It is the intent of this chapter to license
and regulate quarries so as to provide for the preservation of the
public health, safety and welfare of the residents and property living
and located in the City of Clifton; to ensure that all quarrying operations
shall be conducted with a minimum of annoyance from noise and dust
to nearby owners and occupants of property and in a manner which protects
the safety of persons, particularly children; and to ensure that the
quarried area shall be suitably and reasonably rehabilitated after
quarrying operations have been completed or otherwise terminated.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
OPERATOR
Any person engaged in and controlling the business of conducting
a quarry.
QUARRY
A place where stone, shale, slate, bank-run material, sand
or gravel is excavated, removed, crushed, washed, graded or otherwise
processed.
QUARRYING
Those aspects of the business of conducting a quarry as related
directly to the excavation and processing of stone, rock, shale, slate,
bank-run material, sand or gravel, and the removal thereof from any
quarry premises, or other related activities.
RECLAMATION
The reconditioning of the area of land affected by quarrying
operations to restore same to a productive use after termination of
quarrying operations, consistent with the Master Plan adopted by the
Planning Board of the City of Clifton, the Zoning Ordinance of the
City of Clifton and the Soil Removal and Excavation Ordinance of the
City of Clifton.
RECLAMATION PLAN
A written proposal, approved as set forth in this chapter
which sets forth a plan for reclamation of the area of land affected
by quarrying operations, including land use objectives, specifications
for grading, manner and type of vegetation and such maps and other
supporting documents as may be required by the Quarry Inspector. The
plan shall be prepared by a licensed professional engineer and land
surveyor licensed in the State of New Jersey, unless otherwise provided
by statute.
It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct
the business of quarrying within the City without first having obtained
a license therefor in accordance with this chapter.
Applications for licenses required by this chapter
shall be made to the City Clerk upon forms provided by the Clerk and
shall be signed and verified by the applicant, setting forth or accompanied
by the following information.
A. The name and address of the applicant, if an individual;
the name, residence and business address of each partner, if a partnership;
or the name, date and state under which organized, if a corporation.
A corporate applicant shall indicate the names of directors, principal
officers and local managing representatives, together with their residence
and business addresses, and a designation of the person upon whom
service of process can be made. If the applicant is a foreign corporation,
whether the same is authorized to do business in the State of New
Jersey shall be indicated.
B. A legal description of the premises where the business
is to be conducted and a map or maps of the premises prepared by a
professional engineer and land surveyor licensed in the State of New
Jersey, which shall depict and show the entire tract involved; permanent
(concrete or metal) markers at the beginning and ending of each course,
delineating the boundaries of the property and any municipal boundary
line traversing through the property or any portion thereof; all roads
or buildings on the tract or within 200 feet thereof; existing and
proposed final contours of the land involved and adjoining lands [contours
to be created by the quarrying operation shall be shown at two-foot
intervals for grades up to 10% and five-foot intervals for grades
10% or greater]; and all wooded areas, brooks, streams or bodies of
water on the tract involved and within 200 feet thereof.
C. A statement as to the ownership of the tract involved
and when such ownership was acquired, the interest of the applicant,
its officers, directors or stockholders in the quarry property and
any interest of said persons in adjoining property. In the event the
applicant is not the owner, the written consent of the owner must
be furnished.
D. Plans and specifications supported by maps and diagrams, where necessary, indicating places where quarrying is to be conducted; property boundary line markers, as provided in Subsection
B; all entrances or exits to the tracts involved; fences, including location, height and type, gates or buildings, including outside dimensions and precise locations, either erected or to be erected; equipment used or to be used in the operation, with the location of such equipment; and a narrative describing the method of operation.
E. The nature, location and phasing of a screening plan,
to minimize the visibility of quarry operations to neighboring residents
and persons utilizing adjacent roadways.
(1) The owner or operator shall provide and/or maintain
effective visual screening of the quarry operation. In those areas
of the quarry where fully effective visual screening is not feasible,
the owner or operator shall make every reasonable effort, through
screening, to minimize the visual impact of quarry operations to neighboring
residents. The design for such screening/buffer strip shall utilize
existing land contours, artificially created berms, natural vegetation
on the site and plant material not presently on the site, all of the
above to be supplied and/or maintained by the owner or operator. Elements
of the screening/buffer strip design to be submitted shall be as follows:
(a)
In those areas where natural contours of the
land provide effective visual screening, the design shall generally
describe existing plant material and, if necessary, indicate methods
of preventing erosion through the planting of ground cover material.
(b)
In those areas where existing land contours
do not in themselves provide adequate screening, the design shall
indicate the use of berms or plantings to provide effective visual
screening or, where effective visual screening is not feasible, to
minimize the visual impact of quarry operations.
(2) The owner or operator shall adequately maintain the
screening/buffer strip at all times as a continuing obligation and
as a condition of renewal of the license.
F. The hours during which the quarry normally will be
operated consistent with this chapter.
