[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of High Bridge as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-9-2006 as Ch. 30, Art. I, of the 2006 Code of the Borough of High
Bridge]
The purpose of this article is to regulate the sale and distribution
of alcoholic beverages in the Borough of High Bridge, County of Hunterdon,
State of New Jersey, and to provide for the issuance of licenses therefor
and fix license fees, in accordance with the provisions of an Act
of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey entitled the "New Jersey
Alcoholic Beverage Control Act" (N.J.S.A. 33:1-1 et seq.) and the
amendments thereof and supplements thereto, and in accordance with
the rules and regulations promulgated or to be promulgated by the
State Commissioner of Alcoholic Beverage Control applicable thereto.
Applications for licenses under this article and all licenses
issued hereunder and all proceedings in connection therewith shall
be subject to the provisions of the aforesaid Act of the Legislature
and the amendments thereof and supplements thereto now in force or
that may hereafter be enacted, and the rules and regulations of the
State Commissioner of Alcoholic Beverage Control applicable thereto,
and the rules and regulations promulgated or to be promulgated by
the Borough of High Bridge.
All applications for licenses shall be presented in writing,
shall conform to the official form promulgated by the State Commissioner
of Alcoholic Beverage Control and shall be filed with the Borough
Clerk of the Borough of High Bridge, accompanied by the federal tax
stamp or evidence of its payment and by the licensee fee as hereinafter
provided for the license applied for. All questions contained in the
application shall be fully answered and verified by the applicant.
All applications shall be referred by the Borough Council to
the Police Chief, which shall investigate the character and fitness
of the applicant and the place for which a license is applied, and
the Police Chief shall promptly report to the Borough Council its
findings and recommendations.
All licenses shall be granted by the Mayor and Council of the
Borough of High Bridge, which, being the governing body of said Borough,
shall constitute the authority for the administration of the issuance
of licenses hereunder.
It shall be unlawful to sell or distribute alcoholic beverages
in the Borough of High Bridge without having previously applied for
and obtained a license pursuant to the provisions of this article,
the aforesaid Act of the Legislature and the rules and regulations
of the State Commissioner of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or in any
manner other than as provided in this article, in said Act and in
said rules and regulations.
A.
The licenses to be issued in the Borough of High Bridge pursuant
to the provisions of this article and the fees for such licenses,
which shall be paid in advance upon presentation of the application
for a license are as follows:
(1)
Plenary retail consumption license: $1,800 per annum.
[Amended 5-26-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-13]
(2)
Plenary retail distribution license: $1,800 per annum.
[Amended 5-26-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-13]
(3)
Club license: $65 per annum.
[Amended 5-12-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-14]
(4)
Special one day social license: $100 for religious, civic and educational
organizations and the fee for all other organizations is $150 (N.J.S.A.
33 and N.J.A.C. 13:2).
[Amended 5-12-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-14]
B.
The respective fee for any such license shall be prorated according
to the effective date of such license, based upon the respective annual
fee herein provided and payable to the State of New Jersey.
[Amended 6-13-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-13]
The number of licenses shall be as follows: two plenary retail
consumption licenses, one plenary retail distribution license, and
one club license. The maximum number of plenary retail consumption
licenses and plenary retail distribution licenses shall be calculated,
determined and limited in accordance with state statutes and regulations,
particularly N.J.S.A. 33:1-12.14.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 30-9 of the 2006 Code,
Authority to change number of licenses, which immediately followed
this section, was repealed 6-13-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-13.
No seasonal retail consumption license or limited retail distribution
license shall be granted in the Borough of High Bridge.
No plenary retail distribution license shall be issued in the
Borough of High Bridge to permit the sale of alcoholic beverages in
or upon any premises in which any other mercantile business is carried
on.
Not more than one license shall be issued to any person, and
the operation and effect of every such license shall be confined to
permit the carrying on of the business licensed only in the premises
designated in the license.
Any license issued pursuant to this article may, in accordance
with the aforesaid Act of the Legislature, its supplements or amendments,
be suspended or revoked for violation of any of the provisions of
this article or for the violation of any of the provisions of the
aforesaid Act of the Legislature, its supplements or amendments, or
of any of the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Commissioner
of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages by virtue of
any license granted under the provisions of this article shall be
subject to the following rules and regulations:
A.
