[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Edgewater 5-5-1970 by Ord. No. 516-70 (Ch. 234 of the 1975
Code); amended in its entirety at time of adoption of Code (see Ch.
1, General Provisions, Art. I). Subsequent amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Abandoned Vehicle Ordinance"
of Edgewater.
A.
A clean, wholesome, attractive environment is declared to be of importance
to the health and safety and well-being of the inhabitants of the
Borough of Edgewater.
B.
Such environment is deemed essential to the economy and general welfare
of its citizens.
C.
The unrestrained accumulation of motor vehicles not in operating
order can be a hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens
of the Borough of Edgewater.
D.
It is deemed to be in the best interests of the citizens of the Borough
and for the general welfare that the following regulation restraints
are adopted pursuant to this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any motor vehicle, including, but not limited to, automobile,
bus, truck, tractor, mobile home, motorcycle, motorbicycle or snowmobile,
stored, left or located on public or private property in the Borough
of Edgewater and which is not registered for operation on the public
highways and which has not been registered for the preceding 12 months
or is in an unsafe condition as defined in N.J.S.A. 39:3-44 shall
be defined as an "abandoned vehicle," except that:
The term "abandoned vehicle" shall expressly exclude vehicles
granted historical registration or "Q Q" license plates.
For the purposes of this chapter, a motor vehicle registered
as a farm vehicle or which is operable and used by the owner on his
own property for the transport of wood, snowplowing or similar uses
shall not be considered an abandoned vehicle.
The Chief of Police and/or Police Director of
the Borough, unless the Borough Council, by resolution, designates
some other Borough official as enforcement officer or, by resolution,
establishes the position of enforcement officer for the Borough and
appoints some qualified person thereto at a salary specified in such
resolution.
[Amended 3-20-2017 by Ord. No. 1541-2017]
Any person who, singularly or together with other persons,
is in possession of real property pursuant to an agreement with the
owner thereof. The term shall include tenants, contract vendors and
licensees.
Storage other than in a completely windowed structure, such
as a garage constructed of wood, brick and metal.
A person owning real property in the Borough. A parcel of
real property owned by more than one person shall be considered as
having each such person being an owner.
Real property appearing on the tax rolls of the Borough as
one unit.
Includes natural persons, corporations, copartnerships, unincorporated
associates or any other organizations of one or more persons.
Open storage of one or more abandoned vehicles shall not be
permitted on private or public property within the Borough, except
as permitted by this chapter.
A.
Any person wishing to store or locate an abandoned vehicle on a parcel
of property must first obtain a no-fee permit from the Borough's
enforcement officer allowing such storage.
B.
That permit may be granted after an application has been made showing:
(1)
The make, model and year of the vehicle.
(2)
The name and address of the last registered owner and the last registration
plate number as issued by the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles.
(3)
The vehicle identification number.
(4)
The nature of the applicant's ownership or title to such vehicle.
(5)
The purpose(s) for which the abandoned vehicle(s) is being stored
or located.
C.
Issuance.
(1)
Permits shall be issued for:
(a)
A restored antique or classic car. A permit will be issued on
an annual basis, renewable for a year at a time.
(b)
Restoration. A permit will be issued for a one-year period,
renewable for an additional one-year period. The renewal shall be
granted only if the abandoned vehicle has been substantially improved
since the issuance of the original permit.
(c)
Removal of parts or components. A permit will be issued for
a sixty-day period, renewable for one sixty-day period only.
(2)
Permits shall not be granted under this chapter for a motor vehicle
junk business or a motor vehicle junkyard. Such dealers must comply
with the Borough ordinance licensing and regulating motor vehicle
junk business and motor vehicle junkyards.
Any owner or occupant of a parcel of property in the Borough
who shall abandon, store, locate, leave or allow or condone any other
person to abandon, store, locate or leave an abandoned vehicle upon
a parcel of property owned or occupied by him within said Borough
contrary to the provisions hereof shall be guilty of a violation hereof.
Any person, whether as owner or driver of a vehicle or an operator
of a towing vehicle or carrier, who shall abandon, store, locate or
leave an abandoned vehicle upon a parcel of property in the Borough
of which he is not either the owner or legal occupant, without the
written permission of the legal occupant, shall be guilty of a violation
hereof.
A violation of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty. A violation of this chapter shall also subject the violator to a civil penalty of $100 for each violation, less any criminal monetary fine which may be imposed. Each vehicle abandoned, stored, left or located in violation of this chapter shall constitute a separate violation. Each week of continuous violation shall constitute a separate and distinct violation.
In addition to the penalties set forth above, the Borough may
commence an action in its own name against any person in any civil
court of competent jurisdiction to seek an injunction to enforce compliance
with this chapter. Such an action for injunctive relief may be independent
of or part of an action to collect the civil penalties as hereinabove
provided.
In addition to any penalty or fine as provided in § 427-7 hereof or the remedy provided in § 427-8 hereof, any abandoned vehicle may be removed from the premises upon which it is located by the Borough in the manner hereinafter provided:
A.
The enforcement officer, upon detecting an abandoned vehicle, shall
serve written notice on the person owning the parcel of property on
which the same is located, ordering such person to remove the same
or cause the same to be removed therefrom within 30 days of the date
of such service. Such notice shall contain a description of the parcel
of property, a statement as to the location thereon of an abandoned
vehicle and a reference to this chapter and to the fact that the location
of such abandoned vehicle on such parcel of property is in violation
of this chapter. If such parcel of property is owned by more than
one person, personal service on any one of such owners shall suffice;
however, as to any owner not personally served with such notice or
if no owner can be located upon whom to make personal service, the
enforcement officer shall mail such notice to the owners not personally
served by registered mail to their or his last known address as shown
on the latest completed assessment roll of the Borough. In addition,
the enforcement officer shall post conspicuously a copy of such notice
on the parcel or property upon which said abandoned vehicle is located.
B.
At the expiration of 30 days after the service or mailing and posting
of such notice, if such abandoned vehicle has not been removed, the
Borough may cause such abandoned vehicle to be removed, and the cost
of such removal shall be certified by the enforcement officer to the
Collector of Taxes and shall thereupon become and be a lien upon the
real property from which said abandoned vehicle was removed and shall
be added to and form part of the taxes next to be assessed on said
real property and shall be collected and enforced by the same office
and in the same manner as taxes.
C.
Any abandoned vehicle released to the Borough by its owner shall be disposed of at a public auction to the highest bidder, and the proceeds shall be added to the general fund of the Borough. Any abandoned vehicle released to the Borough by the owner or legal occupant of the parcel of property from which it is removed who is not the owner of the abandoned vehicle shall be disposed of by the procedure set forth in Subsections A and B hereof. In the event that the abandoned vehicle is released to the Borough by the owner or legal occupant of the parcel of property who is not the owner of the abandoned vehicle, there shall be no expense for the removal thereof chargeable to the person so releasing said abandoned vehicle.
The Borough's enforcement officer or his designee shall
have and is hereby given the authority to go upon any parcel of real
property in the Borough, public or private, exclusive of enclosed
structures or buildings, at any time during daylight hours, to examine
and inspect any vehicles or parts or components thereof to determine
whether a violation of this chapter has been committed or to determine
the condition of any vehicles or parts or components thereof. The
officer shall notify the property owner, in writing, prior to the
entering of such property.
