The provisions of this chapter protect and preserve the public
health, safety and welfare and security and quiet enjoyment of residents
and neighborhoods by requiring all property owners, including lenders,
trustees and service companies to properly maintain vacant and/or
foreclosing properties, and regulate the maintenance of vacant and/or
foreclosing properties in order to prevent blighted and unsecured
properties.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When
consistent with the context, words used in the present tense include
the future, words in the plural include the singular and words in
the singular include the plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
CREDITOR
The creditor having a right of foreclosure, including but
not limited to the holder of a mortgage on a property, and any agent,
servant or employee of the creditor, a loan servicing company, or
any successor in interest and/or assignee of the creditor's rights,
interests or obligations under the document granting foreclosure rights.
DAYS
Consecutive calendar days.
FORECLOSING
The legal process by which the creditor of a title holder
of a parcel of property, which has been placed as collateral or security
for a financial obligation, seeks to divest the title holder of his
rights to the property and have the property sold at a sheriff's sale
to satisfy the debt after the title holder defaults on the aforesaid
financial obligation.
NONRESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Any commercial, industrial and mixed-use real estate, or
portion thereof, located in the Borough of Wharton, including improvements
thereon.
NUISANCE
A.
Any nuisance known at common law or inequity jurisprudence or
as provided by the statutes of the State of New Jersey or the ordinances
of the Borough.
B.
Any attractive nuisance which may prove detrimental to the health
or safety of children, whether in a building, on the premises of a
building or upon an unoccupied lot. This includes, but is not limited
to: abandoned wells, shafts, basements, excavations, abandoned iceboxes,
refrigerators, motor vehicles, boats, any structurally unsound fences
or structures, lumber, trash, fences, debris or vegetation, such as
poison ivy, oak or sumac, which may prove to be a hazard for inquisitive
minors.
C.
Physical conditions dangerous to human life or detrimental to
health of persons on or near the premises where the conditions exist.
D.
Insufficient ventilation or illumination in violation of this
Code.
E.
Inadequate or unsanitary sewage or plumbing facilities in violation
of this Code.
F.
Unsanitary conditions or anything offensive to the senses or
dangerous to health in violation of this Code.
OWNER
Any person who, alone or jointly with several others, shall
have legal or equitable title to any premises, with or without accompanying
actual possession thereof, or who shall have charge, care or control
of any property unit as owner or agent of the owner, including but
not limited to a lessee, executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix,
trustee, receiver or guardian of the estate or as a foreclosing mortgagee
or mortgagee in possession, regardless of how that possession was
obtained. Any person who is a lessee subletting or assigning any part
of any property or property unit shall be deemed to be co-owner with
the lessor and shall have joint responsibility over the portion of
the premises sublet or assigned by said lessee.
PROPERTY
Any real estate, including residential, commercial, industrial
and mixed-use, or portion thereof, located in the Borough of Wharton,
including any improvements thereon.
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Any property that contains one or more dwelling units used,
intended or designed to be occupied for living purposes.
SECURITY
Measures taken to ensure that the property is inaccessible
to unauthorized persons.
VACANT OR ABANDONED
A property shall be considered vacant or abandoned if it
is not legally occupied by a mortgagor or tenant, which is in such
condition that it cannot be legally reoccupied, because of the presence
or finding of at least two of the following:
[Amended 4-10-2023 by Ord. No. O-05-23]
A.
Overgrown or neglected vegetation;
B.
The accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, or mail on
the property;
C.
Disconnected gas, electric, or water utility services to the
property;
D.
The accumulation of hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances
or materials on the property;
E.
The accumulation of junk, litter, trash, or debris on the property;
F.
The absence of window treatments such as blinds, curtains or
shutters;
G.
The absence of furnishings and personal items;
H.
Statements of neighbors, delivery persons, or government employees
indicating that the property is vacant and abandoned;
I.
Windows or entrances to the property that are boarded up or
closed off, or multiple window panes that are damaged, broken and
unrepaired;
J.
Doors to the property that are smashed through, broken off,
unhinged, or continuously unlocked;
K.
A risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the public or any
adjoining or adjacent property owners due to acts of vandalism, loitering,
criminal conduct, or the physical destruction or deterioration of
the property;
L.
An uncorrected violation of a municipal building, housing, or
similar code during the preceding year, or an order by municipal authorities
declaring the property to be unfit for occupancy and to remain vacant
and unoccupied;
M.
The mortgagee or other authorized party has secured or winterized
the property due to the property being deemed vacant and unprotected
or in danger of freezing;
N.
