[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Cresskill 4-18-1989 by Ord. No. 89-3-1006. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage
in the business or act in the capacity of a builder or contractor
within the Borough of Cresskill without first having registered as
provided herein.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly denotes
otherwise:
A certificate of registration issued under § 105-3.
Any person who owns and operates a home improvement business
or who undertakes, offers to undertake or agrees to perform any home
improvement.
Includes but is not limited to the repair, replacement, remodeling,
alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation
of or addition to any land or building or that portion thereof which
is used or designed to be used as a private residence or dwelling
place or the construction, replacement, installation or improvement
of driveways, swimming pools, porches, garages, roofs, siding, insulation,
solar energy systems, flooring, patios, landscaping, fences, doors
and windows and waterproofing in connection with such land or building
or that portion thereof which is used or designed to be used as a
private residence or dwelling place, in which the total cash price
for all work agreed upon between the contractor and owner exceeds
$2,500. "Home improvement" does not include:
The construction of a new home.
The sale of goods by a seller who neither arranges
to perform nor performs, directly or indirectly, any work or labor
in connection with the installation or application of the goods or
materials.
The sale of goods or service furnished for commercial
or business use or for resale.
The sale of appliances, such as stoves, refrigerators,
freezers, room air conditioners and others, which are designed for
and are easily removable from the premises without material alteration
thereof.
Any work performed by the owner of his own premises.
An agreement between a contractor and an owner for the performance
of a home improvement.
A person who owns or resides in a private residence, and
includes any agent thereof.
An individual, firm, company, partnership or corporation.
A single-family dwelling or a multifamily dwelling consisting
of not more than four units.
Any individual who negotiates or offers to negotiate a home
improvement contract with an owner or solicits or otherwise endeavors
to procure, by any means whatsoever, directly or indirectly, a home
improvement contract from an owner on behalf of a contractor where
such negotiation, offer, solicitation or endeavor takes place outside
of a place of business.
[Amended 4-18-2018 by Ord. No. 18-07-1519]
A.
Residential: No person, partnership, corporation or other entity
shall engage in the business of construction, erecting, altering,
repairing, restoring, reroofing, residing, moving or demolishing the
whole or any part of building or structures of residential dwellings
or engage in the construction and installation of swimming pools or
tennis courts or engage in the business of erecting or altering signs,
fences or landscaping, for any of which a permit is required, until
such person shall obtain a certificate of registration from the State
of New Jersey.
B.
Commercial: No person, partnership, corporation or other entity shall
engage in the business of construction, erecting, altering, repairing,
restoring, reroofing, residing, moving or demolishing the whole or
any part of nonresidential buildings or engage in the construction
and installation of swimming pools or tennis courts or engage in the
business of erecting or altering signs, fences or landscaping, for
any of which a permit is required, until such person shall obtain
a certificate of registration from the presiding official of the Construction
Department of the Borough of Cresskill.
C.
The owner or occupant of a building or structure who performs any of the activities set forth in Subsection A above on such building or structure shall not be required to be registered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, provided that such owner or occupant performs and supervises his own work.
D.
No applicant shall be approved who, at the time of
the application, is entered on a list compiled and maintained by any
relevant authority, including but not limited to the federal, state
or county authorities, the purpose of which list is to advise all
concerned that a transaction with any listee has not complied with
the requirements of that agency.
A.
This chapter shall be administered by the presiding
official of the Construction Department of the Borough of Cresskill.
B.
In addition to any other powers granted under this
chapter, the Mayor and Council Building Committee may adopt such rules
and regulations as are deemed necessary and expedient for the purposes
of administering this chapter, including the consideration of license
applications for a certificate of registration and recommendations
to the Mayor and Council for the suspension and/or revocation of said
certificates.
For the purpose of this chapter, there shall
be the following classes for registration:
A.
General contractor or builder: a contractor who is
proficient in the construction of a building or structure from start
to finish and the alteration, addition to or repair of any building
or structure. This class of contractor shall be equipped to handle
such work either by and through his organization or appropriate subcontractors
and, in the latter event, shall be completely responsible for his
subcontractors' work.
B.
Roofing and siding contractor: a contractor who is
engaged in the business of or who is proficient in the applying of
roofing and siding materials to existing or new buildings or structures.
C.