G. Certificates of insurance attached to the application
evidencing liability insurance coverage in amounts of not less than
$5,000,000 for personal injury, including death, for each person or
each occurrence and $2,000,000 for property damage.
H. Information describing public and private roads to
be used for access to the site by the public and any limitations that
there might be with respect to the adequacy of the pavement. Such
information shall include a certification by a professional engineer
of the adequacy of these road for traffic by trucks whose sizes shall
be identified in said report.
I. A consent executed by the appropriate person which
consents to the entry upon the premises by the Quarry Inspector for
the purpose of inspection.
Prior to the issuance of any license or the
renewal of a license, the applicant shall submit a performance and
maintenance bond with adequate surety to assure completion of all
screening and reclamation of the site of operation which is required
to be performed under this chapter during the ensuing year and the
maintenance of such items as have already been completed. The form
of the bond shall be subject to approval by the City Counsel and shall
be in such amount as may be approved by the City Engineer. The amount
shall be sufficient to guarantee the completion of fencing, screening
and such portion of the reclamation plan intended to be completed
during the ensuing year and the maintenance of such work as may already
have been completed. The surety thereon shall be a recognized surety
company authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. At the
request of the applicant, the amount of the performance or maintenance
guaranty shall be adjusted annually, provided that the basis therefor
is substantiated by said applicant. The guaranties shall be renewed
annually during the period that quarrying operations are conducted
and until completion of reclamation and shall, at all times, be sufficient
to cover the costs of performance and maintenance guaranties.
Each initial application shall be accompanied
by a fee of $1,000, which shall be deemed to be the sum needed to
reimburse the City for the cost of the engineering examination for
the initial application, and the applicant shall further deposit the
sum of $2,000, which shall be deemed to be the sum needed to reimburse
the City for the cost of inspection as provided herein. Each renewal
application shall be accompanied by a fee of $500 to reimburse the
City for the cost of examining the application. In addition, the applicant
shall further deposit the sum of $2,000 to cover the cost of inspections
to be made throughout the year by the Quarry Inspector. If the application
is referred to an independent expert for a report and if the cost
of said report exceeds the application fees set forth above, then
in such event the applicant, upon being notified by the City Treasurer
of such additional cost, shall pay the same within 14 days of said
notification.
The City Engineer is hereby designated as the
City Quarry Inspector. In his capacity as Quarry Inspector, he shall
conduct at least a quarterly inspection of the licensed premises in
order to determine whether operations are being conducted in accordance
with the application therefor and to evaluate performance of the licensee
with regard to the reclamation procedures. The Quarry Inspector may
inspect more often than stated above, if required. The Quarry Inspector
shall submit written reports of such inspections to the City Manager.
The Quarry Inspector shall be the enforcing officer of this chapter
and shall investigate any and all alleged violations thereof. The
City may, if it wishes, engage the services of an independent expert
to make the inspections called for in this chapter. If the cost to
the City for the services of said expert exceeds the amount deposited
by the licensee to cover the cost of said inspections, the City shall
bill the licensee for excess costs. The licensee, upon being so notified,
shall pay such excess costs within 14 days of said notification.
Licenses shall expire on December 31 of the
year and shall be renewed annually upon filing an application therefor
in accordance with the standards outlined above. Initial licenses
issued during a calendar year shall expire on December 31 of the same
year. Where the approval of or certification by any state or federal
regulatory agencies or departments is required, such approvals or
certifications shall be filed with the City Clerk prior to his issuing
any license or renewal thereof.
[Amended 7-2-85 by Ord. No. 4989-85]
This chapter shall be enforced by the Quarry Inspector, who shall investigate any alleged or potential violation of this chapter coming to his attention, whether by complaint or arising from his own personal knowledge, and report the same to the Municipal Council. If a violation is found to exist, he shall serve a written notice by certified mail or personal service upon the owner or person designated to accept service of process, but if the owner or person so designated cannot be served, then posting a notice of the violation in a prominent place upon the premises shall be adequate notice of the violation. The notice shall require the violation to be abated within a period of 10 days from the date of service thereof or within such lesser period of time as the Quarry Inspector shall deem reasonable in cases where the danger to public health, safety and general welfare is so imminent as to require more immediate abatement. If the violation is not abated within the time specified, the Quarry Inspector shall prosecute a complaint to terminate the violation in Municipal Court and shall report the violation to the City Manager for possible action under §
361-14 of this chapter.
Upon 10 days' notice and after giving the licensee
an opportunity to be heard, the City Manager may revoke or suspend
any license issued under this chapter if it is found that the licensee
is violating the terms or provisions of this chapter. The decision
of the City Manager to revoke or suspend may be appealed to the Municipal
Council, who shall conduct a de novo hearing based on the record presented
to the City Manager. Appeals from the decision of the City Manager
shall be filed with the City Clerk within 10 days after said decision
is delivered or mailed to the licensee.