A written statement issued by a mortgagor expressing the clear
intent of all mortgagors to abandon the property; or
O.
Any other reasonable indicia of abandonment.
[Amended 4-10-2023 by Ord. No. O-05-23]
A. All owners of vacant residential property must register such vacant
properties with the Borough of Wharton Housing and Zoning Officer
within 10 days of such property becoming vacant. The registration
must be renewed annually as set forth below for as long as the property
remains vacant.
B. All owners of vacant nonresidential property must register such vacant
properties with the Borough of Wharton Housing and Zoning Officer
within 30 days of such property becoming vacant. The registration
must be renewed annually as set forth below for as long as the property
remains vacant.
C. Owners of vacant properties shall designate an individual or property
management company responsible for the security and maintenance of
the property. The individual or property management company responsible
for the security and maintenance of the property shall have an office
located in New Jersey within twenty-five miles of the property.
D. The registration required by this section must contain the following
information:
(1) The owner's name, telephone number, and mailing address. The mailing
address may not be a post office box.
(2) The street address and tax map designation (lot and block) of the
property.
(3) Whether the property is residential, nonresidential, commercial or
mixed-use.
(4) The name, telephone number, e-mail address and mailing address of
an individual or property management company located in the State
of New Jersey which is responsible for the security and maintenance
of the property. The mailing address may not be a post office box.
(5) A statement from the owner certifying that the property was inspected
as required by this chapter.
(6) Proof of utility (gas, electric, water) connections or disconnections.
(7) Proof of insurance meeting the requirements of Section 7(c) of this
Ordinance.
E. The owner shall have a continuing duty to notify the Borough of any
changes to the information contained in the registration between registration
cycles.
F. The Borough of Wharton Housing and Zoning Officer may promulgate
forms on which the information in the registration must be provided.
G. The owner must notify the Borough of Wharton Housing and Zoning Officer
if, at any time subsequent to registration as a vacant property, the
property is no longer vacant, and provide proof that the property
is no longer vacant.
H. Upon the
effective date of this chapter, the owner of any currently vacant
property and a creditor pursuing a pending foreclosure shall have
30 days within which to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
[Added 4-10-2023 by Ord. No. O-05-23]
[Amended 4-10-2023 by Ord. No. O-05-23]
A. The initial registration fee for a vacant or abandoned residential
property shall be $500 and must accompany the registration form. The
initial registration shall be valid for the remainder of the calendar
year in which the property is registered. Renewals for subsequent
calendar years shall run from January 1 to December 31, and payment
of the renewal registration fee shall be due by January 15 of the
relevant year. Registration fees and renewal fees will not be prorated
or refunded. Each annual renewal shall be $500. An additional $2,000
per property annually shall be required if the property becomes vacant
or abandoned, as per the definition of same in this chapter, at the
time of or at any time subsequent to the filing of a summons and complaint
in an action to foreclose.
B. No fee shall be charged at the time a creditor registers vacant or
abandoned nonresidential property with the Borough. If a tenant is
not secured for the registered vacant or abandoned nonresidential
property within six months of the date of registration of the vacant
or abandoned nonresidential property, an initial registration fee
of $500 shall be charged to the creditor. The initial registration
shall be valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which the
property is registered. Renewals for subsequent calendar years shall
run from January 1 to December 31, and payment of the renewal registration
fee shall be due by January 15 of the relevant year. Registration
fees and renewal fees will not be prorated or refunded. Each annual
renewal shall be $500. An additional $2,000 per property annually
shall be required if the property becomes vacant or abandoned, as
per the definition of same in this chapter, at the time of or at any
time subsequent to the filing of a summons and complaint in an action
to foreclose.
C. No governmental agency shall be required to pay the initial or renewal
registration fee.
The enforcement authority shall have the authority to inspect
the properties subject to this chapter for compliance and to issue
summonses for any violations.
Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Borough from taking
action to abate a nuisance or correct a violation where the owner
or creditor, as applicable, has failed to abate the nuisance or correct
the violation on a vacant property or a property in foreclosure after
notice and the opportunity to abate or correct. In such situations,
the Borough may impose a lien against the property for costs to correct
the violation or abate the nuisance. Such lien shall hereafter form
part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon said lands,
the same to bear interest at the same rate as such taxes to be collected
and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as such taxes.
No governmental entity shall be required to register under this
chapter. However, nothing contained herein shall be construed as granting
exemption to the governmental entity from property maintenance or
other obligations imposed by any other statute, regulation, or ordinance.
If any provision or portion of a provision of this chapter is
held to be unconstitutional, preempted by federal or state law, or
otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining
provisions of the chapter shall not be invalidated.