[Adopted by Ord. No. 352 (Secs. 4-14 through 4-23.1 of the
1970 Revised Ordinances)]
[Added by Ord. No. 995]
The Mayor and Council find and declare as follows:
A.
There presently exists within the Borough of Dumont
a significant number of amusement games and devices, which are expected
to increase in number in the future.
B.
Such games and amusement devices have been demonstrated
to attract large numbers of young people, and with the expected increase
in number of machines, the likelihood of crowding and congestion is
likely to continue and increase.
C.
The present location of machines may be inappropriate
for young people because of this crowding, because of a lack of ventilation,
excessive noise, lack of proper ingress and egress, the inability
to provide supervision when necessary and because of a close proximity
to schools.
D.
Experience has demonstrated that such facilities where
young people congregate in large numbers create problems not only
in the facility itself, because of the aforesaid reasons, but also
on the public rights-of-way adjacent thereto, because of bicycles
left on the sidewalks and streets and large numbers of young people
standing on the sidewalks, both of which block and obstruct movement
by other members of the public.
E.
Reasonable regulation of the licenses of such machines,
their location within the premises, the space surrounding them, the
methods of ingress and egress from the places of business, conditions
of permitted operation and of adult supervision will help to ensure
that recreational activity involving amusement games is carried out
in a safe and wholesome environment for the benefit of the young people
of the Town and all of the citizens of the Borough of Dumont without
undue hardship to the business community.
F.
The enactment of this article is necessary and appropriate
for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare of the
residents of the Borough of Dumont.
[Amended by Ord. No. 995]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A group of more than five amusement games or amusement machines
in the same place, location or premises constituting a principal or
accessory use.
A machine or device, whether automatic or coin-operated,
whether mechanical, electrical or electronic, which shall be ready
for play by insertion of a coin or may otherwise be operated by the
public for a charge for use as a game, entertainment or amusement,
including pinball machines, jukeboxes, or any device which utilizes
a video tube to reproduce symbolic figures and lines to be representative
of real games or activities, the object of playing of which is to
achieve a score.
[Amended 6-6-2012 by Ord. No. 1442]
No person shall maintain, operate or possess
an automatic amusement game, as defined in the preceding section,
without first obtaining a license therefor as hereinafter set forth
in this article. A separate license shall be required for each automatic
amusement game or machine.
A.
A separate application for a license for each automatic
amusement game shall be filed with the Borough Clerk, on a form to
be furnished by him, setting forth:
(1)
The name and residence or office address of the applicant,
and the location of the premises in which the game is to be installed.
(2)
Whether or not the applicant has ever been convicted
of a crime or of a violation of a Borough ordinance involving gambling.
(3)
Such other information as the Council shall deem necessary
or proper.
B.
The fee for the license shall be payable with the
filing of the application. The fee shall be returned to the applicant
if the application shall be rejected.
[Amended by Ord. No. 962; Ord. No. 995]
A.
The Borough Clerk shall refer the application to the
Chief of Police, Fire Subcode Official, Building Subcode Official,
Electrical Subcode Official and Health Officer.
B.
Each of the aforementioned shall make or cause to
be made an investigation of the facts stated in the application and
an inspection of the premises in which the automatic amusement game
is to be located. They shall review said application to ensure that
all state laws and Borough ordinances are complied with. They shall
attach to the application their report thereon in writing, which shall
also state their approval or their disapproval, with the reason therefor.
C.
Upon receipt of said application and the aforementioned
reports, the Council shall either approve or disapprove the issuance
of a license to the applicant.
D.
No license shall be approved by the Council or issued
by the Borough Clerk if it appears that:
(1)
The applicant is not of good moral character; or
(2)
The premises in which the automatic amusement game
is to be placed does not comply with the applicable requirements of
the laws of New Jersey and with the Building, Zoning and Fire Prevention
Ordinances of the Borough or otherwise constitute a hazard to the
safety or morals of the public.
[Amended by Ord. No. 528; Ord. No. 962; Ord. No. 995]
A.
Upon approval of the application as set forth in § 114-26C, the Borough Clerk shall issue the license to and in the name of the proprietor of the premises in which the automatic amusement game is to be installed.
B.
The license shall set forth:
(1)
The name and post office address of the licensee.
(2)
The location of the premises in which the automatic
amusement game is located.
(3)
The amount of money required to operate the machine
or device.
