelling or dwelling unit is prohibited.
D.
When it is determined that lead-based paint or any pigmented liquid substance in excess of the standards set forth in Subsection C exists, the Health Officer or their authorized agent may order the removal or abatement of such hazard. Such removal or abatement must be conducted in such a manner as not to constitute a threat to the health or safety of residents, occupants or workers and shall be conducted by properly trained workers under the direction of qualified supervisors and utilize currently acceptable industry standards and work practices.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
E.
Unconfined power sanding or abrasive blasting of the
surface coating of any building is prohibited. Sanding or blasting
requires the use of a dust-catching cover equipped with a high-efficiency
particulate air (HEPA) vacuum. For all methods of paint or surface-coating
removal, adequate measures including ground cover must be taken to
contain dust and chips.
A.
Every house, apartment, building, business or dwelling
shall be provided with a safe supply of potable water meeting the
standards as set forth in Potable Water Standards as published by
the New Jersey State Department of Health and shall be provided with
a supply of hot water with a minimum temperature of 120° F.
B.
The minimum rate of flow of hot or cold water issuing
from a faucet shall be not less than two gallons per minute.
In each dwelling, a minimum of one toilet and
one sink in good and serviceable condition or as otherwise prescribed
by the Uniform Construction Code shall be provided for each family
living separately. Every premises occupied as commercial, business
or industrial shall be provided with a minimum of one toilet and one
sink in good and serviceable condition or as otherwise prescribed
by the Uniform Construction Code.
The owner, lessor or agent of any building or
part thereof used in any degree for occupation by human beings, whether
for business or dwelling purposes, shall keep the roofs, gutters and
sidewalls of such building so that same shall not leak.
No chimney, smoke pipe, smokestack, flue or
any part thereof or any connection therewith shall be or remain defective
or out of repair as to allow any noxious fumes or odors to escape
into said building.
A.
It shall be unlawful to demolish, raze, or renovate
a building, dwelling or structure vacated or otherwise in the Township
unless provisions are made for rodent and vermin eradication or proof
that such infestation does not exist. Proof of such must be submitted
to the Department of Health 14 days prior to the commencement of renovation,
demolition, razing or moving and once every 30 days thereafter until
the completion of such renovation, demolition, razing or moving. The
owner, agent or individual(s) responsible for the demolition, razing,
moving or renovation of a building, dwelling or structure shall ensure
that the building, dwelling or structure subject to demolition, razing,
or moving or renovation shall remain free of rats, rodents or other
vermin for the duration of the demolition, razing, or moving process
by hiring a commercial pesticide applicator licensed by the State
of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 3-16-2023 by Ord. No. BOH 01-2023]
B.
For the duration of the demolition, renovating, razing
or moving process the owner thereof or person responsible for such
demolition shall provide for a method of containing migrant dusts
at the site by hydrating at intervals reasonably necessary to contain
the spread of migrant dusts on the construction site.
A.
The Health Officer or their designee shall be permitted
to examine and inspect any building, dwelling or structure as often
as they deem necessary before, during or after demolition, renovating,
razing or moving occurs to ensure compliance with this chapter.
B.
No person shall obstruct or hinder or cause to obstruct
or hinder the Health Officer or their designee from examining and
inspecting all areas and adjacent areas of sites before, during or
after demolition, renovating, razing or moving occurs to ensure compliance
with this chapter.
C.
The Health Officer or their designee may cause an
order stopping the demolition, renovating, razing or moving of any
building, dwelling or structure if, in their judgment, a public health
nuisance is occurring or may occur.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate
any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished
by a fine not exceeding $500, and each violation of the provisions
of this chapter and each day the same is violated shall be deemed
and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
B.
In any case where a provision of this chapter is found
to be in conflict with the provision of any zoning, building, fire,
safety or health ordinance or code of the Township, the provision
which establishes the higher standard for the promotion and protection
of the health and safety of the people shall prevail.
C.
In any case where a provision of this chapter is found
to be in conflict with a provision of any other ordinance or code
of the Township which establishes a lower standard for the promotion
and protection of health and safety of the people, the provisions
of this chapter shall be deemed to prevail, and such other ordinance
or codes are hereby declared to be repealed to the extent that they
may be found in conflict with this chapter.
D.
Any person, firm or corporation who rents, leases
or causes to be rented, leased or otherwise occupied any dwelling
unit in violation of any provision of this chapter or any other chapters
of the Code of the Township of Bloomfield which results in the displacement
of tenants, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:4-4.1 et seq., shall be responsible
for all relocation costs as set forth in N.J.S.A. 20:4-1 et seq.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
