Chapter 247: Brush, Weeds, Plant Life, Solid Waste and Debris

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance amended and replaced former Ch. 179, Brush, Grass and Weeds, which consisted of Art. I, Brush and Hedges, adopted 9-10-1974 by Ord. No. 943, as amended, and Art. II, Obnoxious Growths, Trash and Debris, adopted 6-27-1978 by Ord. No. 1127, as amended, of the 1990 City of Vineland Code.

§ 247-1 Maximum growth heights for safety; notice; fines; recovery of costs.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.26 and 40:48-2.27, any owner or owners, tenant or tenants of lands lying within the limits of the City of Vineland shall keep all brush, hedges and other plant life growing within 10 feet of any roadway and within 25 feet of the intersection of two roadways cut to a height of not more than 2 1/2 feet where it shall be necessary and expedient for the preservation of the public safety.

Any person, firm or entity who shall violate this section shall be fined in accordance with § 247-6 herein.

In the event that any owner or owners, tenant or tenants of a building, dwelling or lands lying within the City of Vineland fails or neglects to comply with § 247-1 of this chapter, the City of Vineland reserves the right to issue a notice through the Director of Licenses and Inspections, Director of Public Safety, Director of the Department of Public Works or the Director of the Department of Health, or their designees, requiring said owner, owners, tenant and/or tenants to comply with § 247-1 within 10 days.

In the event that any owner or owners, tenant or tenants of a building, dwelling or lands lying within the City of Vineland fails to comply with an order of the City of Vineland issued pursuant to § 247-1B of this chapter, the Director of Licenses and Inspections, Director of Public Safety, Director of the Department of Public Works or the Director of the Department of Health, or their designees, shall cause the same to be cut and removed in conformance with the provisions of this chapter. The costs thereof shall be certified to the City Council, which shall examine the certificate and, if found correct, shall cause the cost as shown thereon to be charged against said lands or, in the event that such cost is found to be excessive, to cause the reasonable cost thereof to be charged against said lands. The amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien upon each land and shall be added to and become a form part of the taxes assessed against said lands and be collected with and in the same manner as the taxes next to be assessed and levied against said lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.

The imposition and collection of the fine imposed by this chapter shall not bar the right of the City of Vineland to seek the collection of costs of cutting or removal in the manner as required by this chapter, and the remedy shall be cumulative. However, the collection of costs as is herein specified shall not be in addition to any restitution collected as is specified in this chapter.

§ 247-2 Fire and safety hazard on premises; notice; fines; recovery of costs.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.13, no owner, owners, tenant or tenants of a building, dwelling or lands located within the City of Vineland shall allow the existence of brush; weeds, including ragweed; dead and dying trees; stumps; roots; obnoxious growths; filth; garbage; trash and debris upon said premises.

Any person, firm or entity who shall violate this section shall be fined in accordance with § 247-6 herein.

In the event that any owner or owners, tenant or tenants of lands lying within the City of Vineland fails or neglects to comply with § 247-2 of this chapter, the City of Vineland reserves the right to issue a notice through the Director of Licenses and Inspections, Director of Public Safety, Director of the Department of Public Works or the Director of the Department of Health, or their designees, requiring said owner, owners, tenant or tenants to comply with § 247-2 within 10 days.

In the event that any owner or owners, tenant or tenants of a building, dwelling or lands lying within the City of Vineland fails to comply with an order of the City of Vineland issued pursuant to § 247-2B of this chapter, the Director of Licenses and Inspections, Director of Public Safety, Director of the Department of Public Works or the Director of the Department of Health, or their designees, shall cause the same to be removed or destroyed in conformance with the provisions of this chapter. The costs thereof shall be certified to the City Council, which shall examine the certificate and, if found correct, shall cause the cost as shown thereon to be charged against said lands or, in the event that such cost is found to be excessive, to cause the reasonable cost thereof to be charged against said lands. The amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien upon said land and shall be added to and become and form part of the taxes assessed against said lands and be collected with and in the same manner as the taxes next to be assessed and levied against said lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.

The imposition and collection of the fine imposed by this chapter shall not bar the right of the City of Vineland to seek the collection of costs of removal or destruction in the manner as required by this chapter, and the remedy shall be cumulative. However, the collection of costs as is herein specified shall not be in addition to any restitution collected as is specified in this chapter.

§ 247-3 Improper storage of certain solid waste; notice; fines; recovery of costs.

No owner, owners, tenant or tenants of a building, dwelling or lands located within the City of Vineland shall keep or store any solid waste in such a way that it is accessible to and likely to be strewn about by animals, including but not limited to dogs, cats, raccoons, birds or rodents.

Any person, firm or entity who shall violate this section shall be fined in accordance with § 247-6 herein.

In the event that any owner or owners, tenant or tenants of a building, dwelling or lands lying within the City of Vineland fails or neglect to comply with § 247-3 of this chapter, the City of Vineland reserves the right to issue a notice through the Director of Licenses and Inspections, Director of Public Safety, Director of the Department of Public Works or the Director of the Department of Health, or their designees, requiring said owner, owners, tenant or tenants to comply with § 247-3 within 72 hours after the owner, owners, tenant or tenants have received written notice to that effect.