(4)
A brief statement that the machine or device to which
the license is affixed is licensed for operation by the Borough.
C.
The term of the license shall be for the period commencing
July 1 and expiring June 30 at midnight.
D.
The license fee shall be $125 for said yearly period
or any part thereof.
[Amended by Ord. No. 406; Ord. No. 905; Ord. No. 995]
[Amended by Ord. No. 406]
Any license issued under this article may be
revoked by the Council, after due notice and hearing, for any of the
following grounds:
This article is enacted for the purpose of raising
revenue and for the regulation and control of automatic amusement
games as defined herein.
[Amended by Ord. No. 742]
Any person who violates any provision of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not
exceeding $500 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days,
or both.
[Added by Ord. No. 995]
A.
An amusement machine complex shall be subject to the licensing requirement of Chapter 114 of the Code of the Borough of Dumont.
B.
An amusement machine complex shall be permitted to
be located in the RA and B2 Zoning Districts of the Borough of Dumont,
and such amusement machine complex shall be allowed in such RA and
B2 Districts only upon approval by the Joint Land Use Board under
a conditional use procedure.[1]
C.
The Joint Land Use Board shall determine that sufficient
space for such machines has been provided to prevent overcrowding
of users or interference with other pedestrian traffic in the building
or on the premises, that aisle space between machines is satisfactory
for emergency exit of the room or rooms housing such amusement machine
complex and that the parking facilities required by this article for
such amusement machine complex can be adequately provided and that
such complex is adequately separated from public and parochial schools,
school playgrounds, religious buildings and municipal parks and playgrounds.
An applicant shall submit a site plan and an amusement machine complex
room layout in sufficient detail to allow such determination by the
Joint Land Use Board.
D.
The following specific requirements shall apply to
the location, layout and operation of an amusement machine complex:
(1)
A building within which an amusement machine complex
is the principal use or that portion of any building used as an amusement
machine complex shall be located at least 500 feet from any premises
used as a public, parochial or private elementary, middle, junior
high, high school, school playground, municipal park or playground
or premises upon which is located a place of worship. A building within
which an amusement machine complex is the principal use or that portion
of any building used as an amusement complex shall be located at least
800 feet from another building or portion of a building used as an
amusement machine complex.
(2)
Adequate space shall be provided to reach a machine
so as to allow its use without overcrowding. A minimum width between
amusement machines of two feet shall be provided for each machine
where it is designed for use by one player, and 3 1/2 feet where
a machine is designated for use by two players. The depth of the space
in front of the machine shall be at least five feet, and there shall
be a minimum aisle width in addition to this five feet of an additional
44 inches. The provisions of the Uniform Construction Code shall be
complied with.
(3)
Off-street parking, in addition to that otherwise
required for the users on the premises, shall be provided in the amount
of one space per two amusement game machines or the minimum required
off-street parking for a retail use in the RA and B2 Districts, whichever
is greater.[2]
(4)
Readily visible signs shall be installed, with their location, size and text shown on the plans submitted to the Joint Land Use Board, indicating that persons under the age as specified in the licensing ordinance of Chapter 114 shall not be permitted to play such amusement game machine or amusement machine.
(5)
(6)
To prevent obstruction of the public sidewalk and
entry and exits to an amusement complex, a special on-site area shall
be set aside and designated for bicycle parking, and bicycle racks
shall be provided at the rate of one bicycle space for every three
amusement machines. Bicycle racks shall not be located in any required
landscaped area, walkway to buildings, driveway or required vehicular
parking space, nor shall such bicycle racks be spaced so as to obstruct
any entrance or exit to any premises.
(7)
An amusement complex shall be designed to minimize
noise emanating beyond the boundaries of such building or room containing
amusement game machines or amusement machines. The Joint Land Use
Board, in reviewing an application for conditional use, shall determine
that noise emanating beyond the boundaries of such building or room
containing such machines shall not exceed 50 decibels.
(8)
An amusement complex shall at all times have at least
one supervisory employee in attendance, 18 years of age or older during
operating hours. Between 3:00 p.m. and closing, in addition to the
supervisory employee, there shall be an additional employee 18 years
of age or older to act as a security person whose sole responsibility
is to maintain good order and compliance with all regulations.
(9)
An amusement complex shall maintain an operating telephone
or other device to alert police, fire and ambulance services in the
event of an emergency.
