[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Buena Vista 7-28-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 208.
A.
Buena Vista Township finds a need to regulate yard sales so as to
not cause an annoyance to citizens in residential areas and residential
premises in Buena Vista Township and congestion of the streets in
residential zones in the Township.
B.
The provisions contained in this chapter are intended to prohibit
the conducting of a business in any zoned residential areas or residential
premises by regulating the terms and frequency of yard sales so as
not to disturb or disrupt the residential environment of the area.
For the purpose of this chapter, the terms used herein are defined
as follows:
Includes any goods, merchandise or other property capable
of being the object of a sale regulated hereunder.
Includes individuals, partnerships, voluntary associations
and corporations.
A lot on which a building is located which has a certificate
of occupancy for a residential occupancy classification only as the
same is defined by the New Jersey BOCA Code.
Includes all sales known as "garage sales," "lawn sales,"
"attic sales," "rummage sales" or any similar casual sales of tangible
personal property which are advertised by any means whereby the public
at large is or can be made aware of said sale.
It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct a yard sale in
Buena Vista Township unless said person is a resident to the Township
or has a place of business located within the Township and has first
filed with the Township Clerk the information herein specified and
thereafter obtained from such Clerk a license so to do, to be known
as a "yard sale license." Such license shall be and the same is hereby
fixed at $3 per calendar day. No fee shall be charged to fire departments
and religious institutions for a yard sale license.
A.
Such license shall be issued to any one person and/or address to
no more than four per year and no single license for more than four
consecutive calendar days.
B.
Fire departments and religious institutions shall be allowed eight
licenses per year. These organizations may be allowed more than eight
licenses per year with the approval of the Township Committee.
C.
Each license issued under this chapter must be prominently displayed
on the premises upon which the yard sale is conducted throughout the
entire period of the licensed sale.
The information to be filed with the Township Clerk pursuant
to this chapter shall be as follows:
A.
Name of the person, firm, group, corporation, association or organization
conducting said sale.
B.
Name of the owner of the property on which said sale is to be conducted
and consent of the owner if applicant is other than the owner. The
applicant must reside on the premises.
C.
Location at which the sale is to be conducted.
D.
Number of days of the sale.
E.
Date and nature of any past sales.
F.
Sworn statement or affirmation by the person signing that the information
therein given is full and true and known to him to be so.
All yard sales shall be conducted between the hours of 7:00
a.m. and 6:00 p.m. only.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to or affect
the following persons or sales:
A.
Persons selling goods pursuant to an order or process of a court
of competent jurisdiction.
B.
Persons acting in accordance with their powers and duties as public
officials.
C.
Any person selling or advertising for sale an item or items of personal
property which are specifically named or described in the advertisement
and which separate items do not exceed five in number.
D.
Any publisher of a newspaper, magazine or other publication or other
communication media who publishes or broadcasts in good faith without
knowledge of its false, deceptive or misleading character or without
knowledge that the provisions of this chapter have not been complied
with.
E.
Any sale conducted by any merchant or mercantile or other business
establishment from or at a place of business wherein such sale would
be permitted by the zoning regulations of Buena Vista Township or
under the protection of the nonconforming use section thereof or any
other sale conducted by a manufacturer, dealer or vendor and which
sale would be conducted from properly zoned premises and not otherwise
prohibited in the revised ordinances.
F.
Any bona fide charitable, eleemosynary, educational, cultural or
governmental institution or organization; provided, however, that
the burden of establishing the exemption under this subsection shall
be on the organization or institution claiming such exemption.
A.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Code Enforcement Officer. It
shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to investigate any
violations of this chapter coming to his attention, whether by complaint
or arising from his own personal knowledge, and if a violation is
found to exist, he shall prosecute a complaint before the local Municipal
Court pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
B.
The person to whom such license is issued and the owner or tenant
of the premises on which such sale or activity is conducted shall
be jointly and severally responsible for the maintenance of good order
and decorum on the premises during all hours of such sale or activity.
No such person shall permit any loud or boisterous conduct on said
premises nor permit vehicles to impede the passage of traffic on any
roads or streets in the area of such premises. All such persons shall
obey the reasonable orders of any member of the State Police or local
Fire Departments of Buena Vista Township in order to maintain the
public health, safety and welfare.
Any person as defined herein conducting any such sale or similar
activity without being properly licensed therefor or who shall violate
any of the other terms and regulations of this chapter shall, upon
conviction in the Buena Vista Municipal Court, be subject to a fine
of not more than $1,000, imprisonment for not more than 90 days and/or
a period of community service for not more than 90 days. Each date
as such sale shall continue without being duly licensed shall be considered
a separate violation.