For regulations regarding rodent control on sites with demolition, construction or excavations, see Chapter 273. See Chapter 312 for swimming pool regulations.
[1997 Code § 160-1]
A. 
There is hereby established in the City of Absecon City a State Uniform Construction Code enforcing agency to be known as the "Construction Code Enforcing Agency," consisting of a Construction Official, Building Subcode Official, Plumbing Subcode Official, Electrical Subcode Official, Fire Protection Subcode Official and such other subcode officials for such additional subcodes as the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, State of New Jersey, shall hereafter adopt as part of the State Uniform Construction Code. The Construction official shall be the Chief Administrator of the enforcing agency.
B. 
Each official position created in Subsection A shall be filled by a person qualified for such position pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq., and N.J.A.C. 5:23, provided that, in lieu of any particular subcode official, an on-site inspection agency may be retained by contract pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:23. More than one such official position may be held by the same person, provided that such person is qualified pursuant to P.L. 1975, c. 217, and N.J.A.C. 5:23 to hold each such position.
C. 
The public shall have the right to do business with the enforcing agency at one office location, except for emergencies and unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances.
[1997 Code § 160-2; Ord. No. 30-97; Ord. No. 14-98; Ord. No. 07-2002; New]
A. 
Certificate required.
(1) 
No person, company, partnership, firm or corporation shall occupy, prepare for occupancy or otherwise intend to occupy property in the City of Absecon City until a certificate of continuing occupancy (CCO) has been issued certifying and stating that said property is in compliance with the 1990 Edition of the BOCA Property Maintenance Code.
(2) 
No building or structure in the City of Absecon City in which there is a change in owner, tenant or occupant shall be occupied until a certificate of continuing occupancy (CCO) has been obtained.
(3) 
No building or structure in the City of Absecon City which has been vacated shall be reoccupied until a certificate of continuing occupancy (CCO) has been obtained.
(4) 
The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to individual guest rooms or suites or residential hotels or motels, as identified in the BOCA National Building Code for Residential Use Group R-1.
B. 
Enforcement. The responsibility for the enforcement of this section shall be with the Construction Official and the designated members of the Building Department.
C. 
Application.
(1) 
An application for a certificate of continuing occupancy shall be applied for from the Construction Official, on forms provided by the Construction Official.
(2) 
An application for the certificate of continuing occupancy shall be obtained for each separate residential unit or commercial tenant space upon each change in owner, tenant or occupant.
(3) 
An application fee for a certificate of continuing occupancy, made payable to the City of Absecon City, shall be in the amount of $35 for each single-family residence and $60 for a commercial structure. The fee for hotels and motels shall be $50 plus an additional $10 per unit (not to exceed $250. The application fee shall be payable at the time of application and prior to the initial inspection.
(a) 
The application fee for a certificate of continued occupancy shall be as established in this chapter, the cost of which shall include one inspection and, if necessary, one reinspection.
(b) 
Additional reinspections. Beginning with the third and continuing for each subsequent inspection, the applicant will be responsible for an additional fee, made payable to the City of Absecon City, in the amount of $25. This fee shall be payable prior to the issuance of the certificate of continuing occupancy.
(c) 
The purpose of the application fee is to provide for the cost of performing the inspection and related costs incurred by the Building Department.
D. 
Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the City of Absecon City, for each offense, be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or 30 days in jail. Each day that any provision of this section remains unabated shall be deemed a separate offense.
E. 
Mercantile license. When a certificate is required by this section, no mercantile license shall be issued until the certificate of continuing occupancy is obtained.
F. 
Relationship to property maintenance code. No certificate required by this section shall be issued until after an inspection has been conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Property Maintenance code, as adopted by Chapter 266, Property Maintenance.
G. 
Date of effect. This section shall take effect on December 1, 1990, after passage, approval and publication according to law.
[1997 Code § 160-3]
The City of Absecon City does hereby appoint the Atlantic County Construction Board of Appeals to hear appeals from decisions by its enforcing agency.
[1997 Code § 160-4; Ord. No. 22-97; Ord. No. 06-99; Ord. No. 09-99; Ord. No. 21-99; Ord. No. 07-02]
The basic construction fee shall be the sum of the parts computed on the basis of the volume or cost of construction, the number of plumbing fixtures and pieces of equipment, the number of electrical fixtures and devices and the number of sprinklers; standpipes, detectors (smoke and heat) and fire protection devices at the unit rates provided herein plus any special fees. The minimum fee for a basic construction permit covering all subcodes, except for elevator, shall be $45, all fees shall be rounded to the nearest dollar amount.
A. 
Building volume or cost. The fees for new construction or alterations are as follows:
(1) 
Fees for new construction shall be based upon the volume of the structure. Volume shall be computed in accordance upon the N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.28. The new construction fee shall be in the amount of $0.024 per cubic foot of volume for buildings and structures of all use groups and types of construction as classified and defined in Articles 3 and 4 of the building subcode; except that the fee shall be $0.024 per cubic foot of volume for use groups A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, F-1, F-2, S-1 and S-2, and the fee shall be $0.015 per cubic foot for open volume buildings over 100,000 cubic feet that are used exclusively for storage or as warehouses.
(2) 
Fees for renovation, alterations and repairs shall be based upon the estimate cost of the work. The fee shall be in the amount of $20 per $1,000 up to $50,000. From $50,001 to and including $100,000, the additional fee shall be in the amount of $15 per $1,000 of estimated cost above $50,000. Above $100,000 the additional fee shall be in the amount of $12 per $1,000 of estimated cost above $100,000. For the purpose of determining estimated cost, the applicant shall submit to the Department such cost data as may be available produced by the architect or engineer of record, or by a recognized estimating firm, or by the contractor. The Agency shall make the final decision regarding estimated cost.
(a) 
The fee for pre-manufactured construction, all external connections and site work shall be based on estimated cost of construction at a rate of $40 per $1,000 of construction cost.
(3) 
Fees for additions shall be computed on the same basis as for new construction for the added portion.
(4) 
Fees for combination renovations and additions shall be computed as the sum of the fees computed separately in accordance with subsection A(1) and (2) above.
B. 
Plumbing fixtures and equipment.
(1) 
All fixtures and appliances/equipment: $9 each. This fee includes gas/oil, piping and nontestable back flow.
(2) 
Special devices.
(a) 
Hot water boiler, backflow preventer, water and sewer connections and solar systems: $45 each.
(b) 
Grease traps, sewer pumps, steam boiler, interceptor/separators and refrigeration units: $50 each.
C. 
Electrical fixtures and devices.
(1) 
Devices with horsepower between one horsepower and 10 horsepower, and between one kilowatt and 10 kilowatts: $9 each.
(2) 
Devices with horsepower in excess of 10 horsepower but less than or equal to 50 horsepower, and between 10 kilowatts and 50 kilowatts: $45 each.
(3) 
Devices with horsepower in excess of 50 horsepower but less than or equal to 105 horsepower and greater than 50 kilowatts but less than or equal to 105 kilowatts: $90 each.
(4) 
Devices over 105 horsepower and over 105 kilowatts: $300 each.
(5) 
Service panels, entrances and sub-panels:
(a) 
Up to 125 amps: $40 each.
(b) 
Between 125 and 250 amps: $75 each.
(c) 
Over 250 amps: $250 each.
(6) 
Fixtures and devices:
(a) 
From one to 50 receptacles or fixtures, the fee shall be in the amount of $30; for each 25 receptacles or fixtures in addition to this, the fee shall be in the amount of $5; for the purpose of computing this fee, receptacles or fixtures shall include lighting outlets, wall switches, fluorescent fixtures, convenience receptacle, smoke and heat detectors, or similar fixtures, and motors or devices of less than or equal to one horsepower or one kilowatt.
D. 
Fire protection and other hazardous equipment. Sprinklers, stand-pipes, detectors (smoke and heat) pre-engineered suppression systems, gas and oil fired appliances, kitchen exhaust systems, incinerators, crematorium, fire pumps and fire protection devices:
(1) 
The fee for 20 or fewer heads or detectors shall be $53; for 21 and including 100 heads or detectors, the fee shall be $98; for 101 to and including 200 heads or detectors, the fee shall be $187; for 201 to and including 400 heads or detectors, the fee shall be $486; for 401 and including 1,000 heads or detectors, the fee shall be $673; for over 1,000 heads and detectors, the fee shall be $860. In computing fees for heads, detectors and fire protection devices the number of each shall be counted separately and three fees, one for heads, one for detectors and one for fire protection devices shall be charged.
(2) 
The fee for each standpipe shall be $163.
(3) 
The fee for each independent pre-engineered system shall be $65.
(4) 
The fee for each gas or oil fired appliance, shall be $45.
(5) 
The fee for each kitchen exhaust system will be $45.
(6) 
The fee for each incinerator and crematorium shall be $260.
(7) 
The fee for each fire pump shall be $150.
E. 
The fees for elevator device inspections and tests shall be as set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:23-12, et al.
F. 
Certificates and other permits. The fees are as follows:
(1) 
The fee for demolition or removal permit shall be $75 for a structure of less than 5,000 square feet in area and less than 30 feet in height, for one or two-family residences (use group R-3 of the building subcode), and $150 for all other use groups. The fee for tank removal shall be $75. The fee for tank removal/abandon in place shall be $100.
(2) 
The fee for a permit to construct a sign shall be in the amount of $0.90 per square foot surface area of the sign, computed on one side only for double-faced signs: The minimum fee shall be $45.
(3) 
For a certificate of occupancy, the minimum fee shall be $100 except for one or two-family (use group R-3 of the building subcode) structures of less than 5,000 square feet in area and less than 30 feet in height, the fee shall be $50.
(4) 
The fee for a certificate of occupancy granted pursuant to change of use group shall be $120.
(5) 
The fee for a certificate of continued occupancy shall be $111.
(6) 
The fee for the first issuance and the renewal of a temporary certificate of occupancy shall be $25.
(7) 
There shall be no fee for a certificate of approval or certificate of compliance certifying the work done under a construction permit has been satisfactorily completed.
(a) 
Electric certificate of compliance shall be a flat fee of $50.
(8) 
The fee for an application for a variation in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.10 shall be $423 for Class I structures and $85 for Class II and Class III structures. The fee for resubmission of an application for a variation shall be $163 for Class I structures and $46 for Class II and Class III structures.
G. 
Periodic inspections. Fees for the periodic Departmental reinspection of equipment and facilities granted a certificate of approval for a specified duration in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.23 shall be as follows: For cross connections and backflow preventers that are subject to testing, requiring reinspection every three months, the fee shall be $43 for each device when they are tested (thrice annually) and $111 for each device when they are broken down and tested (once annually).
H. 
In order to provide for the training, certification and technical support programs required by the Uniform Construction Code Act and the regulations, the Enforcing Agency shall collect in addition to the fees specified above, a surcharge fee of $0.0019 per cubic foot of volume of new construction. In addition, a training fee of $0.0009 per dollar of cost of an alteration rounded off to the nearest dollar shall be collected. Said fees shall be remitted to the Bureau of Regulatory Affairs, N.J. Department of Community Affairs on a quarterly basis.
[1997 Code § 160-5]
The Construction Official shall, with the advice of the subcode officials, prepare and submit to the City of Absecon City, biannually, a report recommending a fee schedule based on the operating expenses of the agency and any other expenses of the municipality fairly attributable to the enforcement of the State Uniform Construction Code Act, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq.
[1997 Code § 160-6]
This chapter and the Construction Code Enforcing Agency created hereunder shall be subject to such rules and regulations as may, from time to time, be lawfully promulgated by the appropriate agencies of the State of New Jersey.