[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Seaside Heights 2-19-1997 by Ord. No. 97-1. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
There is hereby established a place of resort
for public health, recreation, bathing and entertainment, including
construction and maintenance of boardwalk, bathing and recreational
facilities, safeguards and equipment in this Borough at the oceanfront,
upon all of the lands owned by this municipality or leased by it fronting
upon the Atlantic Ocean.
Said place of resort for public health, recreation,
bathing and entertainment shall be maintained by the Borough of Seaside
Heights.
The municipality shall acquire, construct, use
and maintain such safeguards, equipment and facilities as shall be
necessary in the proper establishment and maintenance of said place
of resort for public health, recreation, bathing and entertainment.
The municipality shall have the right and authority to purchase, rent
or otherwise acquire lifeboats, ropes, poles and other safeguards,
recreational facilities and equipment for the recreation, protection
and safeguard of human beings at said place of resort, while bathing
or otherwise, at said place of resort.
[Amended 5-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-15]
The municipality shall employ such lifeguard
or lifeguards and other seasonal employees as may be required for
the proper supervision of public bathing at designated public beaches
within the Borough of Seaside Heights.
The municipality shall have the right to police
said place of resort and to hire, engage and pay such police officers
as shall be necessary for the proper policing of said place of resort.
The municipality shall have the right to:
[Added 6-5-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-10]
A.
"Dune area" shall mean that area between the seaward edge of the
dune as exists or as established by the USACE Beachfill and Dune Project
or as may advance easterly through natural accretion from that initial
point and the landward edge of the dune as exists; is constructed
as part of the USACE Beachfill and Dune Project or as may be created
by natural migration of the dune to the west.
B.
No person shall be in the dune area unless:
(1)
Upon a natural or improved pathway, walkway or dune platform; or
(2)
In the performance of such activities as may be reasonable and necessarily
required to construct or maintain the dune, dune vegetation or allowed
structures with the permission of the owner; or
(3)
For the purposes of inspection, topographical survey, or enforcement
of this chapter; entry for these purposes shall not be deemed an actionable
trespass; or
(4)
As authorized by the USACE and/or the NJDEP and the Borough for the
construction and maintenance of the initial or subsequent beach and
dune construction projects as part of the USACE Fifty-Year Program
and consistent with the terms of the perpetual beachfill and dune
maintenance easement executed with each oceanfront property owner
(past or present) to meet the terms of the federal USACE Beachfill
and Dune Project; or any subsequent Borough- or NJDEP-approved beachfill
and dune project as may be implemented by the Borough pending unavailability
of federal funds.
[Amended 2-4-1998 by Ord. No. 98-5; 12-15-1999 by Ord. No. 99-34; 3-1-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-5; 3-2-2005 by Ord. No. 05-09; 4-19-2006 by Ord. No. 06-05; 12-2-2009 by Ord. No. 09-11; 2-6-2013 by Ord. No. 13-05; 7-16-2014 by Ord. No.
14-15; 1-20-2016 by Ord. No. 16-04; 2-15-2017 by Ord. No. 17-02; 12-6-2017 by Ord. No. 17-20]
In order to provide funds to improve, maintain and police the
said place of resort and to protect the same from erosion, encroachment
and damage by sea. or otherwise, and to provide facilities and safeguards
for public bathing and recreation, including the employment of lifeguards,
the following reasonable fees shall be charged to the person using
said lands and bathing facilities for access to the beach and bathing
and recreational facilities. provided that such fees shall not be
charged or collected from children under the age of 12 years. nor
from active and retired military personnel and their dependents upon
presentation of proper identification confirming such status:
A.
Daily badge fee:
[Amended 2-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-03; 3-2-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-01]
(1)
$10
per day per person during the usual bathing season commencing the
Friday of Memorial Day weekend every year.
(2)
Upon
resolution adopted by the Borough Council, a beach badge may be required
for the bayfront at Kearney Avenue on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day and shall be $5 per day
per person.
B.
The Borough Administrator, by resolution adopted annually by the
Borough Council, may be authorized to develop and approve promotions
consisting of free or discounted daily. weekly, and season beach badges,
including, but not limited to, the Lakewood Blue Claws free daily
beach pass promotion (approximately 200,000 beach pass awards); Mom
and Me Day; Dad and Me Day: Bring a Friend to the Beach Day: Val Pak
mailer promotion: AAA magazine promotion; radio promotions: social
media promotions; and prizes that are part of nonprofit organization
fundraisers (e.g., gift basket prizes). Likewise, the Borough Council
reserves the right to waive or reduce the beach fees for certain days
in the event the Borough is successful in obtaining sponsorship for
those days. In the event the governing body is successful in obtaining
the necessary sponsorship for a beach day or days, the Borough shall
designate the beach day or days by resolution.
