[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Boonton 7-3-1951 by Ord. No. 70. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
No person shall be disorderly in, on, near or about any public or
private place within the Township to the annoyance of or danger to
any other person or against the peace of the Township; nor shall any
person utter loud and offensive or indecent language in a public or
quasi-public place; or make offensive remarks in a public or quasi-public
place to or about any person passing along, through or over any street,
highway, park or other public or quasi-public place; or obstruct or
interfere with any person lawfully being in or upon any street, highway,
park or other public or quasi-public place.
[Amended 3-8-2010 by Ord. No. 772; 5-8-2017 by Ord. No. 859]
B.
No person or persons, whether owner, tenant, occupant or guest, shall
suffer or take part in any riotous or other disorderly conduct that
shall disturb the peace and quiet of any family or neighbor or any
of the inhabitants of this Township.
[Amended 3-8-2010 by Ord. No. 772]
C.
No person shall place, throw, project or suffer or
permit the depositing in any manner of any substance which is either
dangerous or offensive, including but not limited to weeds or other
vegetable matter of any kind, garbage, refuse, cans or other metal
of any kind, bottles or other glass of any kind, paper or paper products
of any kind, wood or wood products of any kind, snow, ice, water,
coal, petroleum products, soil, dirt, gravel, rocks or sand, except
in the course of performing public services, upon any street, avenue,
road, highway or other public thoroughfare; nor shall any person throw
or project in any manner any such object or substance at, upon or
against any person, vehicle, building or other structure; nor shall
any person discharge any weapon or other dangerous device of any kind,
including but not limited to firearms of every name and nature, air
guns, slingshots and bows, or project any missile of whatever nature
and however propelled toward, into, upon or across any street, avenue,
road, highway or other public thoroughfare or public place or at any
vehicle, building or other structure within the Township of Boonton;
nor, for the purpose of hunting, carry, while loaded or otherwise
ready for discharge, or discharge any such weapon or other dangerous
device of any kind within 450 feet of any building or the boundary
of any playground; nor at any time, without having first obtained
the written permission of the owner or lessee thereof, carry, while
loaded or otherwise ready for discharge, any such weapon upon or across
the lands of such owner or lessee; nor at any time, within the limits
of the Township of Boonton, discharge or threaten to discharge any
such weapon or other dangerous device of any kind so as to endanger
or be likely to endanger human life or safety or to endanger property
of any kind, including but not limited to domestic animals, dwelling
houses, out-buildings or any other structures of any kind.
[Amended 10-17-1961 by Ord. No. 130; 8-5-1969 by Ord. No. 193; 6-9-1975
by Ord. No. 240]
D.
No person shall engage in any fight, assault, quarrel,
brawl, battery or altercation; nor shall any person participate in
or incite by overt act or acts any disturbance or riot or any unruly,
boisterous, noisy, unlawful or disorderly assemblage constituting
a breach or disturbance of the peace.
[Amended 8-5-1969 by Ord. No. 193]
A.
No person shall appear in any street or public place in a state of
nudity or in any indecent or lewd dress; or shall make any indecent
exposure of his or her person or be guilty of exhibiting, giving,
distributing, having in possession, selling or offering for sale any
lewd or indecent book, picture or thing; or shall exhibit or perform
any indecent, immoral or lewd play or other representation or behave
in a lewd, indecent manner.
[Amended 8-5-1969 by Ord. No. 193; 5-8-2017 by Ord. No. 859]
B.
No person shall, within the limits of said Township, permit any house,
shop, store or other building owned or occupied by him or her to be
frequented or resorted to by noisy, riotous or disorderly persons
or by prostitutes.
[Amended 5-8-2017 by Ord. No.
859]
C.
No person shall, within the limits of said Township,
bathe in a state of nudity, swim in a state of nudity or be found
in a state of nudity in the waters of any pond, stream or lake or
in the waters adjacent thereto.
D.
No person shall, from a street, highway or other public
place, intentionally and willfully look into any window, door or other
opening of any house or building with the intention of looking at
or watching any person or persons partially or completely disrobed
therein or engage in the practice of what is commonly known as a "peeping
Tom."
E.
