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Township of Washington, NJ
Gloucester County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Washington as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Consumption of alcohol in public — See Ch. 11, Art. II.
Curfew — See Ch. 63.
Graffiti — See Ch. 108.
Paintball guns — See Ch. 155.
[Adopted 2-24-2005 by Ord. No. 4-2005[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. I, Disorderly Conduct, adopted 10-26-1995 by Ord. No. 26-1995 as Sec. 4-5 of the 1994 Code.
A. 
Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms have the meanings indicated:
LOITERING
A person, whether on foot or in a motor vehicle, that remains idle or prowls in a public place, walking about aimlessly or manifesting no purpose or manifesting a purpose prohibited by this article.
PARENT or GUARDIAN
Includes any adult person having care or custody of a minor, whether by reason of blood relationship, by order of any court or charged with the care and custody of any minor.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any place to which the public has access, including a street, highway, road, alley or sidewalk. It shall also include the front of any shop, store, restaurant, tavern or other place of business; public grounds, including but not limited to public parks and grounds as well as parking lots or other property within public parks and grounds; the front yard of any residential dwelling, whether a single-family home, multifamily dwelling, town home, condominium or apartment; any open space or common area in any housing development, whether single-family or multifamily, whether maintained by a homeowners' association or dedicated open space. Such public property shall also include any vacant private property not owned by or under the control of the person charged with violating this article, or, in the case of a minor, not owned by or under the control of his or her parent or guardian.
B. 
Certain types of loitering prohibited.
(1) 
No persons shall loiter in a public place to as to manifest the purpose:
(a) 
Create or cause to be created a danger or a breach of the peace.
(b) 
Create or cause to be created any disturbance or annoyance to the comfort and repose of any person.
(c) 
Obstruct the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles.
(d) 
Obstruct, molest or interfere with any person lawfully in any public place. This subsection shall include the act of making remarks in offensively coarse language or of a disgusting or insulting nature which are calculated to annoy or disturb the person to whom or in whose hearing they are made.
(2) 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(2), regarding loitering by persons under the influence of intoxicating liquors, was repealed 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 38-2008.
(3) 
No person shall loiter on the streets or other public places of the Township, and no person shall, on said streets or in such public places or on any private property or in any private or public conveyances within the Township, indulge in any other loud and offensively coarse or indecent language or shall address or make audible any offensive remarks or comments upon any person passing along such streets or public places or in any public or private conveyances or upon private property.
C. 
Loitering by minors. No parent or guardian of a minor (person under the age of 18) shall permit, suffer or allow his or her minor to loiter in violation of this chapter.
D. 
Police, disbursement of loitering persons. Any police officer of the Township of Washington, in exercise of reasonable law enforcement judgment, should determine that persons in any public place or private property as described herein are engaged in conduct which violates this article. Said officer, when necessary to preserve the public peace and safety, shall order that persons engaged in such activity are required to leave the public place. It shall be a violation of this article to disregard the lawful order of a police officer to leave a public place after being ordered to do so by a police officer. This provision shall not merge with any other violation of this article or any state statute.
No person shall engage in a practice, sport, exercise or other physical activity knowingly so as to frighten animals or other persons passing in the streets or sidewalks or in a public place.
No person or persons shall make, aid, suffer or assist in making any improper noise, disturbance, riot or other breach of the peace in the streets and highways or any public place within the Township.
No person or persons shall disquiet or disturb any congregation or assembly met for religious worship by making noise or by rude or indecent behavior or profane discourse within or about any such congregation or assembly of people.
No person or persons shall skate, sled, indulge in games or otherwise congregate on any highway, street or road in the part thereof that is used for vehicular traffic.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to consume any alcoholic beverage or to possess any alcoholic beverage in an open container with the intent to consume the same on any sidewalk, street, avenue, highway, public parking lot or other public place, or in any motor vehicle not on private property within the Township of Washington at any time.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to consume any alcoholic beverage or to possess any alcoholic beverage in an open container with intent to consume the same on any parking lot, yard or other open area which is open to the public or to which the public is invited at any time.
C. 
It shall be unlawful for the owner or any other person in control of any such parking lot, yard or other open area which is open to the public or to which the public is invited as described in Subsection B above to knowingly permit or suffer the consumption or possession in an open container with intent to consume any alcoholic beverage on said premises by any person at any time.
Violations of the provisions of this article shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I.
[Adopted 10-26-1995 by Ord. No. 26-1995 as Sec. 4-2 of the 1994 Code]
It shall be unlawful for any person to jump, dive, fish or bathe from any public bridge or its approaches crossing or spanning a spillway or outlet from any pond or lake in this Township.
It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter on the footwalk or driveway of any public bridge or its approaches crossing or spanning a spillway or outlet from any pond or lake in this Township. For purposes of this section, bridge approaches shall be deemed to be that portion of any highway or roadway within 150 feet of a bridge abutment.
It shall be unlawful to park automobiles or vehicles of any description on any public brides or approaches to public bridges crossing or spanning a spillway or outlet from any pond or lake in this Township.
No person or persons shall congregate, park automobiles or any other vehicle on any public bridge or its approaches crossing or spanning a spillway or outlet from any pond or lake in this Township, in such a way as to interfere with the free and uninterrupted use by pedestrians and drivers of automobiles or other vehicles at all times.
Violations of the provisions of this article shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I.