[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Union 12-27-2011 by Ord. No. 5223 (Ch. 432 of the 2004 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The Township Committee finds and declares that the health, safety,
and welfare of its citizens will be enhanced by requiring certain
secondhand dealers to be licensed and to require said dealers to maintain
records.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any part or equipment that is used in the manufacturing or
repair of an automobile including, but not limited to, auto body parts,
radio/stereo equipment, compact disc players, cellular phones, speakers,
tires, rims, and chrome fixtures.
Electronic equipment including, but not limited to, VCRs,
televisions, computers, video games, pagers, beepers, cellular phones,
telephones, typewriters, fax machines and audio/stereo equipment.
This shall also include, but not be limited to, the parts for building
or upgrading electronic equipment.
Any ornament or decorative piece made from gold, silver,
precious stones, semiprecious stones or gems or any ornament or decorative
piece containing gold, silver, precious stones, semiprecious stones
or gems including, but not limited to, necklaces, watches, rings,
bracelets, earrings and cufflinks.
Any person(s), partnership or corporation who advertises,
purchases or sells, offers to purchase or sell or attempts to purchase
or sell used personal property including, but not limited to, used
jewelry, used auto parts or used electronic devices to any other person,
partnership or corporation.
Any of a class of elementary substances or an alloy thereof
including, but not limited to, gold, silver, copper and aluminum.
Any person under the age of 18.
The sale or purchase of any used personal property including,
but not limited to, used jewelry, used auto parts, used electronic
devices and used metals.
Any used personal property including, but not limited to,
jewelry, electronic devices, auto parts and metals sold from one party
or parties to a second party or parties.
A.
License requirement. No person
or persons shall engage in the regulated activity without first having
obtained a license from the Township Clerk. The license shall bear
a number issued by the Township Clerk and shall be clearly displayed
within the licensed l premises. The license shall also be available
for inspection at any time by Township officials.
B.
Application and license fee. An
application to engage in the regulated activity must be completed
and submitted to the Township Clerk for review and approval. The application
shall be submitted along with an annual license fee of $150.
C.
Bond requirement. Each licensee
shall submit, in addition to the initial application and application
fee, a bond to the Township Clerk executed by the applicant as principal,
from a surety company authorized to conduct business under the laws
of the state of New Jersey. The bond shall be in the penal sum of
$10,000 for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions
of this chapter and for the protection of any person who purchases
a used item which is determined to be stolen or sold deceptively or
fraudulently by a court of law of the state of New Jersey.
D.
Expiration date. Each license
shall expire on December 31 of the year in which it is issued.
A.
Application process. Upon demand,
the Township Clerk shall make available to a merchant an application
for the purposes of maintaining, keeping and operating such business
within the Township. No permit shall be issued unless such application
is completed, executed and all requirements contained therein are
fully met and delivered to the Police Director or his designee. Upon
receipt of an application, fee and bond surety, the Police Director
or his designee shall conduct an investigation into the applicant's
moral character and business responsibility as he or she deems necessary
for the protection of the public welfare. Upon the completion of the
investigation and within a reasonable amount of time, the Police Director
or his designee shall return the application, or a copy thereof with
any recommendations, to the Township Clerk.
B.
Approval or denial. The Police
Director or his designee, after engaging in the necessary investigation,
shall make a recommendation to the Township Committee as to whether
the application should be approved or denied. The grounds for denial
of an application shall be clearly stated and may include, but not
be limited to, with respect to the owner or owners of the premises,
if a natural person or persons, including partners of a partnership,
that he, she or they are 21 years of age or older, citizens of the
United States and residents of the state of New Jersey, and never
convicted, in this state or elsewhere, of a crime involving moral
turpitude involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation;
and, if a corporation, that all officers and members of the board
of directors, and every stockholder holding 10% or more of the stock
of the corporation, directly or indirectly having a beneficial interest
therein, have the same qualifications as set forth in this subsection
for an applicant who is a natural person. The chief license inspector,
upon the recommendation of the Chief of Police, shall approve or deny
the license accordingly. If such application is denied, the chief
license inspector shall set down in writing his or her findings and
conclusions and deliver a copy of same to applicant upon demand.
C.
Return of application fee. If
the application for license is denied, 75% of the fees shall be returned
to the applicant. The balance of the application fee will be kept
by the Township to offset the costs of the investigation.
D.
Appeals process. Any person aggrieved
by such denial may appeal to the Township Committee within 30 days
of the date of denial of the application. The Township Committee,
at its own discretion, may affirm, reverse or modify the decision
of the Police Director or his designee.
A.
Submission to the Police Department
of transaction forms; time limit prescribed. Each licensed dealer
operating in the Township shall deliver to the Police Director or
his designee a description of all items purchased, received or sold,
as well as the identities of those who sold or bought the items from
him or her. A valid government-issued picture ID will be required
to complete the transaction and shall be photocopied and the photocopy
shall be attached to the record of sale. The dealer shall file this
description on consecutively numbered transaction forms prescribed
and provided by the Police Director. The prescribed transaction form
must be filed within 72 hours after the purchase, sale or receipt
of any item. A copy of the transaction form is to be kept on the subject
premises at all times during operating hours and available for review
and inspection by any Township official.
B.
Records book. All licensees shall
keep an accurate log of accounts of all sales made. The logs shall
be open to inspection by any Township official. This log shall be
kept on the subject premises at all times during operating hours.
This log shall also include sales tax collected for each transaction.
A.
No dealer shall melt, change the
form of or dispose of any used items purchased or received within
10 days from the date the notification is made to the Chief of Police
and the chief license inspector, and all such items shall remain on
the premises where the purchase was made for at least 10 days from
the date of notification of the Chief of Police and the chief license
inspector.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Each dealer must require two forms
of identification from the person with whom he or she is transacting
business, one of which must be a valid government-issued picture ID.
The type of identification must be noted on the transaction form presented
to the Police Director or his designee along with a photocopy of the
ID presented.
C.
Each dealer shall photograph each
seller of merchandise and shall identify the photograph by name, date
of sale, item purchased, amount paid. The photograph shall be retained
for a period of five years and shall be subject to inspection by any
Township official.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
No merchant or dealer shall sell, purchase or receive any used
item, goods, article or thing from any minor unless the minor has
expressed written parental consent to make such transaction. In the
event that written consent be provided, the merchant or dealer must
keep written consent on file for potential inspection by the proper
Township official.
Used car lots, properly licensed by the state of New Jersey,
shall be excluded from the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by one or more of the
following: imprisonment in the county jail or in any other place provided
by the municipality for the detention of prisoners for any term not
exceeding 90 days or by a fine not exceeding $2,000 or by a period
of community service not exceeding 90 days. Each day that a violation
shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
