[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:
BUILDING
Includes all buildings, dwellings and structures, whether public or private, within the boundaries of the City of Perth Amboy.
CITY
The City of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
HEALTH OFFICER
The Health Officer of the City of Perth Amboy or any of his duly authorized representatives.
NONRESIDENT OWNER
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.
OCCUPANT
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.
OWNER
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.
PERSON
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.
PREMISES
Includes vacant lots, lands, yards and open areas.
RAT HARBORAGE
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.
RATPROOFING
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.