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Borough of Elmwood Park, NJ
Bergen County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[1969 Code § 26-1]
As used in this chapter:
DOG
Shall mean any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Shall mean any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
KENNEL
Shall mean any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog shall include every person having a right of property in such dog and every person who has such dog in his keeping or harbors the same.
PET SHOP
Shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
POUND
Shall mean an establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this Article, or otherwise.
SHELTER
Shall mean any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed without charge.
[1969 Code § 26-2]
No person shall keep or harbor any dog within the Borough without first filing an application with the individual duly designated by the Mayor and Borough Council of Elmwood Park at the municipal building, whereupon, after paying the fee hereinafter set forth, a license and registration tag for each such dog so owned shall be issued. No person shall keep or harbor any dog in the Borough except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
[1969 Code § 26-3]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall annually, in the month of January, apply for and procure in the manner above set forth, a license and official metal registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored, and shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
[1969 Code § 26-4; Ord. No. 81-4; Ord. No. 95-4 § 1]
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee of $10 for one year for each neutered dog and $13 for each non-neutered dog. For each annual renewal, the fee for the license and for the registration tag shall be the same as for the original license and tag. Such licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January of the year following the year in which the license, registration tags and renewals are issued.
[1969 Code § 26-5]
License forms and official metal registration tags designed by the State Department of Health shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the Borough of Elmwood Park.
[1969 Code § 26-6]
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as seeing eye dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinbefore provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
[1969 Code § 26-22; Ord. No. 91-2 § 1; Ord. No. 2016-06]
a. 
Every owner or person having custody or control of a dog within the Borough, who shall neglect or refuse to cause such dog to be licensed in the manner herein provided on or before the 31st day of January in each year, shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this section. Upon conviction thereof, shall forfeit and pay a penalty of a sum for the first offense of $50 and for each and every subsequent offense thereafter committed in the same calendar year the sum of $100.
b. 
And shall in addition thereto, be required to secure a license for the current year together with a late charge in the sum of $20, provided, however, that any owner or person having custody or control of a dog bringing such dog into the Borough in any year, who shall cause the same to be licensed within 10 business days thereafter shall be taken and deemed to have applied with this section with respect thereto.
[Ord. No. 2016-06]
[1969 Code § 26-7]
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make application for license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. The application shall contain the information required by State Statutes. Registration numbers shall be issued in order of the application.
[1969 Code § 26-8]
a. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any dog licensed in another state for the current year and carrying a registration tag, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 90 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless such dog be licensed under Section 5-3.
b. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any unlicensed dog and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the municipality for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless such dog be licensed under Section 5-3.
[1969 Code § 26-9]
No person except an officer in the performance of his duties shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any dog without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
[1969 Code § 26-17]
License fees collected or received under the provisions of this section, except registration tag fees, shall be received and disposed of in the manner provided by State Statutes.
[1969 Code § 26-18]
The Chief of Police or such other person or persons appointed for the purpose by the Mayor and Borough Council, shall promptly after February 1 annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Borough, and shall cause a report of the result thereof to be filed in the manner and form required by Statutes.
[1969 Code § 26-19]
The Chief of Police, or such other person or persons under contract or otherwise, designated by the Mayor and Borough Council, shall cause the provisions of State Statutes to be enforced as herein provided.
[1969 Code § 26-10]
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the duly designated official of the Borough who supplies the license for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
[1969 Code § 26-11]
The applicant shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located, the purpose for which it is to be maintained. Such application shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Fire Department, the Construction Official and the local municipal and health authority of the Borough, showing compliance with the local and State rules and regulations governing location and sanitation of such establishments.
[1969 Code § 26-12]
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained, and all such licenses shall expire on January 31 annually.
[1969 Code § 26-13]
Licenses shall be subject to revocation by the Borough on recommendations of the State Board of Health or the local Department of Health or the local Board of Health, for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State department or local Board governing same, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State department or the local Board.
[1969 Code § 26-14]
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such establishment. Such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
[1969 Code § 26-15]
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or less dogs shall be $10, and for more than 10 dogs, $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No fees shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
[1969 Code § 26-16]
No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be permitted off such premises, except on leash or in a crate or other safe control.
[1969 Code § 26-29; New]
Any person or corporation who shall board for hire or engage in the business of breeding or raising dogs for sale shall be deemed and considered as keeping a kennel, and any person who shall keep a kennel in the Borough without having first obtained a license shall be liable to the penalty stated in Section 5-6. In addition thereto, shall be required to pay for and take out the necessary license.
[1969 Code § 26-20]
The Chief of Police or any member of the Police Department, or the designated agent of any humane society, or other agents appointed for the purpose by the Governing Body, shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, the following:
a. 
Any dog running at large in the Borough of Elmwood Park.
b. 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring the dog, which dog officials or their agent or agents have reason to believe is a stray dog.
c. 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring the dog, which dog is not controlled by a leash or chain as provided by this section.
d. 
