[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Atlantic City 6-23-1999 by Ord. No. 27-1999. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PEDESTRIAN MALL, PEDESTRIAN MALL IMPROVEMENT or MALL
In the context of this chapter means any local improvement designed to be used primarily for the movement, safety, convenience and enjoyment of pedestrians, whether or not a part of a street is set apart for roadway or emergency vehicles, transit vehicles and private vehicles, or any of them, and a pedestrian mall improvement shall include but not be limited to pedestrian thoroughfares, perimeter parking, public seating, park areas, outdoor cafes, shelters, trees, flower plantings, sculpture, newsstands, telephone booths, traffic signs, kiosks, fire hydrants, street lighting, ornamental signs, ornamental lights, trash receptacles, display cases, marquees, awnings, canopies, overhead radiant heating fixtures, underground radiant heating pipes and devices, walls, bollards and chains and all such other fixtures, equipment, facilities and appurtenances which in the judgment of the governing body of a municipality will enhance the movement, safety, convenience and enjoyment of pedestrians and benefit the municipality and adjoining properties.
UTILITY TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES or TRANSIT UTILITY VEHICLES
Public transportation.
The Mayor and Council find and declare:
A. 
That pursuant to the feasibility study for the closing of a portion of Bacharach Boulevard, a pedestrian mall will benefit the City of Atlantic City.
B. 
That Bacharach Boulevard, between New York and Tennessee Avenues, is not a part of any state highway, is located primarily in a business district and is improved to its maximum feasible width with regard to adjoining buildings and improvements.
C. 
That a reasonably convenient alternate route to other parts of the city and state exist for private vehicles.
D. 
That continued unlimited use of the street or part thereof by private vehicles may constitute a hazard to the health and safety of pedestrians.
E. 
That abutting properties can reasonably and adequately be provided with emergency vehicular services and receive and deliver merchandise and materials from other streets and alleys or by provisions for limited use of the streets by emergency vehicles and carriers of such merchandise and materials.
F. 
That it is in the best interests of the city and the public and of benefit to adjacent properties to use such street primarily for pedestrian purposes, and that pedestrian use is determined to be the highest and best use of such street or part thereof.
A. 
A pedestrian mall shall be created on the following street(s) or portion thereof:
(1) 
Bacharach Boulevard, between Tennessee Avenue and New York Avenue, as designated and described in Schedule C attached hereto and made a part hereof.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule C is on file in the office of the City Clerk.
B. 
The use of the surface of the above described street(s) or parts thereof shall be limited at all times or during such hours or days as the city shall determine to egress from the Atlantic County Parking facility onto Bacharach Boulevard, to a limited parking area off of New York Avenue, to pedestrians and to such classes of emergency, public works, maintenance and service vehicles.
C. 
There shall be no limit of vehicular use on either Tennessee or New York Avenues.
D. 
With the cessation of service by New Jersey Transit of Transit Utility Vehicles on Bacharach Boulevard, between Tennessee and New York Avenues, there will be no use for such vehicles on the area designated as the pedestrian mall.
E. 
The city acknowledges that there is access to other streets for delivery of or receiving merchandise or materials.
At least 10 days prior to the date fixed for a public hearing, a copy of the proposed ordinance and notice of the date, time and place of the hearing shall be mailed to the owners of the lots and parcels of land abutting or directly affected by any proposed pedestrian mall.
A. 
Costs of development construction and acquisition. The city reserves the right to assess to properties benefited by the erection of the mall the costs of development, construction and acquisition.
B. 
Operation and maintenance. Where maintenance of the mall involves annual costs in addition to the initial cost of construction, and distinguished from maintenance services normally provided by the municipality outside of the mall facility, and will provide benefits primarily to adjacent, surrounding or neighboring property, the mall facility shall be operated and maintained pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:56-65 et seq.
