City of Passaic, NJ Article III Miscellaneous Provisions

§ 219-6 Compliance required; minimum standards.

Every dwelling unit and nonresidential building and the premises on which it is situated in the City used or intended to be used for dwelling, commercial, business or industrial occupancy shall comply with the provisions of this code, whether or not such building shall have been constructed, altered or repaired before or after the enactment of this code and irrespective of any permits or licenses which shall have been issued for the use or occupancy of the building or for the installation or repair of equipment or facilities prior to the effective date of this code. The code establishes minimum standards for the initial and continued occupancy and use of all such buildings and does not replace or modify standards otherwise established for the construction, repair, alteration or use of the building, equipment or facilities contained therein, except as provided in § 219-7 where there is mixed occupancy, and residential or nonresidential use therein shall be nevertheless regulated by and subject to the provisions of this code.

§ 219-7 Higher standard to prevail.

In any case where the provisions of this code impose a higher standard than set forth in any other ordinances of the City or under the laws of the State of New Jersey, then the standards as set forth herein shall prevail; but if the provisions of this code impose a lower standard than any other ordinances of the City or of the laws of the State of New Jersey, then the higher standard contained in any such other ordinance or law shall prevail.

§ 219-8 Issuance of other licenses and permits.

After the date of enactment hereof, all licenses and permits shall be issued upon compliance with this code as well as compliance with the ordinances under which such licenses and permits are granted.

§ 219-9 Compliance with and enforcement of other ordinances.

No license or permit or other certification of compliance with this code shall constitute a defense against any violation of any other ordinance of the City applicable to any structure or premises, nor shall any provision herein relieve any owner, operator or occupant from complying with any such provision nor any official of the City from enforcing any such other provision.

§ 219-10 Sale of certain real property; approval required.

[Amended 8-9-1984 by Ord. No. 795-84]

A. It shall be a violation of the ordinances of the City of Passaic for any owner or the agent of any owner to sell any real property which contains uncorrected violations, of which the owner has received due and proper notice, without the prior approval of the Director of Housing Inspections.

[Amended 6-9-2004 by Ord. No. 1620-04]

B. Approval to sell property which contains uncorrected violations shall be granted by the Director of Housing Inspections only after the purchaser enters an agreement with the Division of Housing establishing a date by which all violations shall be corrected and posts a bond in the amount determined by the Director of Housing Inspections to cover the cost of necessary work in the event of noncompliance. Should the required work not be done by the date specified, the Director of Housing Inspections shall have the option to grant an extension or to order the work to be done by a contractor or contractors to be named by the City and to be paid from the proceeds of the performance bond.

[Amended 6-9-2004 by Ord. No. 1620-04]

C. No permanent certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any premises as described in Subsections A and B above until the Housing Officer shall certify in writing that all violations have been satisfactorily completed and that the compliance bond has been discharged.

D. The sale of any real property in the City of Passaic containing uncorrected violations without first obtaining the approval of the Director of Housing Inspections shall not relieve the seller or his agent of the obligation to have corrected such violations, and failure to abate such violations shall subject the owner and/or his agent to penalties for each violation as hereinafter enumerated, as well as such penalties as are established for this specific article.

[Amended 6-9-2004 by Ord. No. 1620-04]

E. Notwithstanding the foregoing, anyone who purchases real property in the City of Passaic containing uncorrected violations may, after due and proper notice of such violations, be held equally responsible for the correction thereof.

F. Violation of the provisions of this section shall be subject to such penalty as is provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty, and each day which shall elapse from the closing of title to the correction of the violations of which the owner or his agent were duly and properly notified shall constitute a separate violation.

[Amended 7-11-1985 by Ord. No. 865-85]

G. It shall be a violation of the code of the City of Passaic for any owner or agent of any owner to sell any real property if the owner or agent has not applied for a reinspection and obtained an occupancy certificate as part of the requirements of the City ordinance.

[Added 6-9-2004 by Ord. No. 1620-04]

§ 219-11 Replacement of lead service lines within the City. [1]

[Added 2-8-2022 by Ord. No. 2335-22]

A. PVWC[2], its agents and successors are hereby authorized to enter any property within the City of Passaic to perform a lead service line replacement pursuant to P.L. 2019, c. 291, but shall not enter any part of the property that is not directly related to performing a lead service line replacement. The service line shall include all piping and fittings connecting the water main to the property and shall include the water meter.

[2] Editor's Note: Passaic Valley Water Commission.

B. At least 72 hours before entering a property to perform a lead service line replacement, PVWC shall notify the owner of record of the property and any residents of the property of the lead service line replacement.

C. PVWC shall make every effort to notify the owner of record and any residents of the property in person; but if the owner or residents are unable to be reached in person, PVWC shall send, by certified mail, a notification to the owner and any residents or post a written notification in a prominent location on the property.

D. The notification shall be written in both English and Spanish and shall include:

(1) The scheduled date and time of the lead service line replacement;

(2) Whether PVWC employees will be performing the service line replacement, and if not, the entity performing the service line replacement;

(3) The extent of any water service disruptions resulting from the service line replacement;

(4) Any locations where residents can access supplemental drinking water due to any service disruptions; and

(5) That if PVWC is unable to gain access to the property in order to replace the lead service line, the Department of Inspections and Code will not issue a certificate of occupancy prior to any change in ownership until a lead service line replacement is performed.

E. Upon completion of the lead service line replacement, PVWC shall send a letter to the owner of the property confirming the replacement and the date on which the work was performed.

F. On an ongoing basis, but not later than every 60 days, PVWC shall inform the City of Passaic as to which properties it has successfully performed a lead service line replacement on and which properties it was unable to perform a lead service line replacement on due to an inability to gain access to the property.

G. Where PVWC is unable to perform a lead service line replacement because of the inability to gain access to the property, the Department of Inspections and Code shall deny the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for that property until a lead service line replacement has been performed.

H. Any violation of this section by either the landlord or the tenant by the refusal to allow access to the property or preventing the performance of the lead service line replacement shall be punished by a penalty as is provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty.

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 219-11, Certificate of occupancy, as amended, was repealed 3-20-1986 by Ord. No. 922-86. For current provisions, see Ch. 100, Certificates of Occupancy and Tenancy.