City of Northfield, NJ Article VII Guarantees and Improvement Procedures

§ 215-70 Guarantees required, surety and release.

[Added 10-9-2018 by Ord. No. 10-2018[1]]

A. Before filing of final subdivision plats or recording of minor subdivision deeds or as a condition of final site plan approval or as a condition to the issuance of a zoning permit, a developer shall have filed with the City a performance guarantee for the purpose of assuring the installation of certain on-tract improvements and a maintenance guarantee.

(1) As a condition to the approval of a permit update under the State Uniform Construction Code, for the purpose of updating the name and address of the owner of property on a construction permit, a successor developer shall have filed with the City a performance guarantee for the purpose of assuring the installation of certain on-tract improvements and a maintenance guarantee.

(2) The City requires 10% of the performance guarantees to be in cash. The developer shall have the option to post more than 10% in cash or any portion of a required maintenance guarantee in cash.

B. Types of performance guarantees required.

(1) Site improvement guarantee. A guarantee in favor of the City in an amount equal to 120% of the cost of installation of only those improvements required by an approval or developer's agreement, ordinance, or regulation to be dedicated to a public entity, and that have not yet been installed, which cost shall be determined by the City Engineer, according to the method of calculation set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4, for the following improvements as shown on the approved plans or plat: streets, pavement, gutters, curbs, sidewalks, streetlighting, street trees, surveyor's monuments, as shown on the final map and required by the Map Filing Law, N.J.S.A. 46:23-9.9 et seq.[2] or N.J.S.A. 46:26B-1 through 46:26B-8, water mains, sanitary sewers, community septic systems, drainage structures, public improvements of open space, and any grading necessitated by the preceding improvements. The City Engineer shall prepare an itemized cost estimate of the improvements covered by the performance guarantee, which itemized cost estimate shall be appended to each performance guarantee posted by the developer. In the event that other governmental agencies or public utilities automatically will own the utilities to be installed or the improvements are covered by a performance guarantee to another governmental agency, no performance guarantee shall be required by the City for such utilities or improvements.

[2] Editor's Note: So in original. N.J.S.A. 46:23-9.9 et seq. was repealed by L. 2011, c. 217, § 2, effective May 1, 2012.

(2) Perimeter buffer landscaping guarantee. A guarantee in favor of the City to include any privately owned perimeter buffer landscape within an approved phase or section of a development as required by site plan approval or imposed as a condition of approval. At the developer's option, a separate performance guarantee may be posted for the privately owned perimeter buffer landscaping.

(3) Temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee. In the event that the developer shall seek a temporary certificate of occupancy for a development, unit, lot, building, or phase of development, as a condition of the issuance thereof, the developer shall furnish a separate guarantee, referred to as a "temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee," in favor of the City in an amount equal to 120% of the cost of installation of only those improvements or items which remain to be completed or installed under the terms of the temporary certificate of occupancy and which are required to be installed or completed as a condition precedent to the issuance of the permanent certificate of occupancy for the development, unit, lot, building or phase of development and which are not covered by an existing performance guarantee. Upon posting of a temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee, all sums remaining under the performance guarantee, required pursuant to Subsection B(1) of this section, which relate to the development, unit, lot, building, or phase of development for which the temporary certificate of occupancy is sought, shall be released. The scope and amount of the temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee shall be determined by the City Engineer. At no time may the City hold more than one guarantee of any type with respect to the same line item. The temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee shall be released by the City Engineer upon the issuance of a permanent certificate of occupancy with regard to the development, unit, lot, building, or phase as to which the temporary certificate of occupancy relates.

(4) Safety and stabilization guarantee.

(a) A developer shall furnish to the City a safety and stabilization guarantee, in favor of the City. At the developer's option, the safety and stabilization guarantee may be furnished either as a separate guarantee or as a line item of the site improvement performance guarantee referenced in Subsection B(1) of this section. A safety and stabilization guarantee shall be available to the City solely for the purpose of returning property that has been disturbed to a safe and stable condition or otherwise implementing measures to protect the public from access to an unsafe or unstable condition, only in the circumstance that:

[1] Site disturbance has commenced and, thereafter, all work on the development has ceased for a period of at least 60 consecutive days following such commencement for reasons other than force majeure; and

[2] Work has not recommenced within 30 days following the provision of written notice by the City to the developer of the City's intent to claim payment under the guarantee. The City shall not provide notice of its intent to claim payment under a safety and stabilization guarantee until a period of at least 60 days has elapsed during which all work on the development has ceased for reasons other than force majeure. The City shall provide written notice to a developer by certified mail or other form of delivery providing evidence of receipt of the notice.

(b) The amount of a safety and stabilization guarantee for a development with bonded improvements in an amount not exceeding $100,000 shall be $5,000.