No licensee shall sell, serve or deliver, or allow, permit or suffer
the sale, service or delivery of, any alcoholic beverage, directly
or indirectly, to any person under the age of 21 years, or allow,
permit or suffer the consumption of alcoholic beverages by any such
person upon the licensed premises.
B.
No licensee shall directly or indirectly solicit from house to house
personally or by telephone the purchase of alcoholic beverages, nor
allow, permit or suffer such solicitation.
C.
No licensee shall allow, permit or suffer in or upon the licensed
premises any known criminals, gangsters, racketeers, pickpockets,
swindlers, confidence men, prostitutes, or other persons of ill repute.
D.
No licensee shall allow, permit or suffer in or upon the licensed
premises any disturbances, brawls or unnecessary noises, nor allow,
permit or suffer the licensed place of business to be conducted in
such manner as to become a nuisance.
E.
No licensee shall allow, suffer or permit any lottery to be conducted
or any ticket or participation right in any lottery to be sold or
offered for sale on or about the licensed premises.
F.
No licensee shall engage in or allow, permit or suffer any pool selling,
bookmaking or any playing for money at faro, roulette, rouge et noir
or any unlawful game or gambling of any kind or any device or apparatus
designed for any such purpose on or about the licensed premises.
G.
No licensee shall possess, allow, permit or suffer on or about the
licensed premises any slot machine or device in the nature of a slot
machine which may be used for the purpose of playing for money or
other valuable thing.
H.
No licensee shall sell, serve or deliver, nor allow, suffer or permit
the sale, service or delivery of, any alcoholic beverage, directly
or indirectly, to any mentally defective person, habitual drunkard
or intoxicated person, not permit such persons to congregate in or
about the licensed premises.
I.
No licensee shall serve or allow, permit or suffer the service of
any alcoholic beverage to any person in any room which is not open
to the use of the public generally; provided, however, that in hotels
guests may be served in their rooms or in private dining rooms, and
provided further that this regulation shall not apply to club licensees.
J.
No licensee shall sell, serve or deliver, or allow, permit or suffer
the sale, service or delivery of, any alcoholic beverage, or permit
consumption of any alcoholic beverage on the licensed premises except
during the following hours:
(1)
Between the hours of 9:00 a.m. on Sundays and 2:00 a.m. of the following
Monday.
[Amended 5-26-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-14]
(2)
On all other days of the week, between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and
2:00 a.m. of the following day, including on Saturdays until 2:00
a.m. of the following Sunday.
(3)
Notwithstanding any of the above, on New Year's Eve (December 31)
the hours of sale and distribution shall be extended until 5:00 a.m.
of the following day, regardless of whether said day occurs on a Sunday.
K.
No person other than the licensee shall be permitted to remain on
the licensed premises after 30 minutes following the legal hour prohibiting
the sale, service, delivery and consumption of alcoholic beverages
as hereinabove stated. This closing of premises requirement shall
not apply to restaurants, as defined in N.J.S.A. 33:1-1(t), to bona
fide hotels nor to clubs or other establishments where the principal
business is other than the sale of alcoholic beverages.
L.
The word "licensee" as used in this section shall include, in addition
to the owner or owners of the license issued pursuant to this article
or the statutes, rules and regulations which it implements, the said
licensee's agents, servants and employees, including but not limited
to bartenders and waiters or waitresses.
A.
There is hereby created a club license for the sale and distribution
of alcoholic beverages, including malt beverages, to be issued to
nonprofit organizations in the Borough of High Bridge whose purpose
is to provide services to the residents of the Borough of High Bridge.
B.
Application for said licenses shall be governed by the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 33:1-25 et seq.
C.
The term of the license issued under the terms of this article shall
be for one year.
D.
The license provided for herein shall be issued for on on-premises
consumption of alcoholic beverages by persons only over the age of
21 years, and shall be limited to members of the nonprofit organizations
to whom the license is issued and their guests at functions conducted
in accord with the purposes of said nonprofit organization.