C.
Individuals desiring to purchase a weekly beach badge running from
Saturday through Friday of any given week shall be required to pay
a fee of $35 per week.
D.
Individuals desiring to purchase a season beach badge shall be required
to pay a fee of $50 per badge per season if said badge is purchased
on or before May 15. If the season beach badge is purchased after
May 15, the price shall be $60 per badge.
[Amended 3-2-2022 by Ord.
No. 2022-01]
E.
Individuals desiring to purchase a weekly beach badge, season beach
badge, or senior beach badge, shall make application to the Borough
of Seaside Heights on a form approved by the Borough Administrator.
F.
No person may purchase more than five weekly beach badges per week
and five season beach badges per season.
G.
Daily wristbands/beach badges and senior badges shall be for the
exclusive use of the purchaser and shall not be assigned, transferred,
loaned, given, sold, rented or leased to any person.
[Amended 10-7-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-07]
H.
Weekly and season beach badges shall be transferable at the discretion
of the badge or pass holder.
[Amended 10-7-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-07]
I.
Senior citizen beach badge fee. Any person 65 years of age or older
shall be entitled to purchase a season beach badge for a fee of $15
per badge, or two for $25, upon presentation of a copy of a birth
certificate, or other valid proof of age, together with a photo identification.
Any "lifetime" or "VIP" senior beach badge issued by the Borough of
Seaside Heights prior to December 31, 2015, shall remain in full force
and effect.
[Amended 2-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-03]
J.
Beach badges shall not be resold, bartered, or redeemed for cash.
K.
The counterfeiting, copying, duplication or other reproduction of
any daily wristband, weekly beach badge. or season beach badge issued
by the Borough by anyone other than the Borough or its authorized
representatives is hereby prohibited.
L.
Each daily, weekly. and season beach badge constitutes a license
to use the beach, which license may be revoked by the Borough Administrator
or his designee in the event that the licensee misuses the beach badge
or otherwise violates any section of this chapter.
M.
The Borough shall not be responsible for misplaced, lost, stolen,
and forgotten beach wristbands and badges, including, but not limited
to, "lifetime" and "VIP" senior beach badges.
[Added 4-21-2021 by Ord.
No. 2021-08]
The Seaside Heights Beach Utility Fund is hereby created effective
January 1, 2021, for the purpose of regulating, maintaining and controlling
the Borough of Seaside Heights beachfront operations and keeping and
maintaining appropriate records of beach operating and capital expenditures,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:4-1 et seq. Into such fund shall be deposited
all beach tag revenues and miscellaneous revenues, and paid from such
fund shall be all operating and capital expenditures properly attributable
to the beachfront operations. The Seaside Heights Beach Utility Fund
shall be under the supervision and control of the Department of Finance.
[Amended 3-2-2005 by Ord. No. 05-09]
Unless permitted in a designated area of the
beach as authorized by the governing body, in which case signs shall
be posted in public view to advise the general public of the acts
which are permitted in said designated area, no person shall do any
of the following things at or upon the place of resort for public
health, recreation, bathing and entertainment:
A.
Throw, drop, discard or leave any wastepaper, garbage
or other refuse on the beach or in the water or anywhere which is
not a designated trash or recycling receptacle; or in any way litter,
make unsightly, damage, destroy or disfigure the said beach or any
public or private property thereat.
B.
Sell, peddle or hawk any food, drink or confections
upon the public beach.
C.
Noise:
[Amended 5-17-2017 by Ord. No. 17-14]
(1)
Bring onto the beach or Boardwalk Promenade amplified music of any
kind without having been issued a permit. Boom boxes, speakers, speaker
systems, radios, and other amplification devices are not permitted
on the beach;
(2)
Make any loud noise, sound or music to the annoyance of any other
person; or
(3)
Use loud or obscene language.
D.
Play ball or any other game, ride or operate a surfboard
or engage in any activity which will endanger another person or interfere
with the enjoyment of the quiet use of the beach or public boardwalk
or said place of public resort by another person or do anything which
shall endanger the life, health or safety of oneself or any other
person.
E.
Take any intoxicating liquor upon any public beach
or public boardwalk.
F.
Take or permit any animal, including but not limited
to dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, pigs, birds, snakes, or lizards,
whether loose, leashed or contained in a carrier, to be on or upon
the boardwalk or beach or in the ocean and bay waters in this Borough
at any time.[1]
[Amended 4-5-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-08; 7-15-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-04; 4-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-08]
H.