Demolition contractor: a contractor who is engaged
in the business of or who is proficient in the demolishing of any
building or structure, in whole or in part.
D.
Moving contractor: a contractor who is engaged in
the business of or who is proficient in the moving of any building
or structure.
E.
Swimming pool contractor: a contractor who is engaged
in the business of or who is proficient in the installation or repair
of swimming pools, their equipment and appurtenances.
F.
Sign or billboard contractor: a contractor who is
engaged in the business of or who is proficient in the erection, alteration
or maintenance of signs or billboards.
G.
Landscape contractor: a contractor who is engaged
in the business of or who is proficient in the installation or planting
of landscaping or the spraying of trees and shrubbery.
H.
Miscellaneous contractor: a contractor who is proficient
in work of a special character, as determined by the presiding official
of the Construction Department.
A.
Applications for licensing, as required by § 105-3 above, shall be made to the presiding official of the Construction Department on a form furnished by the Building Department.
B.
The application shall set forth the following information:
(1)
The applicant's name, business name and business address.
(2)
Whether the applicant is an individual, a partnership,
a corporation or any other entity and, if another entity, a full explanation
and description thereof.
(3)
If the applicant is an individual, the applicants
residence address.
(4)
If the applicant is a partnership, the full names
and residence addresses of each partner.
(5)
If the applicant is a corporation or other entity:
(a)
In the case of a corporation, the full names
and residence addresses of each officer and each stockholder, the
name and address of the registered agent and the address of the principal
office. (The term "stockholder," as used herein, means and includes
any person owning or having an interest, either legal or equitable,
in 10% or more of the stock issued and outstanding of the applicant
corporation.)
(b)
In the case of another entity, the full names
and residence addresses of each person owning or having an interest,
either legal or equitable, aggregating in value 10% or more of the
total capital of said entity and the name and address of the principal
office.
(6)
Whether the applicant or any partners, officers or
stockholders thereof have ever been convicted of a crime and, if so,
the name of the person convicted, the date of the conviction, the
crime or charge involved and the disposition thereof [the term "officers,"
as used herein, means and includes the president, vice president(s),
secretary and treasurer of a corporate applicant]; or whether any
of the aforementioned persons has violated any state, county or municipal
ordinance or regulations on construction, repair or demolition, as
defined herein.
(7)
The number of years the applicant has been in business
at its present business address or at any prior location, including
the addresses of such prior location, if any, within the last 10 years.
(8)
The applicants training and experience in the class
or classes in which he desires to be licensed.
(9)
The class in which the applicant desires to be registered, selecting one or more of the classes designated in § 105-5.
(10)
A certificate of insurance of current workers' compensation
and liability coverage, naming said applicant in at least the sum
of $1,000,000.
(11)
An explanation of the manner in which the applicant
will dispose of rubbish and debris.
C.
Upon receipt of such application, the presiding official
of the Construction Department and the Building Committee shall review
the same with reference to the truth of the matters contained in the
application and for the purpose of obtaining a copy of any police
record which the applicant, or any partner, officer or stockholder
thereof, may have. Such review is to be completed within 30 days of
the receipt of the complete application by the Construction Code Official;
otherwise, said application shall be deemed to have been approved.
D.
The presiding official of the Construction Department
and Building Committee shall determine if the business responsibility
of the applicant, or any partner, officer or stockholder thereof,
is satisfactory on the basis of the information supplied and if the
training and experience are sufficient to protect the citizens of
the Borough of Cresskill from commercially unreasonable and unsafe
work, and if the presiding official of the Construction Department
and Building Committee so determine, they shall cause a certificate
of registration to be issued to the applicant, unless the application
or the report of the Police Department or other evidence presented
to the presiding official of the Construction Department shall tangibly
disclose any of the following:
(1)
A conviction for a crime.
(2)
Prior violations of the statutes, ordinances or regulations
relevant to the construction, erection, alterations, repair, restoration,
reroofing, residing, moving or demolition of any building, structure,
land, swimming pool, sign, billboard or part thereof.
(3)
A determination of previous fraudulent acts or conduct.
(4)
A record of breaches of contracts.
(5)
Failure to demonstrate training or experience in the
class in which the applicant seeks to be registered.
A.
Upon filing an application for permit for a commercial building, the applicant shall pay to the Construction Department a fee of $75 for a certificate of registration for licensing or relicensing (the reissuance of such a certificate after the revocation, in accordance with provisions of § 105-8 below).
[Amended 10-2-2002 by Ord. No. 02-12-1254 ; 5-21-2008 by Ord. No. 08-11-1353]
B.
The term of such license shall expire on the last
day of the 12th month after such license is issued.
C.
Such certificate shall be automatically renewed by the presiding official of the Construction Department upon payment by the applicant to the presiding official of the Construction Department of an annual renewal fee of $25 and the presentation of proof of insurance coverage, as required in § 105-6B(10). Such renewal payment shall be made before the end of the term of the prior license. Upon failure to renew any certificate on or before one month after the end of the term of the prior license, any subsequent registration certificate shall be and constitute a new or original license, subject to the filing of a new application in accordance with the provisions of § 105-5 and to the payment of the fee specified in Subsection A above.
[Amended 10-2-2002 by Ord. No. 02-12-1254]
The presiding official of the Construction Department shall have the power, in addition to all other powers provided in this chapter, pursuant to § 105-9 below, to revoke the certificate or registration of any contractor licensed hereunder who shall be guilty of any one of the following acts or omissions:
A.
The presiding official of the Construction Department
or any contractee or contractor may prefer charges against any registrant
under the terms of this chapter by the filing of a complaint. Such
complaint must be in writing, sworn to by the person making such charges
and submitted to and filed with the presiding official of the Construction
Department. Upon filing of the complaint in the manner and form prescribed,
it shall be the duty of the presiding official of the Construction
Department, at the earliest possible date and not later than 30 days
thereafter, to investigate the charges and to determine whether there
exists probable cause that a violation has occurred.
B.
The complaint shall contain a statement of facts setting
forth the specific charges upon which the request for revocation is
based.
C.
If the presiding official of the Construction Department
finds probable cause that a violation has been committed, the presiding
official of the Construction Department shall forthwith issue a notice
of complaint directing the registrant, within 20 calendar days after
service of the notice of compliant by certified mail, return receipt
requested, addressed to the registered agent for service, to file
an answer to the charges set forth in said notice of complaint, showing
cause, if any, why his certificate should not be suspended or revoked.
D.
Upon receipt of the registrant's answer to the notice
of complaint, the presiding official of the Construction Department
shall set the cause for hearing and shall give the registrant at least
five days' notice of said hearing. The notice of hearing shall be
by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the registered
agent for service. At the hearing, the registrant shall have the right
to appear personally or by counsel, cross-examine witnesses against
him and produce witnesses and evidence in his behalf.
E.
Failure of the registrant to file an answer with the
presiding official of the Construction Department may be deemed an
admission by him of a commission of the act or acts cited in the complaint,
and the presiding official of the Construction Department shall have
the power, in the event of such failure to answer, to suspend or revoke
the certificate without further evidence other than the charges set
forth in the complaint and notice of complaint.
F.
Whenever the presiding official of the Construction
Department, after hearing, shall determine that a registrant is in
violation, the official may then issue an order to such registrant
to correct such violation, fixing a reasonable time within which such
correction shall be made or accomplished, and upon compliance with
said order, the official may dismiss said complaint.
A.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the presiding
official of the Construction Department shall have the right of appeal
to the Construction Board of Appeals of the Borough of Cresskill.
B.
Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Borough
Clerk, within 14 days after notice of the action complained of, a
written statement setting forth fully the grounds for the appeal.
The Board shall set a time and place for the hearing on such appeal,
and notice of such hearing shall be given to the appellant by certified
mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the registered agent
for service, at least five days prior to the date set for the hearing.
The decision and order of the Board on such appeal shall be final
and conclusive.
A.
No permit shall be issued by the presiding official
of the Construction Department for the erection, construction, reconstruction,
structural alteration or removal of any building, structure or land
to anyone except a duly registered contractor or his duly authorized
agent under the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Permits shall be granted to the actual owner of the
premises and/or the individual who undertakes alone to do the work
of a contract or his duly authorized agent for which work construction
is to be done; however, the owner or his duly authorized agent shall
sign a statement that said work or construction for which the permit
is sought will be done by himself or one who undertakes alone to do
the work of a contract.
Any person who shall violate the terms or revisions
of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine
not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 90 days,
or both, at the discretion of the Municipal Judge. Each day upon which
such violation shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