(c) The amount of a safety and stabilization guarantee for a development with bonded improvements exceeding $100,000 shall be calculated as a percentage of the bonded improvement costs of the development or phase of development as follows: $5,000 for the first $100,000 of bonded improvement costs, plus 2.5% of bonded improvement costs in excess of $100,000 up to $1,000,000, plus 1% of bonded improvement costs in excess of $1,000,000.

(d) The City shall release a separate safety and stabilization guarantee to a developer upon the developer's furnishing of a performance guarantee which includes a line item for safety and stabilization in the amount required under this subsection.

(e) The City shall release a safety and stabilization guarantee upon the City Engineer's determination that the development of the project site has reached a point that the improvements installed are adequate to avoid any potential threat to public safety.

C. Types of maintenance guarantees required.

(1) Site improvement maintenance guarantee. Prior to the release of a site improvement or perimeter buffer landscaping performance guarantee described in Subsection B, the developer shall post a maintenance guarantee in an amount equal to 15% of the cost of the installation of the improvements which are being released. The City does not require any portion of the maintenance guarantee to be posted in cash, but the developer has the option to post the maintenance guarantee in cash.

(2) Stormwater management maintenance guarantee. Upon the inspection and issuance of final approval by the City Engineer of the following private site improvements, a separate maintenance guarantee in an amount equal to 15% of the cost of the installation of the following private site improvements related to the stormwater management for the project: stormwater management basins, in-flow and water quality structures within the basins, and the out-flow pipes and structures of the stormwater management system, if any, which cost shall be determined according to the method of calculation set forth N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4.

(3) The term of all maintenance guarantees shall be for a period of two years and shall automatically expire at the end of the two-year period.

(4) In the event that other governmental agencies or public utilities automatically will own the utilities to be installed or the improvements are covered by a performance or maintenance guarantee to another governmental agency, no maintenance guarantee shall be required for such utilities or improvements.

D. Procedures for reductions of performance guarantees.

(1) Upon substantial completion of all required street improvements (except for the top course) and appurtenant utility improvements, and the connection of same to the public system, the obligor may request of the City Council in writing, by certified mail addressed in care of the City Clerk, that the City Engineer prepare, in accordance with the itemized cost estimate prepared by the City Engineer and appended to the performance guarantee, a list of all uncompleted or unsatisfactory completed bonded improvements. If such a request is made, the obligor shall send a copy of the request to the City Engineer. The request shall indicate which bonded improvements have been completed and which bonded improvements remain uncompleted in the judgment of the obligor. Thereupon the City Engineer shall inspect all bonded improvements covered by obligor's request and shall file a detailed list and report, in writing, with the governing body, and shall simultaneously send a copy thereof to the obligor not later than 45 days after receipt of the obligor's request.

(2) The list prepared by the City Engineer shall state, in detail, with respect to each bonded improvement determined to be incomplete or unsatisfactory, the nature and extent of the incompleteness of each incomplete improvement or the nature and extent of, and remedy for, the unsatisfactory state of each completed bonded improvement determined to be unsatisfactory. The report prepared by the City Engineer shall identify each bonded improvement determined to be complete and satisfactory together with a recommendation as to the amount of reduction to be made in the performance guarantee relating to the completed and satisfactory bonded improvement, in accordance with the itemized cost estimate prepared by the City Engineer and appended to the performance guarantee.

(3) The City Council, by resolution, shall either approve the bonded improvements determined to be complete and satisfactory by the City Engineer, or reject any or all of these bonded improvements upon the establishment in the resolution of cause for rejection, and shall approve and authorize the amount of reduction to be made in the performance guarantee relating to the improvements accepted, in accordance with the itemized cost estimate prepared by the City Engineer and appended to the performance guarantee. This resolution shall be adopted not later than 45 days after receipt of the list and report prepared by the City Engineer. Upon adoption of the resolution by the governing body, the obligor shall be released from all liability pursuant to its performance guarantee, with respect to those approved bonded improvements, except for that portion adequately sufficient to secure completion or correction of the improvements not yet approved; provided that 30% of the amount of the total performance guarantee and safety and stabilization guarantee posted may be retained to ensure completion and acceptability of all improvements. The safety and stabilization guarantee shall be reduced by the same percentage as the performance guarantee is being reduced at the time of each performance guarantee reduction.

(4) For the purpose of releasing the obligor from liability pursuant to its performance guarantee, the amount of the performance guarantee attributable to each approved bonded improvement shall be reduced by the total amount for each such improvement, in accordance with the itemized cost estimate prepared by the City Engineer and appended to the performance guarantee, including any contingency factor applied to the cost of installation. If the sum of the approved bonded improvements would exceed 70% of the total amount of the performance guarantee, then the City may retain 30% of the amount of the total performance guarantee and safety and stabilization guarantee to ensure completion and acceptability of bonded improvements, as provided above, except that any amount of the performance guarantee attributable to bonded improvements for which a temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee has been posted shall be released from the performance guarantee even if such release would reduce the amount held by the City below 30%.