Molest or disturb any person in the peaceful enjoyment
of said beach, boardwalk or bathing facilities.
J.
Refuse or neglect to obey the orders and directions
of a public lifeguard as to time, place and distances for bathing,
or interfere with or obstruct a police officer or lifeguard in the
performance of his or her duty. Nor shall any person fail to obey
the order of the captain of the lifeguards or, in his or her absence,
the second-in-command of the beach patrol ordering the lowering of
beach umbrellas when wind conditions require the same. Additionally,
this shall apply to the captain's order to remove surf rafts from
the ocean when conditions have been determined to require the same.
K.
Operate a privately owned motor vehicle on the public
boardwalk at any time.
L.
Operate a privately owned beach buggy or other motor
vehicle on a beach during times and hours when the beach is opened
for bathers, which shall be during times when lifeguards are on duty.
M.
Enter or attempt to enter upon the public beach without
having purchased a current and valid beach badge from the Borough
of Seaside Heights. Upon request of any lifeguard, beach attendant,
police officer or other Borough officer or employee, an individual
on the public beach shall present his or her beach badge as proof
that he or she entered upon the beach in a legal manner. Failure to
produce a current and valid beach badge shall be grounds for removal
from the public beach and the issuance of a complaint for violation
of this section.
N.
Build or maintain bonfires or fires on the beach.
O.
Smoking in public places prohibited. Pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40:48-1 and 40:48-2, the smoking and/or burning of a lighted cigar,
cigarette or pipe, including any handheld electronic device which
vaporizes a liquid (e.g., e-cigarettes, e-cigs, electronic nicotine
delivery systems, electronic non-nicotine delivery systems, personal
vaporizers, PVs), or any other matter or substance which contains
tobacco, marijuana, cannabis, cannabis item, or any other matter that
can be smoked, is prohibited in those beachfront areas of the Borough
as are designated, from time to time, by resolution of the governing
body and posted by signs clearly identifying the area within which
such activity is prohibited.
[Added 7-2-2008 by Ord. No. 08-12; amended 4-19-2017 by Ord. No. 17-11;[2] 7-7-2021 by Ord. No.
2021-21]
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also changed the title of this
chapter from "Beaches" to "Boardwalk and Beaches."
P.
Restrictions
on the use of umbrellas and other fixtures on the beach.
[Added 4-19-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-11; amended 5-17-2017 by Ord. No. 17-14]
(1)
Umbrellas with a collapsible circular shade no greater than eight
feet in diameter stretched over hinged ribs radiating from a center
pole no greater than seven feet six inches in height, and without
grounding lines, ropes, or sides are permitted on the beach.
(2)
Devices designed or used to shade infants and small children, also
known as "baby tents," no larger than 36 inches high by 36 inches
wide by 36 inches deep, are permitted on the beach. Guests with infants
and small children who wish to use a small sport-brella style beach
shade device, one which does not exceed nine feet, may be directed
to set up on the west side of the beach near the Boardwalk Promenade
so that the device does not block the view of other guests.
(3)
Canopy style sun shades 12 feet by 12 feet and less without side
walls or screens are permitted on the beach westward of a line parallel
to the back edge of the lifeguard stands. Canopy-style sun shades
shall be placed no less than 15 feet apart from another canopy.
(4)
Guests who wish to use a small sport-brella style beach shade device,
one which does not exceed nine feet, may be directed to set up on
the west side of the beach near the Boardwalk Promenade so that the
device does not block the view of other guests.
(5)
Umbrellas, baby tents, canopies, and small sport-brella beach shade
devices shall be secured such that uncontrolled movement of the device
is restricted. Baby tents, canopies, and small sport-brella beach
shade devices when secured with fasteners, stakes, weights, or the
like shall not endanger beach patrons. Anchoring lines, tethers, or
the like shall not extend beyond the perimeter of the baby tent, canopy,
or sport-brella.
(6)
No person shall locate an umbrella, baby tent, canopy, or small sport-brella
beach shade device in an area obscuring a lifeguard's view of the
ocean or in an area impeding a lifeguard's egress from a lifeguard
stand, as determined by a lifeguard.
(7)
Umbrellas, baby tents, canopies, and sport-brellas shall be removed
from the beach daily.
(8)
Excluding umbrellas, baby tents, canopies, and small sport-brella
beach shade devices described above in this section, other shading
devices including, without limitation, tents, tarps, canopies larger
than 12 feet by 12 feet, canopies with side walls and screens, cabanas,
pavilions, temporary restroom facilities, and similar devices, or
any materials mounted on supports are prohibited except in connection
with an approved special event or ceremony.
