[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Orange 5-6-80 by Ord. No. 17-80 (passed over veto 5-20-80). Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter may be cited as the "Vacant Housing Registration
and Regulation Ordinance."
A.
The City Council of the City of Orange finds and declares that:
(1)
An adequate supply of decent, safe, sanitary and attractive housing
is essential to the health, safety and general welfare of the people
of the City of Orange.
(2)
There is an inadequate supply of decent, safe, sanitary and attractive
housing available to the people of the City of Orange.
(3)
Vacant housing contributes significantly to depriving the people
of the City of Orange of the opportunity to be adequately housed.
(4)
Vacant housing presents additional risks of fire and consequent danger
to human life, and of damage to and loss of property.
(5)
Vacant housing presents additional physical risks to the public health
and safety, including but not limited to danger from undisclosed defects
in structural elements and systems; rats, roaches and other vermin;
holes; slippery surfaces; faulty drains; loose stones, boards and
shingles; broken pipes, shutters and glass and other risks attractive
to children and dangerous to public employees in the course of their
duty, such as policemen, firemen and health and safety inspectors
and to the general public.
(6)
Vacant housing presents an attraction to and a refuge for criminals
and is an opportunity for and a contributing cause of crime, including
burglary, vandalism, arson, robbery, assault, rape, abduction and
murder.
(7)
Vacant housing exacts additional costs from the taxpayers of the
City of Orange for police, fire, health and sanitation services.
(8)
Vacant housing is substantially more likely than occupied housing
to deteriorate.
(9)
Vacant housing, and especially vacant deteriorated housing, imposes
unacceptable economic and social costs on the people of the City of
Orange, detracts from property values, fosters deterioration and blight
of vital neighborhoods, contributes to economic uncertainty that prevents
needed economic development and is a source of social instability
that breeds discouragement, decay and disorder.
B.
For the reasons set forth in Subsection A above, the City Council hereby further determines and declares that:
(1)
Vacant and deteriorated housing is a public nuisance.
(2)
In order to monitor the condition of the housing stock of the City
of Orange, identify the causes and sources of blight, enable the government
of the City of Orange to take remedial and corrective action to control
and eliminate the evils, dangers and costs that vacant and deteriorated
housing presents, and thereby to conserve, protect and promote essential
resources, attractive community environments and the health, safety
and general welfare of the people of the City of Orange, vacant housing
in the City of Orange shall be subject, in addition to other applicable
provisions of law, to the requirements hereinafter set forth.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall
have the meanings indicated:
Any room or group of rooms forming a single unit and designed
or intended to be used for living and sleeping, whether or not designed
or intended for the preparation and eating of meals or to be under
the exclusive control of the occupants, but does not include:
Any building containing one (1) or more dwelling units or
any part of any building which is a dwelling unit with access to the
outside, either directly or through a common stairway or hallway,
which on or after the effective date of this chapter:
Is unoccupied and unlocked or not otherwise secured; unoccupied
and boarded up or otherwise secured by methods not used in the original
design of the building or for normal occupancy; or has been or becomes
unoccupied for a continuous period of longer than ninety (90) days;
Is zoned for residential use; and
Was last lawfully occupied for residential purposes.
A.
The Mayor shall keep a register of all dwelling units of vacant housing in the City of Orange, except for such units exempt from registration under Subsection B(1) below.
B.
Registration; promulgation of rules.
(1)
Except for the Governments of the United States and the State of
New Jersey and their instrumentalities (not including the Government
of the City of Orange), the owner or owners of each dwelling unit
of vacant housing in the City of Orange shall register it within thirty
(30) days after the later of the date it becomes vacant or the date
on which regulations are promulgated pursuant to this chapter.
(2)
The Mayor shall promulgate regulations to provide procedures for
registration of vacant dwelling units and the submission of all needed
information with respect thereto, including the names and addresses
of all persons who have a present interest in the premises and the
facts and conditions of the vacancy for all dwelling units being registered.
The regulations shall provide that the Mayor may make exemptions,
in whole or in part, from the requirement to pay registration fees
in cases which, after a hearing, are determined to present unusual
hardship. The regulations shall also provide for administrative review
by an appellate office designated by the Mayor of all contested administrative
determinations.
(3)
If any present interest in any dwelling unit of vacant housing is
transferred, a new registration of such unit shall be required within
ten (10) days after the transfer.
(4)
If the name or address of any person required for registration changes, but the change is not related to the transfer of any present interest in any dwelling unit of vacant housing, the change shall be reported in writing within twenty (20) days. Failure to do so shall subject such person to the charge as provided in Chapter 88, Fees, for each dwelling unit of vacant housing for which such information is required.
[Amended 5-18-1982 by Ord. No. 16-82]
C.
