[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Leonia 4-14-1969 by Ord. No. 665 (Ch. 112 of the
1982 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following words in this chapter shall be
defined as follows:
The preparation of food by the employment of heat in stoves,
ovens, grills, ranges, deep fat fryers, broilers and similar devices
or utensils.
Any individual, partnership, corporation or other local entity,
and shall include the plural as well as the masculine or feminine.
The emission of odors or odorous gases and fumes
from restaurants or retail food establishments as a result of cooking
on the premises in such quantity as to be readily detectable without
instruments is hereby declared a nuisance and is prohibited.
A.
All restaurants and retail food establishments shall
install and continuously maintain in good operating condition an air-purifying
system or odor-neutralizing system which will effectively prevent
the emission of odors or odorous gases and fumes in such quantities
as to be readily detectable without instruments.
B.
No such air-purifying system or odor-neutralizing
system shall contain less than the odor filtration produced by the
equivalent of 30 pounds of activated charcoal per 1,000 cubic feet
per minute of exhaust air.
Any person who owns or operates a restaurant or retail food establishment and violates the provisions of § 143-2 or 143-3 of this chapter, upon receipt of notice, in writing, duly served upon the owner, operator or an employee thereof by a member of the Board of Health or its duly authorized agent, shall within seven days thereafter correct such violation. Failure to correct the condition shall comprise a distinct and separate violation for each day that the condition remains in effect beyond the seven-day period.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued
to any restaurant or retail food establishment with cooking on the
premises until a satisfactory and adequate air-purifying system or
odor-control system as prescribed herein shall be approved by the
Building Inspector and installed in accordance with the plans and
specifications.
In any case where the provisions of this chapter
impose a higher standard then that set forth in any other ordinance
of the Borough of Leonia or laws of the State of New Jersey applicable
thereto, then the standards as set forth herein shall prevail, but
if the provisions of this chapter impose a lesser standard than such
other Borough ordinance or law of the State of New Jersey, then the
higher standard contained in such other ordinance or law shall prevail.
[Added 12-3-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-19]
A.
Purpose. This section is enacted to restrict the sale and use of
polystyrene foam disposable food serviceware products and replace
the material with recyclable and/or compostable food serviceware products
to further protect the public health and safety of the residents,
visitors, the environment, waterways, and wildlife, and advance the
goal of developing an environmentally friendly borough.
B.
ASTM STANDARD
BOROUGH
BOROUGH FACILITIES
COMPOSTABLE
DISPOSABLE FOOD SERVICEWARE
DISTRIBUTE
FOOD VENDOR
PERSON
POLYSTYRENE FOAM
PREPARED FOOD
RAW FOOD
RECYCLABLE
Definitions. For the purpose of this section, certain words and phrases
are defined as follows:
Meeting the standards of the American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM) International Standards D6400 or D6868 for biodegradable
and compostable plastics, as those standards may be amended.
The Borough of Leonia in the County of Bergen.
Any building, structure or vehicles owned or operated by
the Borough of Leonia.
All materials in the product or package are capable of undergoing
biological decomposition or otherwise becoming part of a usable compost
(e.g., soil conditioning material or mulch) in a safe and timely manner
in an appropriate composting program or facility. Compostable disposable
food serviceware includes ASTM-standard bio-plastics or plastic-like
products that are clearly labeled, such that any compost collector
and processor can easily distinguish the ASTM-standard compostable
plastic from non-ASTM-standard compostable plastic.
All containers, bowls, plates, trays, cartons, cups, lids,
straws, forks, spoons, knives and other items that are designed for
one-time use; and on or in which any restaurant or retail food vendor
directly places or packages prepared foods for consumption. This includes,
but is not limited to, serviceware for takeout foods and/or leftovers
from partially consumed meals prepared at restaurants or retail food
vendors.
The sale, offer for sale, or other transfer of possession
of an item for compensation, either as a separate transaction or as
part of the sale, offer for sale, or other transfer of possession
of another item for compensation.
Any restaurant or retail food vendor located or operating
within the Borough that sells prepared food for consumption on, near,
or off its premises. For purposes of this section, the term includes
a restaurant operating from a temporary facility, cart, vehicle or
mobile unit.
An individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation
including a government corporation, partnership, or association.
Includes blown polystyrene and expanded and extruded foams
(sometimes called Styrofoam®, a Dow
Chemical Co. trademarked form of polystyrene foam insulation) which
are thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer
and processed by any number of techniques including, but not limited
to, fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene), injection
molding, foam molding, and extrusion-blow molding (extruded foam polystyrene).
Polystyrene foam is generally used to make cups, bowls, plates, trays,
clamshell containers, meat trays and egg cartons.
Food or beverages which are served, packaged, cooked, chopped,
sliced, mixed, brewed, frozen, squeezed or otherwise prepared on the
food vendor's premises or within the Borough. For the purposes
of this section, prepared food includes food which may be eaten on
or off the premises, including take-out food.
Food or beverages which are served, packaged, cooked, chopped,
sliced, mixed, brewed, frozen, squeezed or otherwise sold on the food
vendor's premises or within the Borough. For the purposes of
this section, "raw food" includes meat, fish, poultry, eggs and vegetables
on trays made, in whole or in part, from polystyrene foam either as
separate items or as part of the sale to consumers from a refrigerator
case or similar retail appliance.
Material that can be sorted, cleansed, and reconstituted
using recycling services offered in the Borough for the purpose of
using the altered form in the manufacture of a new product. Recycling
does not include burning, incinerating, converting, or otherwise thermally
destroying solid waste.
C.
Prohibited food serviceware.
(1)
Food vendors are prohibited from providing prepared food and/or raw
food in disposable food serviceware that contains polystyrene foam.
(2)
No person may sell, offer for sale, or otherwise distribute within
the Borough any disposable food serviceware that contains polystyrene
foam. There will be a six-month phase-in period with requirements
for notice and education by the Borough of Leonia.
(3)
All Borough facilities, Borough-managed concessions, Borough-of-Leonia-sponsored
events, and Borough-permitted events are prohibited from using polystyrene
foam disposable food serviceware. This prohibition shall apply to
the event organizers, agents of the event organizers, event food vendors
and any other party, including nonprofit organizations, who enter
into an agreement with one or more of the co-sponsors of the event
to distribute prepared food at the event or otherwise provide an event-related
service.
(4)
Borough departments are prohibited from purchasing polystyrene foam
disposable food serviceware.
D.
Required recyclable or compostable disposable food serviceware.
(1)
All food vendors using any disposable food serviceware shall use
recyclable or compostable disposable food serviceware unless it can
be shown that a compostable or recyclable product is not available
for a specific application. Food vendors are strongly encouraged to
use reusable food serviceware in place of using disposable food serviceware.
(2)
All disposable food serviceware sold, offered for sale, or otherwise
distributed within the Borough shall be recyclable or compostable.
(3)
All Borough facilities, Borough-managed concessions, Borough-sponsored
events, and Borough-permitted events using any disposable food serviceware
shall use recyclable or compostable disposable food serviceware.
(4)
Borough departments using any disposable food serviceware shall use
recyclable or compostable disposable food serviceware.
E.
Exemptions.
(1)
Raw or prepared foods prepared or packaged outside the Borough are
exempt from the provisions of this section. Purveyors of food prepared
or packaged outside the Borough are encouraged to follow the provisions
of this section.
(2)
Food vendors will be exempted from the provisions of this section
for specific items or types of disposable food serviceware if the
Borough Administrator or his/her designee, in consultation with the
Environmental Commission, determines that a suitable recyclable or
compostable alternative does not exist.
(3)
Any person may seek an exemption from the requirements of this section
by filing a request with the Borough Administrator. The Borough Administrator,
consistent with this section and in consultation with the Environmental
Commission, may waive any specific requirement of this section for
a period of not more than one year if the person seeking the exemption
has demonstrated that strict application of the specific requirement
would cause undue hardship. A person granted an exemption must re-apply
prior to the end of the one-year exemption period and demonstrate
continued undue hardship if the person wishes to have the exemption
extended. The Borough Administrator's decision, in consultation
with the Environmental Commission, to grant or deny an exemption or
to grant or deny extension of a previously issued exemption shall
be in writing and shall be final. "Undue hardship" shall be construed
to include, but not be limited to:
F.
Enforcement; notices of violation; penalties.
(1)
The Borough Administrator or his/her designee shall have primary
responsibility for enforcement of this section. The Borough Administrator
or his/her designee is authorized to promulgate regulations and to
take any and all other actions reasonable and necessary to enforce
this section, including, but not limited to, inspecting any vendor's
premises to verify compliance.
(2)
If the Borough Administrator or his/her designee determines that
a person is in violation of this section, he/she shall issue a written
notice warning of the violation. If, after issuance of such notice,
the Borough Administrator finds continued violations of the provisions
of this section, the Borough Administrator may apply for or impose
the various sanctions provided in this section.
(4)
The Borough Administrator may issue an administrative civil liability
citation to anyone violating or failing to comply with any of the
requirements of this section, in an amount not exceeding $100 for
the first violation, $200 for the second violation in the same year,
and $400 for each subsequent violation in the same year.
(5)
The Borough Attorney may seek legal, injunctive, or other equitable
relief to enforce this section.
(6)
The remedies and penalties provided in this section are cumulative
and not exclusive of one another.
