Township of Egg Harbor, NJ Buildings, Numbering of

The purpose of this chapter shall be to require the clear display of building numbers to public streets for all properties that contain principal buildings within the Township of Egg Harbor in order to assist the general public and the authorities in identifying any property in case of an emergency, as well as for the welfare of the general public in conducting their normal affairs, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:67-1 et seq.

§ 83-2 Numbering required; standards.

The owner, occupant or agent of an owner or occupant shall place or cause to be displaced upon each house or building controlled by him the number or numbers assigned to the lot upon which it is located by the Township of Egg Harbor Tax Map. Whenever a mailbox is located in front of the property, it shall display the house number in three-inch Arabic numbers.

The numbers used shall be Arabic, not less than three inches in height and should be made of durable and clearly visible material; the numbers shall be legible and maintained in good order at all times. Roman numerals or script may supplement this requirement but shall not be a substitute for compliance.

The numbers shall be conspicuously placed on the building facade parallel to the street immediately above or within 10 feet of either side of the main entrance to the building or over the garage door so that the number can be plainly read from the center line of the street in daylight by a person possessing at least 20/20 vision.

The numbers shall be so placed so that they will not be obstructed by trees, shrubbery, porches or other extensions of the building.

Whenever any building is situated more than 30 feet from the street line, the house number shall be displayed as provided in Subsection C, but the numerals shall be at least five inches in height.

If the number would not be visible due to the orientation, setback or other features of the building or site if it were displayed as provided above, then the number shall be placed near the walk, driveway or entrance to such building and upon a gate, post, fence or mailbox so as to be easily discernible from the center line of the street. The bottom of such a display shall be no less than 30 inches above the level of ground, nor shall the top of such display be more than six feet above the ground.

All numbers posted pursuant to this chapter shall be of reflective material or of sufficient visual contrast to the background material to be easily discernible at night with the aid of an emergency vehicle spotlight.

§ 83-3 Responsibility of owner.

Whenever any house, building or structure shall be erected or located in the Township of Egg Harbor after the passage of this chapter and in order to preserve the continuity and uniformity of numbers of the houses, buildings or structures, it shall be the duty of the owner to ascertain the correct number or numbers as designated by the Township of Egg Harbor Tax Map for said property and to immediately fasten said number or numbers so assigned upon said building as provided by this chapter.

Any person having a number different from that officially assigned shall be deemed to be in violation of this chapter.

§ 83-4 Multiple residences.

Where any building has more than one entrance serving separate occupants, a separate number shall be assigned to each entrance serving a separate occupant and shall be posted as otherwise provided in this chapter.

Where any building or complex of buildings is so structured that all separate entrances serving separate occupants and the numbers assigned to them are not clearly visible from the center line of the street, then the number for each separate entrance shall be placed near the walk or driveway from the street to such separate entrance and upon a gate, post, fence, mailbox or other appropriate place so as to be easily visible from the center line of the street. The height limitations on such a display shall be the same as in those provided in § 83-2.

For all multifamily buildings having apartment doors opening on interior halls, each door shall have a number no less than two inches high affixed thereon, and hall entryways shall have on the exterior thereof a display indicating the sequence of apartments served by such entryway.

§ 83-5 Assignment of numbers; application for number.

The Township Assessor is authorized to file in his office maps of the lots of land established within the Township and designate thereon a system of numbering such lots for proper identification.

The Assessor is authorized to assign numbers to buildings erected upon such lots for proper identification.

As standards for such designation and assignment, the Assessor shall give due regard to the need for a logical and uniform sequence of assignment along the streets and roads of the Township to obtain better identification and convenience for location.

The property owner shall apply to the Township Assessor to obtain the number assigned to the owner's building, and upon making such application, the Assessor shall issue to the applicant the number assigned to his building.

No number shall be placed upon any building for the purpose of this chapter, unless said number shall be that number which has been assigned under the authority of this chapter and corresponds with the numbers placed upon the maps or records on file with the Assessor.

In the absence of an application, the Township Assessor is empowered to notify the property owner of the number assigned to his building, and it shall be the obligation of the owner to affix and display the number in accordance herewith and maintain said numbers at all times.

The number assigned to a building shall be based upon the location of the building’s main entrance.

[Added 3-8-2006 by Ord. No. 11-2006]

§ 83-6 Building Number Map; uniform system of numbering.

There is established a uniform system for renumbering properties along all streets, avenues and public and private ways in the Township of Egg Harbor. The Tax Assessor shall prepare a Building Number Map by superimposing upon the assessment map of the Township of Egg Harbor numbers for every property in the Township of Egg Harbor pursuant to the following standards:

Existing numbers. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Tax Assessor shall attempt, to the extent possible, consistent with the maintenance of the orderly progression of building numbers, to assign to lots on which there are existing structures the numbers which are currently in use.

New numbers. All building numbers for new subdivisions and lots created by redivisions shall be consistent and uniform with existing numbers in the immediate area as determined by the Tax Assessor.

Even and odd numbers. Even numbers shall appear on one side of each street, while odd numbers shall appear on the opposite side of such street.

All parcels of property will be numbered in a uniform fashion at fixed intervals on such property map in order to facilitate continued numbering without need for change when properties are subdivided.

The Tax Assessor shall prepare a street guide listing alphabetically every street in the Township of Egg Harbor with its location and the building numbers currently assigned.

§ 83-7 Adjustment of numbering.

In all cases where a street shall have been numbered or renumbered, the Tax Assessor shall thereafter adjust and renumber such street as the same may be required from time to time. In numbering and renumbering houses, he shall leave sufficient numbers on each block so that, under any circumstances, there would be but one block where a change would be required in case of renumbering at any subsequent time.

§ 83-8 Time limit for compliance; enforcement.

Upon the failure of an owner, occupant or lessee to ascertain and affix upon any building to which this chapter applies the assigned and authorized number within three months after the final adoption and publication of this chapter, the Township may enforce the provisions hereto.

§ 83-9 Violations and penalties.

[Admended 4-12-2006 by Ord. No. 20-2006]

Violation of any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a minimum fine of $100 or a maximum of $2,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Each and every violation shall be considered a separate violation. Any person who is convicted of violating the provisions of this chapter within one year of the date of a previous violation and who was fined for the previous violation may be sentenced by the Court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed as a repeat offender shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine provided herein, and same shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the violation of this chapter.