No person shall, on property not his own, intentionally
and willfully look into any window, door or other opening of any house
or building with the intention of looking at or watching any person
or persons therein, engage in the practice of what is commonly known
as a "peeping Tom" or frighten or interfere with the occupant of said
house or building.
[Amended 8-5-1969 by Ord. No. 193]
A.
No person shall, within the limits of said Township,
keep or maintain a disorderly house or a house of ill-fame or allow
or permit any house, shop, store or other building or structure owned
or occupied by him or her to be used as a disorderly house or house
of ill-fame.
B.
No person shall, within the limits of said Township,
permit any house, shop, store or other building owned or occupied
by him or her to be frequented or resorted to by noisy, riotous or
disorderly persons or by prostitutes, gamblers or vagrants.
[Amended 12-5-1967 by Ord. No. 174; 6-22-1987 by Ord. No.
370; 5-8-1989 by Ord. No. 405; 8-24-1998 by Ord. No. 575; 4-9-2007 by Ord. No. 739; 5-10-2010 by Ord. No. 774]
A.
License required. Unless otherwise provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in solicitation activities, as defined in subsection B of this section, within the Township, without first obtaining a license as provided herein.
B.
MERCHANDISE
SOLICITOR
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Any goods or other property capable of being the object of
a sale but shall not include items of nominal value given in exchange
for a contribution to any political, religious, charitable, civic,
educational, or philanthropic organization or society or service club
or any organization recognized as tax exempt under the United States
Internal Revenue Code.
A canvasser, hawker or peddler and shall include any person
who engages in the practice of going from place to place, house to
house, door to door, or person to person including an employee or
agent of another, traveling either by foot, truck, automobile or other
conveyance.
(1)
COMMERCIAL SOLICITATION — Selling or taking orders
for commercial purposes including offering to sell or take orders
for goods, merchandise, wares or other articles for future delivery
or for services to be performed in the future.
(2)
NONCOMMERCIAL SOLICITATION — Requesting contributions
of funds, property or anything of value or the pledge of any type
of future donation or selling or offering for sale any type of property,
including but not limited to goods, tickets, books and pamphlets for
political, charitable, religious, civic, philanthropic, educational
or other noncommercial purposes; conducting surveys, opinion polls
and any such similar work; proselytizing; soliciting participation
in or support of any group, individual, or organization; or distributing
circulars or other complementary material.
C.
Exemptions.
(1)
Any veteran or exempt fireman who holds a license issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 and 45:24-10 shall be exempt from the licensing requirements of this section, but shall be required to file a registration form with the Township Clerk containing the information set forth in § 112-4C(3)(a)[1] through [6] below.
(2)
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the following persons:
(a)
Officers or employees of the Township, county, state or federal
government when on official business;
(b)
Employees of any public utility which is subject to the regulation
of the Board of Public Utilities of the State of New Jersey; provided,
however, that such employee shall display the identification badge
or card issued by his or her employer;
(c)
Any person selling fruits and farm products grown by himself
or herself with or without the help of others.
(3)
All noncommercial solicitation: Any person engaging in any noncommercial solicitation activity as defined in § 112-4B, whether or not such activity involves solicitation of funds or donations, is exempt from the licensing requirements of this section, but must register with the Township Clerk as follows:
(a)
Any such person shall, at least 24 hours prior to the commencement
of such noncommercial canvassing or solicitation, present himself
or herself to the office of the Township Clerk and shall provide said
Township Clerk with the following written information:
[1]
Nature and anticipated duration of such canvassing or solicitation.
[2]
The number of persons who will be canvassing or soliciting.
[3]
Name and address of the person in charge of such canvassing
or solicitation.
[4]
Full name and address of the political, charitable, religious,
educational, civic, or philanthropic organization or service club
on behalf of which such solicitation or canvassing is to be conducted
and a letter from such organization authorizing the applicant to act
as its representative.
[5]
The names and addresses of the officers and directors of the
organization.
[6]
The names of the persons who are expected to go from door to
door or to distribute materials within the Township, including their
address, driver's license number and social security number.
