The persons charged with the responsibility of enforcement of
this chapter shall also be known as the "Construction Official" and
"subcode officials" or their designated representatives.
All buildings and premises subject to this chapter are subject
to inspection from time to time by the enforcing officer of the city.
At the time of such inspections, all rooms in the building and all
parts of the premises must be available and accessible for such inspections,
and the owner, operator and occupant are required to provide the necessary
arrangements to facilitate inspections. Such inspections shall be
made between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., prevailing time, unless one
of the following conditions exists:
A.
There is reason to believe that violations are occurring on the premises
which can only be apprehended and detected by inspections during other
than the prescribed hours or which require immediate inspection after
being reported, such as failure to supply heat.
B.
There is reason to believe a violation exists of a character which
is an immediate threat to health or safety, requiring inspection and
abatement without delay.
Inspectors shall be supplied with official identification and,
upon request, shall exhibit such identification when entering any
dwelling unit, rooming unit or any part of any premises subject to
this chapter. Inspectors shall conduct themselves so as to avoid intentional
embarrassment or inconvenience to occupants.
In addition to the provisions of Section 115-27, the public officer may, upon affidavit, apply to the Municipal Court Judge of the City of South Amboy for a search warrant, setting forth factually the actual conditions and circumstances that provide a reasonable basis for believing that a nuisance or violation of this chapter exists on the premises, and if the Judge is satisfied as to the matter set forth in the said affidavit, he shall authorize the issuance of a search warrant permitting access to and inspection of that part of the premises on which the nuisance or violations exists. Warrant for access may be issued by the Judge upon affidavit of the public officer establishing grounds therefor. Upon the request of the inspecting officer, the Chief of Police or his designee shall assign a police officer to accompany the inspecting office on his inspection.
Where the public officer or his agent after obtaining a warrant
is refused entry or access or is otherwise impeded or prevented by
the owner or operator from conducting an inspection of the premises,
such person shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to the
penalties hereunder.
Except as provided in Section 115-39, where a violation of this chapter or the regulations hereunder is found to exist, a written notice from the public officer shall be served on the person or persons responsible for the correction thereof.
The notice shall specify the violation or violations, what must be done to correct same, a reasonable period of time not to exceed 30 days within which to correct or abate the violation unless extenuating circumstances warrant otherwise, the right of the person served to request a hearing and that the notice shall become an order of the public officer within 10 days after service unless a hearing is requested pursuant to Section 115-34.
Notice may be served personally or by registered or regular
mail, with postage prepaid, addressed to the last known address of
the person to be served. In the case of an occupant, notice may be
posted upon the door of his dwelling unit or rooming unit. Where it
is ascertained that the owner does not reside on the premises, the
"last known address" shall be the address of the owner as shown in
the office of the Tax Collector. If the last known address cannot
be ascertained, the notice may be posted on the outside front entrance
of the building. The public officer shall file and provide notice
to any owner, operator or occupant of any violation at any address
other than the last known address provided hereunder if such address
is filed with the public officer personally or by certified mail addressed
to the public officer. Service upon an owner, operator or occupant
may be also attained by service of any notice upon a member of the
family of the owner, operator or occupant. Date of service of the
notice shall be determined, where service is by mail, as of the day
following the day of mailing for notice to addresses within the city
and as of the fourth day after the day of mailing for notice to addresses
outside the city. Where the day of service would fall upon a Sunday
or other day when mail is not ordinarily delivered, then the day of
service shall be the next regular delivery day.
Within 10 days of the date of service of a notice, the notice
shall constitute a final order unless any person affected by the notice
requests a hearing thereon, serving a written request within the ten-day
period in person or by mail on the public officer. Such request for
a hearing shall set forth briefly the grounds or reasons on which
the request for a hearing is based and the factual matters contained
in the notice of violation which are to be disputed at the hearing.
The public officer, upon receipt of the request, shall, within 30
days therefrom and upon five days' notice to the party aggrieved,
set the matter down for hearing.
