[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Palisades
Park 7-8-1976 as Section 4-1 of the Revised General Ordinances
of 1975. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Mayor and Council of the borough have determined, as a result of
conferences with and review of information supplied by the Building Inspector,
that it is in the best interest of the citizens of the borough that building
contractors, fence contractors, swimming pool contractors and sign erectors
be registered with the office of the Building Inspector of the borough. Such
registration would provide citizens of the borough, as well as officials of
the borough, with appropriate information regarding names, addresses and telephone
numbers of contractors performing work with the borough, and the quality of
work of contractors, swimming pool contractors, fence contractors and sign
erectors must be regulated in the best interest of the people of the borough.
Every person engaged in the business of constructing, erecting, altering,
repairing, restoring, reroofing, re-siding, moving or demolishing the whole
or any part of buildings or engaged in the construction and installation of
swimming pools or engaged in the business of erecting or altering signs or
erecting or altering fences for any of which a permit is required by the applicable
ordinances of the borough shall be required to register the name of such person
or firm or corporation with the Building Department.
The owner or occupant of a building or structure applying for a permit
required herein shall not be required to register, provided that he intends
to do and supervise his own work.
[Amended 2-10-1986 by Ord. No. 1036]
Applications for the registration of contractors shall be submitted to the Building Inspector on forms supplied by him and shall include, in addition to any information he may deem necessary, a statement giving the name or corporate or firm name of the contractor and, in the case of a firm, corporation or partnership, the name and address of the principal officer or member of the firm, corporation or partnership. This application shall also contain the number of years the person, firm or corporation has been in business or in existence at the current location or any prior locations, including the address of such prior locations, if any. Additional information required shall include the name of the insurance carrier and the amount of public liability insurance and the name of the insurance carrier providing the required statutory amount of workmen's compensation insurance. The applicant shall state in which class he desires to be registered, choosing one or more of the classes designated in § 120-6. The Mayor and Council shall, by resolution, adopt an application form containing the information required by this section and any additional information deemed necessary by the governing body.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The application form is on file in the office
of the Borough Clerk.
No person, firm or corporation shall be registered under this chapter or shall be reregistered after revocation of registration under § 120-8 unless and until there is paid to the Building Inspector, to the account of the Borough of Palisades Park, a fee of $25.
For the purposes of this chapter, there shall be the following classes
for registration:
A.
General contractor: a contractor who is proficient in
the construction of a building or structure from start to finish and the alteration
of, addition to or repair of any building or structure. This class of contractor
shall be equipped to handle such work either by and through his own organization
or appropriate subcontractors and, in the latter event, shall be completely
responsible for his subcontractors' work.
B.
Contractor: a contractor who is proficient in the construction
of a building or structure from start to finish and the alteration of, addition
to or repair of any building or structure. This class of contractor shall
be equipped to handle such work by and through his own work or his own organization
or employees.
C.
Roofing and siding contractor: a contractor who is engaged
in the business of or who is proficient in the applying of roofing and siding
materials to existing or new buildings or structures.
D.
Demolition contractor: a contractor who is engaged in
the business of or who is proficient in the demolition of any building or
structure, in whole or in part.
E.
Moving contractor: a contractor who is engaged in the
business of or who is proficient in the moving of any building or structure.
F.
Swimming pool contractor: a contractor who is engaged
in the business of or who is proficient in the installation of swimming pools
and their equipment and appurtenances.
G.
Sign or billboard contractor: a contractor who is engaged
in the business of or who is proficient in the erection, alteration or maintenance
of signs or billboards.
H.
Fence contractor: a contractor who is proficient in the
work of the erection, alteration or maintenance of fences.
I.
Miscellaneous contractor: a contractor who is proficient
in work of a special character as determined by the Building Inspector.
The initial registration shall be valid from the date of registration
through the completion of that calendar year. During the initial calendar
year, work may be done without reregistration within the class of such registration.
If any work shall be done after the initial calendar year has elapsed, it
shall be necessary to reregister in order that the records relating to registration
shall be current with regard to the persons or firms involved and related
insurance information. No work may be done after the initial calendar year
following initial registration without reregistering. Reregistering need not
occur until work is proposed to be done within the borough beyond the initial
calendar-year period. Thereafter, the new reregistration shall be valid for
a period of one calendar year from the date of such reregistration, and, if
any work is to be done in excess of that one-calendar-year period, it shall
be necessary to reregister again. The fee for each reregistration shall be
$15.
A.
If any person registered under the provisions of this
chapter shall fail, in the execution of any work for which a permit is required
by this chapter, to comply with the applicable ordinances and regulations
of the borough relevant to the construction, erection, alteration, repair,
restoration, re-siding, reroofing, moving or demolition of any building, structure,
swimming pool, fence, sign or billboard or part thereof, the Building Inspector
shall cause a notice of violation to be served upon such person or the principal
member or officer of any such firm or corporation.
B.
Upon conviction for such violation or upon failure to
correct such violation within the period of time stated in the notice of violation,
the registration of such person, firm or corporation shall be revoked by the
Building Inspector, who shall strike the name of such person, firm or corporation
from the registration list and shall not reenter or reinstate such registration
during such time as the violation exists or remains.
C.
Upon repeated violations and/or failure to correct the
violations, the registration of such person, firm or corporation may be revoked
by the Building Inspector, and reregistration may be denied.
D.
A registration may also be revoked for failure to carry
worker's compensation insurance.
[Added 2-10-1986 by Ord. No. 1036]
E.
A registration may also be revoked for failure to comply
with the lawful instructions of the Construction Code Official regarding site
safety; altering plans submitted for the obtaining of the building permit
without first receiving the approval of the Construction Code Official; failure
to obtain a building permit where required; or one owner/resident complaint
against the contractor for unworkmanlike or unsafe services, which complaint
has been personally verified by the Construction Code Official or his deputy.
[Added 2-10-1986 by Ord. No. 1036]
F.
A registration may also be revoked if the licensee or
applicant has had any local contractor's license revoked by any municipality
in the State of New Jersey for any cause other than failure to pay licensing
fees.
[Added 2-10-1986 by Ord. No. 1036]
Any person, firm or corporation whose registration has been revoked under the provisions of § 120-8 may reregister and have his or its name reentered upon the registration list upon filing with the Building Department a certification of the Building Inspector to the effect that all violations with reference to which conviction was secured have been corrected or are nonexistent and upon payment of the fee prescribed in § 120-5.
In the event that the Building Inspector has revoked or denied a license
to an applicant or has refused to renew such license upon submission of the
required fee, the aggrieved contractor may appeal such denial, in writing,
to the Mayor and Council. Upon such appeal, the following steps shall be taken:
A.
Upon receipt of the written appeal, the Borough Clerk
shall set a date for the Mayor and Council to hear such appeal. This date
may be adjourned for a reasonable time at the request of the Mayor and Council
or the contractor.
B.
At the time, date and place set for the hearing, the
Mayor and Council shall conduct an inquiry into the reasons for the denial
by the Building Inspector and shall hear the contractor as to why such denial
was unreasonable or improper. At the hearing, the contractor shall be entitled
to call witnesses and to be represented by counsel.
C.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Mayor and Council
shall determine whether or not the denial of the license was proper under
the circumstances, and, if determined to be improper, the Mayor and Council
shall direct the Building Inspector to issue the license. If the Mayor and
Council determine that the license denial was proper, it shall, in its discretion,
take one of the following actions:
(1)
Uphold the denial without further action.
(2)
If circumstances warrant, issue the license conditioned
upon the contractor's adherence to steps imposed by the Mayor and Council
which are designed to reasonably ensure compliance by the contractor with
this chapter.
(3)
If circumstances warrant, direct the issuance of the
license at such time as any deficiencies which were the grounds for the denial
have been cured by the contractor. The Mayor and Council shall set forth the
deficiencies in its ruling.
D.
Within 10 business days of the hearing date, the Mayor
and Council shall notify the Building Inspector and the contractor, in writing,
of its determination and any conditions which have been placed upon the issuance
of the license by the Mayor and Council.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 4-1.11, which immediately followed
this section and dealt with violations and penalties, was deleted 8-15-1995
by Ord. No. 1226.
