Township of Willingboro, NJ Chapter 1 General Provisions

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Willingboro as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Adoption of Code

[Adopted 3-5-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]

§ 1-1 Adoption of Code.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-4, the ordinances of the Township of Willingboro of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Willingboro, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters and sections by General Code, and consisting of Chapters 1 through 370, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the “Code of the Township of Willingboro,” hereinafter known and referred to as the “Code.”

§ 1-2 Code supersedes prior ordinances.

This ordinance and the Code shall supersede all other general and permanent ordinances enacted prior to the enactment of this Code, including provisions of the 2003 Revised General Ordinances, except such ordinances as are hereinafter expressly saved from repeal or continued in force.

§ 1-3 When effective.

This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage and publication according to law.

§ 1-4 Copy of Code on file.

A copy of the Code in loose-leaf form has been filed in the office of the Township Clerk and shall remain there for use and examination by the public until final action is taken on this ordinance; and, if this ordinance shall be adopted, such copy shall be certified to by the Clerk of the Township of Willingboro by impressing thereon the Seal of the Township, as provided by law, and such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of the Clerk of the Township, to be made available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is in effect.

§ 1-5 Amendments to Code.

Any and all additions, amendments or supplements to the Code, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the intent of the governing body to make them a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the “Code of the Township of Willingboro” shall be understood and intended to include such additions and amendments. Whenever such additions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the loose-leaf book containing said Code as amendments and supplements thereto.

§ 1-6 Publication; filing.

The Clerk of the Township of Willingboro, pursuant to law, shall cause this Adopting Ordinance to be published, in the manner required, in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Sufficient copies of the Code shall be maintained in the office of the Clerk for inspection by the public at all times during regular office hours. The enactment and publication of this Adopting Ordinance, coupled with availability of copies of the Code for inspection by the public, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.

§ 1-7 Code book to be kept up-to-date

It shall be the duty of the Clerk or someone authorized and directed by the Clerk to keep up-to-date the certified copy of the book containing the Code required to be filed in his or her office for the use of the public. All changes in said Code and all ordinances adopted subsequent to the effective date of this codification which shall be adopted specifically as part of the Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such changes or new ordinances are printed as supplements to said Code book, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.

§ 1-8 Sale of Code book.

Copies of the Code, or any chapter or portion of it, may be purchased from the Clerk, or an authorized agent of the Clerk, upon the payment of a fee authorized by the Township. The Clerk shall also arrange for procedures for the periodic supplementation of the Code.

§ 1-9 Altering or tampering with Code; penalties for violation.

It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of the Code or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the Township of Willingboro to be misrepresented thereby. Anyone violating this section or any part of this ordinance shall be subject, upon conviction, to one or more of the following: a fine of not more than $2,000, imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, in the discretion of the Judge imposing the same.

§ 1-10 Severability of Code provisions.

Each section of the Code and every part of each section is an independent section or part of a section, and the holding of any section or a part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.

§ 1-11 Severability of ordinance provisions.

Each section of this ordinance is an independent section, and the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.

§ 1-12 Repealer.

All ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted and in force on the date of the adoption of this ordinance and not contained in the Code are hereby repealed as of the effective date of this Adopting Ordinance, except as hereinafter provided.

§ 1-13 Ordinances saved from repeal.

The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-12 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:

A. Any ordinance adopted subsequent to December 4, 2012.

B. Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative provision prior to the effective date of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability.

C. Any offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.

D. Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment rendered, prior to the effective date of this ordinance, brought pursuant to any legislative provision.

E. Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred.

F. Any ordinance providing for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing of grade, changing of name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, park or other public place or any portion thereof.

G. Any ordinance or resolution appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond or other instruments or evidence of the Township's indebtedness.

H. Ordinances authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or any lawful contract, agreement or obligation.

I. The levy or imposition of taxes, assessments or charges or the approval of the municipal budget.

J. The dedication of property or approval of preliminary or final subdivision plats.

K. All currently effective ordinances pertaining to the rate and manner of payment of salaries and compensation of officers and employees.

L. Any ordinance adopting or amending the Zoning Map.

M. Any ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for municipal employees.

§ 1-14 Changes in previously adopted ordinances.

A. In compiling and preparing the ordinances for adoption and revision as part of the Code pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-4, certain grammatical changes and other minor changes were made in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention of the Township Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such.

B. In addition, the changes, amendments or revisions as set forth in Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof are made herewith, to become effective upon the effective date of this ordinance. (Chapter and section number references are to the ordinances as they have been renumbered and appear in the Code.)[1]

[1] Editor’s Note: In accordance with § 1-14B, the chapters, parts and sections which were added, amended, adopted or deleted by this ordinance are indicated throughout the Code by a footnote referring to Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I. During routine supplementation, footnotes indicating amendments, additions or deletions will be replaced with the following history: “Amended (added, deleted) 3-5-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1.” Schedule A, which contains a complete description of all changes, is on file in the Village offices.

C. Nomenclature.

(1) Throughout the Code, references to the following are updated as indicated:

(a) “Salem Road” is changed to “Rev. Dr. M. L. King Jr. Drive.”

(b) “Construction Code Official” is changed to “Construction Official.”

(c) “Code Official” is changed to “Code Enforcement Officer.”

(d) “Department of Code Enforcement and Inspections” is changed to “Department of Inspections.”

(e) “Department of Inspections and Community Development” is changed to “Department of Inspections.”

(f) “Soil Conservation Service” and “SCS” are changed to “Natural Resources Conservation Service” and “NRCS.”

(2) In the following chapters, references to the following terms are updated as indicated:

(a) Throughout Chapter 94, “machine jukebox” is changed to “jukebox,” and “mechanical amusement device” is changed to “mechanical or electronic amusement device.”

(b) Throughout Chapter 170, “fire marshal” is changed to “enforcing agency.”

(c) Throughout Chapter 199, “Building Inspector” is changed to “Code Enforcement Officer.”

Article II General Penalty

[Derived from Sec. 3-1 of the 2003 Revised General Ordinances]

§ 1-15 Maximum penalty.

[Amended 3-5-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]

A. For violation of any provision of this Code or any other ordinance of the Township of Willingboro, County of Burlington, including revisions, amendments and supplements thereto, where no specific penalty is provided regarding the section or sections violated, the maximum penalty shall, upon conviction of such violation, be one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days.

B. In accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:49-5, in the event that the court imposes a fine greater than $1,250 for violations of housing or zoning codes, the imposition of the fine shall be held in abeyance for a thirty-day period, during which time the owner shall be afforded the opportunity to cure or abate the condition. The owner shall also be afforded an opportunity for a hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction for an independent determination concerning the violation. Subsequent to the expiration of the thirty-day period, a fine greater than $1,250 may be imposed if a court has not determined otherwise or, upon reinspection of the property, it is determined that the abatement has not been substantially completed.

§ 1-16 Separate violation.

Except as otherwise provided, each and every day in which a violation exists of any provision of this Code or any other ordinance of the Township of Willingboro, including revisions, amendments and supplements thereto, shall constitute a separate violation.

§ 1-17 Application of penalty.

The maximum penalty established in § 1-15 is not intended to state an appropriate penalty for each and every violation. Any lesser penalty, including a nominal penalty or no penalty at all, may be appropriate for a particular case or a particular violation.