This chapter shall apply where it is found that there exists
in the City of Port Republic premises which are or may become substandard
with respect to the site, structure, equipment or maintenance or,
further, that such conditions, including but not limited to structural
deterioration, lack of maintenance, deteriorating appearance of the
structure or premises, infestation and existence of fire or other
hazards, are generally a menace to health, safety and the general
welfare, so that property values are thereby maintained, the desirability
and amenities enhanced and the public health, safety and welfare protected
and fostered.
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public health,
safety and welfare by establishing minimum standards governing the
maintenance, appearance, condition and occupancy of real property;
to fix certain responsibilities and duties upon owners, operators
and occupants; to authorize procedures for the inspection of real
property; to fix penalties for the violation of this chapter; to provide
for the right of access across adjoining premises to permit repairs;
and to provide for the repair of premises unfit for occupancy or use.
This chapter is hereby declared to be remedial and essential for the
public interest.
The following terms, wherever used in this chapter, shall have
the respective meanings assigned to them, unless a different meaning
clearly appears from the content:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
A structure, the use of which is incidental to that of the
main building and which is located on the same lot.
BASEMENT
A portion of a building located partly underground but having
less than half of its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average
grade of the adjoining ground.
BUILDING
A combination of materials to form a construction adapted
to permanent or continuous occupancy or use.
CELLAR
A portion of a building located partly or wholly underground
and having half or more than half of its clear floor-to-ceiling height
below the average grade of the adjoining ground.
EXPOSED TO PUBLIC VIEW
Any premises, or any part thereof, or any building or part
thereof which may be lawfully viewed by the public from a sidewalk,
street or alleyway or from any adjoining or neighboring premises.
EXTERMINATION
The control or elimination of insects, rodents or other pests
by eliminating their harborage places, by removing or making inaccessible
materials that may serve as food or by any other recognized and legal
pest-elimination methods approved by the Health Officer.
FIRE HAZARD
Any device or condition likely to cause fire and which is
so located as to endanger either persons or property; the creation,
maintenance or continuance of any physical condition through which
there exists a use, accumulation or storage of combustible or explosive
material sufficient in amount or so located or in such a manner as
to put in jeopardy, in event of ignition, either persons or property.
GARBAGE
The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
As defined under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control
Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11.b.
[Added 7-13-2018 by Ord.
No. 03-2018]
INFESTATION
The presence of any insects, rodents, vermin or other pests.
NUISANCE
Any public annoyance known at public law or in equity jurisprudence
or as provided by the statutes of the State of New Jersey or in the
ordinances of the City of Port Republic, including the following:
A.
Any attractive nuisance which may prove detrimental to the health
or safety of children, whether in a building, on the premises or upon
an unoccupied lot. This includes but is not limited to abandoned wells,
shafts, basements or excavations; abandoned iceboxes, refrigerators
or motor vehicles; any structurally unsound fences or structures;
lumber, trash, fences, debris or vegetation, such as poison ivy, oak
or sumac, which may prove a hazard for inquisitive minors.
B.
Physical conditions dangerous to human life or detrimental to
the health of persons on or near the premises where the conditions
exist.
C.
Inadequate or unsanitary sewage or plumbing facilities in violation
of any code of the City of Port Republic.
OFFICER
The Building Code Enforcement Officer as appointed by City
Council.
OPERATOR
Any person who has charge, care or control of a building
or a part thereof.
OWNER
Any person who, alone, jointly or severally with others,
shall have the legal title to any property, with or without accompanying
actual possession thereof, or shall have charge, care or control of
any property as owner or agent of the owner or as executor, executrix,
administrator, administratrix, trustee or guardian of the estate of
the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall
be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter and the rules
and regulations adopted pursuant thereto to the same extent as if
he were the owner.
PREMISES
A lot, plot or parcel of land, including the buildings or
structures thereon.
RUBBISH
Any combustible and noncombustible waste materials, except
garbage, including the residue from the burning of wood, coal, coke
and other combustible material, paper, rags, cartons, wood, excelsior,
rubber, leather, tree branches, grass trimmings, tin cans, metals,
mineral matter, glass, crockery and dust.