At any hearing provided hereunder, the public officer shall
be vested with all the powers provided by law to compel the attendance
of witnesses and parties in interest by issuance and service of subpoena,
to require by subpoena the production of books, records or other documents
at any such hearing which may be pertinent to matters to be determined
by him and to enforce any such subpoena as provided by law. Determination
shall be made within 10 days from the completion of the hearing. The
public officer shall issue an order either incorporating the determinations
and directions contained in the notice, modifying the same or withdrawing
the notice.
Where the violation or condition existing on the premises is
of such a nature as to constitute an immediate threat to life and
limb or is severely inimicable to the welfare and well-being of the
citizens of South Amboy unless abated without delay, the public officer
may either abate the violation or condition immediately or order the
owner, operator or occupant to correct the violation or condition
within a period of time not to exceed three days, and upon failure
to do so, the public officer shall abate the condition immediately
thereafter.
[Ord. No. 20-2013]
Where the abatement of any nuisance as defined herein, correction
of a defect in the premises or bringing the premises into compliance
with the requirements of any municipal ordinance or state law applicable
thereto requires expending city moneys therefor, the public officer
shall present a report of work done to accomplish the foregoing to
the City Council along with a summary of the proceedings undertaken
by the public officer to secure compliance. After review of the same,
the City Council may approve the said expenses and costs, whereupon
the same shall become a lien against the said premises, collectible
as provided by law. The said expenses and costs shall include an Administration
Fee to be paid to the City, in the amount of $250. A copy of the resolution
approving the said expenses and costs shall be certified by the City
Council and filed with the Tax Collector of the city, who shall be
responsible for the collection thereof.
Where there exists a violation of occupancy standards hereunder,
an owner or operator, upon receipt of a notice of a violation, if
unable to eliminate the violation by peaceable means within the period
of time specified in said notice, shall commence within such period
legal action to dispossess, evict or eject the occupants who cause
the violation. No further action hereunder shall then be taken against
the owner or operator so long as the action aforesaid is pending in
the court and is prosecuted expeditiously and in good faith.
Notwithstanding the requirements of Sections 115-32 and 115-35, violations of the following provisions may be prosecuted without notice by the filing of a complaint by the public officer in the Municipal Court:
A.
Where the public officer shall determine that there was a violation
and a notice was served upon the owner, operator or occupant, whether
or not said violation was abated prior to the issuance of an order,
if thereafter within the space of one year there shall be a second
violation by the same owner, operator or occupant of the same provision
of this chapter discovered on the same premises, the offender may
be prosecuted on the second violation without the public officer's
first giving notice and opportunity for a hearing to the owner, operator
or occupant, by the filing of a complaint by the public officer in
the Municipal Court.
B.
Where the public officer has on two different occasions found violations
by the same owner, operator or occupant on the same premises and has
issued notices on each, upon discovering a third or subsequent violation
by the same owner, operator or occupant on the same premises within
the space of one year, whether of the same sections or of any other
sections of this chapter, he may thereupon prosecute the offender
by filing a complaint in the Municipal Court of the city for the said
third or subsequent violation occurring within the said period of
one year without first providing notice and opportunity for a hearing
by the public officer.
For the purpose of enforcement of this chapter, the service
of a notice to an owner, whether or not the owner is also the operator,
shall constitute notice of violations set forth therein until said
violations are abated in conformity with this chapter and other applicable
ordinances of the City of South Amboy.
A.
Where the owner, operator or lessor of any structure containing two
or more dwelling units which is let or rented to another in whole
or in part violates this chapter or any other municipal ordinance
pertaining to said structure or fails to abate any violations of this
chapter or violates an order of the public officer with respect thereto,
the public officer, upon resolution duly approved by the City Council,
may commence an action in the Superior Court seeking appointment of
the public officer as receiver ex officio of the rents and income
from the said property.
B.
The said rents and income shall be collected by the said receiver
and shall be:
(1)
Expended and allotted to secure compliance with the ordinances of
the city and laws of the state as set forth in the order of the public
officer.
