[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
(a) Scope. The provisions of this article shall set forth standards for
the maintenance of those portions of premises covered by this Exterior
Property Maintenance Code. Premises shall comply with the standards
herein prescribed insofar as they are applicable.
(b) Responsibility. The owner of the premises shall maintain such premises
in compliance with these requirements. A person shall not occupy as
owner or permit another person to occupy or use premises which are
dangerous to life, health, property or safety of the public.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
Any excavation site shall be completely surrounded by a solid
screen fence of at least six feet in height.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
All premises shall be maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary
condition, free from any accumulation of rubbish or garbage, and in
a manner so as not to constitute a public nuisance or otherwise adversely
affect the public health or safety.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
The owners or occupants of every premises generating garbage
or rubbish shall provide, and at all times cause to be used, sealed
approved containers provided with close-fitting covers for the storage
of the garbage or rubbish until removed from the premises for disposal
and such containers shall be located in the rear yard of all properties,
including corner properties, devoted to commercial, industrial, or
multifamily use. Such containers shall be screened from view from
a public street or parking lot by solid fencing or vegetation. On
any property devoted to commercial, industrial or multifamily use,
where such rear yard location is not possible because of lack of space
or access, such containers may be located in the side or front yard
but, to the extent practical shall be screened from view from the
public street or parking lot as set forth above.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018; 11-1-2016 by G.O. No. 2072; 11-8-2023 by G.O. No. 2023-33]
All premises shall be graded and maintained so as to prevent
the accumulation of stagnant water thereon. If the slope of land is
toward neighboring properties, drainage shall be released so that
it will flow away from downslope structures to the maximum practical
extent. Stagnant water shall be determined as any accumulation that
has not dispersed within three days of the last recorded local rainfall.
Pools and hot tubs in regular use are exempt from the requirement
of this section. Sump pump discharge shall be routed to the roadway,
storm sewer or on the ground; provided, however, in connection with
new construction projects, and such other construction projects that,
in the reasonable opinion of the Town Engineer is necessary and appropriate
to prevent excess stormwater discharge and runoff, sump pump discharge
piping shall be connected to the storm sewer, if feasible; otherwise,
discharge shall be routed to the roadway. No sump pump discharged
to the surface of land shall occur within 10 feet from any property
line, sidewalk, street, or curb. No sump pump shall be connected to
the sanitary sewer.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
Except as otherwise permitted by resolution of the Planning
Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment, or as provided in the Land
Use Ordinance, all loading areas shall be paved with bituminous concrete
or equivalent surfacing and shall be free from dirt and other litter
and kept in good repair. When lighted for nighttime use, lights shall
not be permitted to shine directly upon dwellings nearby.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
The owner of a premises shall be responsible for the extermination
of rats, vermin or other pests in all interior and exterior areas
of the premises, except that the occupant shall be responsible for
such extermination in a single-family dwelling.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
All public sidewalks, steps, driveways, parking spaces and similar paved areas for public use shall be maintained in a state of repair, free of all snow, ice, mud and rubbish and free of hazardous conditions. If any public sidewalk, steps or driveway for public use, or portion thereof, by virtue of its state of disrepair shall constitute a danger to public health and safety, the sidewalk, steps or driveway for public use, or portion thereof shall be replaced or repaired. Steps shall comply with the requirements for exterior stairs set forth in Article
VIII.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018; 9-22-2020 by G.O. No. 2190]
(a) All
premises shall be maintained free from grass growth, weeds or other
invasive plant species growth which are detrimental to the public
health and welfare, or excessively overgrown as compared to the character
and condition of the surrounding properties and where the same could
constitute a blighted condition or public nuisance.
(b) Failure
to control the spread of such grass growth, weeds, or other invasive
plant species growth beyond the boundaries of a resident’s property
is a violation of this chapter. All new in-ground plantings of invasive
plant species are strictly prohibited. All existing plantings must
be contained by appropriate physical barriers to prevent the growth
or spread of existing invasive plant species beyond the boundaries
of a resident's property.
(c) Whenever
grass growth, weeds, or invasive plant species growth as defined by
this chapter is found on any plot of land, lot or any other premises
or place, and is found to lack appropriate physical barriers to prevent
the spread or growth of the species, or is found to have spread beyond
the boundaries of a property, a notice or order shall be given to
the owner of the property from which the invasive plant species has
spread, in writing, to remove or abate the invasive plant species
within the time allotted by this chapter. The cost of all remedies,
including the removal of plantings of invasive plant species, shall
be borne by the property owner.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
All commercial open yards and open storage areas shall be completely
screened from adjacent premises and the public right-of-way by a solid
screen fence or vegetation. The provisions of the Westfield Land Use
Ordinance regarding other requirements for outdoor storage shall apply
notwithstanding these provisions.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
Pipes, ducts, conductors, fans or blowers discharging gases,
steam, vapor, hot air, grease, smoke, odors or other gaseous or particulate
wastes shall be constructed, maintained and operated in a manner so
as to not cause discharge directly upon abutting or adjacent dwelling
units or premises.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
Open fires shall be prohibited except as specifically approved
by the Fire Department.