(5) In the event that the obligor has made a cash deposit with the City as part of the performance guarantee, then any partial reduction granted in the performance guarantee pursuant to this subsection shall be applied to the cash deposit in the same proportion as the original cash deposit bears to the full amount of the performance guarantee, provided that if the developer has furnished a safety and stabilization guarantee, the City may retain cash equal to the amount of the remaining safety and stabilization guarantee.

(6) If any portion of the required bonded improvements is rejected, the City Council may require the obligor to complete or correct such improvements and, upon completion or correction, the same procedure of notification, as set forth in this section, shall be followed.

(7) Nothing herein, however, shall be construed to limit the right of the obligor to contest by legal proceedings any determination of the City Council or City Engineer.

E. Payments for professionals serving City.

(1) The obligor shall reimburse the City for reasonable inspection fees paid to the City Engineer for the inspection of improvements, which fees shall not exceed the sum of the amounts set forth in Subsection E(1)(a) and (b) of this section. The City may require the developer to post the inspection fees in escrow in an amount:

(a) Equal to, except for extraordinary circumstances, the greater of $500 or 5% of the cost of bonded improvements that are subject to a performance guarantee under this section; and

(b) Equal to 5% of the cost of private site improvements that are not subject to a performance guarantee under this section, which cost shall be determined pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4.

(2) For those developments for which the inspection fees total less than $10,000, fees may, at the option of the developer, be paid in two installments. The initial amount deposited in escrow by a developer shall be 50% of the inspection fees. When the balance on deposit drops to 10% of the inspection fees because the amount deposited by the developer has been reduced by the amount paid to the City Engineer for inspections, the developer shall deposit the remaining 50% of the inspection fees.

(3) For those developments for which the inspection fees total $10,000 or greater, fees may, at the option of the developer, be paid in four installments. The initial amount deposited in escrow by a developer shall be 25% of the inspection fees. When the balance on deposit drops to 10% of the inspection fees because the amount deposited by the developer has been reduced by the amount paid to the City Engineer for inspection, the developer shall make additional deposits of 25% of the inspection fees.

(4) If the City determines that the amount in escrow for the payment of inspection fees, as calculated pursuant to Subsection E(1)(a) and (b) of this section, is insufficient to cover the cost of additional required inspections, the City may require the developer to deposit additional funds in escrow, provided that the City delivers to the developer a written inspection escrow deposit request, signed by the City Engineer, which informs the developer of the need for additional inspections, details the items or undertakings that require inspection, estimates the time required for those inspections, and estimates the cost of performing those inspections.

F. Other requirements.

(1) In the event that final approval is by stages or sections of development pursuant to Subsection a. of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38, the provisions of this section shall be applied by stage or section.

(2) To the extent that any of the improvements have been dedicated to the City on the subdivision plat or site plan, the City Council shall be deemed, upon the release of any performance guarantee required pursuant to Subsection B of this section, to accept dedication for public use of streets or roads and any other improvements made thereon according to site plans and subdivision plats approved by the approving authority, provided that such improvements have been inspected and have received final approval by the City Engineer.

(3) All guarantees shall be approved as to form by the City Solicitor. The developer shall pay for all reasonable fees associated with the review by the City Solicitor.

(4) A performance guarantee shall run for a period to be fixed by the Planning Board at the time of approval of a final plat, but in no case for a term of more than two years. However, with the consent of the owner and the surety, if there is one, the City Council may, by resolution, extend the term of such performance guarantee for an additional period not to exceed three years. As a condition or as part of any such extension, the amount of any performance guarantee shall be increased or reduced, as the case may be, to an amount equal to 120% of the cost of the installation, which cost shall be determined by the City Engineer according to the method of calculation set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4 as of the time of the passage of the resolution.

(5) If the required improvements have not been installed in accordance with the performance guarantee, the obligor and surety shall be liable thereon to the City of Northfield for the reasonable cost of the improvements not installed and, upon the receipt of the proceeds of the performance guarantee, the City of Northfield shall install such improvements. Such completion or correction of improvements shall be subject to the public bidding requirements of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq. The obligor and surety shall also pay for all reasonable inspection fees in addition to all required improvements.

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former § 215-70, Performance guarantee, as amended.

§ 215-71 Approval of performance guarantees.

A. Duties of City Engineer, City Solicitor, and City Clerk. No performance guarantees shall be presented for approval of the City until the officials listed below have performed the following and have made certification of their performance, in writing, to the City Council.

