[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of South
River 9-14-1977 by Ord. No. 1977-36 (Ch.
125, Art. III, of the 1977 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to conduct,
engage in or carry on any business, trade, occupation or activity within the
Borough of South River, New Jersey, without having first complied with the
provisions of this chapter and obtained a license therefor as is herein provided.
[Amended 12-14-1977 by Ord. No. 1977-48]
Applications for all licenses and permits required by this chapter shall
be made in writing to the Borough Clerk. Each application shall contain the
following information in the suggested format:
A.
Name under which business is to be conducted.
B.
Name of applicant. (If a corporation, give names and
addresses of president and secretary; if a partnership, give names and addresses
of all partners.)
C.
Present residence.
D.
Address within the Borough of business to be conducted
and addresses of said business for the past five years.
E.
Nature of business.
F.
Residence of applicant during past five years (if individual).
G.
Whether the applicant has ever had a license to conduct
the business herein described denied or revoked, except as noted.
H.
Business telephone number of applicant.
I.
Name and address of attorney, if applicable.
J.
Name and address of registered agent if applicant is
a corporation.
K.
The undersigned makes these statements above to induce
the Borough of South River to issue the license herein applied for and agrees
to comply with all laws and ordinances of the Borough applicable to the subject
matter thereof.
Whenever in this Code a license is required for the maintenance, operation
or conduct of any business or establishment or for doing business or engaging
in any activity or occupation, any person or corporation shall be subject
to the requirement if, by himself or through an agent, employee or partner,
he holds himself forth as being engaged in the business or occupation or solicits
patronage therefor, actively or passively, or performs or attempts to perform
any part of such business or occupation in the Borough of South River, New
Jersey.
Forms for all licenses and permits, and applications therefor, shall
be prepared and kept on file by the Borough Clerk.
Each license or permit issued shall bear the signature of the Borough
Clerk in the absence of any provision to the contrary.
[Amended 9-27-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-27]
A.
Upon receipt of an application for a license or permit,
the Borough Clerk shall refer such application to the following departments
for the purpose of making an investigation or inspection, and said departments
shall make a report thereon, favorably or otherwise, within seven business
days after receiving the application or a copy thereof. If said report shall
recommend a denial, the reasons for said denial must be set forth.
(1)
Health Department (with respect to such licenses in connection
with the care and handling of food and preventing of nuisances and spread
of disease).
(2)
Zoning Officer (to determine solely whether the proposed
business conforms to the zone in which the property is located).
(3)
Chief of Police (to determine whether the applicant has
been convicted of a criminal or disorderly persons offense or whether or not
there are any outstanding warrants).
(4)
Fire Prevention Department (to determine whether or not
the building or structure in which the business is intended to operate complies
with the fire safety codes).
B.
In the event that the departments' investigation or inspection
produces an unfavorable decision, that department must set forth specifically
why the applicant is being given the unfavorable decision in writing.
[Amended 9-27-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-27]
Within five business days of receipt of the investigations or inspections
as set forth, the Borough Clerk shall issue a written approval or denial of
the license. An approval shall be issued if all investigations or inspections
are favorable. In the event that any investigation or inspection is not favorable,
the Borough Clerk shall issue a denial of such application and forward a copy
of the report or reports denying the license. The written denial and accompanying
reports shall be forwarded via certified mail, return receipt requested, to
the applicant within the five-business-day time period.
[Amended 9-27-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-27]
A.
In the event that a license is denied by the Borough
Clerk, the applicant shall have 10 days from receipt of the denial to file
an appeal of said decision directly with the Borough Council. The applicant
must file the appeal by forwarding a written notice to the Borough Clerk advising
that the applicant wishes to appeal the denial of the license and setting
forth the specific reasons for the appeal and attaching copies of any and
all reports produced by the investigations and inspections upon which the
denial was issued.
B.
