Borough of Cresskill, NJ Snow, Ice, Weeds and Grass

A.

The owner or owners, occupant or occupants, tenant or tenants of premises abutting or bordering upon the sidewalk or corner of any street in the Borough of Cresskill shall remove all snow and ice from such sidewalks and through such corner to the width of not less than 24 inches, or in the case of ice, which may be so frozen to make removal impractical, shall cause the same to be thoroughly covered with sand or ashes, within 24 hours after the same shall cease to fall or be formed thereon.

B.

No person, firm or corporation, the owner, tenant or occupant of any premises abutting on any street or sidewalk shall throw, place or deposit any snow or ice accumulated on private property into or upon any such street or sidewalk in the said Borough.

C.

In case such snow or ice shall not be removed from such sidewalk through to such corner, or shall be cast, deposited or placed upon such sidewalks on such street by the owner or owners, tenant or tenants, occupant or occupants of any said premises as provided in Subsection A and B hereof, the same may be removed forthwith and under the direction of the Superintendent of Public Works, and the cost of such removal as nearly as can be ascertained shall be certified by the Superintendent of Public Works to the Public Works Committee. The Public Works Committee shall examine such certification and, if found to be correct, shall cause said cost to be charged against such real estate so abutting or bordering upon such sidewalks, and the amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien and a tax upon said real estate or land, and be added to, recorded and collected in the same way and in the same manner as the taxes next to be levied and assessed upon such premises, and shall bear interest and be enforced and collected by the same officers and in the same manner as other taxes. The imposition and collection of a fine or fines imposed by this section shall not constitute any bar to the right of the Borough of Cresskill to correct the cost as certified for the removal of said snow or ice in the manner herein authorized.

D.

In case the owner, tenant or occupant shall remove or cause another to remove the snow or ice from his driveway or parking lot after the Borough has plowed the roadway in front of the lands with a snowplow, then the snow removed from such driveway or parking lot shall not be deposited by any means upon any portion of the roadway. Any person, including the owner, tenant, occupant or contractor, who plows or causes to be deposited snow upon any portion of the roadway shall be guilty of a violation of this article. This provision may be administered and enforced by the Chief of Police and his designated agent.

E.

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding $50 for each and every day on which said violation exists, and each and every day on which said violation exists shall constitute a separate violation. The provisions of this section, exclusive of Subsection C, shall be enforced by the Cresskill Police Department.

[Amended 10-2-2002 by Ord. No. 02-12-1254]

F.

Mailbox damage reimbursement.

[Added 2-3-2010 by Ord. No. 10-01-1380]

(1)

While there is no legal requirement that the Borough do so, it is the policy of the Borough of Cresskill to reimburse residents up to $75 for eligible damage to mailboxes caused by direct plow contact on the part of the Borough of Cresskill Department of Public Works. Nothing in this article shall be construed to entitle any resident to reimbursement for damage caused by the weight or placement of thrown snow, nor shall this article be construed to entitle any resident to reimbursement prior to an investigation and determination by the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works that the claimed damage is eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this article.

(2)

The reimbursement provisions of this article shall only apply to those residents who satisfy the following criteria:

(a)

The mailbox is securely fastened to a sturdy post which is sufficiently anchored in the ground to resist the impact of plowed snows.

(b)

The damaged mailbox and/or post must meet the requirements of the U.S. Postal Service, as well as all other applicable regulations in regard to construction and location. Mailboxes that do not meet the requirements of the U.S. Postal Service and/or any other applicable regulations are not eligible for reimbursement.

(c)

The damage must have been caused by direct contact with Borough plows or snow removal equipment. The Borough will not provide reimbursement for damage to mailboxes or posts caused solely by snow thrown from Borough plows or snow removal equipment.

(d)

The resident must notify the Borough within seven days of the date the damage occurred, unless the resident was out of town, in which case the Borough must be notified of the damage within seven days of the resident's return. Damage reported outside of this time frame will not be eligible for reimbursement.

(e)

The mailbox and post damage notification form must be completed in its entirety and signed by the resident and subsequently approved by the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works.

(3)

Within the time period described above, a resident making a claim for reimbursement pursuant to this article shall complete a mailbox and post damage notification form, available at the Borough Clerk's office.

(4)

After submission of the completed form, the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works shall investigate the alleged damage to determine if the damage was caused by the plow blade or vehicle itself, rather than thrown snow. A written response on the findings of the investigation will be mailed with a check, if appropriate.

(5)

If it is determined the mailbox was damaged by the plow blade or vehicle, the resident will be reimbursed in an amount not to exceed $75 for a new mailbox. If it is determined that the damage was not caused by the plow blade or vehicle, no reimbursement will be given. All actual repairs and/or replacements shall be the responsibility of the resident.

(6)

All residents and the Department of Public Works shall utilize the mailbox and post damage notification form, available at the office of the Borough Clerk.

The owner or owners, tenant or tenants of lands abutting or bordering upon the sidewalks and gutters of public streets, avenues, highways and public places shall keep all grass, weeds and other impediments removed therefrom. All grass and weeds shall be cut to a height of less, than four inches from the ground.

In case the owner or owners, tenant or tenants of lands abutting or bordering upon the sidewalks and gutters of public streets, avenues, highways and public places shall refuse or neglect to remove all grass, weeds and other impediments therefrom after three days' notice served upon any of them by the Borough, the Road Superintendent may cause such work to be done under his direction, and he shall certify the cost thereof to the Council.

The cost of such removal as certified by the Road Superintendent, if found correct by the Council, shall forthwith become a lien upon the lands abutting or bordering any such sidewalks and gutter and shall be added to and become and form a part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such lands and shall bear the same interest as taxes.

The Council shall, upon receiving a certificate of cost as aforesaid from the Road Superintendent, examine the same and, if found correct, shall adopt a resolution to that effect, directing that certified copy thereof be delivered to the Collector of Taxes, who shall thereupon collect such charges at the time of collection of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such lands and as a part thereof.

In addition to the collection of costs provided by § 230-96, the owner or owners and tenant or tenants violating the provisions of this article shall be liable to such other penalties as are provided in this chapter.