[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Raritan as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 10-11-2000 by Ord. No. 00-27 as Chs. 1.04 and 1.08 of the 2000
Code]
This Code shall be known and may be cited as the "Revised General
Ordinances of the Township of Raritan" and is referred to herein as
"this Code."
For the purpose of this Code and in the interpretation and application
of all other ordinances heretofore or hereafter adopted, except as
the context may otherwise require, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
The Municipal Clerk duly appointed pursuant to law.
An organizational unit of the Township government established
or designated by ordinance or this Code as a department, together
with any agency or instrumentality of the Township government assigned
to such organizational unit by the Township Committee.
The Township Administrator, if there be one appointed, or
a department head designated as such by ordinance, or in the absence
of either the immediate supervisor of an employee.
Licensed in accordance with the appropriate section or chapter
of this Code.
A calendar month unless otherwise specifically provided.
Any act of local legislation heretofore or hereafter adopted,
including this Code, so long as it has been adopted by the procedure
required for the adoption of an ordinance and so long as it remains
in force and effect pursuant to law.
Any individual, natural persons, partnerships, joint ventures,
societies, associations, clubs, trustees, trusts, corporations or
unincorporated groups, or any officers, agents, employees, servants,
factors or any kind of personal representatives of any thereof in
any capacity, acting either for himself or herself or for any other
person, under either personal appointment or pursuant to law.
Includes a street, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway, boulevard,
concourse, driveway, culvert, sidewalk and crosswalk and every class
of road, square, place or municipal parking field used by the general
public.
The Township of Raritan in the County of Hunterdon and State
of New Jersey.
The governing body of the Township.
A calendar year unless otherwise specifically provided.
For the purpose of this Code and any other ordinances heretofore
or hereafter adopted, except as the context may otherwise require:
A.
The present
tense includes the past and future tenses, and the future the present.
B.
The singular
number includes the plural, and the plural the singular.
C.
"Shall" is
mandatory and "may" is permissive.
D.
The time
within which an act is to be done shall be computed by excluding the
first and including the last day, and if the last day be a Sunday,
a legal holiday, or a day on which the offices of the Township are
closed, that day shall be excluded.
E.
"Writing"
and "written" include printing, typewriting and any other mode of
communication using paper or similar material which is in general
use, as well as legible handwriting.
F.
Whenever
a specific time is used in this Code, it means the prevailing and
established time in effect in the State of New Jersey during any day
in any year.
G.
Any citation
of a statute, law or ordinance contained in this Code shall be deemed
to refer to such statute, law or ordinance as amended, whether or
not such designation is included in the citation.
If any chapter, section, subsection or paragraph of this Code
shall be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid or inoperative,
in whole or in part, by a court of competent jurisdiction, such chapter,
section, subsection or paragraph shall, to the extent that it is not
unconstitutional, invalid or inoperative, remain in full force and
effect, and no such determination shall be deemed to invalidate the
remaining chapters, sections, subsections or paragraphs of this Code.
[Amended 11-18-2020 by Ord. No. 20-30]
A.
Maximum penalty.
(1)
For violation
of any provision of this Code or any other ordinance of the Township,
where no specific penalty is provided regarding the section or sections
violated, the maximum penalty, upon conviction, shall be one or more
of the following: a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment for
a period not exceeding 90 days or serving a period of community service
not exceeding 90 days.
(2)
In the
event that the court chooses to impose a fine in an amount greater
than $1,250 upon an owner of real property for violations of housing
or zoning codes of the Township, then and in that event a thirty-day
period shall be provided to said owner in order to cure or abate the
condition, and said owner shall also be afforded an opportunity for
a hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction for an independent
determination concerning said violation. Subsequent to the expiration
of the thirty-day period, a fine greater than $1,250 may be imposed
if a court has not determined otherwise or, upon reinspection of the
property, it is determined that the abatement has not been substantially
completed.
B.
Separate
violations. Except as otherwise provided, each and every day in which
a violation of any provision of this Code or any other ordinance of
the Township exists shall constitute a separate violation.
C.
Applicability.
The maximum penalty stated in this section is not intended to state
an appropriate penalty for each and every violation. Any lesser penalty,
including a nominal penalty or no penalty at all, may be appropriate
for a particular case or violation.
[Adopted 11-18-2020 by Ord. No. 20-30]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-4, the ordinances of the Township of Raritan of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Township Committee and Board of Health of the Township of Raritan, as revised and codified and consisting of Chapters 1 through 547, referred to as the "Revised General Ordinances of the Township of Raritan," are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the Code of the Township of Raritan (hereinafter referred to as the "Code"). The provisions of the Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of the ordinances in force immediately prior to the enactment of the Code by this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and not as new enactments. This ordinance and the Code adopted hereby shall supersede and replace the Revised General Ordinances of the Township of Raritan adopted October 11, 2000, as amended and supplemented.
A.
In preparing
the revision and codification of the Township's ordinances pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:49-4, certain minor grammatical and nonsubstantive
changes were made in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention
of the Township Committee that all such changes be adopted as part
of the Code as if the ordinances so changed had been formally amended
to read as such.
B.
In addition,
the changes, amendments or revisions as set forth in Schedule A[1] attached hereto and made a part hereof are made herewith,
to become effective upon the effective date of this ordinance. (Chapter
and section number references are to the ordinances as they have been
renumbered and appear in the Code.)