[Amended 4-24-2012 by Ord. No. 3-2012]

(1) City Engineer. The City Engineer shall:

(a) Where applicable, examine the plat map of a subdivision to make certain that it complies with all state laws and this chapter relative to the preparation and filing of maps or plans for the subdivision of land.

(b) Determine those acts or things the applicant is to do to protect the City, such as to provide proper drainage, streets, curbs, signs, monuments or any other item or thing and the cost of each, as well as the maximum time he recommends granting the applicant to provide each item or all items; also, advise the applicant of the amount required to pay the City as a proper inspection, testing and administration fee.

(2) City Clerk. The City Clerk shall:

(a) Ascertain that the plat of a site plan or subdivision has been approved by the Atlantic County Planning Board and the City Planning Board.

(b) Determine if the landowner is an individual, corporation, or partnership; if an individual, his full name and address; if a corporation, its correct name, date, and state of incorporation, the name of its President and Secretary and location of its principal office in this state; if a partnership, the names and addresses of all partners.

(c) Give the applicant a form of the surety company bond required by the City, and all figures, dates, and details required by Subsection A(1)(b) above so the same may be included in the bond to be furnished to the City.

(d) Deliver to the City Solicitor:

[1] The original copy of the surety company bond of the applicant; and

[2] The City Engineer's written certificate addressed to the City Council, which certificate and bond shall be delivered at one and the same time.

[a] The City Engineer's certificate shall also state and give the nature of cash, or its equivalent, deposited as a portion or all of the performance guarantee (i.e., cash, certified check, cash escrow deposit, or other security).

[b] If there is nothing the applicant needs to do under Subsection A(1)(b) above, the certificate shall so state and give the reason therefor.

(3) City Solicitor. Upon receipt from the City Clerk of the surety bond and the Engineer's certificate, the City Solicitor shall promptly examine said bond and determine whether or not it is correct in form, content and execution. If the bond is not correct, the City Solicitor shall directly notify the applicant of its shortcomings. When the bond is or has been made correct, the City Solicitor shall make a written certificate to that effect to the City Council. Thereupon, said Solicitor shall deliver the bond and Engineer's and Solicitor's certificates to the City Clerk.

(4) City Clerk. Upon the receipt from the City Solicitor of the bond and certificates of the Engineer and Solicitor, the City Clerk shall:

(a) Collect from the applicant the proper fee or fees, if any, payable to the City in accordance with the Engineer's certificate.

(b) Place the matter of approval of bond(s) on the agenda of the next regular meeting of the City Council for its consideration.

(c) Submit the bond, certificate and fees to the City Council at the next regular meeting of said Council.

B. Certificates, form and dating. Each of said certificates shall be dated and written in letter form upon the stationery of the maker or of the City and signed by him or his authorized agent or representative.

C. Bond requirements. There must be attached to said bond an authority of the surety company empowering the person or persons who executed said bond for the surety company to do so. If the bonding company is not a New Jersey corporation, there should also be attached to the bond proof of its authority to do business in New Jersey and a copy of its last financial statement, made not more than one year before, showing its financial condition. If the principal on the bond is a corporation, there must be attached to the bond a certified copy of a resolution adopted by its Board of Directors authorizing the execution and delivery of said bond. Said bond must also bear the corporate seal of the surety company and the seal, corporate or otherwise, of the principal.

D. Copies. The City Clerk and administrative officer (Planning Board Secretary) shall keep a supply of copies of these bond requirements in their offices for the use of applicants and the general public.

§ 215-72 Off-tract improvements.

A. General requirements. Where the municipal agency determines that off-tract improvements are necessary for the proper development and utilization of the proposed site or subdivision and the surrounding area, it may require either that such off-tract improvements be installed or that the developer contribute to the installation of such off-tract improvements. Where the municipal agency has determined that off-tract improvements are required, it shall be a condition of the granting of final approval that such improvements be constructed or that the developer shall make payments toward the ultimate installation of off-tract improvements such as, but not limited to, streets, curbs and gutters, sidewalks, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm sewers and culverts, monuments and streetlights, all in accordance with the specifications governing on-tract improvements.

B. Cost allocation. If the municipal agency determines that the developer may contribute toward required off-tract improvements in lieu of such improvements being installed, the municipal agency shall allocate the cost of same off-tract improvements in accordance with the standards hereinafter set forth. The improvement of a stream and/or widening of, or the construction of drainage or other improvements in, a street or road fronting on the tract to be subdivided and/or developed shall not constitute an off-tract improvement and the cost of said improvement shall not be allocated.

(1) The allocation of the cost of off-tract improvements shall be determined in accordance with the following:

(a) The municipal agency may consider the total cost of the off-tract improvements, the benefits conferred upon the site or subdivision, the needs created by the site or subdivision, population and land use projects for the general areas for the site or subdivision and other areas to be served by the off-tract improvements, the estimated times of construction of off-tract improvements and the condition of periods of usefulness, which periods may be based upon the criteria of the Local Bond Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:2-22. The municipal agency may further consider the criteria set forth below.