The Borough Council of the Borough of South River shall
have 45 days from receipt of the approval to review the same and determine
whether said applicant has complied with the general laws and statutes of
this state and the ordinances of the Borough of South River, and said Borough
Council shall be guided in making the determination by the following standards:
(1)
Zoning Ordinance and Master Plan of the Borough of South
River.
(3)
The reports of all municipal officers required under
this chapter and the general laws and public health and statutes and codes
of the State of New Jersey applicable to this community.
(4)
The license history of the applicant regarding past violations,
rejections or suspensions and the timeliness of past applications for licenses
and the applicant's continued compliance with license requirements.
A.
In the absence of provisions to the contrary, all fees
and charges for licenses or permits shall be paid in advance at the time application
therefor is made to the Borough Clerk. Except as otherwise provided, all license
fees shall become a part of the general Borough treasury.
B.
Where the licensee is engaged in more than one activity,
as enumerated in this chapter, at the same location, which may be subject
to more than one fee, said licensee shall be required to pay that fee which
would be charged for the activity assessed the highest fee.
All licenses shall terminate when the licensee ceases operating within
the Borough of South River.
No license shall be issued for the conduct of any business, and no permit
shall be issued for any thing or act, if the premises and building to be used
for the purpose do not fully comply with the laws of the Borough, county,
state or federal government.
The location of any licensed business or occupation or of any permitted
act may be changed, provided that 10 days' notice thereof is given to the
Borough Clerk and approval is granted by the governing body and provided that
the requirements of all Borough ordinances are complied with and payment of
a license transfer fee is made in accordance with this chapter.
No business, licensed or not, shall be so conducted or operated as to
amount to a nuisance in fact.
Whenever inspections of the premises used for or in connection with
the operation of a licensed business or occupation are provided for or required
by ordinance, or are reasonably necessary to secure compliance with any ordinance
provision or to detect violations thereof, it shall be the duty of the licensee
or the person in charge of the premises to be inspected to admit thereto,
for the purposes of making the inspection, any officer or employee of the
Borough who is authorized or directed to make such inspection, at any reasonable
time that admission is requested.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough shall have the right to revoke
any license whenever the holder thereof or any of the licensee's agents or
servants violate any provision of this chapter, the laws of the State of New
Jersey or any rules or regulations promulgated as herein provided. Prior to
the revocation of a license, a notice of the contemplated action of the Mayor
and Council of the Borough shall be served upon said licensee, setting forth
such charges as may be the reason for said proposed revocation and the place,
date and hour when the Mayor and Council of the Borough will hear the matter.
The licensee may be represented by counsel at such hearing.
Licenses issued under this chapter shall be posted at the place of business
shown on said license in a conspicuous place. Said license shall remain posted
for the duration of the licensing year when issued and so long as the licensed
business is in operation.
[Amended 2-25-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-4; 9-27-1995
by Ord. No. 1995-27; 7-16-1997 by Ord.
No. 1997-16]
The license fees to be paid, as hereinbefore provided, to the Borough of South River for conducting or engaging in business, trades or activities at the place designated in the license certificate shall be as provided in Chapter 155, Fees.
The fees herein imposed for business and mercantile licenses are revenue-producing
in nature, but said fees are used primarily in an attempt to cover the cost
of inspections of such businesses to ensure compliance with the laws of the
state and the ordinances of this municipality. It is the legislative intent
of this chapter to ensure that all businesses of whatsoever kind and wheresoever
located in this Borough shall be inspected periodically to ensure compliance
with the laws as aforesaid. In certain instances, there are those businesses
which warrant additional police surveillance and inspection and there are
also those businesses which attract unusual amounts of vehicular traffic,
necessitating additional regulation and enforcement. The fees herein set forth
provide a reasonable relationship to the costs of the regulation of these
businesses and the administration of this chapter.
This chapter shall not apply to any business or occupation licensed
under those various laws of this state which prohibit licensing by municipalities.
The proper enforcement of the provisions of this chapter dealing with
mercantile licenses shall be within the jurisdiction of the Police Department
of this Borough and additionally within the jurisdiction of those officers
charged with providing the necessary inspections and regulations.
