[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Northvale 4-7-2009 by Ord. No. 866-2009. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 140.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The request, directly or indirectly, for money, credit, property,
financial assistance, or other thing of any kind or value. Solicitation
shall include, but not be limited to, the use or employment of canisters,
cards, receptacles or similar devices for the collection of money
or other thing of value. A solicitation shall take place whether or
not the person making the solicitation receives any contribution.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
no person shall place, use, or empty a donation clothing bin, for
solicitation purposes, unless all of the following requirements are
met:
A.
The person has obtained a permit, valid for a twelve-month period
of time, from the Borough's Zoning Officer, in accordance with
the following:
(1)
In applying for such a permit, the person shall include:
(a)
The location where the bin would be situated, as precisely as
possible;
(b)
The manner in which the person anticipates any clothing or other
donations collected via the bin would be used, sold, or dispersed,
and the method by which the proceeds of collected donations would
be allocated or spent;
(c)
The name and telephone number of the bona fide office, required pursuant to Subsection G of this section, of any entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin; and
(d)
Written consent from the property owner to place the bin on
his property.
B.
The person has secured mini Planning Board approval for the bin from
the Planning Board for the specific purpose of ensuring that the placement
of such bin will not constitute a safety hazard.
C.
The Zoning Officer shall not grant an application for a permit to
place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin if he/she determines
that the placement of the bin could constitute a safety hazard. Such
hazards shall include, but not be limited to, the placement of a donation
clothing bin within 100 yards of any place which stores large amounts
of, or sells, fuel or other flammable liquids or gases.
D.
The Zoning Officer shall impose a fee for such application, not to
exceed $25, to offset the costs involved in enforcing this chapter.
E.
An expiring permit for a donation clothing bin may be renewed upon
application for renewal and payment of any fee imposed by the Zoning
Officer for such renewal, not to exceed $25 annually, to offset the
costs involved in enforcing this chapter. Such application shall include:
(1)
The location where the bin is situated, as precisely as possible,
and, if the person intends to move it, the new location where the
bin would be situated after the renewal is granted, and written consent
from the property owner to place the bin on his property;
(2)
The manner in which the person has used, sold, or dispersed any clothing
or other donations collected via the bin, the method by which the
proceeds of collected donations have been allocated or spent, and
any changes the person anticipates he/she may make in these processes
during the period covered by the renewal; and
F.
The permit and its date of expiration shall be clearly and conspicuously displayed on the exterior of the donation clothing bin, in addition to the information required pursuant to Subsection G of this section.
G.
The person, or any other entity, which may share or profit from any
clothing or other donation collected via the bin maintains a bona
fide office where a representative of the person or other entity,
respectively, can be reached at a telephone information line during
normal business hours for the purpose of offering information concerning
the person or other entity. For the purposes of this subsection, an
answering machine or service unrelated to the person does not constitute
a bona fide office.
H.
The following information is clearly and conspicuously displayed
on the exterior of the donation clothing bin:
(1)
The name and address of the registered person that owns the bin and
of any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing or
other donations collected via the bin;
(2)
The telephone number of the person's bona fide office and, if
applicable, the telephone number of the person's bona fide office
of any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing or
other donations collected via the bin;
(3)
In cases when any entity other than the person who owns the bin may
share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via
the bin, a notice, written in a clear and easily understandable manner,
indicating that clothing or other donations collected via the bin,
their proceeds, or both, may be shared, or given entirely to, any
entity other than the person who owns the bin, and identifying all
such entities which may share or profit from such donations; and
(4)
A statement, consistent with the information provided to the appropriate
municipal agency in the most recent permit or renewal application,
indicating the manner in which the person anticipates any clothing
or other donations collected via the bin would be used, sold, or dispersed
and the method by which the proceeds of collected donations would
be allocated or spent.
A.
The Zoning Officer shall receive and investigate, within 30 days, any complaints from the public about the bin. Whenever it appears to the Zoning Officer that a person has engaged in, or is engaging in, any act or practice in violation of § 96-2 hereof, the person who placed the bin shall be issued a warning, stating that if the violation is not rectified or a hearing with the Zoning Officer is not requested within 45 days, the bin will be seized or removed at the expense of the person who placed the bin, and any clothing or other donations collected via the bin will be sold at public auction or otherwise disposed of. In addition to any other means used to notify the person who placed the bin, such warning shall be affixed to the exterior of the bin itself.
B.
In the event that the person who placed the bin does not rectify
the violation or request a hearing within 45 days of the posting of
the warning, the Zoning Officer may seize the bin, remove it, or have
it removed, at the expenses of the person who placed the bin, and
sell at public auction or otherwise dispose of any clothing or other
donations collected via the bin. Any proceeds from the sale of the
donations collected via the bin shall be paid to the chief financial
officer of the municipality.
In addition to any other penalties or remedies authorized by
the laws of the state, any person who violates any provision of this
chapter which results in seizure of the donation clothing bin shall
be:
A.
Subject to a penalty of up to $20,000 for each violation. The Zoning
Officer may bring this action of the Municipal Court or Superior Court
as a summary proceeding under the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,
P.L. 1999, c. 274 (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.), and any penalty monies
collected shall be paid to the chief financial officer of the municipality;
and
B.
Deemed ineligible to place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin for solicitation purposes pursuant to § 96-2 hereof. A person disqualified from placing, using, or employing a donation clothing bin by violating the provisions of this chapter may apply to the Zoning Officer to have that person's eligibility restored. The Zoning Officer may restore the eligibility of a person who:
The owner of any donation clothing bin which is sponsored by any department of the Borough shall be required to comply with the requirements of §§ 96-2 through 96-4 hereof but shall specifically be exempt from the mini Planning Board approval requirement of § 96-2B and fee requirement of § 96-2D and E hereof.