(b) Road, curb, gutter, and sidewalk improvements may be based upon the anticipated increase of traffic generated by the site or subdivision. In determining such traffic increase, the municipal agency may consider traffic counts, existing and projected traffic patterns, quality of roads and sidewalks in the area, and other factors related to the need created by the site or subdivision and anticipated thereto.

(c) Drainage facilities may be based upon the percentage relationship between the site or subdivision acreage and the acreage of the total drainage basins involved or upon calculations developing the percentage contribution that the storm runoff from a particular site or subdivision bears to the total design capacity of any improvements; the particular methods to be selected in each instance by the City Engineer.

(d) Water supply and distribution facilities and sewage facilities shall be based upon a proportion as determined by the current rules and regulations or procedures of the local water company provider and Atlantic County Utilities Authority.

(2) All monies received by the City in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be paid to the City Treasurer, who shall provide for a suitable depository therefor. Such funds shall be used only for the improvements for which they are deposited or improvements serving the same purposes unless such improvements are not initiated for a period of five years from the date of payment, after which time said funds shall be transferred to the capital improvement fund of the municipality.

(3) The apportionment of costs shall be determined by the municipal agency. The developer shall be afforded an opportunity before said board to present evidence relative thereto.

C. Assessment not precluded. Nothing in this section of this chapter shall preclude the municipality from assessing any property benefitting from installation of any off-tract improvements as provided in this section pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D, an allowance being made to the respective parcels of realty for payments herein.

§ 215-73 Assignment of interest.

Before any developer effectively assigns any of his interest in any preliminary or final approval, he must notify the administrative officer and supply detailed information with regard to the name, address, principals, type of organization, competency, experience, and past performance of the assignee, transferee, or agent. Notice of such assignments or transfer shall be given no later than 10 days after its effective date. The assignee must be made acquainted with all the conditions of approval, and the developer shall so certify.

§ 215-74 Supervision.

A. No contractor, builder, developer or subcontractor shall engage any personnel in any of the work on constructing any improvements unless they are continually supervised by a competent, English-speaking supervisor acceptable to the City Engineer.

B. No less than five days prior to commencing construction of any improvements on the site, the developer or his/her agent shall provide the City Engineer with the names, addresses, phone numbers and emergency phone numbers of the subdivider and/or a representative empowered to act for the developer and/or each contractor and its supervisor in charge of the construction, setting forth the aspect of construction for which each is responsible.

C. The developer may retain throughout the course of construction a registered New Jersey professional engineer to supervise the implementation of the approved subdivision or site design and to make periodic reports to the City as well as to the developer regarding conformance of the construction with the requirements of final approval.

D. If the developer proposes to retain someone other than the engineer who prepared the final plat to supervise construction, he shall notify the City Engineer and the administrative officer (Planning Board Secretary) of the name, address and license number of the engineer retained. If at any time during the course of construction the developer elects or is required to replace the responsible engineer and/or employ additional engineers, he/she shall likewise notify the City Engineer and the administrative officer.

E. The supervising engineer shall immediately notify the City Engineer of any deviation (observed or proposed) from the requirements of final approval and/or this chapter.

F. At regular intervals during the course of construction, but not less often than at monthly intervals, the supervising engineer shall submit to the City Engineer a report listing his observations of the work undertaken during the reporting period, specifically noting any deviation from the requirements of final approval and/or this chapter and listing those improvements of final approval and/or this chapter and listing those improvements expected to be undertaken during the next reporting period. The developer shall accompany any request for acceptance of public improvements and/or release of performance guarantees with a certification by the responsible engineer attesting to the completion of the improvements in full conformance with the requirements of final approval and this chapter and/or specifically noting any deviation therefrom.

§ 215-75 Inspection requirements.

A. Inspection, testing and engineering administration fees. Prior to signing of any final plat, issuance of a development permit or the start of construction of any improvements required by the provisions of this chapter, the developer shall deposit by cash or certified check with the City Clerk an amount determined from the schedule under § 215-17B(23), (24) and (25) of this chapter. Said amount shall be used to defray the cost of inspection, testing, engineering, administration, and other costs, and fees paid by the City in connection with the inspections and acceptance of the installation of the required improvements. All monies received on account of engineering and inspection fees shall be deposited by the City Treasurer in an appropriate account. The City shall arrange for the City Engineer, the appropriate municipal officials or other qualified persons to provide all necessary administrative and engineering services. No portion of any fee shall be returned nor shall any additional fee be imposed if the actual cost of administrative and engineering services shall be less than or greater than the monies received.

