[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now the
Council) of the City of Perth Amboy 12-1-48 as Ord.
No. C-398. Section 349-11 amended at time of adoption
of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions. Other amendments noted where
applicable.]
The following words and terms used in this chapter shall be
construed as hereinafter set forth unless otherwise expressly provided:
Includes all buildings, dwellings and structures, whether
public or private, within the boundaries of the City of Perth Amboy.
The City of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
The Health Officer of the City of Perth Amboy or any of his
duly authorized representatives.
The actual owner of a building or premises, whether individual,
partnership, corporation, administrator, executor, guardian, the agent
thereof or other person having custody of the building or premises,
who resides out of the territorial limits of the City of Perth Amboy
or the State of New Jersey.
Any person that occupies or has the use of any building or
premises. In the case of a vacant building or premises, the owner,
agent or other person having custody thereof shall have the responsibility
of an "occupant" thereof.
The actual owner of a building or premises, whether individual,
partnership, corporation, administrator, executor, guardian, the agent
thereof or other person having custody of the building or premises.
Includes the owner, occupant, agent, individual, partnership,
corporation, administrator, executor, guardian, the agent thereof
or any other person in custody of any building or premises.
Includes vacant lots, lands, yards and open areas.
Any condition which provides shelter or protection to rats
or that is otherwise conducive to their existence and multiplication,
in, under or outside any building or premises.
A form of ratproofing to prevent the ingress of rats into
or to buildings and other structures. It consists essentially of closing
and protecting all openings and potential openings of exterior walls,
foundations, roofs, sidewalks, grates, outer entrances, floors, doors,
drains and all other openings that may be reached by rats from the
ground by climbing or burrowing, with materials impervious to rat
gnawing.
Every building in the city, whether private or public, vacant
or occupied, shall be ratproofed, freed of rats and maintained in
a ratproof and rat-free condition under the direction and supervision
of the Health Officer of this city.
It shall be unlawful for any person hereafter to construct,
repair or remodel any building or other structure whatsoever unless
such construction, repairing, remodeling or installation shall render
the building or structure ratproof in accordance with the regulations
prescribed herein; provided, however, that only such construction,
repair, remodeling or installation as affects the ratproof condition
of any building or structure shall be considered as subject to the
terms and provisions of this chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to occupy any building or
structure wherein foodstuffs are stored, kept, handled, sold, held
or offered for sale without complying with the ratproof regulations
prescribed herein for buildings and structures, and no license from
this city to conduct or carry on such a business will be issued to
any persons until there has been compliance with the terms of this
chapter.
The Health Officer is hereby authorized and empowered to make
unannounced and periodic inspections of the interior and exterior
of buildings, structures and premises in the city to determine full
compliance with this chapter. In the event that it is determined by
the Health Officer that a building or premises is not ratproof and
rat-free, he shall serve the owner or occupant with a written notice
or order to abate and remedy the condition and to take such other
rat control measures as may be deemed necessary and appropriate by
the Health Officer under the existing conditions. Said notice or order
may be served personally or by registered mail upon the owner or occupant,
agent or person in custody of a building or premises. Service of said
notice or order on a nonresident owner may be made by registered mail
addressed to him at his last known address as shown on the books of
the City Tax Collector.
Upon receipt of a written notice or order from the Health Officer,
the owner or occupant of any building or premises shall take immediate
measures to rat-free and ratproof the building or premises and otherwise
fully and completely comply with said notice or order, and unless
there is compliance therewith within the time specified therein, and
in no event to be less than ten (10) days, or within the time to which
a written extension may have been granted by the Health Officer, the
owner or occupant shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this chapter.
In the event that the owner or occupant of a building or premises
fails, neglects or refuses to comply with the notice or order of the
Health Officer, the Health Officer is hereby authorized and directed
to take such steps as may be necessary to ratproof and free the building
or premises from rats at the expense of the owner or occupant thereof
and to submit the bills for the costs thereof to the owner or occupant,
and unless said bills are paid within five (5) days thereafter, the
Health Officer is hereby authorized to institute an appropriate court
action in the name of the city to recover said costs from the owner
or occupant, as the case may be.
It shall be unlawful for the owner, occupant, contractor, public
utility company or anyone to remove the ratproofing from any building
or premises for any purpose unless the same is immediately restored
in a condition to keep said building, structure or premises ratproof.
Within the corporate limits of the city, all garbage or refuse
upon which rats may feed shall be placed and stored until collected
in covered containers of a type prescribed or approved by the Health
Officer, and it shall be unlawful for any person to dump or place
in any building or upon any premises any garbage and refuse of any
kind not covered as aforesaid.
It shall be unlawful for any person to leave, place, dump or
permit to accumulate in any building or upon any premises as described
herein in the city any garbage, refuse, rubbish, trash or junk that
shall or may afford food or harborage for rats.
[Amended 12-21-1976 by Ord. No. 121-76; 5-7-1991 by Ord. No. 546-91; 6-5-1991 by Ord. No. 559.91]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred
dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment
in the county jail for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days, or
by both such fine and imprisonment In addition, the Court may order
payment of restitution to the City of Perth Amboy for cost; incurred
in remediating any violation. Each violation of any of the provisions
of this chapter and each day the same is violated shall be deemed
and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