No license shall be issued contrary to any Land Use and Development
Ordinance of the Borough of High Bridge now existing or hereafter
to be enacted.
A.
All business establishments selling alcoholic beverages shall prominently
display "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Warning" signs on their premises,
warning of the dangers to the unborn children of women who consume
alcoholic beverages while pregnant. The nature and type of warning
sign shall be determined by the High Bridge Board of Health, which
shall prepare and distribute the warning signs.
No license shall be issued to any applicant not fully qualified
under the provisions of the aforesaid Act of the Legislature and the
aforesaid rules and regulations of the State Commissioner of Alcoholic
Beverage Control.
All licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of this article
shall be for the terms now or hereafter prescribed for the respective
classes of licenses by the aforesaid Act of the Legislature and the
amendments thereof and supplements thereto now in force or that may
hereafter be enacted.
Licenses may be surrendered by the licensee pursuant to and
in accordance with the provisions of the aforesaid Act of the Legislature
and the rules and regulations of the State Commissioner of Alcoholic
Beverage Control, and such surrender fee for the unexpired portion
of the license as is provided by said Act and said rules and regulations
shall be paid by the Borough of High Bridge to such licensee who shall
so surrender his license.
Licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of this article shall
be transferable only in such instances and in such manner as prescribed
by the aforesaid Act of the Legislature and the amendments thereof
and supplements thereto now in force or that may hereafter be enacted
and the rules and regulations of the State Commissioner of Alcoholic
Beverage Control, promulgated or to be promulgated, applicable thereto.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes any natural person, firm, corporation, partnership,
limited partnership or association.
[Adopted 2-9-2006 as Ch. 30, Art. II, of the 2006 Code of the Borough of
High Bridge; amended in its entirety 3-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-009]
No person shall, within the limits of the Borough of High Bridge,
consume any alcoholic beverage or have in his possession any unsealed
alcoholic beverage container with alcoholic beverage therein:
A.
In the parking area adjacent to any licensed premises for the sale
of alcoholic beverages.
B.
While in or on a public street, lane, roadway, avenue, sidewalk,
public parking place, playground, recreation area, school building
or grounds, or upon any land owned or occupied by any federal, state,
county or municipal government unless expressly granted such permission
by Mayor and Council or in an open container area.
C.
While in or about any other public or quasi-public place or place
to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any business,
banking, church, institutional, commercial or professional premises,
except when such consumption or possession is with the express permission
of the owner and the Mayor and Council.
For the purpose of this article, a container shall be regarded
as unsealed when its top or cork has been removed or any of its contents
have been removed or the government tax stamp has been removed or
broken, or, in the case of a metal container, when the container has
been opened in any fashion, or, in the case of twist-top containers,
when the original seal has been broken.
A.
As used in this article, "open container area" means a portion of
the municipality or an area encompassing the entire municipality upon
which persons are permitted to carry and consume open containers of
alcoholic beverages outdoors.
B.
Open container areas shall be determined by resolution of the Mayor
and Council for sanctioned events and shall be limited to the date(s)
and time(s) of specified events and only permitted at Borough public
parks, open spaces and structures or facilities at locations or land
parcels approved for such events.
C.
Authorized consumption of alcoholic beverages within an open container
area is permitted by persons who are at least 21 years of age.
None of the foregoing provisions shall apply to the following:
A.
Any public park or picnic area where the consumption of alcoholic
beverages at occasions or events held by bona fide nonprofit organizations
or other groups which is specifically permitted by resolution of the
Mayor and Council.
B.
Restaurants with valid liquor licenses that are operating an approved
sidewalk cafe where alcoholic beverages are to be served in connection
with food service and have complied with all of the requirements of
the Land Use and Development Ordinance,[1] and is specifically permitted by resolution of the Mayor
and Council.
C.
These provisions shall not interfere with the authority of the New
Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and/or the Borough Council
to issue temporary licenses for the consumption of alcoholic beverages
pursuant to law.
Any person found guilty of a violation of any section of this
article shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,250 or imprisonment
of not more than 90 days, or both.