B. Inspection notice. All required improvements, except those utility improvements which are not the responsibility of the City, shall be subject to inspection and approval by the City Engineer, who shall be notified by the developer at least five days prior to the initial start of construction and again 24 hours prior to the resumption of work after any idle period exceeding one working day. All of the utility improvements shall be subject to inspection and approval by the owner of or agency controlling the utility, who shall be notified by the developer in accordance with the utilities' requirements. No underground installation shall be covered until it is inspected and approved by the owner of or agency controlling the utility or by the City Engineer in all other cases. With respect to landscaping, inspection and approval notification shall be given by the developer to the City Engineer pursuant to § 215-100E(8).

C. Modification of improvements. Any time, whether as a result of his inspection of work underway or otherwise, the City Engineer may recommend that the developer be required to modify the design and extent of the improvements required, notifying the municipal agency of his recommendations. The municipal agency shall, if it considers such modifications to be major, or if requested by the developer or City Engineer, take formal action to approve or disapprove such recommendations; provided, however, that it must first afford the developer an opportunity to be heard. If the agency takes no formal action within 30 days of such recommendations, or where the developer has not requested formal municipal agency action, its approval will be assumed. Similarly, the municipal agency may grant or deny the developer permission to effect such modification upon his application and the City Engineer's approval. In either event, where such modification is to be effected, the appropriate plat must be revised by the developer or his engineer to reflect such modification and sufficient copies thereof shall be submitted to the administrative officer (Planning Board Secretary) for distribution.

D. General inspection requirements. All improvements, except as otherwise provided, shall be subject to inspection and approval by the City Engineer. No underground installation shall be covered until inspection and approval by the City Engineer or those agencies having jurisdiction over the particular installation. If such installation is covered prior to inspection, it shall be uncovered or other inspection means used, such as a television or other pipeline camera as may be deemed necessary by the City Engineer, and charges for such work will be paid for by the developer.

E. Inspection not acceptance. Inspection of any work by the City Engineer, or his authorized representative, shall not be considered to be final approval or rejection of the work, but shall only be considered to be a determination of whether or not the specific work involved was being done to City specifications or other required standards at the time of inspection. Any damage to such work or other unforeseen circumstances, such as the effect of the weather, other construction, changing conditions, settlement, etc., between the time of installation and the time that the developer wishes to be released from his performance guarantee, shall be the full responsibility of the developer, and no work shall be considered accepted until release of the performance guarantee.

F. Payment to contractors. No developer shall enter into any contract requiring the City Council, the City Engineer, or any of their agents, employees or other representatives to make any declaration, written or otherwise, as a condition of payment of said developer to a contractor as to the acceptance or rejection of the work. Neither the City Council, City Engineer, nor any of their agents, employees, or representatives shall make any such declaration.

G. Procedure on acceptance of public improvements. When the developer has constructed and installed the streets, drainage facilities, curbs, sidewalks, street signs, monuments and other improvements in accordance with City regulations, standards and specifications, and desires the City to accept the improvements, he shall, in writing, addressed to and in a form approved by the City Council, with copies thereof to the City Engineer, request the City Engineer to make a semi-final inspection of the improvements. If the improvements have been constructed under a performance guarantee after approval of a final plat, the developer shall submit an as-built plan showing as-built grades, profiles and sections and locations of all subsurface utilities such as french drains, combination drains, sanitary sewage disposal systems, both public and individual water lines, and control valves, gas lines, telephone conduits, monuments, iron property markers, and any other utility or improvements installed other than as shown on the approved final plat. Said as-built plan shall be certified to by a licensed New Jersey professional engineer. If any improvements are constructed prior to final plat approval, the final plat shall reflect all changes and as-built conditions and be so certified. Said as-built plan(s) shall be submitted on reproducible media.

§ 215-76 Site maintenance during construction.

A. It shall be the responsibility of the developer to maintain the entire site or subdivision in a safe and orderly condition during construction. Necessary steps shall be taken by the developer to protect occupants of the site or subdivision and the general public from hazardous and unsightly conditions during the entire construction period. These steps shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Open excavations shall be enclosed by fencing or barricades during nonconstruction hours. Moveable barricades shall be equipped with yellow flashing hazard markers or other lighting during the hours of darkness.

(2) The excavation of previously installed sidewalk and pavement areas which provide access to occupied buildings in the site or subdivision shall be clearly marked with signs and barricades. Alternate safe access to the occupied buildings shall be provided for pedestrians and vehicles.

(3) Materials stored on the site shall be screened from the view of occupants of the subdivision or site and adjoining street and properties.

(4) Construction equipment, materials, and trucks shall not be stored within 150 feet of occupied buildings in the site or subdivision and adjoining streets and properties during nonconstruction hours.

(5) Safe vehicular and pedestrian access to occupied buildings in the site or subdivision shall be provided at all times.