(b)
The purpose of such registration is that the identity of persons
going door to door or distributing materials within the Township may
be established for the protection and maintenance of the health, safety
and welfare of the inhabitants of the Township and of those going
door to door.
(c)
Each representative or agent of the organization shall carry
proper identification indicating the name of the organization and
his or her own name and address and shall be prepared to display it
upon request and in addition shall display the registration number
issued by the Township.
(d)
A one-dollar deposit per solicitor shall be paid to the Township
Clerk for the registration number required hereunder, which deposit
shall be refunded after the registration number is surrendered.
(e)
All persons and organizations subject to § 112-4C(3) shall comply with all other applicable provisions of this section.
(f)
The Township Clerk shall maintain a record of all registrations and registration numbers issued pursuant to § 112-4C(3).
(g)
If the solicitation activity exceeds 90 days, each person and
organization subject to § 112-47C(3) shall be required to
reregister with the Township Clerk.
D.
Application for license. Every applicant for a license under this
section shall file with the Township Clerk a sworn written application,
in duplicate on a form to be furnished by the Clerk, which shall give
the following information;
(1)
Full name, including middle initial, and physical description, including
height, weight, hair color and eye color, of the applicant;
(2)
Permanent home address and full local address of the applicant and
proof of same (plus addresses for the last three years);
(3)
Full date of birth, and place of birth;
(4)
Social security number;
(5)
A brief statement of the nature of the business or organization conducting
the solicitation activities and a description of the merchandise or
service, if any, to be sold or distributed;
(6)
If employed by or representing another, the name, business address
and telephone number of the employer, sponsor or organization being
represented together with a letter with original signatures from such
employer, sponsor or organization authorizing the applicant to act
as its representative;
(7)
The length of time for which the license is desired as well as the
time during which solicitations will be conducted;
(8)
If a vehicle is to be used, a description of such vehicle and its
license number;
(9)
The state of issuance and number of the driver's license;
(10)
The place where the goods or property to be sold or offered
for sale are manufactured or produced, where such goods or property
are located at the time such application is filed, and the proposed
method of delivery;
(11)
Two photographs of the applicant taken within 60 days immediately
prior to the date of the application, which photograph shall clearly
show the head and shoulders of the applicant and shall measure two
inches by two inches;
(12)
Two business references;
(13)
A statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted of
any crime, misdemeanor, or violation of any municipal ordinance, the
nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor;
(14)
Applicants shall fully complete Form D (available at the New
Jersey State Police internet website, www.njsp.org, or the Police
Department) and follow the instructions for obtaining a criminal history
background check, which includes making an appointment to be fingerprinted
by the state contract vendor. Applicants who fail to obtain a criminal
history background check or otherwise refuse to consent to or cooperate
in securing a criminal history check shall not receive a license.
E.
Fees.
(1)
Administrative fee. At the time the application is filed, a fee as set forth in Chapter 82, Fees, shall be paid to the Township Clerk to cover the cost of processing the application and investigating the facts stated therein.
(2)
Fees payable to the State Bureau of Investigation. In addition, the
applicant must submit a cashier's check, certified check or money
order drawn on a United States bank in an amount(s) as required by
the Division of State Police, payable to "Division of State Police
— SBI" or to the designated state contract vendor, as the case
may be, for any of the following investigations:
(a)
For a criminal history name search, the Chief of Police shall
submit the fee with a "Request for Criminal History Record Information
for a Non-criminal Justice Purposes" form (SBI-212B) to the New Jersey
State Bureau of Investigation; or
(b)
For a fingerprint check required of new applicants, the applicant
shall pay the required fee to the state contract vendor and fully
complete "Form D" (available at the New Jersey State Police, internet
website, www.njsp.org, or the Police Department) and follow the instructions
for obtaining a criminal history background check which includes making
an appointment to be fingerprinted by the state contract vendor.
(3)
License fee. The license fee, which shall be charged by the Township Clerk for the issuance of a license hereunder, shall be as set forth in Chapter 82, Fees.
(4)
Badge deposit. A badge deposit as set forth in Chapter 82, Fees, shall be paid to the Township Clerk for the badge required hereunder, which deposit shall be refunded after the badge is surrendered.
