Township of North Brunswick, NJ Chapter 168 Exhibitions, Shows, Theatrical Places

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee (now Mayor and Council) of the Township of North Brunswick 9-6-1949. Section 168-7 amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions. Other amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 168-1 License required.

No person or persons having the ownership, management or control of any theater, open-air, drive-in or otherwise, shall produce any performance, show, motion picture or exhibition therein, or suffer or permit any performance, show, motion picture or exhibition to be given therein, without a license first had and obtained as hereinafter provided.

§ 168-2 Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter, the terms used herein are defined as follows:

THEATER

Any place devoted to public amusement wherein dramatic, operatic, vaudeville or burlesque performance, motion picture exhibitions or other like forms of amusement are provided for public entertainment for which an admission fee is charged.

§ 168-3 Application for license.

All applications for licenses under this chapter shall be made in writing to the Clerk of the township and shall give such information as he may deem requisite to determine the suitability of the premises and the fitness of the applicant to conduct the same.

§ 168-4 Issuance of license; power to revoke or suspend.

All such licenses shall be issued by the Township Clerk under his hand and seal after approval of the issuance of the license by the Mayor and Council and upon payment of the fee fixed therefor, and not otherwise, and all such licenses shall respectively state the purpose for which the same shall have been issued, the number of the license, the location of the premises and the name of the persons licensed. The Commissioner of Police may, in his discretion, after public hearing, suspend, revoke or annul such license whenever in his opinion the public welfare requires that such action be taken.

§ 168-5 Censorship; hearings.

A. Whenever, in the judgment of the Commissioner of Police, any entertainment, exhibition, play, act, motion picture or performance offends against public decency or morals, or any such entertainment, exhibition, play, motion picture, act or performance advertised to be given is objectionable from a moral standpoint or likely to create public disorder, he shall notify the manager of the theater wherein such entertainment, exhibition, play, act, motion picture or performance is advertised to be produced that the entertainment, exhibition, play, act, motion picture or performance shall not, pending a public hearing, be given, and he may cause the same, in each case pending public hearing, to be censored before being produced in public, and may order any and all objectionable language and features eliminated before being produced in public, or he may suppress such entertainment, exhibition, play, act, motion picture or performance altogether if in his opinion the public good requires such action. No person shall produce any entertainment, exhibition, play, act, motion picture or performance, or permit the same to be produced, in disregard of any notice given or order made by said Commissioner under the authority conferred upon him by this section.

B. Any licensee whose performance has been subjected to an order of the Commissioner of Police as provided in this section may request public hearing respecting the same, which hearing shall thereupon be designated within a period of three days from the receipt of such request, filed with the Commissioner of Police or the Clerk of the township, unless such licensee shall request further time for the preparation for such hearing, in which case it shall be held within a period of 10 days. After such hearing, the Commissioner of Police may continue, modify or revoke any order respecting objectionable performance theretofore made, which order, before becoming effective, shall be approved by a majority of the members of the Township Council.

§ 168-6 Fees; duration of licenses.

A. The license fee for open-air theaters shall be:

(1) Three hundred seats or less, $100 per year.

(2) From 301 to 1,000 seats, $200 per year.

(3) From 1,001 to 2,000 seats, $300 per year.

(4) In excess of 2,000 seats, $400 per year.

B. The license fee for open-air theaters commonly known as drive-in theaters shall be:

(1) For theaters having an automobile capacity of 300 to 650, $300 per year.

(2) For theaters having an automobile capacity in excess of 650, $500 per year.

C. Such licenses shall expire on December 31 of the year in which they are issued, but licenses may be issued for any part of a year upon application therefor, the rate for such proportionate part of the year to be fixed by the Clerk of the township based upon the yearly fees fixed therefor.

§ 168-7 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 9-6-1977; 4-17-2006 by Ord. No. 06-06]

Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000 or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the Judge. The continuation of such violation on each successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the person or persons allowing or permitting the continuation of the violation may be punished as provided above for each separate offense.