For the purpose of this chapter, the terms used
herein are defined as follows:
ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE
Any vehicle propelled otherwise than by muscular power, excepting
such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks, found in any public
street, highway or lands and not bearing current registration plates
or, if bearing current registration plates, remaining stationary and
unused for more than 14 days consecutively on public streets, highways
or lands and 30 days upon any private lands or premises.
JUNK AUTOMOBILE or JUNK AUTOMOBILE BODY
Any automobile which is no longer in actual use as a motor
vehicle or which is wholly unfit without rebuilding or reconditioning
for use for highway transportation or which has been discarded for
use as a motor vehicle.
No person shall place, abandon or leave, keep
or store or suffer or permit the placing, abandoning, leaving, keeping
or storage of any abandoned vehicle out of doors upon any public or
private land in the Township of Oldmans or upon any street or highway
within the Township. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit
the placing, keeping or storage of any such vehicle in an enclosed
garage, barn or other building, nor shall this chapter apply to lawfully
licensed junkyards.
No person shall place, keep, store or maintain
a junk automobile or automobile body or, separately, the parts of
an automobile which are exposed outside of an enclosed building on
any tract of land within the Township of Oldmans unless said person
is the holder of a junkyard license or unless such junk automobile
bodies and parts are kept temporarily in the operation of a full-time
business primarily conducted for the sale or repair, or either, of
automobiles.
No owner or occupier of any private lands or
premises shall permit or suffer any inoperable or abandoned motor
vehicles or junk automobiles to be parked, left, stored or maintained
on his or her lands for more than 30 days. It shall be presumed after
30 days that the owner or tenant in possession of said land left,
placed, kept or stored said vehicle there or permitted or suffered
it to be left, placed, kept or stored there.
Whenever it shall appear to any peace officer
of the Township that this chapter is being violated and that the land
on which the violation exists is privately owned, he shall, in writing,
notify the owner or tenant in possession of the land on which the
violation exists to abate the violation by removing the article or
articles constituting the violation from the Township or into an enclosed
garage, barn or other building within 10 days of the service of the
notice, which notice shall be served upon such owner or tenant, if
he resides in the Township, personally or by leaving it at his usual
place of abode with some member of his household over the age of 14
years, but if any such owner or tenant shall reside outside the Township,
the notice shall be served upon him by registered or certified mail
addressed to him at his usual residence, if ascertainable, or otherwise
by notice published in the local newspaper, and said owner or tenant
shall so abate the violation within the time fixed by the notice.
In the event that the owner, possessor or occupant
of said lands shall refuse or neglect to abate or remedy the condition
complained of and which constitutes a violation of this chapter, after
expiration of the time set forth in the notice, the peace officer
shall cause the condition complained of to be abated and remedied.
Whenever it shall appear that this chapter is
being violated and that the violation exists upon public lands, streets
or highways, said vehicle shall be taken in possession by the peace
officer, who shall direct its removal to a storage place.
Upon the taking into possession of an abandoned,
inoperable or junk motor vehicle, the peace officer shall follow the
procedures established by Title 39, Chapter 10A of the Revised Statutes
of New Jersey to sell such vehicle at public auction.
[Amended 5-2-1984 by Ord. No. 84-6; 9-3-1997 by Ord. No. 97-5]
A violation of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II, General Penalty.
Each day that any person shall continue to keep,
maintain or store any junk automobiles or junk automobile bodies or
junk automobile parts in violation of this chapter shall be deemed
to be a separate offense.