(5)
Where an organization has several agents engaged in solicitation
activities, each agent shall be licensed separately and each shall
pay the appropriate fees.
F.
Investigation and issuance of license. When the aforesaid application
is properly filled out and signed by the applicant, the original and
duplicate thereof shall be filed with the Township Clerk; the Clerk
shall refer the duplicate to the Chief of Police who shall make, or
cause to be made, an investigation to ascertain that the applicant
has not been convicted of a crime (and is not subject to any outstanding
criminal warrants or indictments) relating to fraud, deception, theft
or assault, and that he or she is selling or soliciting for a project
free from fraud or other criminal purpose. The duplicate shall be
kept on file in the Police Department upon completion of the investigation.
The investigation shall include a criminal history name search identification
check and fingerprint check pursuant to N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.5 et seq.
The criminal history check shall be kept confidential. For the purposes
of this check, the Boonton Township Police Department is hereby authorized
to have access to the criminal history record information file through
the State Bureau of Investigation.
(1)
As a result of such investigation, the Chief of Police shall note
on the application his or her recommendation and his or her reasons
therefor and return the application to the Township Clerk. Such recommendation
shall be returned to the Township Clerk within 10 days of the Police
Department's receipt of the duplicate application. Any recommendation
by the Chief of Police that a license should not be issued to the
applicant shall be based on one or more of the following findings
with respect to the applicant:
(a)
Conviction of a crime adverse to solicitation activities pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-1. In determining whether a conviction relates
adversely to solicitation activities, the following factors shall
be considered:
[1]
Nature of solicitation activities;
[2]
Nature and seriousness of the crime;
[3]
Circumstances under which the crime occurred;
[4]
Date of the crime;
[5]
Age of the person when the crime was committed;
[6]
Whether the crime was an isolated or repeated incident;
[7]
Social conditions which may have contributed to the crime;
[8]
Any evidence of rehabilitation;
(b)
Record of breaches of solicited contracts;
(c)
Unethical business practices adverse to solicitation activities;
(d)
Conclusive evidence that the applicant has within four months
of the application been addicted to the habitual use of drugs or intoxicating
liquors pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-4.
(2)
In the absence of any such findings, the Chief of Police shall recommend
that the license be granted.
G.
Identification.
(1)
The Township Clerk shall issue to each licensee at the time of delivery
of his or her license a badge which shall, during the time such licensee
is engaged in solicitation activities, be worn constantly by the licensee
on the front of his or her outer garment in such a way as to be visible
to a person facing him or her. If the badge becomes damaged or obscured
the solicitor shall return it to the Township Clerk and receive another
badge.
(2)
The badge shall be used only by the person to whom it was issued
and may not be transferred to any other person. The badge shall be
surrendered to the Township Clerk at the time the license expires.
(3)
Every holder of a solicitor's license issued by the Township
Clerk, or by the Morris County Clerk under the authority of N.J.S.A.
45:24-9 and 45:24-10, shall be required to carry his or her license
while engaged in the business or activity licensed, within the corporate
limits of the Township. He or she shall produce such license at the
request of any official of the Township or of any resident of the
Township with whom he or she wishes to conduct his or her business
or activity.
H.
Rules and regulations.
(1)
Any person engaging in any commercial or noncommercial solicitation or canvassing activities is required to review the No Solicitation List maintained by the Township Clerk pursuant to § 112-4N and available at the Township Clerk's office during normal business hours.
(2)
Every solicitor shall restrict his or her solicitation activity within
the Township to the hours between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., prevailing
time, on Mondays through Saturdays, unless specifically having been
invited to a dwelling by an occupant thereof or having previously
made an appointment with an occupant.
(3)
No solicitor or canvasser shall call attention to his or her business
or to his or her merchandise by crying out, blowing a horn, or by
any other loud or unusual noise.
(4)
No solicitor or canvasser shall approach any residence or property listed on the No Solicitation List maintained by the Township Clerk pursuant to § 112-4N and available for inspection during normal business hours.
(5)
No solicitor shall conduct, or attempt to conduct, his or her business
at any residence or on any property on which is posted a sign indicating
that solicitors are not welcome or not invited.