(2)
Utilized to defray such costs and expenses of the receivership as
may be adjudged by the Superior Court.
(3)
Applied toward payment to the City of South Amboy of any fines or
penalties with costs which may have been imposed on the owner, operator
or lessor for violation of the ordinances of the City of South Amboy
and which have remained unpaid.
A.
Fines. A violation of any section or subsection of this chapter shall
be punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 for each violation committed
hereunder. Each violation of a section or subsection of this chapter
shall constitute a separate and distinct violation independent of
any other section or subsection. Each day's failure to comply with
any such section or subsection shall constitute a separate violation.
B.
Penalties in addition. Where an owner, operator or occupant has been
convicted of a violation of this chapter and within 12 months thereafter
is found by the Judge of the Municipal Court to be guilty of a second
violation of this chapter, the Court may, if it finds that the second
offense was willful and inexcusable, sentence the offender, in addition
to or in lieu of the fine set forth in the above subsection, to imprisonment
in the county jail for a period of time not to exceed 90 days.
C.
Liability of officers and agents. Where the defendant is other than
a natural person or persons, the above two subsections shall also
apply to any agent, superintendent, officer, member or partner who
shall, alone or with others, have charge, care or control of the premises.
[New]
The Mayor is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate such
written rules and regulations as may be necessary for the proper interpretation
and administration of the provisions of this chapter, provided that
such rules and regulations do not conflict with this chapter and conform
to the general standards prescribed by this chapter. The Mayor shall
file copies of such rules and regulations with the City Clerk and
shall make available in the Mayor's office a copy for inspection by
members of the public during regular business hours.
A.
The public officer shall have the power to withhold strict enforcement
of the requirements of this chapter upon written application therefor
by an owner, operator or occupant, after making determination that:
(1)
Any variation or modification of structure or use approved by the
public officer will not in any material way alter the standards of
this chapter and cannot affect detrimentally the health or safety
of occupants or owners of adjacent premises in the neighborhood.
(2)
Strict enforcement would constitute an undue and unnecessary hardship
on the owner, operator or occupant because it would compel expenditures
on the premises which would be substantially disproportionate to any
benefit to health, safety or welfare that might be derived therefrom.
(3)
The owner, operator or occupant is without any practical or feasible
means to comply with the strict provisions of this chapter.
B.
Upon denial of any such application, the owner, operator or occupant may request a hearing, which shall be held in accordance with the provisions of Section 115-35. Such application shall not constitute a defense of any violation of this chapter concerning which proceedings are pending in the Municipal Court when the application is filed, nor shall any variance or modification allowed hereunder constitute a vested right against any ordinance enacted hereinafter by the City Council compelling strict enforcement of any provisions of this chapter.
Whenever an owner, operator or occupant, prospective purchaser,
mortgagee or prospective occupant shall apply to the public officer
for an inspection in order to ascertain if any section of this chapter
has been violated, the public officer shall, upon payment of the fee
hereunder stated, cause an inspection to be made of the premises and
issue an informal certificate or report of the inspection to the applicant,
indicating therein any violations of this chapter on the premises.
The applicant for inspection shall state in writing his full name
and residence and the reasons and basis for which the inspection is
requested. The public officer may deny the application for failure
to comply with this requirement. The fee for any inspection made under
this section shall be $25 for dwellings of 10 or less units, $5 additional
for each unit in excess of 10, and $5 for each reinspection subsequent
to the first reinspection.
Any person who sells or conveys any dwelling or dwelling unit in the City of South Amboy shall include, as a part of the agreement of sale, a statement that there is or is not any outstanding notice or order issued by the public officer citing violations of the provisions of this chapter. The failure of a seller or conveyor to conform to the requirements of the above statement, even with the consent of the purchaser or transferee, shall be in violation of this chapter and subject said seller or conveyor to the penalties as set forth in Section 115-42. Upon written request and payment of a fee as stipulated under Section 115-45 by persons seeking compliance with this section, the public officer shall cause an inspection to be made and shall mail a report of such inspection to the person requesting it.
