[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Atlantic
City 6-23-1999 by Ord. No. 27-1999. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
In the context of this chapter means any local improvement
designed to be used primarily for the movement, safety, convenience
and enjoyment of pedestrians, whether or not a part of a street is
set apart for roadway or emergency vehicles, transit vehicles and
private vehicles, or any of them, and a pedestrian mall improvement
shall include but not be limited to pedestrian thoroughfares, perimeter
parking, public seating, park areas, outdoor cafes, shelters, trees,
flower plantings, sculpture, newsstands, telephone booths, traffic
signs, kiosks, fire hydrants, street lighting, ornamental signs, ornamental
lights, trash receptacles, display cases, marquees, awnings, canopies,
overhead radiant heating fixtures, underground radiant heating pipes
and devices, walls, bollards and chains and all such other fixtures,
equipment, facilities and appurtenances which in the judgment of the
governing body of a municipality will enhance the movement, safety,
convenience and enjoyment of pedestrians and benefit the municipality
and adjoining properties.
Public transportation.
The Mayor and Council find and declare:
A.
That pursuant to the feasibility study for the closing of a portion
of Bacharach Boulevard, a pedestrian mall will benefit the City of
Atlantic City.
B.
That Bacharach Boulevard, between New York and Tennessee Avenues,
is not a part of any state highway, is located primarily in a business
district and is improved to its maximum feasible width with regard
to adjoining buildings and improvements.
C.
That a reasonably convenient alternate route to other parts of the
city and state exist for private vehicles.
D.
That continued unlimited use of the street or part thereof by private
vehicles may constitute a hazard to the health and safety of pedestrians.
E.
That abutting properties can reasonably and adequately be provided
with emergency vehicular services and receive and deliver merchandise
and materials from other streets and alleys or by provisions for limited
use of the streets by emergency vehicles and carriers of such merchandise
and materials.
F.
That it is in the best interests of the city and the public and of
benefit to adjacent properties to use such street primarily for pedestrian
purposes, and that pedestrian use is determined to be the highest
and best use of such street or part thereof.
A.
A pedestrian mall shall be created on the following street(s) or
portion thereof:
B.
The use of the surface of the above described street(s) or parts
thereof shall be limited at all times or during such hours or days
as the city shall determine to egress from the Atlantic County Parking
facility onto Bacharach Boulevard, to a limited parking area off of
New York Avenue, to pedestrians and to such classes of emergency,
public works, maintenance and service vehicles.
C.
There shall be no limit of vehicular use on either Tennessee or New
York Avenues.
D.
With the cessation of service by New Jersey Transit of Transit Utility
Vehicles on Bacharach Boulevard, between Tennessee and New York Avenues,
there will be no use for such vehicles on the area designated as the
pedestrian mall.
E.
The city acknowledges that there is access to other streets for delivery
of or receiving merchandise or materials.
At least 10 days prior to the date fixed for a public hearing,
a copy of the proposed ordinance and notice of the date, time and
place of the hearing shall be mailed to the owners of the lots and
parcels of land abutting or directly affected by any proposed pedestrian
mall.
A.
Costs of development construction and acquisition. The city reserves
the right to assess to properties benefited by the erection of the
mall the costs of development, construction and acquisition.
B.
Operation and maintenance. Where maintenance of the mall involves
annual costs in addition to the initial cost of construction, and
distinguished from maintenance services normally provided by the municipality
outside of the mall facility, and will provide benefits primarily
to adjacent, surrounding or neighboring property, the mall facility
shall be operated and maintained pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A.
40:56-65 et seq.
The governing body of the city shall approve the materials or
combinations thereof of which the pedestrian mall shall be constructed.
The governing body of the city may in its discretion narrow any roadway
to be kept and maintained in connection with any pedestrian mall,
may cause any street vaults to be reconstructed or removed, may construct
crosswalks at any point within a block and may cause the roadway to
curve and meander within the limits of the street to enhance the usefulness
and appearance of the pedestrian mall.
A.
Notwithstanding the improvement of any street as a pedestrian mall,
the City of Atlantic City shall retain all its powers relating to
the street or part thereof constituting the mall.
B.
No such action shall be construed as a vacation in whole or in part;
the establishment of a pedestrian mall is a matter of regulation only.
Nothing shall prevent the Mayor and Council subsequent to this
chapter, from abandoning the operation of the pedestrian mall, changing
special assessments or taxes for annual costs or changing or repealing
any limitation on the use of the mall for a particular purpose by
ordinance.
Condemnation proceedings and all other procedures incident to the development and maintenance of a pedestrian mall shall be authorized under Chapter 56 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.
A.
Under the direction of the Mayor and governing body, a pedestrian
mall may be used for any purpose or activity which will enhance the
movement, safety, convenience or enjoyment of pedestrians.
B.
The Mayor and Council may provide for the control and regulation
of:
(1)
The distribution and location of movable furniture, sculpture or
pedestrian traffic control devices, landscaping and other facilities
belonging to the pedestrian mall and not otherwise located or fixed
by plans and specifications.
(2)
The uses to be permitted on the mall by occupants of abutting property,
and transit or telephone utilities, concessionaires, vendors and the
like.
(3)
The issuance of permits to conduct any special activity consistent
with the broad purposes of the mall.
(4)
The operation of any heating or other facilities and replacing landscaping
and maintaining furniture and facilities in the mall.
(5)
The designation of parking spaces; in addition, handicapped driver
spaces will be provided.
A.
Concurrently with submission of a plan for a pedestrian mall, and
annually thereafter, the Mayor or designee shall, with the assistance
of the advisory board, if any, report to the governing body an estimate
of cost of operating and maintaining and annually improving the pedestrian
mall for the next fiscal year to be incurred under the plan and an
estimate of changes in the amounts of such costs which would follow
upon the adoption of any addition or amendment to the plan recommended
to or under consideration by the Mayor and Council. Such estimate
shall be reasonable and shall include a summary of the categories
of cost properly chargeable as follows:
(1)
Each year, when the Mayor has reviewed and acted upon the estimated
costs and/or on the budget and submitted the same to Council, the
Municipal Assessor shall prepare an assessment roll setting forth
separately the amounts to be specially assessed against the benefited
and assessable properties in and around the pedestrian mall. Descriptions
of such properties and the names of the then current owners of such
properties, so far as names are available, shall be included in each
annual assessment roll. The assessment roll, when so prepared, shall
be filed in the office of the Municipal Clerk and be available for
inspection. The Mayor and Council shall annually meet to consider
objections to the amounts of such special assessments at least 10
days after a notice of hearing has been published once in the Press
of Atlantic City and mailed to the named owners of all tracts, parcels
and lots of property proposed to be assessed. The notice shall set
forth the time and place of the meeting and set forth the purpose
of such meeting, but may refer to the assessment roll for further
particulars. When the City Council shall have approved the amounts
of the special assessments set forth herein, or as may be changed
by it, the Municipal Clerk shall forthwith certify a copy of the assessment
roll, with such changes, if any, to the Atlantic County Tax Board.
B.
For the purpose of this section, "annual improvements" shall mean
and include any reconstruction, replacement or repair of trees and
plantings and other facilities of the pedestrian mall and the furnishing
of any other local improvement which benefits properties around the
mall. For the purpose of this chapter, "cost" shall, with respect
to annual improvements to and operation and maintenance of the pedestrian
mall, mean costs of annual improvements and all other costs, including
planning costs, incurred or to be incurred in connection with annual
improvements to and operation and maintenance of the mall.
All federal and state laws, local ordinances and executive orders
regarding affirmative action and equal employment opportunity shall
be enforced.
The Mayor is hereby authorized to execute and the City Clerk
to attest any contracts entered into in furtherance of this chapter.
Said contracts shall be approved as to form and execution by the City
Solicitor.