(6)
No licensee shall allow any other person to use the license issued
hereunder and the use of such license by any person other than the
licensee shall constitute grounds for revocation of the license.
(7)
No solicitor shall refuse to leave any private dwelling or property
after having been once requested to do so by the owner or occupant
thereof.
(8)
No solicitor shall engage in solicitation activities regulated under
this chapter on public property or on private property leased by or
licensed to the Township for public purposes without first producing
special authorization from the Township Committee.
(9)
No license or registration number shall issue where any person who
would use the proposed license is under 16 years of age, with the
exception of youth-oriented charitable organizations such as Girl
Scouts, Boy Scouts, Little League, etc., so long as all youth engaging
in noncommercial solicitation are accompanied by an adult.
I.
Records. The Township Clerk shall maintain a record of all licenses
issued under the provisions of this section and shall record therein
all convictions for violations of this section and other pertinent
circumstances and incidents reported by the Chief of Police.
J.
Expiration and renewal of license. No license shall be issued for more than 90 days. All licenses may be renewed up to three times, without payment of an additional registration fee, upon submission by the licensee, prior to the expiration of the license, of a new application completely up to date. Such new application or statement in lieu thereof shall be subject to the provisions and standards set forth in § 112-4D. Applications received after the expiration date of the current license shall be processed as new applications.
K.
Revocation of license or registration number. Licenses and registration
numbers issued under the provisions of this section may be revoked
by the Township Committee, after notice and hearing, for any of the
following causes:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application
for license.
(2)
Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement by the licensee in the
course of conducting solicitation activities.
(3)
Any violation of this section.
(4)
Conviction of any crime adverse to soliciting, peddling, canvassing
or hawking pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-1.
(5)
Conducting the solicitation activities contrary to the conditions
of the license or registration or in such a manner as to create a
public nuisance or constitute a danger to the health, safety or general
welfare of the public and of those going door to door.
L.
Notice of hearing.
(1)
A notice of the hearing for revocation of a license or registration
number shall be given in writing by the Township Clerk. Such notice
shall set forth the specific grounds of complaint and the time and
place of hearing and shall be sent by registered mail to the licensee
or license registrant at his or her last known address at least five
days prior to the date set for the hearing or shall be delivered by
the agent of the Township in the same manner as a summons at least
three days prior to the date set for the hearing.
(2)
In the event the Chief of Police shall determine that there has been a violation of § 112-4H or any other part of this section, then and in that case he or she shall immediately notify the Township Committee of the violation and shall order the licensee or registrant to suspend further operation until a hearing is held in accordance with the provisions of this section. Upon revocation, the license or registration number and all badges shall be surrendered to the Township Clerk.
M.
Appeal. Any person aggrieved by the action of the Township Clerk in the denial of a license, as provided in § 112-4G, shall have the right of appeal to the Township Committee. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Township Committee, within 14 days after the notice of the action complained of has been mailed to such person's last known address, a written statement setting forth fully the grounds for the appeal. The Township Committee shall set a time and place for hearing on such appeal, and notice of such hearing shall be given to the applicant in the same manner as provided in § 112-4L for notice of hearing on revocation. The decision of the Township Committee on such appeal shall be final and conclusive.
N.
No Solicitation List.
(1)
The Township Clerk shall prepare a list of addresses of those premises
where the owner and/or occupant has notified the Clerk that canvassing
or soliciting is not permitted on the premises. The list shall specify
whether the owner and/or occupant prohibits all solicitation or only
commercial solicitation. Notification shall be by completion of a
form available at the Township Clerk's office during normal business
hours. The list shall be updated on January 1, April 1, July 1 and
October 1 of each year.
O.
Enforcement. It shall be the duty of any police officer of the Township to enforce the provisions of this section and require any person seen engaging in solicitation activities who is not known by such officer to be duly licensed or registered to produce his or her solicitor's license or registration number. Any violation of any provision of this section shall be a punishable offense as well as cause for revocation of any sales license or registration pursuant to § 112-4K and L.
A.
No person shall play for money or other valuable thing
with any slot machine, or device in the nature of a slot machine,
or with any other instrument, engine, apparatus or device of chance,
and no person shall have or keep in his place of business or other
premises any slot machine, or device in the nature of a slot machine,
or any other instrument, engine, apparatus or device of chance which
is used for the purpose of playing for money or other valuable thing.