(9)
Ganged shade devices of any type (i.e., shade devices that are physically
attached to each other) and the use of tie outs for shade devices
are prohibited.
Q.
Certain
devices and equipment prohibited. Except in the course of an approved
special event or ceremony:
[Added 4-19-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-11]
(1)
No person shall bring onto the beach serving trays, warming trays,
pots, pans, or devices utilized for the preparation or storage of
food.
(2)
No person shall bring onto the beach tables or stands or boards or
other devices positioned to function as a table.
(3)
No person shall bring onto the beach a cooler, barrel, or tub that
exceeds 24 inches in length and/or has a capacity greater than 36
quarts.
R.
No person
shall feed on the beach or boardwalk any wild animals including, without
limitation, seagulls, cats, dogs and foxes.
[Added 4-19-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-11]
S.
Electric-
or gas-powered or -assisted bicycles and pedestrian conveyances, including
but not limited to skateboards and scooters, are prohibited from operating
on the boardwalk at any time.
[Added 5-18-2022 by Ord.
No. 2022-08]
T.
No person
shall dig a hole deeper than 24 inches and/or wider than 48 inches
into the sand. Persons that dig a hole shall fill the hole before
leaving the hole unattended and before leaving the beach.
[Added 7-6-2022 by Ord.
No. 2022-14]
U.
No person
shall hang or affix any item, including but not limited to posters,
flyers, signs, banners, flags, stickers, string, rope, bungee cord,
tape, glue, or other material to any boardwalk timber, bench, railing,
pole, trash or recycling container, sign, beach cashier booth, or
other Borough property located on the beach or boardwalk.
[Added 7-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-14]
[Amended 5-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-15; 4-19-2017 by Ord. No.
17-11; 5-17-2017 by Ord. No. 17-14]
A.
Unless determined otherwise by a resolution of the Borough Council,
the general operating season shall commence on the Friday of Memorial
Day weekend and continue through Labor Day. During the operating season
all persons using the oceanfront and the ocean waters adjacent thereto
during operating hours shall obtain and display an appropriate season
beach badge, weekly beach badge, senior beach badge, or daily wristband.
B.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays: A beach badge/wristband is
required to enter or remain on the beach from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
However, the cashier booths may close at 6:00 p.m. and lifeguards
may leave the beach at 7:00 p.m. notwithstanding that a beach badge/wristband
will be required to enter or remain on the beach until 9:00 p.m. Monday
to Thursday: A beach badge/wristband is required to enter or remain
on the beach from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
C.
Bayfront and oceanfront bathing is permitted only when lifeguards
are on duty regardless of operating hours. No person shall enter the
bay or ocean when lifeguards are not on duty.
D.
All persons are restricted from remaining on the oceanfront beaches
after 10:00 p.m. except during approved special events and ceremonies.
Individuals actively engaged in fishing may be upon any municipal
beach at any time between the applicable beach closing hour and 5:00
a.m. of any day.
E.
The public boardwalk shall be closed for public use and no person
shall remain on the public boardwalk during the hours after 3:00 a.m.
and before 6:00 a.m.
[Added 5-2-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-04]
The Borough provides cold shower pedestals so that beachgoers
may wash off sand after they exit the beach. The following regulations
are established for use of the shower pedestals in the interest of
the public health, safety and welfare:
A.
Shower use is limited to three minutes per person.
B.
The use of shampoo and/or soap of any kind is prohibited.
C.
All children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
D.
Bathing suits or other suitable attire must be worn by adults and
children of all ages while using the shower.
E.
Disrobing in the shower is prohibited.
F.
Spitting, spouting water, or blowing the nose in the showers is prohibited.
G.
Discharging of bodily wastes, including but not limited to, urine
and fecal matter is prohibited.
H.
Use of the shower by individuals with open lesions or wounds or active
diarrhea is prohibited.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Police Department for the Borough of Seaside Heights, Special Police Officers, Lifeguards and Beach Attendants. It is the specific intention of the governing body of the Borough of Seaside Heights that lifeguards and beach attendants be authorized to write summonses for violations of the provisions of Chapter 33 and, in particular, § 33-8, entitled "Prohibited acts."
[Amended 3-2-2005 by Ord. No. 05-09]
A.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any
of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof,
be punishable by a fine of no less than $100 and no more than $1,250,
by imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or by community service of not
more than 90 days or any combination of fine, imprisonment and community
service, as determined in the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge.
The continuation of such violation for each successive day shall constitute
a separate offense, and the person or persons allowing or permitting
the continuation of the violation may be punished as provided above
for each separate offense.
B.
The violation of any provision of this chapter shall
be subject to abatement summarily by a restraining order or injunction
issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
