[Adopted 8-9-1971 as Ch. 70 of the 1971 Code]
[Amended 10-10-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-35C]
It shall be unlawful for any owner, tenant or person to gather, accumulate, keep or permit the gathering, accumulation or keeping of brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash, debris or any of said articles on any land or in any place in the Borough of Beach Haven, in the County of Ocean, in such manner as to constitute a menace to public health, safety or general welfare, or to create a fire hazard. The Borough recognizes the value of chemical-free and natural landscaping as serving an important ecological role, including, but not limited to, providing a food source for pollinators and declining species, providing wildlife habitat, and erosion control. Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit the use of naturalized and native grasses, herbs, flowers and shrubs as a component or the central theme of natural landscaping.
[Amended 8-13-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-12C; 4-10-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-9C]
A. 
Whenever brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, grass in excess of six inches, filth, garbage, trash, debris or any of said articles shall be gathered or shall accumulate or are permitted to be gathered or accumulated on any land or at any place within the limits of the Borough of Beach Haven, in the County of Ocean, in such a manner as to constitute a fire hazard or a menace to public health, safety or general welfare, and when it shall be necessary and expedient for the preservation of the public health, safety, general welfare or to eliminate a fire hazard, to remove such articles, then the owner, tenant or person having charge or control over the premises where any such material has accumulated shall remove or cause the removal of said articles as provided for in this article.
B. 
The owner of any lands within the Borough shall not permit, and where it shall be necessary and expedient for the preservation of the public health, safety, general welfare or elimination of fire hazards, shall remove brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, overhanging limbs, obnoxious growths, filth, garbage, trash and debris from all areas between the curb and street (known as a "utility strip"). Shrubs, trees and other landscaping within the utility strip shall be maintained to scale as to not protrude into or otherwise interfere with the right-of-way provided by the sidewalk or roadway, nor shall such landscaping cause buckling or other damage to curbs, sidewalks or the roadway.
C. 
Curbs, driveway aprons and streets must be visible and maintained free from any brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, grass in excess of six inches, filth, garbage, trash, debris.
[Amended 9-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-20]
The Building Inspector and the Health Officer shall make inspections from time to time to ascertain whether or not violations exist, or upon receipt of information that a violation exists, shall make an investigation accordingly. If a violation is deemed to exist, the Health Officer or the Building Inspector shall present a report thereof in writing to the Borough Manager, setting forth the location of the premises where the violation is alleged to exist, the nature of the complaint, the kinds of articles assembled, and any other particulars applicable to the subject matter, and specifying whether there is a fire hazard or danger to public health, safety or general welfare. The Borough Manager shall thereupon give written notice of said complaint to the owner of said premises or to the tenant therein or the person having charge or control thereof, and shall specify a time and place when said owner, tenant or person in charge may have an opportunity to be beard with respect to the said complaint, said notice to be given at least two days before the time set for hearing. If at said hearing the Borough Manager shall determine that the complaint is well founded and that there is such a gathering or accumulation or any of the articles above mentioned to constitute a danger to public health, safety or general welfare, or to create a fire hazard, and that it is necessary and expedient for the preservation of the public health, safety, general welfare or to eliminate a fire hazard, to remove said articles, the Borough Manager shall then give written notice to the owner of said premises or the tenant therein or the person having charge or control thereof, requiring the removal of said articles within 10 days after the service of the notice. Any notice mentioned herein may be served in person or by mailing to the last known address of the respective owner, tenant or person in charge. When said owner or person in charge does not reside in the Borough of Beach Haven, in the County of Ocean, and when service is by mailing, then a copy of said notice shall be posted on the same day as the mailing at the premises where the violation exists.
[Amended 9-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-20]
If the owner, tenant or person in charge shall fail to remove said brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, filth, garbage, trash, debris or other articles within the time required by said notice, then said removal shall be accomplished by Borough employees under the direction of the Superintendent of Roads, who shall keep an accurate account of the cost of any such removal and shall certify such cost and expense to the Borough Council, which shall examine the certification, and if the Borough Council shall find the same correct, the said cost shall be charged against the lands upon which said articles were located and from which they were removed. A statement of such costs shall forthwith be furnished by the Clerk of the Borough to the Assessor of Taxes, and said cost shall forthwith become a lien upon said lands where the violation existed, and shall be added to, become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon said lands, to bear interest at the same rate as taxes, and said lien shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes, pursuant to the statutes governing the subject matter.
The word "person" for the purpose of this article shall mean any individual, firm, corporation, partnership or group of persons, and the plural or singular, and the masculine, feminine or neuter, shall be inferred, whichever is appropriate for the effectuation of this article.