The governing body of the city shall approve the materials or combinations thereof of which the pedestrian mall shall be constructed. The governing body of the city may in its discretion narrow any roadway to be kept and maintained in connection with any pedestrian mall, may cause any street vaults to be reconstructed or removed, may construct crosswalks at any point within a block and may cause the roadway to curve and meander within the limits of the street to enhance the usefulness and appearance of the pedestrian mall.
A. 
Notwithstanding the improvement of any street as a pedestrian mall, the City of Atlantic City shall retain all its powers relating to the street or part thereof constituting the mall.
B. 
No such action shall be construed as a vacation in whole or in part; the establishment of a pedestrian mall is a matter of regulation only.
Nothing shall prevent the Mayor and Council subsequent to this chapter, from abandoning the operation of the pedestrian mall, changing special assessments or taxes for annual costs or changing or repealing any limitation on the use of the mall for a particular purpose by ordinance.
Condemnation proceedings and all other procedures incident to the development and maintenance of a pedestrian mall shall be authorized under Chapter 56 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.
A. 
Under the direction of the Mayor and governing body, a pedestrian mall may be used for any purpose or activity which will enhance the movement, safety, convenience or enjoyment of pedestrians.
B. 
The Mayor and Council may provide for the control and regulation of:
(1) 
The distribution and location of movable furniture, sculpture or pedestrian traffic control devices, landscaping and other facilities belonging to the pedestrian mall and not otherwise located or fixed by plans and specifications.
(2) 
The uses to be permitted on the mall by occupants of abutting property, and transit or telephone utilities, concessionaires, vendors and the like.
(3) 
The issuance of permits to conduct any special activity consistent with the broad purposes of the mall.
(4) 
The operation of any heating or other facilities and replacing landscaping and maintaining furniture and facilities in the mall.
(5) 
The designation of parking spaces; in addition, handicapped driver spaces will be provided.
A. 
Concurrently with submission of a plan for a pedestrian mall, and annually thereafter, the Mayor or designee shall, with the assistance of the advisory board, if any, report to the governing body an estimate of cost of operating and maintaining and annually improving the pedestrian mall for the next fiscal year to be incurred under the plan and an estimate of changes in the amounts of such costs which would follow upon the adoption of any addition or amendment to the plan recommended to or under consideration by the Mayor and Council. Such estimate shall be reasonable and shall include a summary of the categories of cost properly chargeable as follows:
(1) 
Each year, when the Mayor has reviewed and acted upon the estimated costs and/or on the budget and submitted the same to Council, the Municipal Assessor shall prepare an assessment roll setting forth separately the amounts to be specially assessed against the benefited and assessable properties in and around the pedestrian mall. Descriptions of such properties and the names of the then current owners of such properties, so far as names are available, shall be included in each annual assessment roll. The assessment roll, when so prepared, shall be filed in the office of the Municipal Clerk and be available for inspection. The Mayor and Council shall annually meet to consider objections to the amounts of such special assessments at least 10 days after a notice of hearing has been published once in the Press of Atlantic City and mailed to the named owners of all tracts, parcels and lots of property proposed to be assessed. The notice shall set forth the time and place of the meeting and set forth the purpose of such meeting, but may refer to the assessment roll for further particulars. When the City Council shall have approved the amounts of the special assessments set forth herein, or as may be changed by it, the Municipal Clerk shall forthwith certify a copy of the assessment roll, with such changes, if any, to the Atlantic County Tax Board.
B. 
For the purpose of this section, "annual improvements" shall mean and include any reconstruction, replacement or repair of trees and plantings and other facilities of the pedestrian mall and the furnishing of any other local improvement which benefits properties around the mall. For the purpose of this chapter, "cost" shall, with respect to annual improvements to and operation and maintenance of the pedestrian mall, mean costs of annual improvements and all other costs, including planning costs, incurred or to be incurred in connection with annual improvements to and operation and maintenance of the mall.
All federal and state laws, local ordinances and executive orders regarding affirmative action and equal employment opportunity shall be enforced.
The Mayor is hereby authorized to execute and the City Clerk to attest any contracts entered into in furtherance of this chapter. Said contracts shall be approved as to form and execution by the City Solicitor.