In the event that any owner or owners, tenant or tenants of a building, dwelling or lands lying within the City of Vineland fails to comply with an order of the City of Vineland issued pursuant to § 247-3 of this chapter, the Director of Licenses and Inspections, Director of Public Safety, Director of the Department of Public Works or the Director of the Department of Health, or their designees, shall cause the same to be removed or destroyed in conformance with the provisions of this chapter. The costs thereof shall be certified to the City Council, which shall examine the certificate and, if found correct, shall cause the cost as shown thereon to be charged against said lands or, in the event that such cost is found to be excessive, to cause the reasonable cost thereof to be charged against said lands. The amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien upon said land and shall be added to and become and form part of the taxes assessed against said lands and be collected with and in the same manner as the taxes next to be assessed and levied against said lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same offices and in the same manner as taxes.

The imposition and collection of the fine imposed by this chapter shall not bar the right of the City of Vineland to seek the collection of costs of removal in the manner as required by this chapter, and the remedy shall be cumulative. However, the collection of costs as is herein specified shall not be in addition to any restitution collected as is specified in this chapter.

§ 247-4 Improper disposal of brush, trash, debris, etc.

No owner, owners, tenant or tenants of any building, dwelling or lands lying in the City of Vineland shall cause or allow any brush, weeds, dead or dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash or debris to be removed from the property of said owner, owners, tenant or tenants and be deposited upon any City or county right-of-way or easement or upon neighboring property. All such brush, weed, etc., shall be collected and either removed from the premises or containerized in proper containers for removal by any appropriate sanitation service.

Any person, firm or entity who shall violate this section shall be fined in accordance with § 247-6.

§ 247-5 Service of notice or summons.

For purposes of this chapter, service of all notices and/or service of summons may be made in the following manner:

Personal service upon the owner, owners, tenant or tenants in accordance with Rule 4:4-4 of the Rules of the Courts of New Jersey.

Simultaneous mailing by the Court, by the representative of the City of Vineland issuing the summons or by an agency or individual authorized by law to serve process. Simultaneous mailing shall mean mailing the summons simultaneously by ordinary mail and certified mail with return receipt requested to the owner's, owners', tenant's or tenants' last known address. Should the certified mail be returned marked "refused" or "unclaimed," service is effective, provided the ordinary mail has not been returned.

By any other means permitted by law.

§ 247-6 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 11-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-96]

Any owner, owners, tenant or tenants of any building, dwelling or lands lying within the City of Vineland who have pled or are found guilty of a violation of § 247-1, 247-2 and/or 247-4 shall be sentenced as follows:

(1)

For a first offense: a fine of $100.

(2)

For a second offense: a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,500.

(3)

For a third or subsequent offense: a fine of not less than $1,500 or more than $2,000.

(4)

The continuation of such violations for each successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the person or persons allowing or permitting the continuation of the violation may be punished as provided above for each separate offense.

Any person, firm or entity who has pled or is found guilty of a violation of § 247-3 shall be sentenced as follows:

(1)

For a first offense: a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000.

(2)

For a second offense: a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $2,000.

(3)

For a third or subsequent offense: a fine of not less than $1,500 or more than $2,500.

(4)

For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered as a second or subsequent offense if convicted of violating any section of this chapter within one year of the date of the previous violation and who was fined for the previous violation.

§ 247-7 Fee schedule.

[Added 3-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-18; amended 10-22-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-52]

The following hourly fee schedule shall apply unless otherwise indicated:

City Service	Hourly Fee
Cutting grass with weed whacker	$50
Cutting grass with push mower	$60
Cutting grass with riding mower	$60
Cutting grass with tractor mower	$70
Backhoe services for front end usage	$140
Backhoe services for digging	$150
Front-end loader services	$200
Dump truck services	$175
Track excavator digging services	$175
Track excavator demolition services	$165
Bobcat services	$80
Bucket truck services	$200
Chipper and chipper truck services	$200
Chainsaw services	$75
Arm mower services	$100
Sweeper services	$100
Jet-Vac services	$100
Trash compactor truck services (not including tipping fee)	$125
Tree stumper and truck services	$175
Cut saw services for metal	$75
Cut saw services for concrete and asphalt	$85
Sign making and installation (not including sign or post cost)	$75
Jackhammer services	$100
Air compressor and truck services	$125
Hand held air blower services	$75
Walk behind air blower services	$85
Gas generators for electric	$65
Temporary on-site lighting	$50
Masonry services	$75
Masonry services with cement mixer (not including material)	$100
Licensed weed spraying	$125
Boarding up window or door with area of less than 32 square feet	$150 per area
Boarding up window or door with area of 32 square feet or more	$250 per area
Stump removal without digging	$200 per stump
Dumpster pickup and drop-off services (not including tipping fee)	$250 per delivery
Big rig transportation and pickup	$250 per delivery
Trash pump and related appurtenances	$25
Hasp and lock for securing structures	$50/flat fee