[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Paramus 7-27-1999 by Ord. No. 99-19. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 103.
Flea markets, auctions and games of chance — See Ch. 249.
Zoning — See Ch. 429.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
GARAGE SALES
All sales entitled "garage sale," "tag sale," "porch sale," "barn sale," "patio sale," "lawn sale," "yard sale," "attic sale," "rummage sale" or "flea market" or any similar casual sale of tangible personal property which is advertised by any means whereby the public at large is or can be made aware of the sale, and which is sponsored by a homeowner and takes place on the premises of said homeowner.
GOODS
Any goods, merchandise or other tangible personal property capable of being the object of a sale regulated hereunder.
HOMEOWNER
Any occupant, lessee or owner of an individual dwelling unit within the Borough.
PERSON
Individuals, groups of individuals, partnerships, voluntary associations and corporations.
It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct a garage sale in the Borough without first filing with the Borough Clerk the information hereinafter specified and obtaining from such Borough Clerk a license to do so, to be known as a "garage sale license." The fee for such license shall be $15. The application for a garage sale license shall be filed with the Borough Clerk at least 10 calendar days prior to the proposed date of sale. Any license issued under this chapter shall be prominently displayed on the premises upon which the sale is conducted throughout the entire period of the licensed sale.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-44]
A. 
Number of licenses. Only two such licenses shall be issued for the same premises within one calendar year. In the event that the premises are sold or transferred within the calendar year, an additional license may be issued to the new owner. Further, a separate license may be issued for each residential unit where more than one residential unit exists on the same premises.
B. 
Duration: A license shall be issued for not more than three consecutive calendar days. A licensed issued pursuant to § 256-2 is valid for a period of 30 days from the date of issuance from the Borough Clerk. After the expiration of 30 days from the original issuance, the homeowner shall be required to obtain a new permit with the appropriate payment. Should the homeowner not proceed with the garage sale on the dates originally indicated on the permit, the homeowner must contact the Borough Clerk's office to amend the permit with the proposed new dates. The proposed new dates must be within 30 days from the issuance of the original permit.
The information to be filed with the Borough Clerk pursuant to this chapter shall be as follows:
A. 
Name, address and phone number of the person, firm, group of individuals or group per se, corporation, association or organization conducting the sale. As to a group of individuals, all names involved must appear; for other categories, the president, secretary and a contact person if other than those set forth above.
B. 
Name, address and phone number of the owner of the property on which such sale is to be conducted and consent of the owner if the applicant is other than the owner.
C. 
Location where the sale is to be conducted.
D. 
Number of days of the sale.
E. 
Date and nature of any past sale.
F. 
A general description of the type of goods to be sold.
G. 
Sworn statement or affirmation by the person signing that the information therein given is full and true and known to him/her to be so.
Licenses issued shall be subject to the following restrictions:
A. 
No items of merchandise may be displayed on the street, front sidewalk and between the front sidewalk and curb of the street. Merchandise may be displayed in the front yard, driveway or rear yard.
B. 
All garage sales shall be conducted between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. only.
C. 
Goods sold shall not include goods acquired by the applicant for the license or the homeowner solely with a view toward resale of goods not normally associated with the ownership and use of residential property.
D. 
The use of motor vehicles for the storage or display of goods being sold at the garage sale is prohibited.
E. 
Signs advertising said sale are authorized to be displayed the day of the sale during the hours permitted by this chapter on the premises for which the permit is issued. Said signs shall be removed immediately upon the conclusion of the sale.
F. 
Any sale of any item of merchandise at any garage sale must comply with all appropriate provisions of the law with reference to any such sales, including but not limited to N.J.S.A. 26:10-1 et seq. (pertaining to sales of lounges, sofas and mattresses).
G. 
The applicant for the license or the person in actual control of the activity or the agent thereof shall be responsible for cleaning up the licensed premises between the closing hour of the first day of operation and the opening hour of the next day of operation, no less than 12 hours after termination of the activity.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to or affect the following persons or sales:
A. 
Persons selling goods pursuant to an order of process of a court of competent jurisdiction. The person(s) shall be obligated to provide to appropriate Borough officials a copy of said order of process if requested.
B. 
Persons acting in accordance with their powers and duties as public officials.
C. 
Any person selling or advertising for sale an item or items of personal property which are specifically named or described in the advertisement in which separate items do not exceed five in number.
D. 
Any sale conducted by any merchant or other business establishment from or at a place of business wherein such sale would be permitted by the Zoning Regulations[1] of the Borough of Paramus, or under the protection of the nonconformance use section thereof, or any other sale conducted by a manufacturer, dealer or vendor, which sale is conducted on properly zoned premises and not otherwise prohibited by any other ordinance or statute.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 429, Zoning.
E. 
Any bona fide charitable, eleemosynary, educational, cultural or governmental institution or organization; provided, however, that the burden of establishing the exemption under this subsection shall be on the organization or institution claiming such exemption.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-44]
This chapter shall be enforced by the Paramus Police Department and Quality of Life Officer. It shall be their duty to investigate any alleged violations of this chapter and memorialize their findings in a formal report. An alleged violation can arise by way of a citizen's complaint or from an officer's own personal knowledge. If a violation is found to exist, the officer shall prosecute a complaint before the Borough Municipal Court pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. It shall be the duty of the Police Department of the Borough to investigate any violations of this chapter of which the Police Department becomes aware during the course of its normal duties.
The person to whom such license is issued and the owner or tenant of the premises on which such sale or activity is conducted shall be jointly and severally responsible for the maintenance of good order and decorum on the premises during all hours of such sale or activity. No such person shall permit any loud or boisterous conduct on the premises nor permit vehicles to impede the passage of traffic on any roads or streets within the area and neighborhood of such premises. All such persons shall obey the reasonable orders of any member of the Police or Fire Departments of the Borough of Paramus in order to maintain the public health, safety and welfare.
[Amended 3-14-2006 by Ord. No. 06-2]
Any person conducting a garage sale without being properly licensed therefor or who shall violate any of the other terms and regulations of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to the penalties provided by § 1-15 of this Code. Each day that such sale shall continue without being duly licensed shall constitute a separate violation.