[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Delaware by Ord. No. 70-3; amended in its entirety by Ord. No. 1991-11 (Secs. 3-2.1 and 3-2.2 of the 1985 Revised General Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 252.
[Amended 8-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-07]
No person shall appear in any street, sidewalk, alley, park or other public place, or quasi-public place to which the public is invited, in a drunken or intoxicated condition, or in a state of nudity, or make any indecent exposure of his or her person or be guilty of any other lewd or indecent act of behavior, or exhibit, sell or offer to sell any indecent or lewd item or thing or exhibit or perform in public any lewd act or other representation.
No person shall throw any stone, stick, or other hard or offensive substance, or shoot any device, at, or into or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, park, or other public place, quasi-public place, or place to which the public is invited or into any car, vehicle or private property not his own, which may cause injury or damage to any person or property using or being in or upon the same.
[Added 11-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-15]
A. 
Findings and Declarations.
(1) 
The Township of Delaware's police personnel have been called to respond to numerous disturbances in residential areas involving unreasonably loud, raucous, or jarring noises and/or conduct constituting disturbing the public peace and order, which the Township is authorized to regulate pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-1, Maintain Order.
(2) 
The Township of Delaware's police personnel have been called to respond to numerous complaints of trespassing on private property in residential areas, including unauthorized parking of cars and other vehicles, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:18-3.
(3) 
The Township of Delaware's police personnel have been called to respond to numerous incidents of underage drinking in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:33-15 on properties located in residential areas.
(4) 
Such disturbances are disruptive to the peace and quiet of residential neighborhoods and often constitute an immediate and significant threat to the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Township of Delaware.
(5) 
The need for repeated responses by the Township of Delaware's police personnel to the same disturbance creates a serious drain on available law enforcement manpower and leaves police unable to perform other duties, thereby creating a significant threat and detriment to public health, safety and welfare.
B. 
Prohibitions on disturbances on private property in residential areas.
(1) 
For the purposes of this ordinance, the term "person" means individuals, estates, trusts, partnerships, corporations, joint ventures, associations, limited liability companies and any other entity that owns, leases or controls property in the Township of Delaware.
(2) 
No person shall make, cause or suffer, allow, or permit to be made or caused upon any premises owned, occupied or controlled by him, her or it, or upon any public street or thoroughfare in the Township of Delaware, any unnecessary noises or sounds, whether by means of the human voice, mechanical or by any other means or methods, which are physically annoying to persons, or which are so harsh, or so prolonged or unnatural, or unusual in their use, time and place as to occasion physical discomfort, or which are injurious to the lives, health, peace, and comfort of the residents of the Township of Delaware.
(3) 
No person, their agent or employee shall permit or allow the assembly or gathering of individuals on private property that disturbs the public peace and order.
(4) 
No person under legal age shall drink an alcoholic beverage on private property in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:33-15.
(5) 
No person may trespass on private property, including parking a car or other vehicle on private property, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:18-3.
(6) 
It shall not be a defense that the owner or other person in control of the property on which the prohibited conduct occurs is not present at the time of the prohibited disturbance.
C. 
Repeated violations and penalties.
(1) 
Unless another penalty is expressly provided by New Jersey statute, any person violating any provision of this section shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not less than $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense. Each time a police officer must respond to a complaint regarding a disturbance shall be considered a separate offense. However, nothing shall prohibit the Township's police personnel from issuing more than one violation per visit to a property, if he or she believes it to be warranted.
(2) 
Nothing in this section shall prohibit Township of Delaware police personnel from immediately arresting persons determined to be in violation of the law.