Article II Registrations, Inspections and Fees

§ 128-10 Required registrations.

All owners of all commercial, mixed occupancy, multiple-family and non-owner-occupied one- and two-family dwellings shall register with the Cresskill Division of Fire Prevention within 30 days of taking ownership of the property. Any property owner failing to register shall be subject to a penalty of $150.

All new tenants, lessees, or occupants of any commercial occupancy shall register with the Division of Fire Prevention within 30 days of obtaining a certificate of occupancy or certificate of continuing occupancy from the Cresskill Building Department. Any tenant, lessees or occupant failing to register shall be subject to a penalty of $150.

§ 128-11 Required inspections and fees.

The Division of Fire Prevention shall perform inspections and complaint investigations of all occupancies within the Borough of Cresskill with the exception of owner-occupied one- and two-family dwellings used exclusively for dwelling purposes and apply the regulations of this chapter and the Uniform Fire Code to the aforementioned facilities.

In addition to the inspections and fees required pursuant to the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the regulations of the Department of Community Affairs the following additional annual facility registration fees shall be collected:

Use Type	Description	Fee
A-1	Assembly occupancy with occupancy load between 1 and 50	$100
B-1	All buildings and/or occupancies of business use which do not exceed 2,500 square feet	$100
B-2	All buildings and/or occupancies of business use which are greater than 2,500 square feet but less than 10,000 square feet	$200
B-3	All buildings and/or occupancies of a business use which are 10,000 square feet or greater but less than 50,000 square feet	$400
B-4	All buildings and/or occupancies of a business use which are 50,000 square feet or greater	$600
F-1	All buildings and/or occupancies of a factory use which do not exceed 5,000 square feet	$200
F-2	All buildings and/or occupancies of factory use which are greater than 5,000 square feet but less than 10,000 square feet	$400
F-3	All buildings and/or occupancies of factory use which are 10,000 square feet or greater	$600
M-1	All buildings and/or occupancies of mercantile use which do not exceed 2,500 square feet	$100
M-2	All buildings and/or occupancies of mercantile use which are greater than 2,500 square feet but less than 4,000 square feet	$125
M-3	All buildings and/or occupancies of mercantile use which are greater than 4,000 square feet but less than 6,000 square feet	$150
M-4	All buildings and/or occupancies of mercantile use which are greater than 6,000 square feet but less than 8,000 square feet	$175
M-5	All buildings and/or occupancies of mercantile use which are greater than 8,000 square feet but less than 10,000 square feet	$200
M-6	All buildings and/or occupancies of mercantile use which are greater than 10,000 square feet but less than 12,001 square feet	$225
R-1	Residential one- and two-family non-owner-occupied dwellings	$100
R-2	Residential 3 to 10 units	$125
R-3	Residential 11 to 20 units	$200
R-4	Residential 21 to 30 units	$250
R-5	Residential 31 to 40 units	$300
R-6	Residential 41 to 50 units	$350
R-7	Residential 51 and up plus $10 per every dwelling units above 50 units	$400
S-1	All buildings and/or occupancies of storage use which do not exceed 5,000 square feet	$200
S-2	All buildings and/or occupancies of storage use which are greater than 5,000 square feet but less than 10,000 square feet	$400
S-3	All buildings and/or occupancies of storage use which are 10,000 square feet or greater	$600

Registration fees shall be paid on an annual basis within 30 days of notification. Any fee not paid within 60 days of the notification shall incur a late penalty charge equal to the amount of the original fee. An additional penalty charge equal to the original fee shall be incurred for each 30 days past the first 60 days. Failure to pay penalty and/or register may result in court summons and additional penalties.

All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be paid into the Borough of Cresskill treasury and shall thereafter be appropriated to the Fire Prevention Bureau for the enforcement of the Uniform Fire Enforcement Act.

§ 128-12 Fire safety permits and fees.

[Amended 3-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-03-1659]

All permit application fees shall be set in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.9(c), with the exception of the following. Permit fees may be waived at the discretion of the Fire Marshal provided that the permit applicant is an approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The following special inspections and fees are hereby established.

(1)

Certificate of smoke detector and carbon monoxide alarm compliance:

(a)

Requests made more than 10 business days prior to inspection: $100.

(b)

Requests made four to 10 business days prior to inspection: $125.

(c)

Requests made fewer than four business days prior to inspection: $150.

(d)

Reinspection fee per occurrence: $50.

(2)

Penalty for failure to obtain a certificate of smoke detector and carbon monoxide alarm compliance: $500.

§ 128-13 Technical amendments.

The current edition of the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code, as amended and supplemented, is hereby adopted, subject to the following modifications in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:71-2.8.

(1)

No person or persons shall erect, construct, place or maintain any bumps, humps, fences, gates, chains, bars, pipes, wood or metal horses or any other type of obstruction in or on any street within the boundaries of the municipality. The word "street," as used in this chapter shall mean any roadway accessible to the public for vehicular traffic, including, but not limited to, private streets or access lanes, as well as all public streets and highways within the boundaries of the municipality.

(2)

If the possibility of unauthorized use after being sealed exists, the Fire Marshal may affix lockout devices or seals onto the device and/or power source to prevent such use. It shall be a violation of this chapter for any person(s), agent, or employee to remove, destroy, or otherwise defeat the protective device except for the purpose of conducting authorized repairs. Before the appliance is placed back into service suitable reinspection, including performance demonstration, will be required by the Fire Marshal. Any expenses associated with such demonstration shall be the responsibility of the appliance owner.

(3)

When, in the opinion of the Fire Marshal, a kitchen hood suppression system does not conform to current standards for life and property protection he may order additional devices to increase surface protection, remote manual pull stations, or automatic fuel shut off valves installed.

(4)

Any person smoking in a building or area posted with a conspicuous "no smoking" sign may receive a notice immediately without previous verbal or written warning. A penalty of no less than $100 shall be issued.

(5)

All doors providing access to the rear of any occupancy shall be marked, at the discretion of the Fire Marshal, with the name of the occupancy and street name and number.

(6)

No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open burning of refuse or plant life, nor conduct a salvage operation with the use of open burning except for the limited purpose of outdoor cooking where done with equipment or fireplace designed for such purpose and in a manner not offensive to persons in the vicinity thereof. A penalty of no less than $100 may be issued without previous verbal or written warning if such action described above occurs.

(7)

It shall be the responsibility of any contractor, maintainer, or building representative to notify all tenants, occupants, staff, Cresskill Police Department, the Fire Department communications center and the Fire Prevention Bureau prior to performing any tests, repairs, or other work that could cause the activation of, or render any component of any fire protection system out of service. A penalty of no less than $250 may be issued without previous verbal or written warning for failure to make all notifications described above.

(8)

All new and existing fire alarm systems requiring a code to access system functions such as reset, and silence shall utilize the Borough of Cresskill Fire Department identification number "0208." Any system which requires a code in excess of four digits shall utilize a code approved by the Fire Marshal.

(9)

It shall be a violation for any person, owner, tenant, employee, or agent to reset, deactivate, or reduce the effectiveness of any fire alarm or suppression device prior to the arrival of the Cresskill Fire Department. A penalty of no less than $250 may be issued without previous verbal or written warning if such action described above occurs.

(10)

All new and existing buildings that contain a Fire Department sprinkler/standpipe connection shall be equipped with a vandal-resistant cap as approved by the Fire Marshal. Such caps shall be installed at the expense of the building owner after receiving written notice of compliance requirement. It shall be a violation of this chapter for any person or agency to remove, defeat, vandalize, or steal such protective cap.

(11)

All partial area sprinkler systems with a Fire Department connection shall have a sign located at the Fire Department connection stating the area of protection for that premise.

(12)

All Fire Department sprinkler and stand pipe connections shall have a red light located a minimum of five feet above the connection and be visible from the main street side of the building. The red light shall remain illuminated 24 hours per day. The fixture shall be a pendant style and design approved by the Fire Marshal and shall consist of a red globe illuminated by a long life white bulb with an average life greater than 3,000 hours and providing no less than 800 lumens.

(13)

No person shall operate any fire hydrant without the express written permission of the Fire Marshal and the water company having jurisdiction. Exception: use by any person employed by the Borough of Cresskill or Suez Water or authorized by Suez Water for such use. No use shall hinder or reduce the firefighting capability of a fire hydrant. A penalty of no less than $250 may be issued without previous verbal or written warning if such action described above occurs.

(14)

All building owners and commercial occupants shall complete and submit an emergency contact form approved by the Cresskill Fire Prevention Bureau.

(15)

Where, in the opinion of the Fire Marshal, a potential for repeated violations of aisle or storage requirements exists, the person responsible for such storage may be required to maintain permanent durable markings on the floors or walls of such areas to delineate aisles and passageways.