[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Brick 5-11-1976 by Ord. No. 270-76 (Ch. 147 of the 1989 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 318.
Secondhand dealers — See Ch. 345.
[Adopted 5-11-1976 by Ord. No. 270-76 (Ch. 147 of the 1989 Code)]
For purposes of this article, the following words and terms shall include the meanings established herein:
FIREARM
Any gun, shotgun, rifle, pistol, revolver or other device from which a bullet, shot, ball, slug, pellet, solid projectile or other missile, or any gas, vapor or other noxious thing, is propelled by means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an explosive or the igniting of flammable or explosive substances.
TARGET RANGE
Any place designated, used or intended to be used for the discharge of any firearms at a fixed mark or target.
[Amended 8-11-1987 by Ord. No. 270-A-87]
Nothing contained in this article shall be interpreted to prohibit the use, discharge or possession of firearms by:
A. 
Public officers or other persons enumerated in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-6, as amended.
B. 
Persons lawfully using firearms in the defense or protection of person or property.
C. 
Persons keeping or carrying any firearms about their residence, premises or business, or on land leased by them; or to or from any place of purchase or repair of firearms and their residence, premises, business or leasehold; provided, however, that they fully comply with the appropriate sections of Title 2A of the New Jersey Revised Statutes, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
D. 
Persons transporting any firearm while traveling directly to or from any proper hunting place, provided that such persons have in their possession a valid hunting license, or while traveling directly to or from any proper place for practice, match, target, trap or skeet shooting or shooting exhibitions; provided, however, that during the course of traveling for the purposes set forth in this Subsection D, the firearm is unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gun box, securely tied package or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which the person is transporting the firearm; and provided further that the course of travel to or from such places may include such deviation as may be reasonable or necessary under the circumstances.
E. 
Any farmers or fruit growers using firearms against gray squirrels, rabbits or hares on property owned or leased by them and used for the raising of fruit, vegetables, trees, shrubbery, nursery stock or other produce; provided, however, that they first file a statement of their intention to do so with the Brick Township Police Department, and provided also that they fully comply with N.J.S.A. 23:4-9.
F. 
Any persons killing crows, hawks, woodchuck and vermin when in the act of destroying poultry, crops or property, as permitted by N.J.S.A. 23:4-25; provided, however, that they first file a statement of their intention to do so with the Brick Township Police Department.
G. 
Owners or lessees of a tract of land consisting of 25 acres or more or persons carrying or discharging firearms upon such tracts of land with the permission of the owner or lessee thereof, provided that such owners, lessees or licensees shall comply with all provisions of Title 23, Fish and Game, Wild Birds and Animals, of the New Jersey Revised Statutes, as amended.
H. 
Persons engaged in hunting in or on premises adjacent to Barnegat Bay or the Manasquan River, provided that such persons shall comply with all provisions of Title 23, Fish and Game, Wild Birds and Animals, of the New Jersey Revised Statutes, as amended. Hunting shall not be permitted at any other location in the Township of Brick.
No person or persons, group, organization or association shall discharge any firearm at any target range within the Township of Brick nor shall any person or persons, group, organization or association operate or maintain a target range within the Township of Brick without first having obtained a permit for the maintenance and operation of such target range, duly issued by the Chief of Police or his designee, as hereinafter provided.
A. 
Every person maintaining and conducting a target range, before discharging or permitting the discharge of any firearm thereon, shall have obtained a target range permit from the Township of Brick.
B. 
Applications for a target range permit shall be submitted to the Chief of Police or his designee, on forms prescribed for that purpose, together with a nonrefundable application fee of $25. Such application shall set forth:
(1) 
The name and address of the record owner of the real estate upon which such target range is located and the location of the proposed target range.
(2) 
The name and address of the person or persons in charge of and responsible for the maintenance and operation of the target range.
(3) 
A description and sketch of the proposed target range, including location of firing positions and targets, distances between targets and between firing positions and targets, distances between targets and all adjacent property lines and distances between firing points and all adjacent property lines and the nature and composition of bullet stops.
(4) 
The signature of the applicant or an authorized representative thereof.
C. 
The Chief of Police shall promptly cause an inspection to be made of the real property upon which the target range is to be located to ascertain whether such range may be used without jeopardizing the health, safety and general welfare of the public. In the event that he finds that such range may be operated without danger to the public, he shall forthwith issue a target range permit to the applicant, which shall be valid for a one-year period unless sooner revoked by the Township Council for good cause after five days' notice and hearing, where such hearing is request by the licensee.
D. 
In the event that the Chief of Police shall determine that the proposed target range may not be operated without jeopardizing the health, safety and general welfare of the public, he shall forthwith notify the applicant, in writing, that the application is denied, specifying the reasons for denial. Within 10 days of the date of such notification, the applicant may request a hearing before the Township Council. A hearing shall be scheduled within 30 days from the date of the request. The Council may hear any facts which it deems relevant and shall, within 30 days, notify the applicant, in writing, that the application is rejected or shall direct the issuance of a permit by the Chief of Police.
A. 
No person, corporation, association or organization shall conduct any turkey shoot, firearms demonstration, shooting match or any other event in which firearms are discharged without first having filed an application for a permit with the Chief of Police or his designee, together with a nonrefundable application fee of $5. Said application shall contain:
(1) 
The name and address of the record owner of the real estate upon which the event is to be conducted.
(2) 
The location at which the event will be conducted.
(3) 
A statement of the event, the date or dates upon which it will be conducted and the safety precautions to be taken for the protection of persons and property.
(4) 
The signature of the applicant or an authorized representative thereof.
B. 
The Chief of Police shall issue a permit for such event where it appears that the discharge of firearms or weapons at such event will not endanger the safety, health or general welfare of the public.
The Business Administrator shall arrange, not less than once each year, prior to the established hunting season, to post appropriate signs on all major roads providing access to the Township, which signs shall advise the general public that the possession and discharge of firearms is limited and controlled by an ordinance of this Township.
Nothing hereinabove set forth shall be construed to permit hunting and gunning in this municipality in violation of any of the laws of the State of New Jersey pertaining to fish and game; and more particularly, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no person shall, for the purposes of hunting, taking or gunning any fowl or animals, have in his possession while within 450 feet of any occupied dwelling or school playground, nor shall any person, for the purpose of hunting, taking or killing any fowl or animals, discharge any firearm upon or across any state, County or municipal highway or street in such areas of the municipality where hunting is not otherwise specifically prohibited.
[Amended 3-14-1989 by Ord. No. 666-89]
Any person who is convicted of violating the provisions of this article shall be subject to the penalties as provided in Chapter 1, § 1-15, General penalty.
[Adopted 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. 30-06]
A. 
The Mayor and Council of the Township of Brick do hereby find that it is necessary to balance the interests of the citizens of the Township in particular, and the State of New Jersey in general, particularly the competing interests of sportsmen with the rights of residents to enjoy a reasonably peaceful and tranquil lifestyle.
B. 
The Mayor and Council are aware that harvesting migratory waterfowl by sportsmen in the areas surrounding Barnegat Bay has a long and rich history. The Mayor and Council are also ever mindful that the regulation of hunting in general and hunting migratory waterfowl in particular is an activity which is closely and exclusively regulated by both the state and the federal governments.
C. 
Simultaneously the Mayor and Council of Brick Township are aware of the Township's ever-expanding population, population which results in housing being constructed and occupied in areas which were formerly areas which waterfowlers and other sportsmen pursued their outdoor recreational activities. Similarly the Mayor and Council of Brick Township are cognizant of the fact that many of the Township's new residents come from more urban zones, areas where residents are not used to the sounds of the discharge of firearms in the Fall and, in fact, central urban areas where the sound of the discharge of firearms is often a sign of dangerous activities.
D. 
In an effort to balance the competing interests of sportsmen seeking to pursue outdoor recreational activities with residents who have moved away from urban areas to the more rural areas of New Jersey, such as the Township of Brick, the Mayor and Council of Brick Township have determined that it is necessary to adopt this regulatory ordinance, regulating more definitively the discharge of firearms by sportsmen who are pursuing their chosen outdoor activity of duck hunting in such a manner as to provide the maximum sporting enjoyment for those sportsmen while protecting and preserving the peace and tranquility to the greatest extent possible without duly interfering with outdoor sporting activities and in such a manner as not to create or arise a conflict between any principles of state preemption with any municipal rights of home rule. In an effort to foster the foregoing balancing of interests, the Mayor and Council of Brick Township do hereby enact this article.
A. 
In that area described as the lands flowed by tidewater, therefore, owned by the State of New Jersey, on the southerly side of the Metedeconk River which lands are also generally bounded on the south by Lot Nos. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, and 40, Block 680.10, as shown on the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Coastal Resources Map showing conveyances on the Metedeconk River, Brick Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, large tracts of state-owned land suitable for duck hunting have been surrounded by the development of residential properties and convenient access thereto has become limited. Said lands are also generally described as being located on the southerly side of the Metedeconk River east of New Jersey Route Highway 70 Bridge, extending to the center of said river and thence in an easterly direction to the intersection of the center line of the river with the center line of Cedar Bridge Branch as the same would be extended in a generally easterly direction to meet the center line of the Metedeconk River. As a result thereof, conference has been had between the Solicitor for Brick Township, the Brick Township Prosecutor, the Brick Township Police Department, the Counsel for New Jersey Waterfowlers Association and the State of New Jersey, Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife. Although the Township of Brick recognizes that the regulation of hunting and the harvesting of wildlife is, by law, solely with the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife, at the same time the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife has expressed concern over the problems facing New Jersey sportsmen and facing Brick Township as a result of duck hunting in the above-described areas.
B. 
After consultation with the Director of the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife, Counsel for the Township and Counsel for the New Jersey Waterfowlers Association, this article has been prepared as a joint endeavor and prior to its introduction has been approved and reviewed by the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife, Brick Township's Solicitor, the Brick Township Police Department, the Brick Township Prosecutor's Office and Counsel for the New Jersey Waterfowlers Association and is enacted to effectuate and foster an even balance between the interests of hunters and nonhunters in the above-described area.
A. 
Limitation on number of hunters. The number of hunters in the described area pursuing ducks shall not be permitted to exceed four on any given day.
B. 
Registration of hunters. Any duck hunter desiring to pursue ducks in the described area shall register with the Brick Township Police Department, who shall provide a mechanism for recording the number of registered hunters on any given day. Any hunter desiring to register shall pay a fee of $5 per day to cover administrative expenses in the Brick Township Police Department.
C. 
Limitation on parking. No more than four motor vehicles and boat trailers shall be permitted to park in the vicinity of the boat ramp located at Glenwood Avenue on any given day. The owners and operators of such vehicles shall have applied for and received the above-described permit from the Brick Township Police Department for the day on which the vehicles and trailers are parked in the vicinity of the boat ramp located at Glenwood Avenue.