(6) Construction activities which create obnoxious and unnecessary dust, fumes, odors, smoke, vibrations, or glare noticeable in occupied buildings in the subdivision or site and adjoining properties and streets shall not be permitted.

(7) Construction activities which will result in damage to trees and landscaping in occupied buildings in the site or subdivision or adjoining properties shall not be permitted.

(8) All locations and activities in the site or subdivision which present potential hazards shall be marked with signs indicating the potential hazard.

(9) Unsightly construction debris, including scrap materials, cartons, boxes and wrappings, must be removed daily at the end of each working day.

(10) Whenever construction activities take place within or adjacent to any traveled way, or interfere with existing traffic patterns in any manner, suitable warning signs, conforming to the requirements of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, will be erected and maintained by the developer.

B. Should the developer fail in his/her obligation to maintain the site or subdivision in a safe and orderly condition, the City may, on five days' written notice or immediately in the case of hazard to life, health or property, undertake whatever work may be necessary to return the site or subdivision to a safe and orderly condition and deduct the cost thereof from the 10% cash or certified check portion of the performance guarantee. Upon notice of such deduction, the developer shall, within 10 days, restore the full 10% cash balance or his/her performance guarantee will be held to be void and the City may take action as if final plat approval had not been obtained.

C. The Construction Official shall, upon receiving notice from the City Engineer that a developer is in violation of this section, suspend further issuance of certificates of occupancy and building permits and may order cessation of work on any outstanding permits.

§ 215-77 Improvements required prior to issuance of certificate of compliance.

[Amended 8-21-1990 by Ord. No. 13-1990; 7-16-2024 by Ord. No. 8-2024]

A. No agent, agent of an owner, real estate agent or broker, firm, company, partnership, corporation or person or persons shall sell, rent, transfer, grant, lease, let, mortgage with right of occupancy or otherwise dispose of the ownership or occupancy, whether or not for a consideration and whether such disposal or occupancy is temporary or permanent, of any dwelling unit, mobile home or apartment, unless a certificate of compliance is issued certifying that said dwelling unit or apartment is fit for human habitation and that said dwelling unit or apartment is in compliance with all applicable local, state and federal laws, rules, regulations and ordinances; which shall first be obtained from the construction official or his designee inspector, who shall issue a certificate of compliance upon inspection and approval by the Construction Official or his designee inspector within 10 days from the date of the filing of the application for same.

B. No such vacated apartment or dwelling unit shall be rented or occupied in whole or in part by any new owner or tenant until an inspection has been made by the aforesaid public official as to whether said dwelling unit or apartment is in violation of any of the applicable laws of the City of Northfield, the State of New Jersey or the United States of America. If no such violation is found, the Building Department shall issue a certificate of compliance; otherwise, it shall notify the owner, in writing, setting forth the specific violations found.

C. A dwelling unit or apartment shall be deemed to be unfit for human habitation where conditions exist therein which are dangerous to the health or safety of the occupants or residents of the municipality. Such conditions may include, without being limited to, defects increasing the hazard of fire, accidents or other casualties; lack of adequate ventilation, light or sanitary facilities; and dilapidation, disrepair or structural defects or uncleanliness.

D. The Construction Official, or his designee inspector, shall cause to be prepared the appropriate application form for such a certificate of compliance, which forms shall be available to applicants at the Building Department.

E. A charge, as provided in Chapter 128, Uniform Construction Codes, to cover the cost of the inspection in connection with said application shall be paid to the Building Department at the time the application is filed and shall not be refundable. Any reinspection of the subject premises caused by a lack of compliance with the provisions of this chapter or the provisions of the New Jersey State Housing Code shall require a fee as provided in Chapter 128, Uniform Construction Codes, to be paid prior to said inspection.

F. A "dwelling unit" or "apartment," as those terms are used in this section, shall not include any room or suite of rooms in a motel or hotel unless the units rented in said hotel or motel shall contain two or more units having eating and cooking facilities. In such event, the units containing such facilities shall be considered multiple dwelling units; provided, however, that this subsection shall not preclude the requirement that a certificate of compliance be issued upon a sale of the hotel or motel specified herein.

G. Every owner of premises for rent of or premises containing a room or rooms for rental, which premises are not excluded by virtue of Subsection F of this section, shall file, under oath, with the Construction Official of City of Northfield a statement containing the address of the premises, the name and address of the owner of the premises, the name and address of the superintendent and/or the name and address of the agent in charge of the premises, the number of apartments in said premises, a description by number or letter or each such apartment in the premises and the names of the tenants located within said premises on the date the statement was prepared. If the owner of said premises is a corporation or other entity other than an individual, said statement shall be made under oath by the president or secretary of said corporation or by a principal of such entity.

