[Adopted 6-29-1988 by Ord. No. 1350]
[Amended 6-24-1991 by Ord. No. 1442]
A.
No person shall charge, demand, receive or accept
any rent or other payment for the use or occupancy of any residential
premises within the Borough of Ridgefield which is used or occupied
in violation of the Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Ridgefield.[1] Each such charge, demand, receipt or acceptance of such
rent or other payment in violation hereof shall constitute a separate
offense.
B.
No person, specifically including but not limited
to those persons commonly known as "real estate agents," "brokers"
or "salespersons," shall assist, aid or facilitate in the rental,
sale, use or occupancy of any residential premises within the Borough
of Ridgefield which is used or occupied or intended to be used or
occupied in violation of the Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Ridgefield.
For purposes of this article, the acts of listing for rental or sale,
advertising or otherwise offering for rent, lease or sale any residential
premises within the Borough of Ridgefield which are used or occupied
or intended to be used or occupied in violation of the Zoning Ordinance
of the Borough of Ridgefield shall be deemed to constitute a violation
of this article. Any person who is to receive a commission, profit
or other form of remuneration or emolument as a result of a rental,
lease or sale of residential premises shall have a duty to make reasonable
inquiry to determine whether or not the use or occupancy or intended
use or occupancy is or will be in violation of the Zoning Ordinance
of the Borough of Ridgefield.
Within 10 days following receipt of a notice
to abate an unlawful occupancy in violation of the Zoning Ordinance
of the Borough of Ridgefield or within 10 days following receipt of
a summons for violation of this article or the Zoning Ordinance of
the Borough of Ridgefield or prior to the institution of dispossess
proceedings to correct an illegal occupancy, whichever first occurs,
the owner of residential premises within the Borough of Ridgefield
shall serve upon all of the unlawful occupants using or occupying
said residential premises a copy of this article and shall post a
copy of this article in a common area of the premises accessible to
all the occupants thereof for inspection.
[Amended 7-11-2005 by Ord. No. 1938; 6-28-2010 by Ord. No.
2133]
A.
Any person violating any provision of this article
shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000
or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both, for
each separate violation of same.
B.
In addition to requiring reimbursement from the owner-landlord of the structure for relocation assistance paid to a displaced tenant, and notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the Court may impose an additional fine for zoning or housing code violation for an illegal occupancy up to an amount equal to six times the monthly rental paid by the displaced person to be paid to the municipality by the owner-landlord of the structure pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1g(c). Notwithstanding the penalties provided above, a second or subsequent violation for an illegal occupancy as provided in this subsection by any owner-landlord for a second or subsequent violation, the Court may impose a fine equal to the annual tuition costs of any resident of the illegally occupied unit attending a public school, which fine shall be recovered in a civil action by a summary proceeding in the name of the municipality pursuant to Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999 (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.). The Municipal Court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of the proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this section. The tuition costs shall be determined in the manner prescribed for nonresident pupils pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-19, and the payment of the fines shall be remitted to the appropriate school district.
C.
In those instances where a violation of this section
is based on the maintenance of residential dwelling units above the
number of units permitted by the Zoning Ordinance[1] on a particular parcel of land (e.g., the maintenance
of a structure with three residential dwelling units in a zoning district
where only two residential dwelling units are permitted), the defendant
who is the owner of a property shall be required to permanently remove
the kitchen in any such unlawful residential structure or structures.
For purposes of this subsection, the term “remove the kitchen”
shall mean the removal of the stove, refrigerator and kitchen sink
in any such structure. The Borough Construction Official or his designee
shall inspect the premises to insure that said removal is accomplished
within 30 days of the date of the entry of the judgment of conviction
by the Municipal Court.
[Amended 5-13-2004 by Ord. No. 1872; 6-29-2004 by Ord. No.
1879; 7-11-2005 by Ord. No. 1938; 9-12-2011 by Ord. No. 2181]
Any tenant who receives a notice of eviction pursuant to the
provisions of N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2 that results from zoning or code
enforcement activity for an illegal occupancy shall be considered
a displaced person and shall be entitled to relocation assistance
in an amount equal to six times the monthly rental paid by the displaced
person. The owner-landlord of the structure shall be liable for the
payment of relocation assistance pursuant to this section.
[Added 5-13-2004 by Ord. No. 1872]
The Mayor and Council are authorized to enact, by adopting an appropriate resolution, a program whereby any person providing information which leads to the discovery of, and elimination of, a violation of § 319-15 of this article be paid a finder's fee not to exceed $500. If such a program is established by the Mayor and Council, by duly adopted resolution, the resolution shall establish the amount of the finder's fee, which shall not exceed the amount specified in this article, as well as the terms, conditions and provisions of how same is to be paid.
[Added 5-13-2004 by Ord. No. 1872]
The Mayor and Council hereby determines that
the use and occupancy of illegal residential apartments, as set forth
above, are detrimental to the general health, safety and welfare of
the Borough, and that such illegal occupancies generate the utilization
of Borough services, including fire, police, sanitation, public works
and general administration, and further generate the use of motor
vehicles which take parking spaces and create traffic, while escaping
real estate taxation. The Borough finds this to be an unfair and inequitable
situation. The Borough further determines that the harm and detriment
to the Borough is difficult to measure and hereby determines that
the most reasonable way to calculate the damage and detriment caused
to the Borough by illegal occupancies is by calculating same as a
percentage of the rental payment charged by the owner to the occupant
on account of the illegal occupancy. The Borough determines that a
percentage of 10% of the rent to be fair and reasonable as a measure
of the damage and detriment caused to the Borough, and the Mayor and
Council may authorize the Borough Attorney to recover from any person
who charges, demands, receives or accepts rent or payment for such
an illegal occupancy to make restitution to the Borough for the damage
and detriment caused to the Borough during a period of illegal occupancy.
[Added 5-13-2004 by Ord. No. 1872]
The Mayor and Council hereby finds and declares
that there has been a proliferation of what are commonly known as
"illegal apartments", meaning residential dwelling units which are
occupied in violation of zoning laws. Most typically, these illegal
apartments manifest themselves as a second residential unit in a building
in a one-family zone, and a third residential unit in a building in
a two-family zone. The Mayor and Council hereby further finds and
declares that such illegal units have a deleterious effect on the
quality of life of Borough residents, require the provision of Borough
services, generate young people who attend Borough schools, increase
the utilization of Borough programs and services, contribute to the
costs of the Borough by increasing the generation of refuse (garbage)
and sewer flow, contribute to overcrowding, generate traffic within
the Borough, generate automobiles which contribute to parking shortages
throughout the Borough and lead to the maintenance of dwelling units
which often fail to meet health, safety and building code standards.
By their nature, such units generally escape taxation as their maintenance
and existence is normally hidden and not used for tax assessment purposes.
The use and maintenance of said illegal apartments is also unfair
to the vast majority of Borough residents who abide by zoning laws.
[Added 5-13-2004 by Ord. No. 1872]
The Borough of Ridgefield hereby declares it
to be the policy of the Borough to eliminate all illegal dwelling
units within the Borough of Ridgefield and prevent them from reoccurring.
[Added 5-13-2004 by Ord. No. 1872]
The Borough of Ridgefield hereby determines
and declares that, prior to beginning a program of active enforcement
designed to eliminate illegal apartments throughout the Borough, the
Borough will allow a period of time which will expire on August 1,
2004, for property owners to voluntarily eliminate illegal occupancies.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the Borough, or any of its duly
authorized officials, from enforcing zoning laws and building code
laws prior to August 1, 2004. Rather, the foregoing is an expression
of the general policy of the Borough to withhold active and aggressive
enforcement prior to that date in order to allow homeowners to voluntarily
comply with zoning laws.