STRUCTURE
An assembly of materials forming a construction for occupancy
or use, including, among others, buildings, stadiums, gospel and circus
tents, reviewing stands, platforms, stagings, observation towers,
radio towers, water tanks, trestles, piers, wharves, open sheds, coal
bins, shelters, fences and display signs.
WEATHERING
Deterioration, decay or damage caused by exposure to the
elements.
If any condition exists that violates this chapter, the Officer
or his/her designee shall notify the owner, tenant or other person
in possession of the property of such condition or conditions, in
writing, by regular mail or personal delivery. The owner, tenant or
person in possession of the property shall have 14 days from the date
of such written notice to correct the condition or conditions so noticed.
The Building Code Enforcement Officer shall reinspect the lands in
question after the fourteen-day period has expired to determine if
the condition or conditions have been abated or remedied.
If the owner, tenant or person in possession of the lands in
question fails to abate or remediate the condition or conditions noticed
by the Officer within 14 days of the notice, the following shall occur:
A. A complaint shall be issued by the Officer for the violation or violations
of this chapter, which complaint shall be brought before the Municipal
Court of the City of Port Republic.
B. If it is necessary to preserve the public health, safety or general
welfare of the City, the Officer shall cause the condition or conditions
complained about to be abated or remedied and shall certify the cost
of abatement or remediation to the Council of the City of Port Republic.
The amount of such abatement or remediation shall be paid by the owner,
tenant or person in possession within 10 days of the date of the mailing
by which the invoice is sent to the aforesaid person.
C. If the said invoice is not so paid, the amount so charged shall be
added to and become a part of the taxes next to be assessed upon the
lands in question and shall bear interest at the same rate as municipal
real estate taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same
officer and in the same manner as delinquent taxes.
D. For each day the condition or conditions complained of continue to
exist after the fourteen-day period has expired, the tenant, owner
or person in possession shall be subject to one or more of the following:
a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, imprisonment for
a period not to exceed 90 days or a period of community service not
to exceed 90 days for each and every day the condition or conditions
exist.
Except as provided in Subsection H, where a violation of this
chapter or the regulations hereunder is found to exist, a written
notice from the Officer shall be served on the person or persons responsible
for the correction thereof.
A. Contents of notice. The notice shall specify the violation or violations committed, what must be done to correct same, a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 30 days, to start to correct or abate the violation and a reasonable time period to complete the correction of said violation, the right of the person served to request a hearing and that the notice shall become an order of the public officer five working days after service unless a hearing is requested pursuant to Subsection
C.
B. Service of notice. Notice may be served personally or by certified
mail, with postage prepaid, addressed to the last known address of
the person to be served. In the case of an occupant, notice may be
posted upon the door of his dwelling unit or rooming unit. Where it
is ascertained that the owner does not reside on the premises, the
last known address shall be the address of the owner as shown in the
office of the Tax Collector. If the last known address cannot be ascertained,
the notice may be posted on the outside front entrance of the building.
The Officer shall file and provide notice to any owner, operator or
occupant of any violation at any address other than the last known
address provided hereunder if such other address is filed with the
inspecting official personally or by certified mail addressed to the
Officer. Service upon an owner, operator or occupant may also be attained
by service of any notice upon a member of the family of the owner,
operator or occupant. Date of service of the notice shall be determined,
where service is by mail, as the day following the day of mailing
for notices to addresses within the City and as the fourth day after
the day of mailing for notices to addresses outside the City. Where
the day of service would fall upon a Sunday or other day when mail
is not ordinarily delivered, then the day of service shall be the
next regular delivery day, notwithstanding any other provision herein
contained.
C. Notice to become an order unless hearing requested. Within five working
days of the date of service of a notice, the notice shall constitute
a final order unless any person affected by the notice requests a
hearing thereon by serving a written request within the five-day period
in person or by certified mail on the Officer. Such request for a
hearing shall set forth briefly the grounds or reasons on which the
request for a hearing is based and the factual matters contained in
the notice of violation which are to be disputed at the hearing. The
Officer, upon receipt of the request, shall, within 30 days therefrom
and upon five days' notice to the party aggrieved, set the matter
down for hearing.