H. At the time of inspection of each unit or single-family dwelling prior to the issuance of said certificate of compliance, the Building Department shall post, in a conspicuous place in said apartment or dwelling, a notice stating the number of persons which shall be permitted to occupy said apartment as residents therein, pursuant to the City of Northfield Code, and in no event shall residency in excess of said posted number be exceeded by either the landlord or the tenant. For the purpose of determining residency, any person who sleeps upon the premises or generally dwells therein for more than two successive days or nights shall be considered to be residing on the premises.

§ 215-78 Improvements required prior to issuance of temporary certificate of occupancy.

A. No permanent certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any use or building until all required improvements are installed and approved by the City Engineer or other appropriate authority.

B. No temporary certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any use or building involving the installation of utilities or street improvements, parking areas, buffer areas, storm drainage facilities, other site improvements, the alteration of the existing grade on a lot or the utilization of a new on-site well or sanitary disposal system unless the Borough Engineer or other appropriate authority shall have, where applicable, certified to the following:

(1) Utilities and drainage. All utilities, including, but not limited to, water, gas, nonstructural stormwater management measures, storm drains, sanitary sewers, electric lines and telephone lines, shall have been properly installed and service to the lot, building or use from such utilities shall be available.

[Amended 5-22-2007 by Ord. No. 7-2007]

(2) Street rights-of-way. All street rights-of-way necessary to provide access to the lot, building or use in question shall have been completely graded and all slope-retaining devices or slope plantings shall have been installed.

(3) Sidewalks. All sidewalks necessary to provide access to the lot, building or use in question shall have been properly installed.

(4) Streets. Curbing and the bituminous base course of bituminous concrete streets or the curbing and pavement course for portland cement concrete streets necessary to provide access to the proposed lot, building or use shall have been properly installed.

(5) Curbing and parking areas. Curbing and the bituminous base course of parking areas necessary to provide access to the required number of parking spaces for the building or use in question shall have been properly installed.

(6) Obstructions. All exposed obstructions in parking areas, access drives or streets such as manhole frames, water boxes, gas boxes and the like shall be protected by building to the top of such exposures with bituminous concrete as directed by the City Engineer.

(7) Screening, fences, and landscaping. All required screening, fencing and/or landscaping related to the lot, building or use in question shall have been properly installed unless the City Engineer shall direct the developer to delay the planting of screening and landscaping until the next planting season in order to improve the chances of survival of such plantings.

(8) Site grading. All site grading necessary to permit proper surface drainage and prevent erosion of soils shall have been completed in accordance with the soil disturbance plans approved by the Cape Atlantic Conservation District.

(9) Public water supply. Where the proposed lot, building or use is served by a public water supply, said supply shall have been installed and tested and all required fire hydrants or fire connections shall have been installed and tested and approved.

(10) Lighting. All outdoor lighting shall have been installed and shall be operational.

(11) Street signs and traffic control devices. All street signs, paint lining and/or traffic control devices affecting the proposed lot, building, or use, and required under the terms of approval of a subdivision or site plan or by federal, state, county, or municipal rules, regulations, or laws, shall have been installed.

(12) Performance guarantee. The City Engineer shall have received a statement signed by the developer and any entity providing any performance guarantee, which contains language identical or similar to the following: "The issuance of any certificate of occupancy (temporary or permanent) shall not be a basis for any claimed reduction in any performance guarantee."

(13) Other. Any other conditions established for issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the municipal agency as a condition of final site plan approval shall be complied with.

C. Temporary certificates of occupancy shall be issued for a specified period of time not to exceed one year, and the applicant shall post a cash guarantee with the City in an amount equal to the cost, to the City, of constructing all uncompleted improvements, prior to the issuance of any such temporary certificate of occupancy.

§ 215-79 Maintenance guarantee. [1]

A maintenance guarantee shall be posted with the City Council by the developer for a period not to exceed two years after final acceptance of the improvement in an amount not to exceed 15% of the cost of the improvements. The developer may elect to furnish such maintenance guarantee either by maintaining on deposit with the City 15% cash or certified check portion of the performance guarantee provided in accordance with § 215-70 of this article or by a bond issued by a bonding company or surety company, or other type of surety acceptable to and approved by the City Solicitor and City Council in an amount equal to 15% of the cost of the improvements. The maintenance guarantee shall be to the effect that the applicant, developer, owner or user guarantees the complete maintenance of all improvements for a period of two years from the release of his performance guarantee. Should he/she fail in his/her obligation to properly maintain all improvements, the City may, on 10 days' written notice or immediately, in the case of hazard to life, health or property, proceed with necessary repair or replacement of any unacceptable improvements and charge the cost thereof against the guarantee. At the end of the maintenance guarantee, the cash or certified check on deposit will be returned to the subdivider less any sum, properly documented by the City, which has been expended to repair or replace any unsatisfactory improvements.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).