[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood 11-11-1986 by Ord. No. 2066; amended in its entirety 3-13-2019 by Ord. No. 3706. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 145.
Garbage, rubbish, refuse and recycling — See Ch. 165.
Health and sanitation — See Ch. 172.
No person, as herein defined, shall place or permit to be placed in the Village of Ridgewood a refuse container or similar container commonly used for the collection of building materials, except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings indicated:
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
The Department of Police of the Village of Ridgewood, the Department of Buildings and Inspections, or the Department of Public Works, Engineering Division.
LICENSING OFFICES
The Department of Police of the Village of Ridgewood or the Department of Buildings and Inspections.
NUISANCE
Any condition which is harmful to life or health or that which renders air, water, soil or any type of food hazardous or injurious to human life or health.
PERSON
Includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, organization or entity of any type.
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Any real property located within the Village of Ridgewood which is not within the jurisdiction and control of the Village of Ridgewood or any other governmental agency.
PUBLIC AREA
Includes any street, sidewalk, highway, public lane, alley, Village parking lot or other public place in the Village.
REFUSE CONTAINER
Any portable container, without motor power, designed to be towed, drawn or carried by a motor vehicle and placed upon private property for the purpose of the temporary storage and collection of refuse, debris, building materials and similar materials, including what is commonly known as a "roll-off container" or "dumpster."
RESIDENTIAL ZONE
Any residential zone, as defined in Chapter 190, Land Use and Development, of the Ridgewood Village Code.
No person shall place or utilize a refuse container or permit a refuse container to be placed or utilized in the Village of Ridgewood without first having obtained a permit therefor.
A. 
Any person seeking to place, permit to be placed or utilize a refuse container in a public area in the Village of Ridgewood shall do so only after having obtained a permit from the Department of Police. Any person seeking to place or utilize a refuse container on private property shall only do so after having obtained a permit from the Department of Buildings and Inspections. In order to obtain a permit, an application for a permit on a form to be furnished by the appropriate enforcing agency shall be filed and the appropriate fee shall be paid.
B. 
The application shall require that the applicant specify the proposed location of the refuse container, the size and capacity thereof, the estimated duration during which the refuse container shall be placed on private property and the contemplated use of the refuse container.
C. 
The fee for obtaining a permit to place a refuse container on private property shall be as set forth in Chapter 145, Fees. A permit shall be required prior to the placement of any refuse container on private property. However, if the period of time for the placement of the refuse container is less than one calendar week, there will be no permit fee required, but a permit shall still be required. The permit shall be issued for a term not to exceed 15 calendar days if the refuse container is placed in a public area and 30 calendar days if the refuse container is placed on private property. The permit may be renewed once upon the written request of the applicant without filing of a new application but upon the payment of an additional fee as set forth in Chapter 145, Fees. In addition to the application fee and the renewal fee, if applicable, the daily fee (after the seven-day grace period), as set forth in Chapter 145, Fees, determined by the size of the refuse container, shall be paid at the time of application based on the applicant's estimate of the number of days for which the permit shall be required.
[Amended 5-10-2023 by Ord. No. 3956]
D. 
A permit may be issued to allow the placement of a refuse container on private property for an initial period of 30 calendar days. A permit may be renewed for no more than two additional six-month periods, or portions thereof, upon application for renewal by a permit holder, but no longer than 30 days after a valid certificate of approval or certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Department of Buildings and Inspections.
E. 
A permit is valid only when the work is continuous. Any cessation of work for more than 15 calendar days shall invalidate the permit and the refuse container shall be removed.
F. 
No refuse container in excess of 30 cubic yards shall be permitted in the Village of Ridgewood. The permit shall be issued for a specific period of time based on the estimate of the applicant at the time the application is filed.
G. 
For refuse containers placed in the public areas, at the time the application is filed, each applicant shall furnish the Village of Ridgewood with a certificate of insurance containing limits of at least $100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for property damage, which shall name the Village of Ridgewood as an additional insured and which shall be noncancellable during the permit period.
H. 
Each applicant for a permit to place a refuse container in a public area shall furnish the Village of Ridgewood with sufficient surety, to be determined by the Village Engineer, to guarantee against damage to the streets, curbs and sidewalks or other improvements in the public right-of-way.