Any dog with fierce, dangerous or vicious propensities or noticeably infected with rabies or bitten by a dog suspected of having rabies.
e. 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog without a current registration tag on the dog's collar.
f. 
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
[1969 Code § 26-23; Ord. No. 91-2 § 2]
Any owner or other person having the custody or control of any unlicensed or licensed dog and whom shall permit, allow or suffer the same to run at large in the Borough with or without a license tag herein provided for, or who shall cause or permit any dog not to wear or display said license tag shall upon conviction thereof pay a penalty of $25 for the first offense, $50 for the second offense and $100 for any subsequent offense.
In addition thereto, in the discretion of the Judge of the Municipal Court, any offense subsequent to the third offense for the same dog, shall be required to dispose of or remove the dog from the territorial limits of the Borough.
[1969 Code § 26-21, § 55-1; Ord. No. 70-19]
a. 
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog which habitually or excessively barks, howls, whines or cries.
[1]
Editor's Note: For additional provisions concerning noise control of animals, see Chapter 3, subsection 3-1.2.
[1969 Code § 26-27]
No vicious dog (whether registered or not) shall be permitted by the owner or person harboring the same to be in or upon any public street or public place in the Borough at any time, or to trespass upon the property of any other person in the Borough, and such dog in violation of this subsection shall be impounded and may be killed at any time not less than the time allowed by State Statute for its capture, unless the owner shall reclaim the same before it has been killed and pay the penalty hereinafter provided for violation of this subsection. All Police Officers of the Borough and other duly authorized agents of the Borough are hereby empowered without further appointment or designation to enforce the provisions of this subsection. Any dog biting any person, dog or other animal shall be deemed vicious within the meaning of this subsection. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be liable to a penalty, upon conviction as stated in Section 5-6 for each and every offense.
[1969 Code § 26-28]
Any person who owns, harbors or possesses a female dog shall not permit her to be in or upon any public street or public place in the Borough, or to trespass upon the property of another person at any time or times while she shall be in season, under the penalty stated Section 5-6 for each and every offense, and any such female dog so at large in violation of this subsection shall be impounded by the Chief of Police or any person appointed as herein provided, and may be disposed of in accordance with subsection 5-4.10, unless the owner shall reclaim the dog and pay the penalty provided for violation of this subsection.
[1969 Code § 26-24]
a. 
If any dog so seized wears a collar or harness having described thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person, or a registration tag, or the owner of the person keeping or harboring said dog is known, the Chief of Police or any person authorized by him in that behalf shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or on the person keeping or harboring said dog, if known, a notice in writing stating that the dog has been seized and will be liable to be disposed of or destroyed if unclaimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
b. 
Service of said notice may be had by delivering it to the persons on whom it is to be served, or by leaving it at the person's usual or last known place of abode, or at the address given on the collar.
c. 
When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after notice, when notice can be given as set forth above, or has been detained for seven days after seizure when no notice has been given as set forth, and if the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog has not claimed said dog and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance not exceeding $0.50 per day, and if the dog be unlicensed at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog has not produced a license and registration tag for said dog, the aforesaid Chief of Police of the municipality or any person authorized by him in that behalf may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
[1969 Code § 26-26]
Any person who shall hinder, interfere with or molest any persons appointed under this chapter, or the Chief of Police or any officer of the Borough or other duly authorized agent, in the performance of any duty enjoined by this chapter, shall, upon conviction, pay a penalty as stated in Section 5-6 for every such offense.
[1969 Code § 26-31]
All rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health shall be enforced by the local Board of Health or its designated agent or agents. The provisions of this chapter or of the Statute herein referred to shall be enforced by the local Board of Health or its designated agent or agents or by the Police Department or any member thereof, or designated agent or agents of any humane society under contract with the Borough, or by such other person or persons designated by the Mayor and Borough Council by resolutions duly adopted.
[1969 Code § 26-32]
Any penalty recovered in an action brought under the provisions of this chapter or State Statutes, shall be paid to the plaintiff therein. When the plaintiff is the Director of Health of the State of New Jersey, the penalty shall be paid by the Director into the treasury of the State. When the plaintiff is the local Board of Health, the penalty shall be paid by the local Board into the treasury of the Borough. When the plaintiff is the Borough the penalty shall be paid into the treasury of the Borough.
[1]
Editor's Note: Prior ordinance history includes portions of Ordinance Nos. 92-6 and 02-14.
[Ord. No. 05-31 § I]
The purpose of this section is to establish requirements for the proper disposal of pet waste in the Borough of Elmwood Park, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for failure to comply.
[Ord. No. 05-31 § II]
For the purpose of this section, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein unless their use in the text of this section clearly demonstrates a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural number include the singular number, and words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
IMMEDIATE
Shall mean that the pet solid waste is removed at once, without delay.
