[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)
LANDSCAPER
SERVICES
For
purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
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.
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.
