[Adopted by the City Council of the City of Newark 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023. Chapter history includes Ord. No. 6PSF-Q, 10-21-2020 as amended by Ord. No. 6PSF-d, 04-06-2022. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023]
As used in this Chapter:
OWNER
Means a person, group of persons, or corporation with legal ownership of real property within the City of Newark. For the purpose of this section, owner may also mean "shipping container operator."
SHIPPING CONTAINER OPERATOR
Means any owner, manager, company, or other entity that stores shipping containers, ISO containers, ISO shipping containers, or TEU's on property within the City of Newark.
SHIPPING CONTAINER(S)
Shall be defined as any ISO Container(s), TEU, or any other storage unit utilized for the shipment of goods.
SHIPPING CONTAINER, ISO CONTAINER, or ISO SHIPPING CONTAINER
Means any standardized shipping container constructed in accordance with the standard sizes promulgated by the International Standards Organization (ISO) for use in international intermodal transportation of goods by ship, rail, or truck, which shall include but shall not be limited to containers that are 20 feet in length and eight feet in width, 40 feet in length and eight feet in width, and 53 feet in length and eight feet in width.
STORAGE PERIOD
Means the period of time during which the Shipping Container has been stored on the property.
STORED
Means placed or left on a property and otherwise not placed in transit for a period of more than 30 days.
TEU or TWENTY-FOOT EQUIVALENT UNIT
Means a measure of capacity of ISO shipping containers used to approximate the comparable size of the various types of ISO containers. For the purposes of this legislation, the TEU measure for any ISO container shall be the result of dividing the base area measured in feet of any ISO container, determined by multiplying its external length by its external width, by the number 160.
[Adopted 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023]
1. 
Prohibition of shipping containers within residential zones (R-1 through R-6), commercial zones (C-1, C-2, and C-3), mixed use zones (MX-1, MX-2, and MX-3), institutional zones, and all redevelopment areas subject to a redevelopment plan, unless expressly permitted in the plan, including Newark's River Public Access and Redevelopment Plan, which includes industrial districts.
2. 
No property within the prohibited zones and redevelopment areas shall contain any stored shipping containers on such property. Any owner violating this Chapter shall be assessed fines per container, as specified below:
Storage Period
Maximum Fine Per Day of Storage
From day 1 through day 30
$100
From day 31 through day 60
$125
From day 61 through day 90
$150
In excess of 90 days
$200
[Adopted 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023]
Any operator or owner of a company storing shipping containers within any zoning district in the City of Newark must apply for a "Shipping Container Storage License" from the Zoning Office of the City of Newark to continue operations. The license must be renewed yearly. Any shipping container operator that satisfies the conditions for an exemption under § 41:22-6 paragraph 5 will not be required to obtain a "Shipping Container Storage License."
[Adopted 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023]
1. 
Fees for the shipping container license are specified as follows:
Number of Containers
License Fee (per year)
1 - 500
$1,000
501 - 1,000
$2,000
Greater than 1,000
$2,000 for the first 1,000 containers plus $500 for each additional container over 1,000 containers.
2. 
Daily fee for storage of shipping containers that are stored for more than 30 days shall be as follows:
Storage Fees - Shipping Containers
From day 1 through day 30
No daily fee.
From day 31 through day 60
$0.20 per container per day
From day 61 through day 90
$0.30 per container per day
In excess of 90 days
$1 per container per day
[Adopted 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023]
1. 
On the last business day of each month, shipping container operators shall provide the following information to the City of Newark's Office of Planning and Zoning:
a. 
Report indicating total number of containers at the site.
b. 
The report must indicate how many containers have been at the site for periods of 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, and greater than 90 days.
c. 
Shipping container operator must indicate in its report any fees or penalties owed to the City, based upon the fee schedule in Section 41:22-4, and remit payment with report.
d. 
Shipping container operator must certify to the reported figures under penalty of perjury, license revocation, and personal liability of the owner.
2. 
Reporting shall be administered by the Office of Special Taxes and Licensing, which shall create a publicly accessible form and a report submission protocol.
[Adopted 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023]
1. 
Applications for storage of shipping containers that are compliant with the zoning regulations shall be reviewed and permitted by site plan approval by the Central Planning Board of the City of Newark. The Central Planning Board shall review issues regarding whether the stored shipping containers occupy a substantial area of the parcel, grading, drainage, environmental conditions, and other aspects of site plan. Prior to the Central Planning Board review, a preliminary review shall be performed by the Board Planner and Department of Engineering.
2. 
Maximum stack height within permitted zones shall be four shipping containers.
3. 
Sufficient spacing must be created between containers to permit proper inspection and rodent control.
4. 
Surveillance cameras must be installed on site to prevent trespassers and criminal activity.
5. 
Shipping Container Operators whose: (a) principal business is shipping; (b) business is located on property leased by the Port Authority from the City of Newark and is contiguous to shipping waterways; (c) has received proof from Port Newark Container Terminal of acceptable safety protocols; (d) allows the City of Newark to conduct periodic inspections of its facility and/or property; and (e) submits a safety report to the City of Newark, Department of Engineering, are exempt from obtaining a Shipping Container Storage License and shall be permitted to stack a maximum height of eight shipping containers within the permitted zones.
[Adopted 11-1-2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-E, 11-01-2023]
1. 
Any shipping container operator found to store shipping containers within the City of Newark without a shipping container license shall be subject to daily fines as specified below:
Storage period
Maximum fine per day of storage
From day 1 through day 30
$100 plus $0.10 for each container
From day 31 through day 60
$125 plus $0.13 for each container
From day 61 through day 90
$150 plus $0.15 for each container
In excess of 90 days
$200 plus $0.20 for each container
2. 
Violators shall be additionally obligated to remit unpaid license fees based upon the fee schedule in Section 41:22-4.