[1]
Editor's Note: In accordance with § 1-7B, the chapters, articles and sections which were added, amended, adopted or repealed by this ordinance are indicated throughout the Code by a history referring to Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II. During routine supplementation, histories indicating amendments, additions or deletions will be replaced with the following history: "Amended (added, repealed) 11-18-2020 by Ord. No. 20-30." Schedule A, which contains a complete description of all changes, is on file in the Township offices.
C.
The following
terminology is updated throughout the Code:
(1)
The titles
"Chairman" and "Chairperson" are amended to "Chair."
(2)
The title
"Board of Adjustment" is amended to "Zoning Board of Adjustment."
(3)
The title
"Construction Code Official" is amended to "Construction Official."
(4)
The titles
"Zoning Officer," "Zoning Enforcement Officer" and "Zoning Enforcement
Official" are amended to "Land Use Enforcement Officer."
(5)
The title
"Fire Company" is amended to "Fire Department."
(6)
The titles
"Construction Code Department," "Construction Department," "Construction
Office" and "Building Department" are amended to "Construction Code
Enforcement Department."
(7)
The titles
"Engineering Department," "Planning Department," "Planning/Engineering
Department," "Building, Planning and Engineering Department," "Planning
and Zoning Department" and "Planning and Zoning Office" are amended
to "Department of Engineering, Planning and Zoning."
(8)
The term
"occupancy permit" is amended to "certificate of occupancy."
A.
A copy of
the Code has been filed in the office of the Township Clerk and shall
remain there for use and examination by the public until final action
is taken on this ordinance. Following adoption of this ordinance,
such copy shall be certified by the Clerk of the Township of Raritan
by impressing thereon the Seal of the Township, as provided by law,
and such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of the
Township Clerk, to be made available to persons desiring to examine
the same during all times while said Code is in effect.
B.
Additions
or amendments to the Code, when adopted in such form as to indicate
the intent of the Township Committee or Board of Health to make them
a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code
so that reference to the "Code of the Township of Raritan" shall be
understood and intended to include such additions and amendments.
A.
Ordinances
or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the provisions contained
in the Code adopted by this ordinance are hereby repealed; provided,
however, that such repeal shall only be to the extent of such inconsistency,
and any valid legislation of the Township of Raritan which is not
in conflict with the provisions of the Code shall be deemed to remain
in full force and effect.
B.
The following
ordinances have been excluded from the Code and are specifically repealed:
(1)
Chapter
3.10, Energy Aggregation Program, of the 2000 Code (Ordinance No.
2014-14).
(2)
Chapter
5.40, Tobacco Vending Machines, of the 2000 Code.
(3)
Chapter
6.08, Deer Management Program Lottery, of the 2000 Code (Ordinance
No. 2016-22, as amended).
(4)
Chapter
9.16, Sex Offender Residency Restrictions, of the 2000 Code (Ordinance
No. 06-1).
(5)
Chapter
12.28, Traffic Controls for Highway Construction and Maintenance Operations,
of the 2000 Code.
(6)
Chapter
12.36, Newsracks, of the 2000 Code.
The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided
for herein shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations,
which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:
A.
Any ordinance
adopted subsequent to October 20, 2020.
B.
Any right
or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative
provision prior to the effective date of this ordinance or any action
or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability.
C.
Any offense
or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance
in violation of any legislative provision or any penalty, punishment
or forfeiture which may result therefrom.
D.
Any prosecution,
indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment
rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance, brought pursuant
to any legislative provision.
E.
Any franchise,
license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred.
F.
Any ordinance
providing for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating,
straightening, establishing of grade, changing of name, improvement,
acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road,
highway, park or other public place or any portion thereof.
G.
Any ordinance
or resolution appropriating money or transferring funds, promising
or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and
delivery of any bond or other instruments or evidence of the Township's
indebtedness.
H.
Ordinances
authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or any
lawful contract, agreement or obligation.
I.
The levy
or imposition of taxes, assessments or charges or the approval of
the municipal budget.
J.
The dedication
of property or approval of preliminary or final subdivision plats.
K.
All currently
effective ordinances pertaining to the rate and manner of payment
of salaries and compensation of officers and employees.
L.
Any ordinance
adopting or amending the Zoning Map.
M.
Any ordinance
relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for municipal
employees.
The Clerk of the Township of Raritan shall cause notice of the
passage of this ordinance to be given in the manner required by law.
The notice of passage of this ordinance coupled with filing of the
Code in the office of the Township Clerk as provided herein shall
be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of
all provisions of the Code for all purposes.
A.
Chapter
and article titles, headings and titles of sections and other divisions
of the Code are inserted in the Code and may be inserted in supplements
to the Code for the convenience of persons using the Code and are
not part of the legislation.
B.
Editor's
notes indicating sources of sections, giving other information or
referring to the statutes or to other parts of the Code are inserted
in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for the
convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to change, alter or tamper with
the Code in any manner which will cause the laws of the Township of
Raritan to be misrepresented thereby. Anyone violating this section
shall be subject, upon conviction, to one or more of the following
penalties: a fine of not more than $2,000, imprisonment for not more
than 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days,
in the discretion of the Judge imposing the same.
Each section of this ordinance and of the Code and every part
of each section is an independent section or part of a section, and
the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional,
void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the
validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon final passage
and publication as provided by law.