Each period of registration shall be for six (6) months.
D.
For each registration period, a registration fee to be established by the Mayor shall be required for the registration of each dwelling unit of vacant housing. At the expiration of each such registration period, a new registration fee shall be required for each dwelling unit of vacant housing. Registration fees established by the Mayor under this section shall not exceed, for each dwelling unit of vacant housing, the amounts provided in Chapter 88, Fees, for the initial period of registration; and, if such unit was not lawfully reoccupied and remains vacant, the amounts as provided in said chapter for the second period of registration and for each succeeding period of registration.
[Amended 5-18-1982 by Ord. No. 16-82]
E.
Registration fees shall not be required for the registration of any
dwelling unit of vacant housing which is:
(1)
Owned by the Government of the City of Orange or any of its instrumentalities;
(2)
Under construction or undergoing rehabilitation, renovation or repair
and for which there is a valid building permit that was issued within
the prior eighteen (18) months; or
(3)
Located in a building which contains no more than five (5) dwelling
units and in which an owner thereof resides.
F.
Failure to register.
(1)
For failure to register or reregister as required any dwelling unit
of vacant housing that is not exempt from registration fees, there
shall be imposed for each such unit an additional charge, as follows:
(a)
For late initial registration or for late reregistration for any succeeding period made within thirty (30) days after the date required, in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the registration fee for the appropriate period established by the Mayor under Subsection D above.
(b)
For registration after such thirty-day period, but before notice as provided in Subsection F(1)(c) below, in an amount equal to such registration fee.
(c)
For failure to register within thirty (30) days after notice,
by certified mail, in an amount equal to three (3) times such registration
fee.
(2)
For failure to register or reregister as required any dwelling unit of vacant housing exempt from payment of registration fees under Subsection E(2) and (3), there shall be imposed a charge equal to the amount of the additional charge that would be imposed under Subsection F(1) above, if such unit were not exempt from registration fees.
G.
Any fees or charges provided for in this section that remain unpaid
after they become due shall be assessed as a tax against the real
property to which they relate and be subject to the appropriate statutory
provisions for the collection of real estate taxes in the City of
Orange.
H.
If any dwelling unit of vacant housing is returned to lawful occupancy during a registration period for which the required fee has been paid, the Mayor shall, upon receipt of such proof of lawful occupancy as the Mayor may require, refund part of the fee (excluding any charges imposed under Subsections F or G above) as follows: If the unit is occupied within the first two (2) months, two-thirds (2/3) shall be refunded; if within the second two (2) months, one-third (1/3) shall be refunded; if within the last two (2) months, none shall be refunded.
The Mayor may cause to be affixed to the property containing
any dwelling unit of vacant housing required to be registered under
this chapter a sign setting forth the name of the owner or owners
of such unit and any other pertinent information as the Mayor may
determine.
The Mayor is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations
to implement this chapter.
[Added 5-18-1982 by Ord.
No. 16-82]
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding
five hundred dollars ($500.) or imprisonment for a period not exceeding
ninety (90) days, or both.
[Added 9-2-2003 by Ord.
No. 24-2003]
When any building or structure within the City of Orange Township,
whether residential, commercial, industrial or any other type has
been vacant and unoccupied for a period of thirty (30) days and the
Director of Planning and Development or his designee certifies that
same contributes a danger and/or a threat to the health, safety and
welfare to the inhabitants or other buildings in the area or to the
general public at large, the owner or owners of the premises within
seven (7) days of receipt of such certification by certified mail,
return receipt requested, or such further period as the aforesaid
Director shall grant the following action be required to be taken
by said owner.
A.
The said owner shall remove all debris including left behind furniture
and appliances and put the premises in a broom clean condition.
B.
The said owner shall without exception protect and secure said building
by having all entrances leading into or out of building, including
windows, completely covered and protected on the outer surface thereof
within one-half (1/2) with thick ply score or plywood in the case
of frame structures or with 10 gauge sheet metal in the case of brick,
concrete, concrete block or cinder block buildings.
C.
Upon failure of said owner or owners to secure and protect the building
in the manner prescribed above, immediate notice shall be given and
upon receipt of such notice the city shall be vested with the authority
to secure the building and certify a lien against said property. Where
in the judgment of the Director of Planning and Development or his/her
designee the owner is making a good faith attempt to remediate violations
as set forth herein, he may extend additional time to the owner to
finish such repairs.
D.
Failure of the owner or owners to so secure and protect the said
building in a manner as so prescribed in the section contained above
after receipt of notice shall subject said owner to a summons which
shall carry a penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.)
or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.) or imprisonment not to
exceed ninety (90) days. Such fine may be levied in a daily manner
for each day the violation continues to exist.
