[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of East Rutherford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Uniform construction codes — See Ch. 126.
[Adopted 6-18-1996 by Ord. No. 96-16]
A. 
The purpose of this article is to adopt a procedure for the registration of all construction and landscape contractors that are not licensed by the State of New Jersey to perform certain work within the Borough of East Rutherford.
[Amended 2-16-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
B. 
Applicability; definitions.
[Amended 2-16-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
(1) 
This article shall apply to all persons, partnerships, corporations or other entities not otherwise licensed by the State of New Jersey who undertake to provide services within the Borough of East Rutherford for a fee.
(2) 
For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
LANDSCAPER
Any of the following services as a commercial undertaking for consideration: mowing of grass or lawn; trimming or cutting of trees, bushes or shrubbery; restoration or installation of lawns, grass, foliage, leaves or trees from a given property; any and all services relating to the placing, installation, care or cultivation of lawns, shrubbery, trees, foliage or other plant life. Notwithstanding the foregoing, “commercial enterprise” shall not be interpreted to include any resident of East Rutherford who performs only lawn-mowing services by virtue of a hand-operated mower on properties within 10 blocks of his or her residence.
SERVICES
To add or remove rooms, dormers or other structures or to improve, modernize or modify an existing room or rooms or structures or to install, resurface or improve driveways or sidewalks or any improvement whatsoever upon any structure in the Borough of East Rutherford where persons reside, will reside or conduct any type of business upon completion of the work.
C. 
Registration pursuant to this article does not relieve the contractor of the requirement to obtain a building permit or of any liability resulting from contractor's performance of service.
Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity to whom this article applies shall, prior to commencing any work or service as herein described in the Borough of East Rutherford, make application to the Construction Code Official for registration as a contractor in the Borough of East Rutherford. The failure to make application for such registration prior to commencement of work or services shall constitute a violation of this article. The form of application is attached to and made a part of this article.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said application form is on file in the Borough offices.
A. 
All registration numbers issued pursuant to this article shall expire one year from the date of issuance. Such registration may be renewed annually upon payment of the required fee and submission to the Construction Code Official of an updated current certificate of insurance.
B. 
The initial fee to register as a contractor in the Borough of East Rutherford shall be $50. The fee for renewal registrations shall be $25.
C. 
Each applicant shall be required to submit a certificate of insurance to the Construction Code Official evidencing a current policy for workers’ compensation insurance in the amount required by statute and public liability insurance in a coverage amount of not less than $300,000 per occurrence.
[Added 2-16-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
[Amended 2-16-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
A. 
All landscape contractors shall provide for the removal of lawn clippings and other landscaping debris and shall not leave or deposit said debris at the curbside, in the street or gutter or at any other site in the Borough of East Rutherford.
B. 
No landscape contractor shall sweep, blow or otherwise place leaves in the street or gutter of the Borough of East Rutherford. All leaves shall be placed in biodegradable bags.
The following shall constitute the grounds for which the Construction Code Official may deny the application for registration or revoke or deny the renewal of an existing registration:
A. 
Failure to maintain and keep current adequate workers' compensation insurance policy;
B. 
Failure to maintain and keep current a public liability insurance policy;
C. 
Failure to comply with construction standards required by state law or regulations or local ordinances or codes after having been given notice of such noncompliance and failing to cure said noncompliance without just cause;
D. 
Any of the following:
(1) 
Failure to comply with the lawful instructions of the Construction Code Official regarding site safety;
(2) 
Altering plans submitted for the obtaining of the building permit without further receiving the approval of the Construction Code Official;
(3) 
Failure to obtain a building permit where required; or
(4) 
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; or
E. 
The revocation of prior registration number by the East Rutherford Construction Code Official or the revocation of any local contractor's license or registration by another municipality in the State of New Jersey for any cause other than failure to pay licensing or registration fees.
In the event that the Construction Code Official has denied or revoked a registration to an applicant or has refused to renew such registration upon submission of the required fee, the aggrieved contractor may appeal such denial, in writing, to the Mayor and Council of the Borough of East Rutherford. Upon such appeal, the following 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 hear testimony from the Construction Code Official as to the grounds for denial and hear testimony from the contractor as to why it is believed that such denial was unreasonable and 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, a determination shall be made as to whether or not the denial of the registration was proper under the circumstances, and if determined to be improper, the Construction Code Official shall be directed to issue a registration number to the contractor. If it is determined that the denial was proper, then the Mayor and Council shall have the discretion to take one of the following actions:
(1) 
Uphold the denial without further action.
(2) 
If circumstances warrant, direct the Construction Code Official to register the contractor upon conditions imposed by the Mayor and Council which are designed to reasonably ensure compliance by the contractor with this article.
(3) 
If circumstances warrant, direct the Construction Code Official to register the contractor at such time as any deficiency which were the grounds for the denial has been cured by the contractor. The Council shall set forth such deficiencies in its rulings.
D. 
Within 10 business days from the hearing date, the Construction Code Official and the contractor shall receive notification, in writing, of the determination of the Mayor and Council and any conditions which have been placed upon the approval of the application for registration.
In addition to the enforcement of this article, the Construction Code Official shall have the responsibility to do the following:
A. 
Monitor the accuracy and current status of the information contained in the application for contractor's registration.
B. 
Keep all registration applications on file so that they are available for inspection and copying by any interested party as public documents.
C. 
Notify the owner of the property on which work is being performed by the contractor of the revocation of contractor's registration for failure to keep current its public liability insurance.
It shall be considered a violation of this article for any person or firm as described herein to fail to make application for a contractor's registration or to perform any work as described herein without first having applied for and received a contractor's registration number. Following a conviction of violation of this article by a court of competent jurisdiction, a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000 shall be imposed or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.