I. 
No refuse container shall be placed in a public area more than 24 hours prior to commencement of construction and shall not remain therein more than 24 hours subsequent to construction being completed.
J. 
No permit shall be issued if the Department of Police determines that the issuance of a permit will constitute a danger to public safety or an unwarranted interference with the efficient movement of traffic.
K. 
A permit may be revoked at any time during its term if the placement or use of a refuse container constitutes a hazard to the health, safety or welfare of the citizens of the Village or for any other reason constitutes a nuisance.
L. 
The Village Manager may exempt from all but the safety requirement of this chapter any persons contracting with the Village.
A. 
No refuse container shall be placed in a public area in a residential zone unless it is determined by the Department of Police that there is not sufficient room on the private property of the person utilizing the refuse container to place said container and therefore, the refuse container is required to be placed in a public area. No refuse container placed on private property, shall impede the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or safety site lines.
B. 
Refuse containers may be placed in public areas only upon the determination the Department of Police that there is no safe or practical place where the refuse container may be placed other than in the public area.
C. 
All refuse containers placed in public areas are required to comply with the following conditions:
(1) 
Planking or other wood sheeting of sufficient size is required to be placed under the wheels or road contact areas to protect the roadway from damage. If the refuse container has wheels, they must be chucked to prevent movement.
(2) 
Flashing, warning, amber, barricade-mounted lights are required to be placed on the refuse container to provide a visual warning to those utilizing the roadway or public right-of-way. The lights are required to be operable at all times.
(3) 
No refuse container shall be permitted in a public area the placement of which interferes with the free and safe flow of traffic or which otherwise stands in a hazardous location.
(4) 
Refuse containers shall not be permitted to be placed in a public area on certain designated holidays, sale days and special event days that occur from time to time during the year.
D. 
Upon removal of the refuse container, the public area shall be swept clean of all loose debris and restored to its former condition in accord with the standards of the Department of Public Works, Engineering Division.
E. 
All refuse containers shall at all times be kept in good repair and shall be structurally sound and leak-proof and shall be painted as to prevent the show of rust or deterioration and shall be constructed to stand firmly upright.
Refuse containers shall be permitted in all residential zones subject to the following provisions:
A. 
No more than one refuse container may be placed on the applicant's property at any one time.
B. 
No refuse container shall be located within 10 feet of a property line, unless located on a driveway.
C. 
All refuse containers shall be set back minimally 10 feet from principal buildings.
D. 
All refuse containers shall be located in such a manner as to utilize existing buffers for the purpose of screening refuse containers from adjoining properties.
E. 
The refuse container shall have affixed thereto a decal or sticker provided by the Village in such location as to be readily visible from the public street or at such location as shall be designated in the permit. Upon expiration of the permit, the decal or sticker shall be removed.
F. 
Any person who controls, whether owned, leased or operated, a refuse container must ensure that such container is covered at all times and shall prevent refuse from spilling out or overflowing.
G. 
Any person who controls, whether owned, leased or operated, a refuse container must ensure that such container does not leak or otherwise discharge liquids, semi-liquids or solids.
A. 
The owner or other person having control of a refuse container for which a permit has been issued shall remove said refuse container from the private property prior to the expiration of the permit unless an additional permit is obtained prior to the expiration thereof.
B. 
In the event the refuse container is not removed from the private property prior to the expiration of the permit, or in the event no permit has been issued, the Village shall have the right to remove the refuse container from the private property.
C. 
Both the owner of the refuse container and the person requesting the refuse container on the private property shall be responsible for the cost of said removal.
D. 
In addition to such other remedies as may be provided by law, the cost of removal, storage and any other cost incurred by the Village in connection with the removal of said refuse container shall constitute a lien upon the real property owned by the applicant for which the permit was requested.
A. 
Each day that a refuse container remains on site in violation of this chapter, shall subject the applicant to penalties, with each day that the refuse container remains on site considered to be a separate violation of the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Any person found to have violated any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a minimum fine of $250 per violation, not to exceed $2,000.
C. 
If any conditions/regulations are violated, the Village can revoke the permit and require its immediate removal.
D. 
The regulations shall be enforced by the Village Police Department, the Department of Buildings and Inspections and the Department of Public Works, Engineering Division.