D. Determination at hearing. At any hearing provided hereunder, the
Officer shall be vested with all the powers provided by law to compel
the attendance of witnesses and parties in interest by issuance and
service of subpoena, to require by subpoena the production of books,
records or other documents at any such hearing which may be pertinent
to matters to be determined by him and to enforce any such subpoena
or secure any order for the enforcement of any such subpoena as provided
by law. Determination shall be made within 10 days of the completion
of the hearing. The Officer shall issue an order either incorporating
the determinations and directions contained in the notice, modifying
the same or withdrawing the notice.
E. Extensions of time. The Officer may extend the time for correction
or abatement of the violations for an additional period of time not
to exceed 30 days, except where major capital improvements or renovations
are involved, in which instance the time for completion may be extended
for a period not to exceed 90 days beyond the expiration date of the
original notice.
F. Summary abatement in emergency; notice and hearing not required.
Where the violation or condition existing on the premises is of such
a nature as to constitute an immediate threat to life and limb unless
abated without delay, the Officer may either abate the violation or
condition immediately or order the owner, operator or occupant to
correct the violation or condition within a period of time not to
exceed three days, and, upon failure to do so, the Officer shall abate
the condition immediately thereafter.
G. Referral of violations. Any violation of any related ordinance other
than this chapter discovered by an inspector shall be reported to
the Officer, who shall refer the alleged violation to the official
or agency responsible for the enforcement of such other ordinance.
H. Where the Officer, after hearing, shall determine that there was
a violation, and a notice was served upon the owner, operator or occupant,
whether or not said violation was abated prior to the issuance of
an order, if thereafter, within the space of one year, there shall
be a second violation by the same owner, operator or occupant of the
same provision of this chapter discovered on the same premises, the
offender may be prosecuted on the second violation without the Officer
first giving notice and opportunity for a hearing to the owner, operator
or occupant by the filing of a complaint by the Officer in the Municipal
Court. Where the Officer has on two different occasions found violations
by the same owner, operator or occupant on the same premises and has
issued notices on each and has held at least one hearing and issued
an order thereon, upon discovering a third or subsequent violation
by the same owner, operator or occupant on the same premises within
the space of one year, whether of the same sections or of any other
sections of this chapter, he may thereupon prosecute the offender
by filing a complaint in the Municipal Court for the said third or
subsequent violation occurring within the said period of one year
without first providing notice and opportunity for a hearing by the
Officer.
I. Effect of notice on owner. For the purposes of enforcement of this
chapter, the service of a notice on an owner, whether or not the owner
is also the operator, shall constitute notice of violations set forth
therein until said violations are abated in conformity with this chapter
and the other applicable ordinances of the City of Port Republic.
The repeal of any provisions of any other ordinances by this
chapter shall not affect any action for prosecution or abatement under
any such ordinance or any notice, complaint or order issued by any
officer or agency of the City prior to the effective date hereof or
concerning which any prosecution or other steps of enforcement have
been taken or are being taken within any administrative agency or
in the Municipal Court for enforcement thereof.
[Added 8-11-2020 by Ord. No. 07-2020]
It is determined that certain types of the bamboo plant are
invasive and often difficult to control, and such bamboo can and has
caused significant damage to properties in the City of Port Republic.
The purposes of this section are to preserve and protect private and
public property from the damaging spread of bamboo, to protect indigenous
and other plant materials from the invasive spread of bamboo, and
to maintain the general welfare of the residents of the City of Port
Republic.
A. Prohibition.
No owner, tenant or occupant of a property, or person, corporation
or other entity, shall plant, install, cultivate, grow or cause or
permit the planting or installation of plant species commonly known
as "running bamboo" including, but not limited to, any bamboo in the
genus Phyllostachys, including Phyllostachys aureosulcata, upon any
property located within the City of Port Republic. For purposes of
this section, "running bamboo" means any monopodial bamboo that spreads
variously, sending out underground runners (rhizomes) which sometimes
range far from the parent plant. The definition refers to all parts
of the bamboo including the above ground plant, its roots and rhizomes.
For the purpose of enforcement of this section, running bamboo shall
be identified by the structure of growth and need not be by biological
identification.
B. Duty to
confine. In the event any species commonly known as "running bamboo"
is located upon any property within the City of Port Republic, prior
to the effective date of this prohibition, the owner and/or occupant
of said property shall jointly and severally be required to confine
such species to prevent the encroachment, spread, invasion or intrusion
of same onto any other private or public property or public right-of-way.
In lieu of confining the species, the property owner and/or occupant
may elect to totally remove the bamboo from the property and all affected
properties. Failure to properly confine such bamboo shall require
removal as set forth below. The cost of said removal shall be at the
bamboo property owner's and/or occupant's expense. This duty to confine
shall not apply if the property owner and/or occupant can establish
to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer that the bamboo
which is on his/her property at the time of the adoption of this section
originated on another property.
C. Removal/confinement.
(1) In
the event running bamboo is present on the effective date of this
prohibition and a complaint is received by the City regarding an encroachment
of any bamboo plant or root, and the Code Enforcement Officer of the
City, after observation and/or inspection, determines that there is
an encroachment or invasion on any adjoining/neighboring private or
public property or public right-of-way (hereinafter, "the affected
property"), the City shall serve notice to the bamboo property owner,
in writing, that the bamboo has invaded other private or public properties
or public rights-of-way and demand remediation of the encroachment
and/or removal of the bamboo from the affected property, and demand
approved confinement against future encroachment. Notice shall be
provided to the bamboo property owner, as well as to the owner of
the affected property, by certified, return-receipt-requested mail
and regular mail. Within 20 days of receipt of such notice, the bamboo
property owner shall submit to the Code Enforcement Officer of the
City, with a copy to the owner of the affected property, a plan for
the remediation of the encroachment of the bamboo from the affected
property, which plan shall include restoration of the affected property
after remediation of the encroachment. Within 45 days of receipt of
the Code Enforcement Officer's approval of the plan of remediation
and restoration, the remediation and restoration shall be completed
to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer of the City.
(2) Nothing
herein shall be interpreted as limiting the rights of a private property
owner to seek civil relief through a court of proper jurisdiction,
nor the institution of civil proceedings against the proper parties.
(3) When
an encroachment is upon public property or a public right-of-way and
the bamboo property owner and/or occupant has not complied with the
written notice provided as set forth above, the City of Port Republic,
at its discretion, may remove or contract for the removal of such
bamboo from the City property or public right-of-way. The cost of
such removal shall be the responsibility of the bamboo property owner
and occupant and shall be paid or assessed as a lien against the property
on which the bamboo growth originated. The cost of said removal from
the City-owned property and/or public right-of-way shall include the
installation of an appropriate barrier to prevent future bamboo invasion.
(4) Upon
complaint or visual observation by Code Enforcement Officer of any
running bamboo already in existence on any property within the City
limits, to include private property, the property owner and/or occupant
shall take the necessary measures to the satisfaction of the Code
Enforcement Officer to ensure that the encroachment of the bamboo
and root system is prevented from encroaching on adjoining properties.
(5) Whether
planted or growing in a container or contained within a barrier, all
bamboo plants shall be located, trimmed, and maintained so that no
part of the plant (including stalks, branches, leaves, and/or roots)
shall extend nearer than 40 feet to any adjoining or neighboring property,
curb, sidewalk, roadway, cartway, street, highway, right-of-way, storm
sewer, sanitary, sewer, septic system, or sources of water. The property
owner and/or occupant shall remove and abate the growth of the bamboo
within 40 feet of any adjoining or neighboring property, curb, sidewalk,
roadway, cartway, street, highway, right-of-way, storm sewer, sanitary
sewer, septic system, or sources of water within the City of Port
Republic.
D. Replanting
prohibited. Any running bamboo either planted or caused to be planted
or existing on the effective date of this regulation may not be replanted
or replaced once such bamboo is or has become dead, destroyed, uprooted,
or otherwise removed.