OWNER/KEEPER
Shall mean any person who shall possess, maintain, house or harbor any pet or otherwise have custody of any pet, whether or not the owner of such pet.
PERSON
Shall mean any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
PET
Shall mean a domesticated animal (other than a disability assistance animal) kept for amusement or companionship.
PET SOLID WASTE
Shall mean waste matter expelled from bowels of the pet; excrement.
PROPER DISPOSAL
Shall mean placement in a designated waste receptacle, or other suitable container, and discarded in a refuse container which is regularly emptied by the municipality or some other refuse collector, or disposal into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper treatment and disposal.
[Ord. No. 05-31 § III]
a. 
No persons owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog shall cause, suffer or allow such dog to soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common driveway, sidewalk, passageway, bypass, play area or any place where people congregate or walk, or upon any public property or upon any private property without the permission of the owner of said property. In the event of a violation occurring on private property, a complaint is only filable by the owner of the property.
b. 
The restriction in this section shall not apply to that portion of the street lying between the curblines which shall be used to curb such dog under the following conditions:
1. 
The person who so curbs such dog shall immediately remove all feces deposited by such dog, by any sanitary method approved by the local Board of Health.
2. 
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated area, shall be disposed by the person owning, harboring, keeping, or in charge of any dog curbed in accordance with the provisions of this section by placing the feces in a waterproof container, properly sealed and placed in a garbage container or disposed of in any other sanitary manner.
[Ord. No. 05-31 § IV]
Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this section while such animal is being used for that purpose.
[Ord. No. 05-31 § V]
The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Police Department and the local Board of Health of the Borough of Elmwood Park.
[Ord. No. 05-31 § VI]
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100.
[1969 Code § 26-30; Ord. No. 92-6 § 3]
Unless another penalty is specifically cited, any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be liable to a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500 for each violation.
Any person who shall neglect or refuse to pay any fine in accordance with this section shall be subject to imprisonment in the County jail for a period not to exceed 30 days.
[Ord. No. 05-34 § I]
The purpose of this section is to prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Borough of Elmwood Park, as well as privately owned property, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for failure to comply.
[Ord. No. 05-34 § II]
For the purpose of this section, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein unless their use in the text of this section clearly demonstrates a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural number include the singular number, and words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
FEED
Shall mean to give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife. Feeding does not include baiting in the legal taking of fish and/or game.
PERSON
Shall mean any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
WILDLIFE
Shall mean all animals, fowl and poultry that are not domesticated.
[Ord. No. 05-34 § III]
a. 
No person shall feed, in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Borough of Elmwood Park, any wildlife, excluding confined wildlife (for example, wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers).
b. 
No person shall create or foster any condition, or allowing any condition to exist or continue which results in a congregation or congestion of animals or fowl.
[Ord. No. 05-34 § IV]
a. 
This section shall be enforced by the Police Department and Health Department of the Borough of Elmwood Park.
b. 
Any person found to be in violation of this section shall be ordered to cease the feeding immediately.
[Ord. No. 05-34 § V]
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $500 and/or community service, not to exceed 30 days.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 1]
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any premises to keep any farm animals, including but not limited to, cud-chewing or hoofed animals, chickens, pigeons, roosters, and other fowl, pigs, and goats, in the Borough.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 2]
It shall be unlawful for any person to feed any animal or fowl, domestic or wild, on any property within the Borough if it is causing an attracting nuisance to rats, mice, flies, or other vermin.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 3]
It shall be unlawful for anyone to keep pigeons as pets, for food, for racing, for show, or for any purpose, inside homes or buildings, or outdoor cages or coops.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 4]
It shall be unlawful for any person to feed stray or feral, unlicensed cats or dogs within the Borough.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 5]
It shall be unlawful for any person to slaughter any animal or fowl within the Borough, or to place animal carcasses outside to dress, cure or for any other reason or purpose.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 6]
No person shall cause, permit or allow the operation of a meat smokehouse within the Borough which consumes wood, sawdust, or any other material such that the particulate matter is discharged to the atmosphere. A meat smokehouse is defined as a small house or structure where smoke is utilized to cure meat or fish. This subsection shall not apply to barbeques or other portable equipment which hold meat for cooking over an open fire out-of-doors.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 7]
No person shall breed, raise, or keep any species of animal for commercial purposes on private property in the Borough of Elmwood Park.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 8]
The keeping of wildlife native to the State of New Jersey is prohibited excluding those persons who are licensed as Wildlife Rehabilitators by the New Jersey Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Game.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 9]
Pets may be buried on private property provided that they are buried at such a depth as to prevent a public health nuisance such as odors or flies.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 10]
Homeowners shall advise the appropriate Borough authority to dispose of dead wild animals and birds found on their property.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 11]
Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall result in a fine of no more than $500 per day for each offense.
[Ord. No. 06-15 § 12]
The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Department of Health of the Borough of Elmwood Park, or designee such as Health Officer or Health Inspector.