[Ord. No. 90-07 § 1; Ord. No. 2009-06; amended 5-14-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-5]
A certain document, three (3) copies of which are on file in the office of the Borough Clerk of the Borough of Island Heights, being marked and designated as the International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 Edition, as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of the Borough of Island Heights, Ocean County, New Jersey. The Code regulates and governs the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures; by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to insure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit for occupation and use; and the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures as herein provided. The Code shall provide for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Property Maintenance Code on file in the office of the Borough Clerk are hereby referred to, adopted and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this section, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in Subsection 12-1.2 of this section.
[Ord. No. 90-07 § 3; Ord. No. 2009-06; Ord.
No. 2013-03]
The following sections are hereby revised:
a.
Section 101.1. Borough of Island Heights, hereinafter referred to
as "This Code."
b.
Section 103.5. Fees. The fees for activities and services performed by the Department in carrying out its responsibilities under this Code are set forth herein in subsection 12-1.3.
c.
106.4 Violations, Penalties.
a.
Any person who violates any one (1) or more sections of this ordinance
shall be subject to a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00)
for each separate offense and/or confinement in the Ocean County Jail
for a period of not more than ninety (90) days. The Municipal Court
shall have the option of imposing community service for a violation
of any offense under this ordinance. Each day that a violation continues
after notice has been served shall be deemed a separate offense.
b.
Each and every day in which a violation of any of the provisions
of this Chapter exists shall constitute a separate offense.
d.
106.5 Abatement of Violations and Violation and Nuisance; a lien
against the premises. The imposition of penalties herein prescribed
shall not preclude the Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough from
instituting appropriate action to restrain, correct or abate a violation,
or to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure or premises,
or to stop an illegal act, conduct, business or utilization of the
building, structure or premises. Further, the Borough may, by resolution
of the Borough Council, abate a nuisance, correct a defect or put
a premises in proper condition so as to comply with the requirements
of this Chapter or applicable statutes, at the cost of the owner or
lessor, and the Borough may expend Municipal funds for such purposes
and charge the same against the premises, in the amount thereof, as
acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed;
nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost,
impaired or affected by this ordinance.
e.
Section 302.4, Weeds.
All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free
from weeds or plant growth in excess of eight inches for an improved
lot and eight inches for a vacant lot. All noxious weeds shall be
prohibited. "Weeds" shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants
and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs; provided, however, this
term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens.
The owner or agent having charge of the property shall not permit
vegetation, plants, and nonindigenous grasses to grow beyond the property
line.
Upon failure of the owner or agent having charge of a property
to cut and destroy weeds after service of a notice of violation, they
shall be subject to prosecution in accordance with Section 106.3 and
as prescribed by the authority having jurisdiction. Upon failure to
comply with the notice of violation, any duly authorized employee
of the jurisdiction or contractor hired by the jurisdiction shall
be authorized to enter upon the property in violation and cut and
destroy the weeds growing thereon, and the costs of such removal shall
be paid by the owner or agent responsible for the property.
[Amended 11-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-6]
f.
Section 304.14: May 1st through October 31st (can be adjusted).
g.
Section 602.3: October 1st to May 1st.
h.
Section 602.4: October 1st to May 1st.
i.
Section
111, Means of Appeal, is deleted in its entirety.
[Added 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-10]
[Ord. No. 90-07 § 3]
All property that is sold or rented in the Borough shall be
inspected by the Code Enforcement Official or his designated representatives
on every change of occupancy but not exceeding one (1) inspection
per calendar year. Upon making such inspection and a determination
that this Code and all applicable laws of the Borough and such other
laws that the Borough is empowered to enforce have been complied with,
the Code Enforcement Official shall issue a certificate indicating
the date and fact of compliance with such inspection.
The owner of property falling within the categories described
hereinabove shall be responsible for notification to the Code Enforcement
Official when there is a change of occupancy.
In the event that there is violation of this Code the owner
of the premises shall be responsible for the violations.
The owner of the premises shall pay to the Borough a fee of
thirty-five ($35.00) dollars for the inspection and a fifteen ($15.00)
dollar fee for a reinspection and issuance of the afore-described
certificate. The fee shall be paid to the Borough prior to the scheduled
inspection.
[1975 Code § 71-4; Ord. No. 98-16 § 1]
It shall be unlawful for any owner or possessor of any land
in this municipality to do any of the following things:
a.
Permit such land to have on the surface thereof any stagnant water;
b.
Permit such land to be lower than any adjacent land or highway, so
that surface water falls or flows to it, without either:
1.
Filling such low land to the approximate grade of the adjoining highway
or adjoining property; or
2.
Providing suitable and efficient drainage for his low land, to the
end that by either filling or drainage, as aforesaid, his lowland
shall not be the source of stench, obnoxious odors, a mosquito breeding
site or a place dangerous to public health.
c.
Permit on his land an abandoned, unused or unprotected wall, cellar
or other unnatural declivity in which stagnant water or debris is
retained or which is dangerous to a person, including a child, being
or coming upon the land.
d.
Permit to be installed or placed on his land any structure, thing
or device which, by reason of its shape or placement on the lands,
permits water to collect and be a source of stench, obnoxious odors,
mosquito breeding site or a place dangerous to public health.
e.
It shall be unlawful for any property owner, tenant or licensee to store outside of a building or on any property in the Borough of Island Heights, any unusable motorized boat or motorized watercraft (including those so in need of repair as to render them unseaworthy) that measures twenty (20') feet in length or more and is not currently registered. Except in the foregoing established business's classified and permitted as marinas per Chapter XXXII, Section 32-6.
1.
WATERCRAFT
MOTORIZE
SEAWORTHY
STORE or STORED
Definitions:
One propelled by power and/or sail.
To equip with a motor.
Fit or safe for a sea voyage.
Keeping upon any lands for a period of more than thirty (30)
days.
[1975 Code § 71-5]
Upon the complaint of any resident or property owner of the
Borough or any employee of the Borough or upon his own motion, the
Code Enforcement Official, or his designated agent, shall make an
investigation of the conditions complained of and shall report thereon,
in writing, to the Borough Clerk for the Governing Body.
[1975 Code § 71-6]
Upon receiving the report, if the land in question about which the complaint was made is found to be in such a condition that a violation of one (1) or more of the provisions of subsection 12-2.1 hereof exists on the land, the Borough Clerk shall notify the owner and possessor of the lands complained of, in writing, either personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to take such steps as will effectively remove the violation from the land within ten (10) days after receipt of the notice.
[1975 Code § 71-7]
The Code Enforcement Official shall reinspect the lands after
the ten (10) day period shall have expired and shall report, in writing,
to the Borough Clerk for the Governing Body whether or not the unlawful
condition complained of and previously found to exist in violation
of this section, has been abated or remedied.
[1975 Code § 71-8]
a.
In the event that the owner or possessor of the land shall refuse
or neglect to abate or remedy the condition complained of and which
constituted a violation of this section after the ten (10) day notice,
the Governing Body shall cause the condition complained of to be abated
and remedied.
b.
After the condition has been abated and remedied, the Governing Body
shall have a certificate of the costs of having the condition complained
of abated and remedied prepared by the Borough Clerk and presented
to it.
c.
Thereafter, the Governing Body shall examine the certificate and,
if found correct, shall cause the costs as shown thereon to be charged
against the land.
d.
The amount so charged against such land shall become a lien upon
such land, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and
to be enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
[1975 Code § 71-9]
Any person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be liable to the provisions of Chapter I, Section 1-5. The continuation of a violation beyond the date fixed for compliance in the notice shall be deemed a separate violation for each and every day said violation is allowed to continue. The penalties set forth in this section are separate and apart from the remedy provided for in subsection 12-2.5d hereof, and the remedy provided by N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.13 and 2.14 (L. 1943, c. 71, p. 280).