[G.O. No. 1694, § I; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No.
2018]
Motor vehicles and boats located upon premises shall be subject
to the following requirements:
(a) Residential areas. No unregistered or uninspected motor vehicle or
boat shall be parked ungaraged on any property in a residential zone
as defined in the Land Use Ordinance of the Town. No motor vehicle
or boat which is in a state of major disassembly; disrepair or in
the process of being stripped or dismantled, shall be parked ungaraged
or unscreened from the public view, in such a residential zone. No
motor vehicle or boat shall at any time undergo a major overhaul,
including bodywork, in such a residential district, unless such work
is performed inside a structure designed and approved for such purposes.
(b) Nonresidential areas. No unregistered or uninspected motor vehicle,
with the exception of new and used cars displayed for sale by new
car dealers, or boat shall be permitted on any property in a nonresidential
district unless the same is garaged or properly screened so that said
vehicle or boat is obscured from view from adjacent premises and the
public view. No motor vehicle or boat in a state of major disassembly
or disrepair or in the process of being stripped or dismantled shall
be permitted in a nonresidential district, unless the same is garaged
or properly screened so that said vehicle or boat is obscured from
view from adjacent premises and the public view.
[Added 12-14-2010 by
G.O. No. 1970; amended 6-3-2014 by G.O. No. 2018]
(a) Prohibited conduct. No person in control of private property (except
a residential lot with one single-family house) shall authorize the
repaving, repairing (excluding the repair of individual potholes),
resurfacing (including top coating or chip sealing with asphalt emulsion
or a thin base of hot bitumen), reconstructing or altering any surface
that is in direct contact with an existing storm drain inlet on that
property unless the storm drain inlet either:
(1)
Already meets the design standard in Subsection (b) below to
control passage of solid and floatable materials; or
(2)
Is retrofitted or replaced to meet the standard in Subsection
(b) below prior to the completion of the project.
(b) Design standard. Storm drain inlets shall comply with the following
standard to control passage of solid and floatable materials through
storm drain inlets. For purposes of this subsection, "solid and floatable
materials" means sediment, debris, trash, and other floating, suspended,
or settleable solids.
(1)
Grates.
a.
Design engineers shall use either of the following grates whenever
they use a grate in pavement or another ground surface to collect
stormwater from that surface into a storm drain or surface water body
under that grate:
1.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) bicycle
safe grate, which is described in Chapter 2.4 of the NJDOT Bicycle
Compatible Roadway and Bikeways Planning and Design Guidelines (April
1996); or
2.
A different grate, if each individual clear space in that grate
has an area of no more than 7.0 square inches, or is no greater than
0.5 inch across the smallest dimension.
b.
Examples of grates subject to this standard include grates in
grate inlets, the grate portion (non-curb-opening portion) of combination
inlets, grates on storm sewer manholes, ditch grates, trench grates,
and grates of spacer bars in slotted drains. Examples of ground surfaces
include surfaces of roads (including bridges), driveways, parking
areas, bikeways, plazas, sidewalks, lawns, fields, open channels,
and stormwater basin floors.
(2)
Whenever design engineers use a curb-opening inlet, the clear
space in that curb opening (or each individual clear space, if the
curb opening has two or more clear spaces) shall have an area of no
more than 7.0 square inches, or be no greater than 2.0 inches across
the smallest dimension.
(3)
This standard does not apply:
a.
Where flows are conveyed through any device (e.g., end of pipe
netting facility, manufactured treatment device, or a catch basin
hood) that is designed, at a minimum, to prevent delivery of all solid
and floatable materials that could not pass through one of the following:
1.
A rectangular space 4 5/8 inches long and 1 1/2 inches
wide (this option does not apply for outfall netting facilities);
or
2.
A bar screen having a bar spacing of 0.5 inch.
b.
Where flows are conveyed through a trash rack that has parallel
bars with one-inch spacing between the bars; or
c.
Where the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
determines, pursuant to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:4-7.2(c), that action to meet this standard is
an undertaking that constitutes an encroachment or will damage or
destroy the New Jersey Register listed historic property.