[Amended 8-5-1969 by Ord. No. 193]
B.
No person shall set up, keep or maintain, or permit
to be set up, kept or maintained, in any house or premises any faro
table, faro bank, roulette wheel or other device or game of chance
for the purposes of gaming or any cockpit or other place for animals
to fight; nor shall any person hold, or permit to be held, in any
house or premises any dog fight, cockfight or any sparring contest
for a purse or money prize or other prize of value; nor shall any
person attend or participate in any of the above-named activities.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 12-6, Palmistry; fortune-telling,
was repealed 5-8-2017 by Ord. No. 859.
A.
No person shall, within the limits of said Township,
maliciously destroy, damage, deface or injure any property, public
or private, other than his own.
B.
No person shall intentionally, willfully or maliciously
destroy or injure any of the wires, posts, machines, bells, sirens,
boxes, locks or other apparatus of any police call system or fire
alarm system; nor shall any person intentionally, willfully or maliciously
destroy, deface or damage any street signs or other signs in the Township.
No person shall willfully and maliciously give
or cause to be given a false alarm of fire in any manner or a false
or fictitious police call in any manner; nor shall any person willfully
and maliciously make a false or fictitious report to any member of
the Police or Fire Department of the Township of Boonton in any manner;
nor shall any person willfully and maliciously represent himself in
any telephone conversation to be another person or a fictitious person.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sec. 18, dealing with
littering, was deleted 5-8-1989 by Ord. No. 405.
A.
No person shall, during an alarm of fire, willfully
hinder, prevent or deter in any manner or by any device whatsoever
any fireman or other person from rendering lawful assistance in abating
or quelling such fire or willfully hinder or interfere with any fireman
from going to or returning from the place where any building or other
property is on fire or from which an alarm proceeds; nor shall any
person hinder or obstruct the passage of any fire engine, hook and
ladder truck or any fire apparatus in going to or from the place from
which an alarm of fire proceeds or where any building or other property
may be burning.
B.
No person shall hinder or obstruct any officer of
the law in the performance of his duties; nor shall any person willfully
refuse or neglect to assist any officer of the law, when lawfully
called upon him to do so, in the execution of any process or in the
suppression of any breach of the peace or disorderly conduct or, in
case of an escape or when such officer is resisted, in the discharge
of his duty; nor shall any person knowingly resist or oppose any officer
or person authorized by law in serving or attempting to serve any
writ, bill, order or process or when lawfully making any arrest.
C.
No person shall interfere with, hinder, disturb or
obstruct the proceedings, functions or deliberations of the Township
Committee, the Board of Health or any other official body of the Township
of Boonton.
[Amended 8-5-1969 by Ord. No. 193; 5-8-1989 by Ord. No. 405]
The owner or custodian of any cat or other animal found running at large within the Township of Boonton shall be liable to a penalty as hereinafter provided in § 112-12.
No person, firm or corporation shall dump on
or tow to open fields or other private property, without first obtaining
the permission of such property owner and the permission of the proper
authorities of this Township, any abandoned automobile, automobile
parts or other junk.
[Amended 8-5-1969 by Ord. No. 193; 5-8-1989 by Ord. No. 405; 4-9-2007 by Ord. No. 739]
Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this chapter or failing or refusing to conform to the provisions hereof shall be subject, upon conviction, to the penalties provided in § 1-15 of this Code.
All fines imposed and collected under and by
virtue of this chapter shall be paid into the Treasury of the Township
of Boonton.
[Added 8-13-2012 by Ord. No. 811]
A.
The purpose
of this section is to prevent bodily harm to people or animals, and
this section shall be liberally construed as a public safety measure.
B.
Prohibited
fences. No fence or wall which is composed of or contains any materials
harmful to humans or animals shall be constructed on private property
in the Township. Such harmful materials shall include, but are not
necessarily limited to, barbed wire, razor wire, low-visibility wire,
piano wire, embedded glass and sharp metal points. Electrically charged
fences are also prohibited unless they meet each of the following
standards:
