[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Waterford 2-22-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-8. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to implement the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et seq. to establish guidelines for the location
and use of charitable clothing bins throughout the Township of Waterford.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any enclosed receptacle or container made of metal, steel
or any other material, or similar pattern or design, which is intended
for the donation and/or temporary storage of clothing or other similar
type materials.
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 other similar devices for the collection of
money or other thing of value. The 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 within
the Township of Waterford, for solicitation purposes, without obtaining
a permit from the Municipal Clerk. Permits shall be renewable on an
annual basis during the month of January.
The annual permit fee is per bin and will be used to offset
the cost involved in enforcing this chapter.
The application for obtaining a permit shall include:
A.Â
The locations where the bin will be situated as precisely as possible.
B.Â
The manner in which the applicant anticipates any clothing or other
donations collected via the bin will be used, sold or disbursed and
the method by which the proceeds of collected donations will be allocated
or spent.
C.Â
The name and telephone number of the bona fide office of any person
or entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations
collected via the bin and where such person can be reached during
normal business hours. For the purposes of this subsection, an answering
machine or service unrelated to the person does not constitute a bona
fide office.
D.Â
Written consent from the property owner to place the bin on his/her
property.
In addition to the above application requirements, renewal applications
must include:
A.Â
A statement of the manner in which the applicant used, sold or disbursed
any clothing or other donation collected via the bin, the method by
which the proceeds of collected donations have been allocated or spent,
and any changes the applicant anticipates it may make in these processes
during the period covered by the renewal.
B.Â
The name and telephone number of the bona fide office of any entity
which shared or profited from any clothing or other donations collected
via the bin, and any of the entities which may do so during the period
covered by the renewal.
C.Â
If the location of the bin is to be moved, a precise description
of the new location where the bin is to be situated as precisely as
possible, and written consent from the property owner of the new location.
No application for a permit to place, use, or employ a donation
clothing bin shall be granted if it is determined 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 the placement of a bin where
it interferes with vehicular or pedestrian circulation. Any person
placing, using or employing a donation bin shall maintain the bin
and the area surrounding the bin so that there is no accumulation
of clothing or other donations outside the bin. No donation clothing
bin shall be permitted to be placed or operated on residential, vacant
and/or otherwise undeveloped property.
The following information shall be clearly and conspicuously
displayed on the exterior of the donation clothing bin:
A.Â
The permit number and its date of expiration.
B.Â
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.
C.Â
The telephone number of the owner'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. For purposes of this subsection, an answering
machine or service unrelated to the person does not constitute a bona
fide office.
D.Â
In cases where 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 the 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.
E.Â
A statement consistent with the information provided to the Township
in the most recent permit or renewal application, indicating the manner
in which the owner anticipates any clothing or other donations collected
via the bin will be used, sold, or disbursed, and the method by which
the proceeds of collected donations will be allocated or spent.
A.Â
The Township Construction Code Official, or authorized designee,
shall be the person to receive and investigate, within 30 days, any
complaints from the public about the bin. Whenever it appears to the
Construction Code Official, or authorized designee, that a person
has engaged in or is engaging in any act or practice in violation
of this chapter, the person who placed the bin shall be issued a warning,
stating that if the violation is not rectified 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.Â
In the event that the person who placed the donation clothing bin
does not rectify the violation or request a hearing within 45 days
of the posting of the warning, the Township may take the following
action:
(1)Â
The bin may be seized or removed at the expense of the person who
placed the bin, and the Township shall be permitted to sell at public
auction or otherwise dispose of the bin or any of its contents 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 Township.
(2)Â
The permit issued to the person who placed the bin in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter shall be revoked.
In addition to any other penalty or remedies authorized by the
laws of the State of New Jersey, any person who violates any provision
of this chapter or the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et seq. which
results in the seizure of the charitable donation bin shall be:
A.Â
Subject to a penalty of up to $20,000 for each violation. The Township
may bring this action in the Township Municipal Court or the Superior
Court of New Jersey 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 Township Chief Financial
Officer.
B.Â
Deemed ineligible to place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin
for solicitation purposes pursuant to this chapter and 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 or P.L. 2007, c.209 (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et seq.) may
apply to the Township Committee to have that person's eligibility
restored. The Township Committee may restore the eligibility of a
person who:
