[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Bridgeton 12-15-1981 by Ord. No. 81-13. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
General penalty — See Ch. 1, Art. III.
Alcoholic beverages — See Ch. 77.
Curfew for minors — See Ch. 130.
Littering — See Ch. 203.
Noise — See Ch. 226.
Parental responsibility — See Ch. 238.
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 247.
Pool halls and billiard parlors — See Ch. 260.
Smoking — See Ch. 294.
A. 
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
B. 
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein:[1]
CITY
The City of Bridgeton.
DIRECTOR
The Director of Public Safety.
LOITERING
Remaining idle in essentially one location and shall include the concepts of sleeping or protractedly lounge on seats, benches, or other areas; spending time idly; being dilatory; lingering, standing around, or engaging in loud, boisterous, threatening, abusive, insulting or indecent language; or engaging in any disorderly conduct or behavior tending to a breach of the public peace.
PARENT OR GUARDIAN
Includes any adult person having care or custody of a minor, whether by reason of blood relationship, the order of any court or otherwise.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any place to which the public has access and shall include any street, highway, road, alley, boardwalk or sidewalk. It shall also include the front or the neighborhood of any store, shop, restaurant, tavern or other place of business, and public grounds, areas and parks, as well as parking lots or other vacant private property not owned by or under the control of the person charged with violating this section or, in the case of a minor, not owned or under the control of his parent or guardian.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
No person in a public place shall:
A. 
With respect to buildings and other property:
(1) 
Willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper with, or displace or remove, any building, bridges, tables, benches, fireplaces, railings, paving or paving material, waterlines or other public utilities or parts or appurtenances thereof, signs, notices or placards whether temporary or permanent monuments, stakes, posts, or other boundary markers, or other structures or equipment, facilities or public property or appurtenances whatsoever, either real or personal.
(2) 
Fail to cooperate in maintaining rest rooms and washrooms in a neat and sanitary condition.
(3) 
Dig, or remove any beach sand, whether submerged or not, or any soil, rock, stones, trees, shrubs or plants, down-timber or other wood or materials, or make any excavation by tool, equipment, blasting, or other means or agency.
B. 
With respect to trees, shrubbery, lawns:
(1) 
Damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree or plant or injure the bark, or pick the flowers or seeds of any tree or plant, nor shall any person attach any rope, wire, or other contrivance to any tree or plant. A person shall not dig in or otherwise disturb grass areas, or in any other way injure or impair the natural beauty or usefulness of any area.
(2) 
Climb any tree, or walk, stand or sit upon monuments, vases, fountains, railings, fences or gun carriages or upon any other property not designated or customarily used for such purposes, or improperly lounge or sit on any bench.
No person in a public place shall:
A. 
Throw, discharge, or otherwise place or cause to be placed in the waters of any fountain, pond, lake, stream, bay or other body of water in or adjacent to any public place or any tributary, stream, storm sewer, or drain flowing into such waters, any substance, matter or thing, liquid or solid, which will or may result in the pollution of said waters.
B. 
Have brought in or shall dump, deposit or leave any bottles, broken glass, ashes, paper, boxes, cans, dirt, rubbish, waste, garbage, or refuse, or other trash. No such refuse or trash shall be placed in any waters in or contiguous to any public place or left anywhere on the grounds thereof, but shall be placed in the proper receptacles where these are provided; where receptacles are not so provided, all such rubbish or waste shall be carried away from the public place by the person responsible for its presence, and properly disposed of elsewhere.
[Amended 9-16-2008 by Ord. No. 08-8; 10-3-2023 by Ord. No. 23-33]
No person shall have in his or her possession any open container with unconsumed alcohol while in any place to which the public has access, including any street, highway, road, alley, boardwalk or sidewalk, public grounds, and parking lots which are generally open to the public.
[Amended 5-2-2017 by Ord. No. 17-05]
No person in a public place shall bring, or have in his possession, or set off or otherwise cause to explode or discharge or burn, any firecrackers, torpedo, rocket, or other fireworks or explosives of inflammable material, or discharge them or throw them into any such area from land or highway adjacent thereto without a permit issued by the City of Bridgeton Fire Official in accordance with the New Jersey State Fire Code (N.J.A.C. 5:70-1 et seq.). This prohibition includes any substance, compound, mixture, or article that in conjunction with any other substance or compound would be dangerous from any of the foregoing standpoints.
A. 
Applications to permit the use, display, or possession of fireworks or pyrotechnics in the City of Bridgeton shall be made to the City of Bridgeton Fire Prevention Bureau and approved in accordance with the New Jersey State Fire Code (N.J.A.C. 5:70-1 et seq.).
B. 
All public display applications shall also comply with N.J.S.A. 21:3-1 et seq. regarding fireworks and explosives such that City Council adopts a resolution prior to the scheduled use of the fireworks display.
No person in a public place shall build or attempt to build a fire except in such areas and under such regulations as may be designated by the Director. No person shall drop, throw, or otherwise scatter lighted matches, burning cigarettes or cigars, tobacco paper or other flammable material, within any public place area or on any highway, road or street abutting or contiguous thereto.
No person in a public place shall enter an area posted as "Closed to the Public," nor shall any person use, or abet the use of any area in violation of posted notices.
No person in a public place shall go onto the ice on any of the waters except such areas as are designated as skating fields, and provided a safety signal is displayed.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter, loaf, wander, stand or remain idle either alone and/or in consort with others in a public place in such manner so as to:
(1) 
Obstruct any public street, public highway, public sidewalk or any other public place or building by hindering or impeding or tending to hinder or impede the free and uninterrupted passage of vehicles, traffic or pedestrians.
(2) 
Commit in or upon any public street, public highway, public sidewalk or any other public place or building any act or thing which is an obstruction or interference to the free and uninterrupted use of property or with any business lawfully conducted by anyone in or upon or facing or fronting on any such public street, public highway, public sidewalk or any other public place or building, all of which prevents the free and uninterrupted ingress, egress and regress, therein, thereon and thereto.
B. 
When any person causes or commits any of the conditions enumerated in Subsection A herein, a police officer or any law enforcement officer shall order that person to stop causing or committing such conditions and to move on or disperse. Any person who fails or refuses to obey such orders shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter.
C. 
Loitering by minors. No parent or guardian of a minor under the age of 18 years shall knowingly permit that minor to loiter in violation of this section. Whenever any minor under the age of 18 years is charged with a violation of this section, his parent or guardian shall be notified of this fact by the Chief of Police or any other person designated by him to give such notice. If at any time within 30 days following giving of notice, the minor to whom such notice relates again violates this section, it shall be presumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary that the minor did so with the knowledge and permission of his parent or guardian.
[Added 10-6-2003 by Ord. No. 03-5]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall in the discretion of the Judge of the Municipal Court be punished as provided in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.