[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Upper Deerfield 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 181 (Ch. 53 of the 1977 Township
Code); amended in its entirety 8-1-2019 by Ord. No. 808. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
Fire lanes as defined in, and required by, the Uniform Construction
Code, as amended from time to time, and the New Jersey Fire Prevention
Code, as amended from time to time (collectively the "Codes"), shall
be designated on all site plans and shall conform to the requirements
of the Codes. The Upper Deerfield Township Fire Marshal shall review
all applications for site plan and shall report the Code requirements
for fire lanes to the Upper Deerfield Planning Board.
The Fire Marshal may, as part of the site plan review process,
designate fire zones, and upon designation by the Planning Board the
fire zones shall be incorporated in the approved site plan. As used
herein, "fire zones" shall mean designated areas at entrances, exits,
loading doors, or other accesses to premises, and Fire Department
connections which shall remain unobstructed at all times so as to
provide access to buildings by fire apparatus, personnel and other
emergency vehicles.
[Amended 11-21-2019 by Ord. No. 814]
The location, dimensions, markings and number of signs that
shall be required in or upon a fire lane or zone shall be in accordance
with the Codes, any other applicable rule or regulation established
in the State of New Jersey and in accordance with generally accepted
engineering practices. In the event that neither the Codes nor any
other applicable rule or regulation provides for the dimension and
design of fire lanes and/or fire zones, the following shall apply:
A.
Fire zones shall be no less than six feet nor more than 50 feet in
width and shall be striped and lettered in yellow on a paved surface.
Such striping and lettering shall be legible at all times. Said striping
and lettering shall comply with the standards set forth in Schedule
2 of this chapter[1] and with all applicable standards which shall hereinafter
be promulgated by the State of New Jersey.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said schedule is on file in the Township
offices.
B.
Fire lanes shall conform with the following:
(1)
Fire lanes shall be a minimum width of six feet.
(2)
Fire lanes shall be constructed of either asphalt paving, concrete,
concrete paving blocks, or eight-inch minimum of dense graded aggregate.
Where soil conditions warrant geotextile fabric shall be installed.
Fire lanes shall be designed to support a weight of approximately
25 tons. The design of the fire lanes shall be subject to the approval
of the Planning Board with the advice of the Township Engineer, and
Fire Marshal. All fire lanes shall be designed with a turning radii
that will allow the largest fire vehicle to remain within the designated
fire lane or travel lane while negotiating a turn. Fire lanes located
in landscaped areas shall be designed by locating "fire lane" signs
on both sides of lane at an interval determined by the Township Engineer.
Where required to access a roadway, fire lanes shall provide a depressed
curb.
(3)
Fire lanes and fire zones shall have signs, the lettering on which
shall be legible at all times, which shall advise that the area is
a "fire zone" or "fire lane," with all applicable standards established
by the State of New Jersey and/or the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control
Devices.
(4)
The Planning Board may grant a waiver of the foregoing requirements,
in accordance with the standards applicable to design waivers in the
site plan review process.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner or owners of the
land or premises on which a fire lane and/or fire zone has been designated
to stripe, letter and maintain the appropriate signs as required and
to maintain said striping, lettering and signage in a clean and legible
manner at all times and replace when necessary to insure adequate
visibility and not obstruct in any fashion the fire lane or fire zone.
A.
Upon a finding by the Fire Marshal that a landowner has failed to
comply with this chapter, the Fire Marshal shall first proceed by
issuing to the landowner a notice of violation and order to terminate
whereby the Fire Marshal advises the landowner of the violation and
sets a date by which the landowner must correct the violation. If
the landowner does not correct the violation within the times set
forth in the notice and order to terminate, the Fire Marshal may issue
a notice and order for penalty assessing a penalty to the landowner
for his failure to comply of not more than $1,000 per week for each
and every week that the condition remains uncorrected.
B.
Any penalty assessed by the Fire Marshal as set forth herein may
be collected by Upper Deerfield Township pursuant to the provisions
of the Uniform Construction Code, the Uniform Fire Code, the Penalty
Enforcement Law (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10) or as otherwise is authorized
under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
A.
Fire lanes and fire zones shall at all times remain unobstructed.
No vehicles may park, stop or stand at any time in a fire lane or
fire zone and no person shall deposit any matter in a fire lane or
fire zone.
B.
The Fire Marshal or his designee and any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction in Upper Deerfield Township may issue a summons through the Upper Deerfield Municipal Court (or any regional court of which Upper Deerfield Township is a party). The fine for a violation of this § 218-6 is $50 per violation.
The Fire Marshal or Director of Emergency Management Services
is authorized to remove any obstruction of a fire lane, fire zone
and/or fire hydrant during the course of an emergency. The owner of
any vehicle shall be responsible for the costs of removing the vehicle
including but not limited to towing and storage charges. In the case
of a nonvehicular obstruction, the landowner on which the fire lane
or fire zone is located and the owner of the nonvehicular obstruction
shall be liable for the costs of removal.
