[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Freehold by Ord.
No. 76-28 (§ 13-1 of the Revised General
Ordinances), as amended through Ord. No. O-01-44. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
A State Uniform Construction Code having been
enacted by the legislature and the Governor of the State of New Jersey,
with an effective date of February 4, 1976; the Township of Freehold
has heretofore on October 18, 1976, by resolution duly adopted at
a public meeting elected to enforce the code within the jurisdiction
of the Township. A copy of this code is on file in the office of the
Clerk and of the Construction Official and is available to the public
for use and examination during regular business hours.
There is hereby established an enforcing agency for the State Uniform Construction Code to be known as the "Construction Division of the Code Enforcement Department," which Department has been created heretofore in Article XIV of Chapter 2 of the Code of the Township of Freehold. The Construction Division shall consist of a Construction Official, Building Subcode Official, Plumbing Subcode Official, Electrical Subcode Official and Fire Protection Subcode Official. The Construction Official shall be the chief administrator of the Construction Division. Each official position created herein shall be filled by an appointment for a term of four years and by a person qualified for such position, provided that in lieu of any particular subcode official an on-site inspection agency may be retained by contract pursuant to law. More than one such official position may be held by the same person, provided that such person is qualified pursuant to law.
[Amended 5-24-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-8]
The Construction Official, any employee and/or
subcode official charged with the enforcement of this code, acting
in good faith and without malice for the Township in the discharge
of his duties shall not thereby render himself liable personally,
and he is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage
that may occur to persons or property as a result of any act required
or by reason of any act or omission in the discharge of his duties.
Any suit brought against the Construction Official, any employee and/or
subcode official, because of such act or omission performed by him
in the enforcement of any provision of this code, shall be defended
by the Township until final termination of the proceedings.
The public shall have the right to do business
with the Construction Division at one office location except for emergencies
and unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances.
[Amended 4-28-2009 by Ord. No. O-09-11; 5-24-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-8]
The fee for a construction permit shall be the sum of the fees listed in Chapter 150, corresponding to the appropriate type and quantity of work listed therein and shall be paid prior to the issuance of any permit.
The Construction Official shall with the advice
of the subcode officials prepare and submit to the Township Committee
biannually a report recommending a fee schedule based on the operating
expenses of the agency and any other expenses of the Township fairly
attributable to the enforcement of the State Uniform Construction
Code Act.
In order to provide for the training, certification and technical support programs required by the Uniform Construction Code Act and the regulations, the construction department shall collect in addition to the fees specified above a surcharge as provided in Chapter 150, Fees.
All fees calculated pursuant to this chapter
shall be rounded to the nearest dollar, i.e. .01 to .49 will be rounded
down, .50 and above will be rounded up.
Notwithstanding the provision of § 115-5, the following provisions shall determine circumstances for the waiver of construction fees:
A.
No person shall be charged a construction permit surcharge
fee or enforcing agency fee for any construction, reconstruction,
alteration or improvement designed and undertaken solely to promote
accessibility by disabled persons to an existing private structure
or any of the facilities contained therein.
B.
A disabled person, or a parent or sibling of a disabled
person, shall not be required to pay any municipal fee or charge in
order to secure a construction permit for any construction, reconstruction,
alteration or improvement which promotes accessibility to his or her
own living unit.
C.
Disabled person for purposes of this subsection shall
be as defined in N.J.S.A. 52:27D-126e, as same may be amended from
time to time.
D.
In recognition of the governmental and quasi-governmental
functions and programs without cost which benefit society as a whole
and specifically lessens the burden which would otherwise have to
be borne by the Township government, the following entities shall
not be charged a construction permit surcharge fee or enforcing agency
fee for any construction, reconstruction, alteration or improvement
made to a building or structure owned and operated by such entity:
