[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Bellmawr 9-26-2013 by Ord. No. 08:17-13. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the enforcement
of P.L. 2007, c. 209.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et seq.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The request, directly or indirectly, for money, credit, property,
financial assistance, or other thing of any kind or value. "Solicitation"
shall include, but not be limited to, the use or employment of canisters,
cards, receptacles or similar devices for the collection of money
or other thing of value. A solicitation shall take place whether or
not the person making the solicitation receives any contribution.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
no person shall place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin, for
solicitation purposes, unless all of the following requirements are
met:
A.
The person has obtained a permit, issued by the Borough Clerk's
office, valid for a specified period of time, from the Borough of
Bellmawr in which the donation clothing bin will be placed, in accordance
with the following:
(1)
In applying for such a permit, the person shall include:
(a)
The location where the bin would be situated, as precisely as
possible;
(b)
The manner in which the person anticipates any clothing or other
donations collected via the bin would be used, sold, or dispersed
and the method by which the proceeds of collected donations would
be allocated or spent;
(c)
The name and telephone number of the bona fide office required pursuant to Subsection B of this section of any entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin; and
(d)
Written consent from the property owner to place the bin on
his property;
(2)
The Borough of Bellmawr shall not grant an application for a permit
to place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin if it determines
that the placement of the bin could constitute a safety hazard. Such
hazards shall include, but not be limited to, the placement of a donation
clothing bin within 100 yards of any place which stores large amounts
of, or sells, fuel or other flammable liquids or gases or where the
bin may obstruct the view of motorists and/or pedestrians. The Borough
may also deny the application if, in the opinion of the Code Official,
the placement may diminish surrounding property values;[1]
(4)
An expiring permit for a donation clothing bin may be renewed annually upon application for renewal and payment of the fee imposed by the Borough of Bellmawr for such renewal, as provided in Chapter 210, Fees, to offset the costs involved in enforcing this chapter, pursuant to P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et seq.). Such application shall include:[3]
(a)
The location where the bin is situated, as precisely as possible,
and, if the person intends to move it, the new location where the
bin would be situated after the renewal is granted and written consent
from the property owner to place the bin on his property;
(b)
The manner in which the person has used, sold, or dispersed
any clothing or other donations collected via the bin, the method
by which the proceeds of collected donations have been allocated or
spent, and any changes the person anticipates it may make in these
processes during the period covered by the renewal; and
B.
The person and any other entity which may share or profit from any
clothing or other donations collected via the bin maintains a bona
fide office where a representative of the person or other entity,
respectively, can be reached at a telephone information line during
normal business hours for the purpose of offering information concerning
the person or other entity. For the purposes of this subsection, an
answering machine or service unrelated to the person does not constitute
a bona fide office; and
C.
The following information is clearly and conspicuously displayed
on the exterior of the donation clothing bin:
(1)
The name and address of the registered person who owns the bin and
of any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing or
other donations collected via the bin;
(2)
The telephone number of the person's bona fide office and, if
applicable, the telephone number of the bona fide office of any other
entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations
collected via the bin;
(3)
In cases when any entity other than the person who owns the bin may
share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via
the bin, a notice, written in a clear and easily understandable manner,
indicating that clothing or other donations collected via the bin,
their proceeds, or both, may be shared, or given entirely to, an entity
other than the person who owns the bin, and identifying all such entities
which may share or profit from such donations; and
(4)
A statement, consistent with the information provided to the appropriate Borough agency in the most recent permit or renewal application pursuant to Subsection A(1)(b) and Subsection A(4)(b) of this section, indicating the manner in which the person anticipates any clothing or other donations collected via the bin would be used, sold, or dispersed and the method by which the proceeds of collected donations would be allocated or spent.
A.
The Borough of Bellmawr in which the donation clothing bin has been
placed shall receive and investigate, within 30 days, any complaints
from the public about the bin. Whenever it appears to the appropriate
Borough agency that a person has engaged in, or is engaging in, any
act or practice in violation of Section 2 of P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A.
40:48-2.61), the person who placed the bin shall be issued a warning,
stating that if the violation is not rectified or a hearing with the
appropriate Borough agency is not requested within 45 days, the bin
will be seized or removed at the expense of the person who placed
the bin, and any clothing or other donations collected via the bin
will be sold at public auction or otherwise disposed of. In addition
to any other means used to notify the person who placed the bin, such
warning shall be affixed to the exterior of the bin itself.
B.
In the event that the person who placed the bin does not rectify
the violation or request a hearing within 45 days of the posting of
the warning, the appropriate Borough agency may seize the bin, remove
it, or have it removed, at the expense of the person who placed the
bin, and sell at public auction or otherwise dispose of any clothing
or other donations collected via the bin. Any proceeds from the sale
of the donations collected via the bin shall be paid to the Chief
Financial Officer of the Borough.
In addition to any other penalties or remedies authorized by
the laws of this state, any person who violates any provision of this
chapter pursuant to P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et seq.)
which results in seizure of the donation clothing bin shall be:
A.
Subject to a penalty of up to $20,000 for each violation. The Borough
of Bellmawr may bring this action in the Municipal Court or Superior
Court as a summary proceeding under the Penalty Enforcement Law of
1999, P.L. 1999, c. 274 (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.), and any penalty
monies collected shall be paid to the Chief Financial Officer of the
Borough of Bellmawr; and
B.
Deemed ineligible to place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin
for solicitation purposes pursuant to Section 2 of P.L. 2007, c. 209
(N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.61). A person disqualified from placing, using,
or employing a donation clothing bin by violating the provisions of
this chapter pursuant to P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et
seq.) may apply to the Bellmawr Borough Clerk's office to have
that person's eligibility restored. The Borough of Bellmawr may
restore the eligibility of a person who:
