Township of Montville, NJ
Morris County
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Chapter 276: PEACE AND GOOD ORDER

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Montville by Ord. No. 1308 as Chs. 9.04, 9.08 and 9.12 of the 1998 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

General penalty — See Ch. 1, Art. III.
False alarms — See Ch. 79.
Alcoholic beverages — See Ch. 85.
Animals — See Ch. 91.
Drug-free school zones — See Ch. 143.
Firearms — See Ch. 178.
Fishing — See Ch. 195.
Graffiti — See Ch. 213.
Littering — See Ch. 241.
Noise — See Ch. 255.
Obscene material — See Ch. 260.
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 281.
Tobacco — See Ch. 348.

§ 276-1 Definitions.

Editor's Note: The definitions of "graffiti," "indelible marker" and "spray paint container," which were previously included in this section, were deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). See now Ch. 213, Graffiti. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BUSINESS
A retail or wholesale establishment.
DISORDERLY ASSEMBLAGE
Any two or more persons gathered together and acting in a boisterous, noisy, riotous, offensive, disorderly or threatening manner toward each other or others, or committing any act or acts which in any way breach or disturb the peace or tend to breach or disturb the peace.
DISORDERLY HOUSE
Any building or structure or any part thereof which is used for gambling or which is frequented by prostitutes, criminals, gamblers, vagrants or persons violating the law or in which the law is habitually violated.
HOUSE OF ILL FAME
Any building or structure or any part thereof in which prostitution, lewdness or other unlawful sexual acts are permitted.
MINOR
Any person under the age of 18 years.
PERSON, PERSONS, HIS or HER
Any human being, including minors. Includes corporations. The singular number as used herein shall include the plural.

§ 276-2 Other prohibited conduct.

All acts constituting lewd, immoral or indecent conduct; unlawful destruction of property; willful injuries to or unlawful interference with persons; hazards to the public health; and breaches or disturbances of the peace not expressly hereinbefore mentioned, are hereby severally prohibited.

§ 276-3 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-09]

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to such penalties as are provided for in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty.

§ 276-4 Disposition of fines.

All fines imposed and collected under and by virtue of this chapter shall be paid into the treasury of the Township of Montville.

§ 276-5 Disorderly conduct.

[Amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-43]

No person or persons, whether owner, tenant, occupant or guest, shall suffer or take part in any drunken, riotous or other disorderly conduct that shall disturb the peace and quiet of any family or neighbor or any of the inhabitants of this Township.

§ 276-6 Public nudity, indecent exposure and other improper behavior.

A. No person shall intentionally appear on any street, avenue, road, highway or other public place in a state of nudity, or make any indecent exposure of his or her person, or commit or cause to be committed or participate in the commission of any lewd or indecent act or behavior.

B. No person or persons shall urinate or defecate or commit any kindred nuisance in any public street, highway, public or quasi-public place, such street, highway, public or quasi-public place not being provided for such purpose.

§ 276-7 Disrobing in vehicles.

No person shall, within the limits of this Township, disrobe in any automobile, truck or vehicle while the same is upon any public parking place, street, road or avenue, public park or other public place.

§ 276-8 Nude swimming.

No person shall, within the limits of this Township, bathe in a state of nudity, swim in a state of nudity or be found in a state of nudity in the waters of any pond, stream or lake or in waters adjacent thereto.

§ 276-9 Peeping into windows.

No person shall intentionally and willfully look into any window, door or other opening of any house or building with the intention of looking at or watching any person or persons partially or completely disrobed therein, or engage in the practice of what is commonly known as a "peeping Tom."

§ 276-10 Sale of indecent objects; indecent performances.

Editor's Note: See also Ch. 260, Obscene Material. No person shall sell or offer to sell any lewd or indecent picture, book, device or thing, or exhibit or perform or cause to be exhibited or performed any lewd, immoral or indecent dance, show, play or other presentation.

§ 276-11 Houses of ill fame.

No person shall maintain or cause or permit to be maintained a disorderly house or house of ill fame in any building or structure or on any premises owned, occupied or controlled by him or her; nor shall any person permit any building or other structure or any premises owned or occupied or controlled by him or her to be frequented or used by noisy, riotous or disorderly persons or by prostitutes, gamblers or vagrants.

§ 276-12 Solicitation of sexual intercourse or other acts.

No person shall, by word, act, sign or other device, invite, solicit or aid or abet in inviting or soliciting unlawful sexual intercourse or any other unlawful, lewd, indecent or lascivious act.

§ 276-13 Disturbing school activities.

No person shall disturb the exercises of any school or molest or give annoyance to children attending such school or any teacher therein.

§ 276-14 Interference with proceedings of Township committees, boards or other official bodies.

No person shall interfere with, hinder, disturb or obstruct the proceedings, functions or deliberations of the Township Committee, the Board of Health or any other official body of the Township of Montville.

§ 276-15 Obstructing or refusing to assist police.

No person shall hinder, obstruct or molest any officer of the law in the performance of his duties, nor shall any person willfully refuse or neglect to assist any officer of the law when lawfully called upon to do so. Nor shall any person knowingly resist or oppose any person authorized by law to make arrests or to serve any writ, bill, order or process when the person so authorized is acting in the performance of his duty.

§ 276-16 Molesting or threatening persons.

No person shall willfully obstruct, molest, hinder, annoy, frighten, threaten, insult or interfere with any other person or persons lawfully upon a public thoroughfare or in any public place or in any automobile, bus or other public or private conveyance lawfully upon any public thoroughfare.

§ 276-17 Fighting, brawling and inciting to riot.

No person shall willfully engage in any fight, assault, quarrel, brawl, battery or altercation; nor shall any person participate in or incite by overt act or acts any disturbance or riot or any unruly, boisterous, noisy, unlawful or disorderly assemblage constituting a breach or disturbance of the peace.

§ 276-18 Possession of weapons and other instruments.

Editor's Note: See also Ch. 178, Firearms. No person shall conduct himself or herself in or about the Township of Montville having concealed upon his or her person any picklock, key, crowbar, jack, bit or other implement with an intent to break or enter into any building, or shall have upon his or her person any pistol, hanger, cutlass, bludgeon or other offensive or dangerous weapon; nor shall any person be apprehended having upon his or her person, whether concealed or not, any of the foregoing articles or things with the intent of committing any unlawful act; nor shall any person be found in or near any dwelling house, warehouse, stable, barn or coach house, garage, smokehouse or any place of public resort or assemblage for business, worship or amusement or other lawful purpose with intent to steal any goods or chattels; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to law officers and other persons duly authorized under certain statutes of this state to carry proper weapons of defense. Possession of any of the foregoing articles on a public thoroughfare shall be prima facie evidence of such intent.

§ 276-19 False fire or ambulance alarms.

Editor's Note: See also Ch. 79, Alarms, False. No person shall willfully and maliciously ring or cause to be rung any bell or alarm of any fire company or ambulance association, thereby giving or causing to be given a false alarm of fire or ambulance call, or shall willfully send any message of false alarm of fire or ambulance call by telephone or by any other method or means.

§ 276-20 Interference with fire-fighting operations.

No person shall, during an alarm of fire, willfully hinder, prevent or deter in any manner or by any device whatsoever any fireman or other person from rendering lawful assistance in abating or quelling such fire, or willfully hinder or interfere with any fireman from going to or returning from the place where any building or other property is on fire or from which an alarm proceeds; nor shall any person hinder or obstruct the passage of any fire engine, hook and ladder truck or any fire apparatus in going to or from the place from which an alarm of fire proceeds or where any building or other property may be burning.

§ 276-21 Solicitation of alms.

Editor's Note: See also Ch. 281, Peddling and Soliciting. No person shall, within the limits of the Township, go about from door to door or place himself or herself on any sidewalk, street or streets or other public place or places, to beg or gather alms, unless said persons shall first register with the Chief of Police of the Township of Montville and unless said person shall have a permit from the proper authorities if said permit is required by law.

§ 276-22 Amusement devices.

No person shall play for money or other valuable thing with a slot machine or device in the nature of a slot machine or with any other instrument, engine, apparatus or device of chance; and no person shall have or keep in his place of business or other premises any slot machine or device in the nature of a slot machine or any other instrument, engine, apparatus or device of chance which may be used for the purpose of playing for money or other valuable thing.

§ 276-23 Gambling; animal fights; sparring contests.

No person shall set up, keep or maintain, or permit to be set up, kept or maintained, in any house or premises any faro table, faro bank, roulette wheel or other device or game of chance for the purpose of gaming, or any cockpit or other place for animals to fight; nor shall any person hold or permit to be held in any house or premises any dogfight, cockfight or any sparring contest for a purse or money prize or other prize of value; nor shall any person attend or participate in any of the above-named activities.

§ 276-24 Damage to property; posting of signs and handbills.

A. Prohibited acts.

(1) No person shall maliciously destroy, damage or injure any property within the Township, public or private, other than his own.

(2) No person shall destroy or aid or abet in destroying any public building or public work and no person shall injure, tarnish, deface or besmirch any public building, work, tree, light or traffic post, fence, streetlight post, telephone, telegraph or electric power pole, fire hydrant, aboveground facilities, monument, statue, flagpole or the contents and fixtures of any public play area, park or stadium.

(3) No person or persons shall willfully upset refuse containers or garbage cans or containers.

(4) No person or persons shall throw objects from a moving vehicle within Township limits.

(5) No person or persons shall destroy, tamper with or injure any post, alarm box, wire, whistle, bell or other apparatus or mechanism or equipment belonging to the fire alarm system, or interfere with the same or any part thereof, damaging such or causing a false alarm.

(6) No person or persons shall injure, damage or tamper with, at any time or at any place, any fire truck or fire engine or similar apparatus, hose, ladders, police cars or police equipment. No person shall drive a motor vehicle or other vehicle over fire hose or fire equipment except as authorized by the fire officer in charge.

B. No person or persons shall affix, in any manner whatsoever, on telephone, telegraph or light or power poles or public buildings, any handbills, placards or displays or advertisements of any kind or nature; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to the posting of such public notices as may be required by law or the municipal governing body.

§ 276-25 Removal or damage to highway warning signs; violation of highway regulations.

No person shall mutilate or remove any notice, or damage, destroy or remove any warning sign or signal, or remove any barricade placed or posted on any highway in connection with or relating to the closing of any road; nor drive any vehicle over or upon the closed portion of any highway; nor violate any rule or regulation for the use of any highway.

§ 276-26 Obstruction of streets.

No person shall unnecessarily obstruct any street, road, avenue, highway, alley or public place with any kind of vehicle or vehicles or with a box or boxes, lumber, wood or any other thing, but the provisions of this section shall not prevent persons who are building from occupying, until notified by any authorized Township official to cease such occupancy, 1/2 of the street in front of the place where they are building, unless another person is building on the opposite side of the street, in which case neither shall occupy more than 1/4 of the street. No person who is building shall continue such occupancy of any street after notice from any authorized Township official or police officer to discontinue the same.

§ 276-27 Littering and pollution.

Editor's Note: See also Ch. 241, Littering. No person shall, within the limits of the Township, throw, discard or litter any tin cans, bottles, garbage or refuse of any kind whatsoever into the waters of any pond, stream or lake or into waters adjacent thereto, or discharge any sewage or waste into said waters of any pond, stream or lake or into waters adjacent thereto, or discharge any sewage or waste into said waters or any of them, or pollute the said waters or any of them in any manner whatsoever; nor shall any person throw, discard or litter, or suffer or permit or cause the discarding of, refuse, trash or garbage of any kind whatsoever upon any private property, whether owned by such person or not, or any public road, thoroughfare, etc., within the Township of Montville.

§ 276-28 Animals at large; animals in the Community Park Playground prohibited.

[Amended by Ord. No. 2000-10; 10-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-43]

A. No person owning a dog, cat, or other animal shall allow such animal to run at large within the boundaries of the Township except in designated areas within the Montville Township Dog Park with a permit.

B. No person owning a dog, cat, or other animal shall allow such animal within the boundaries of any municipal playground. Pets on a leash are permitted outside playground areas in all Township parks. Any person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any animal shall be responsible to immediately remove any animal waste in accordance with § 91-23, Defiling on public property prohibited.

§ 276-29 Hours of use of school property.

No person shall utilize or enter upon the following lands owned or operated by the Board of Education of the Township of Montville from dusk until dawn:

A. Playgrounds at the William Mason School, Woodmont School, Hilldale School, Valley View School, Cedar Hill School and Middle School. Signs containing notice of these regulations shall be conspicuously posted on these properties by the Board of Education.

§ 276-30 Violations and penalties; enforcement.

A. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to such penalties as are provided for in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty.

[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-09]

B. This chapter shall be enforced by the Police Department.