[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of South River 7-15-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-21 (Ch. 196 of the 1977
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to promote and
protect the public health, safety, morals and general welfare and
is passed in furtherance of the specific objective to properly establish,
regulate and control amusement devices within the Borough of South
River and, in so doing, to protect the established character and the
social and economic well-being of both private and public property.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person who supplies any mechanical amusement device to
another for use in his place of business, whether under lease or any
similar arrangement.
Any machine which may be operated by the public for entertainment or amusement, whether the machine is coin-operated or not and whether or not it registers scores or tallies. Examples of mechanical amusement devices are pinball machines, bowling machines, mechanical grab machines, Skee-Ball machines, pokerino machines, juke boxes, electronic video games, electronic video games and similar devices. The enumeration is intended to be typical and shall not be construed as exclusive. All "mechanical amusement devices" are subject to Chapter 350, Zoning, of the South River Code. Such devices are permitted uses only in the B-2 Zone. The installation of "mechanical amusement devices" shall be considered to be an amusement facility subject to the remaining provisions of the Code of the Borough of South River.[1]
Any person in whose place of business or upon whose premises
any mechanical amusement device is placed or kept for operation by
the public, whether or not such device is owned by said person.
No person shall distribute or operate a mechanical
amusement device within the Borough of South River without having
first obtained a license and paid the required license fee.
Applicants for distributor's or operator's licenses
shall supply the information required on forms available at the office
of the Borough Clerk. Applicants which are corporations shall supply
the information required for all officers and directors and for all
stockholders of the corporation who own more than 10% of its issued
and outstanding capital stock. Corporations shall also supply the
name and address of their registered agent. Applicants for licenses
under this chapter shall be required to supply a description of the
machine or device sought to be licensed.
A license may be transferred from one machine
to another by giving notice to the Borough Clerk to that effect and
giving a description of the new machine. A license may be transferred
from one place to another by giving notice to the Borough Clerk to
that effect and supplying the required information as to the new premises.
[Amended 6-16-1983 by Ord. No. 1983-21]
No mechanical amusement device shall be located
in any premises within 300 feet of a church or religious institution
or a public or private school. The distance shall be measured from
the nearest entrance of the church or school to the nearest entrance
of the premises on which the mechanical amusement devise is located
or is sought to be located along the route that a pedestrian would
normally walk. Mechanical amusement devices are permitted in B-2 Zones
and premises licensed for retail consumption of alcoholic beverages
and are specifically prohibited in all other zones.
[Amended 9-9-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-32; 9-18-2006 by Ord. No.
2006-31; 7-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-23]
A copy of the application shall be referred immediately to the Zoning Officer of the Borough of South River, who shall determine if the proposed location of said amusement device shall be in compliance with Chapter 350, Zoning, of the Code of the Borough of South River. Both the Zoning Officer and the Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough of South River shall be responsible for the enforcement of the terms and provisions of this chapter.
The following regulations shall apply to all
mechanical amusement devices:
A.
The premises shall be so arranged as to permit a clear
view of each mechanical amusement device from the exterior at all
times.
B.
No operator shall knowingly permit any person convicted
of a crime involving moral turpitude to be associated with him in
the ownership or management of the business or to be in his employ
or to loiter on the premises.
C.
No operator shall offer or permit to be offered any
prizes or awards, whether in cash or otherwise, as an inducement to
use mechanical amusement devices except for trophies, plaques or items
of a similar nature of nominal value.
D.
No operator shall permit any minor under the age of
16 years, unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, to remain on the
premises after 10:00 p.m.
E.
No operator shall permit any activity which is illegal
or immoral or which creates an undue amount of noise or a danger of
a breach of the peace to occur on the premises.
F.
No operator shall permit the operation of his premises
between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 9:00 a.m.
H.
Applicability of other regulations; open space requirements.
[Amended 9-23-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-36]
(1)
Erection and installation of coin-operated or non-coin-operated
mechanical amusement devices shall comply with all local, state and
federal fire and safety regulations, statutes and codes. In addition,
for each one square foot of floor space occupied, taken up or covered
by a machine (to be measured at its widest, deepest and longest points
whether touching the surface of the floor or not) there shall be a
minimum of three square feet of open space in order to provide an
established ratio between occupied space and space for the unobstructed
flow of customers. If machines are located along an aisleway, the
minimum width of aisles between the machines shall be eight feet.
(2)
In computing open space as used in this section, any
and all interior sections of the structure reserved for an office,
rest room, operation, storage or other facilities shall be deducted
and only the actual open unobstructed floor space shall be considered
open for purposes of this calculation.
I.
During the hours of operation, the premises must be
supervised at all times by at least one responsible adult individual,
who shall be an employee of the owner or operator of the premises
and who shall be responsible for the supervision, maintenance and
operation of the premises. At least one such individual shall be visibly
present on the premises during all hours of operation.
Each license shall be granted only after a determination
by the Borough Council that the issuance of the license will not be
detrimental to the public health, safety, welfare and morals of the
citizenry of the Borough of South River. The Borough Council may,
if it so desires, in its sole discretion, hold public hearings regarding
the issuance of any license requested in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter. The Borough Council may consider such factors as
the number of such devices or machines previously approved for the
same premises; the degree to which the grant of license may create
a tendency toward crowding or loitering and such other factors as
the Council deems in accordance with the public interest in deciding
whether to grant any license requested or whether to hold a hearing
with regard to any application for such license.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
authorize any gambling device of any kind whatsoever, including any
device that dispenses any kind of payoff or reward or any device that
has been judicially determined to be a gambling device under any law
of the State of New Jersey. If the Chief of Police has reason to believe
any mechanical amusement device is used as a gambling device, he shall
cause that machine to be seized and impounded. If after trial it is
determined that the machine was in fact being used as a gambling device,
it shall be destroyed, and the license of the operator or distributor
shall be revoked. Revocation of license and seizure of machine are
in addition to any other penalty which may be imposed for a violation
of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced
by the Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction for such violation, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, Article I, General Penalty, at the discretion of this court. Each and every day in which a violation of any provision of this chapter exists shall constitute a separate violation.
