Township of Montville, NJ Chapter 265 Open Excavations

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Montville by Ord. No. 1308 as Ch. 8.40 of the 1998 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

General penalty — See Ch. 1, Art. III.

Blasting — See Ch. 103.

Property maintenance — See Ch. 287.

Soil movement — See Ch. 308.

§ 265-1 Open excavations, holes and wells as public nuisances.

Any open, unattended, unguarded or abandoned hole, excavation, well, cistern or cesspool on private property within the Township of Montville which is dangerous to the health, safety and welfare of any person may be declared to be a public nuisance.

§ 265-2 Complaint; inspection of property; notice to owner.

Whenever a condition as described in § 265-1 of this chapter is complained of on any plot of land, lot, right-of-way or other private premises or place by any resident or property owner of Montville Township, and the Township Engineer, acting upon inspection of the premises, declares that the condition constitutes a public nuisance, the Township Clerk shall notify the owner and possessor of the land complained of, in writing, either personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to take such steps as will effectively remove said complained-of nuisance within 10 days after receipt of notice.

§ 265-3 Reinspection of property.

The Township Engineer shall reinspect said land after the ten-day period has expired and shall report, in writing, to the Township Clerk whether or not the unlawful condition complained of has been abated or remedied.

§ 265-4 Abatement of dangerous condition by Township Committee.

In the event that the owner or possessor of said land shall refuse or neglect to abate or remedy the condition complained of and which constitutes a violation of this chapter after said ten-day notice, the Township Committee may cause the condition complained of to be abated.

§ 265-5 Certification of costs of abatement.

After said condition has been abated and remedied pursuant to the authorization conferred by § 265-4, the Township Committee shall have a certificate of the costs thereof prepared by the Township Clerk and presented to it.

§ 265-6 Cost of abatement as lien upon property. [1]

Upon approval of said certificate by the Township Committee, the amount charged against the said land shall forthwith become a lien upon said land, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and to be enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes. A certified copy of the certification of cost shall be forwarded to the Tax Assessor after its approval by the Township Committee.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 265-7 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-09]

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to such penalties as are provided for in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty.

§ 265-8 Enforcement.

The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Township Committee through the Township Engineer.