[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Bridgeton 12-15-1981 by Ord. No. 81-13. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
A.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used
in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number
include the singular number, and words in the singular number include
the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely
directory.
B.
CITY
DIRECTOR
LOITERING
PARENT OR GUARDIAN
PERSON
PUBLIC PLACE
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms,
phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given
herein:[1]
The City of Bridgeton.
The Director of Public Safety.
Remaining idle in essentially one location and shall include
the concepts of sleeping or protractedly lounge on seats, benches,
or other areas; spending time idly; being dilatory; lingering, standing
around, or engaging in loud, boisterous, threatening, abusive, insulting
or indecent language; or engaging in any disorderly conduct or behavior
tending to a breach of the public peace.
Includes any adult person having care or custody of a minor,
whether by reason of blood relationship, the order of any court or
otherwise.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
Any place to which the public has access and shall include
any street, highway, road, alley, boardwalk or sidewalk. It shall
also include the front or the neighborhood of any store, shop, restaurant,
tavern or other place of business, and public grounds, areas and parks,
as well as parking lots or other vacant private property not owned
by or under the control of the person charged with violating this
section or, in the case of a minor, not owned or under the control
of his parent or guardian.
No person in a public place shall:
A.
With respect to buildings and other property:
(1)
Willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper
with, or displace or remove, any building, bridges, tables, benches,
fireplaces, railings, paving or paving material, waterlines or other
public utilities or parts or appurtenances thereof, signs, notices
or placards whether temporary or permanent monuments, stakes, posts,
or other boundary markers, or other structures or equipment, facilities
or public property or appurtenances whatsoever, either real or personal.
(2)
Fail to cooperate in maintaining rest rooms and washrooms
in a neat and sanitary condition.
(3)
Dig, or remove any beach sand, whether submerged or
not, or any soil, rock, stones, trees, shrubs or plants, down-timber
or other wood or materials, or make any excavation by tool, equipment,
blasting, or other means or agency.
B.
With respect to trees, shrubbery, lawns:
(1)
Damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree
or plant or injure the bark, or pick the flowers or seeds of any tree
or plant, nor shall any person attach any rope, wire, or other contrivance
to any tree or plant. A person shall not dig in or otherwise disturb
grass areas, or in any other way injure or impair the natural beauty
or usefulness of any area.
(2)
Climb any tree, or walk, stand or sit upon monuments,
vases, fountains, railings, fences or gun carriages or upon any other
property not designated or customarily used for such purposes, or
improperly lounge or sit on any bench.
No person in a public place shall:
A.
Throw, discharge, or otherwise place or cause to be
placed in the waters of any fountain, pond, lake, stream, bay or other
body of water in or adjacent to any public place or any tributary,
stream, storm sewer, or drain flowing into such waters, any substance,
matter or thing, liquid or solid, which will or may result in the
pollution of said waters.
B.
Have brought in or shall dump, deposit or leave any
bottles, broken glass, ashes, paper, boxes, cans, dirt, rubbish, waste,
garbage, or refuse, or other trash. No such refuse or trash shall
be placed in any waters in or contiguous to any public place or left
anywhere on the grounds thereof, but shall be placed in the proper
receptacles where these are provided; where receptacles are not so
provided, all such rubbish or waste shall be carried away from the
public place by the person responsible for its presence, and properly
disposed of elsewhere.
[Amended 9-16-2008 by Ord. No. 08-8; 10-3-2023 by Ord. No. 23-33]
No person shall have in his or her possession
any open container with unconsumed alcohol while in any place to which
the public has access, including any street, highway, road, alley,
boardwalk or sidewalk, public grounds, and parking lots which are
generally open to the public.
[Amended 5-2-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-05]
No person in a public place shall bring, or
have in his possession, or set off or otherwise cause to explode or
discharge or burn, any firecrackers, torpedo, rocket, or other fireworks
or explosives of inflammable material, or discharge them or throw
them into any such area from land or highway adjacent thereto without
a permit issued by the City of Bridgeton Fire Official in accordance
with the New Jersey State Fire Code (N.J.A.C. 5:70-1 et seq.). This
prohibition includes any substance, compound, mixture, or article
that in conjunction with any other substance or compound would be
dangerous from any of the foregoing standpoints.
A.
Applications
to permit the use, display, or possession of fireworks or pyrotechnics
in the City of Bridgeton shall be made to the City of Bridgeton Fire
Prevention Bureau and approved in accordance with the New Jersey State
Fire Code (N.J.A.C. 5:70-1 et seq.).
B.
All public
display applications shall also comply with N.J.S.A. 21:3-1 et seq.
regarding fireworks and explosives such that City Council adopts a
resolution prior to the scheduled use of the fireworks display.
No person in a public place shall build or attempt
to build a fire except in such areas and under such regulations as
may be designated by the Director. No person shall drop, throw, or
otherwise scatter lighted matches, burning cigarettes or cigars, tobacco
paper or other flammable material, within any public place area or
on any highway, road or street abutting or contiguous thereto.
No person in a public place shall enter an area
posted as "Closed to the Public," nor shall any person use, or abet
the use of any area in violation of posted notices.
No person in a public place shall go onto the
ice on any of the waters except such areas as are designated as skating
fields, and provided a safety signal is displayed.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter, loaf,
wander, stand or remain idle either alone and/or in consort with others
in a public place in such manner so as to:
(1)
Obstruct any public street, public highway, public
sidewalk or any other public place or building by hindering or impeding
or tending to hinder or impede the free and uninterrupted passage
of vehicles, traffic or pedestrians.
(2)
Commit in or upon any public street, public highway,
public sidewalk or any other public place or building any act or thing
which is an obstruction or interference to the free and uninterrupted
use of property or with any business lawfully conducted by anyone
in or upon or facing or fronting on any such public street, public
highway, public sidewalk or any other public place or building, all
of which prevents the free and uninterrupted ingress, egress and regress,
therein, thereon and thereto.
B.
When any person causes or commits any of the conditions enumerated in Subsection A herein, a police officer or any law enforcement officer shall order that person to stop causing or committing such conditions and to move on or disperse. Any person who fails or refuses to obey such orders shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter.
C.
Loitering by minors. No parent or guardian of a minor
under the age of 18 years shall knowingly permit that minor to loiter
in violation of this section. Whenever any minor under the age of
18 years is charged with a violation of this section, his parent or
guardian shall be notified of this fact by the Chief of Police or
any other person designated by him to give such notice. If at any
time within 30 days following giving of notice, the minor to whom
such notice relates again violates this section, it shall be presumed
in the absence of evidence to the contrary that the minor did so with
the knowledge and permission of his parent or guardian.
[Added 10-6-2003 by Ord. No. 03-5]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall in the discretion of the Judge of the Municipal Court be punished as provided in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.
