[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Riverton 4-10-1997
by Ord. No. 10-97. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A bed-and-breakfast establishment as defined within the Land Use Ordinance
of the Borough of Riverton shall not be operated in the Borough of Riverton
by any person, firm or corporation until:
The Borough Council authorizes the issuance of up to, but no more than,
seven licenses for bed-and-breakfast establishments to operate within the
Borough of Riverton: four bed-and-breakfast home licenses and three bed-and-breakfast
lodge licenses.
The application form and a list of all accompanying documents required
for approval of a license of a bed-and-breakfast establishment may be obtained
from the Borough Clerk. Upon completion, the forms shall be returned to the
Borough Clerk along with a nonrefundable application fee in the amount of
$100 to cover the costs of processing and a license fee of either $50 for
a bed-and-breakfast home or $100 for a bed-and-breakfast lodge. If not granted,
the license fee will be returned to the unsuccessful applicant.
A.
Contents of application. The application at a minimum
shall contain the following information:
(1)
Name and address of applicant. The applicant shall state
whether it is a person, corporation, partnership or association. If the applicant
is not a person, then the applicant shall provide the name and addresses of
all members or stockholders of the entity. In addition, the owner or principal
of the owner who will operate the establishment as resident manager must be
provided. The name and address of the registered applicant for all corporations
shall be provided.
(2)
Description of premises. The applicant shall provide
a full description of the premises to be licensed. This description shall
include a diagram of the existing interior of all structures located on the
premises. It shall also include a drawing to scale slowing all existing improvements
and any new improvements which are to be constructed to service the needs
of the establishment.
(3)
Description of alterations. The applicant shall provide
a detailed list of all alterations it intends to make to any existing structure
on the premises to accommodate alterations it intends to make to any existing
structure on the proposed establishment.
(4)
Name and address of the owner. If different than the
applicant, the name and address of the owner of the premises sought to be
licensed, together with their consent to the application, shall be provided.
(5)
Name, address and experience of the resident manager.
The applicant shall provide the name, address and experience which qualifies
the person to manage the establishment sought to be licensed of the proposed
resident manager.
(6)
Certifications. The applicant shall certify that all
taxes, whether local, state or federal in nature, are current and will remain
current during the operation of the establishment. The applicant shall also
certify that the premises is free of all code violations or, by the renovations
contemplated by the application, will be made free of such violations prior
to occupancy of the premises as a licensed establishment.
B.
Planning Board approval. Along with its completed application
form, the applicant also shall submit a copy of the Riverton Planning Board's
approval of the applicant's conditional use application. The applicant
shall demonstrate to the Council how the applicant intends to comply with
any conditions imposed on the conditional use approval by the Planning Board.
The Borough Council shall grant a license to operate a bed-and-breakfast
establishment if a license is available to be issued and the applicant demonstrates
that it can comply with the operational standards set forth below.
All bed-and-breakfast establishments will be operated in the following
manner:
A.
Use. The principal use of the premises shall be residential.
C.
Resident manager. A designated individual shall act in
the capacity as a resident manager for each bed-and-breakfast establishment,
provided that:
(1)
For a bed-and-breakfast home, the owner shall serve in
the capacity as resident manager, and the premises shall be the principal
domicile of the owner.
(2)
For a bed-and-breakfast lodge, the resident manager will
be an owner or a principal of the owner. The resident manager must reside
at the lodge, and his name must be kept on file with the borough.
D.
Occupancy limit. No more than one family unit or two
individuals shall be lodged in any one room.
E.
Limit on residency. No guest shall reside at an establishment
for more than 14 days within any thirty-day period.
F.
Operational controls. All trash will be stored indoors
or in an outdoor enclosure of a design approved by the Planning Board which
keeps all trash containers invisible from the public right-of-way and from
any other property.
G.
Guest register. A current guest register shall be maintained,
including names, addresses and dates of occupancy of all guests.
H.
Service of meals. Breakfast shall be available to all
guests. No meals other than breakfast shall be served to guests. No patrons
may be served food other than registered guests of that bed-and-breakfast
establishment.
I.
A licensed establishment. The premises shall remain in
continuous compliance with all codes and ordinances of the borough, including
but not limited to the Uniform Construction Code Act, Fire Code[1] and all like regulations regarding health and food service. The
owner shall obtain and keep in continuous force all required approvals.
J.
Clean appearance. Portions of the premises which are
visible from the public right-of-way shall be kept clean and in good repair.
K.
Conditional use condition. The premises shall continue
to demonstrate compliance with the conditions of the conditional use approval.
L.
Taxes. Licensees shall, as a condition to their license,
pay all taxes, whether local, state or federal in nature, when and as due.
M.
Financial capacity. Licensees shall demonstrate, as a
condition to the license, that they have the financial capacity to execute
the responsibilities imposed upon them by the grant of the Planning Board's
conditional use approval and to implement the standards set forth within this
chapter.
N.
No other business. No business other than the operation
of the bed-and-breakfast establishment may be conducted on the premises, except
for any business which may be otherwise permitted in a residential district.
The owner of a licensed bed-and-breakfast establishment shall renew
its license annually, upon the payment of the annual license fee. The renewal
date shall be the anniversary of the date the license first became valid for
operation following an inspection by the Borough Code Enforcement Officer,
as provided herein. If the establishment has been found to be in violation
of any of the terms and conditions of this chapter, the Borough Council, after
a hearing, shall have the right to deny renewal unless the licensee can demonstrate
that the violation has been abated and further violations are unlikely.
A bed-and-breakfast home license or bed-and-breakfast lodge license
shall be automatically forfeited if any of the following shall occur:
A.
Abandonment. A bed-and-breakfast establishment shall
have no registered guests during a period of 180 consecutive days.
B.
Fraud. If any material information provided by the applicant,
either at the public hearing on the conditional use application or submitted
in writing for the license, is determined by the Borough Council to be false.
C.
Violation. If two violations of this chapter occur during
any license year.
A.
Conditional use. A conditional use approval for a bed-and-breakfast
establishment is issued to a specific premises and cannot be transferred to
any other premises.
B.
Exchange. A bed-and-breakfast home license cannot be
exchanged for a bed-and-breakfast lodge license or vice versa without reapplication
for conditional use approval and license.
C.
Sale. If a bed-and-breakfast establishment is in full
compliance with the terms and conditions of this chapter and its conditional
use approval, its owner may transfer the license for a bed-and-breakfast establishment
to a new owner when title to the premises is conveyed. However, the new owner
must file an amended license application form within 30 days of settlement
or the license is forfeited. Such a filing shall not require any license fee
and shall not cause the term of the outstanding license to be extended. All
terms, conditions and obligations pursuant to this chapter bearing on the
original owner shall continue in full force for any subsequent owner.
D.
Presence of violations. The license of any bed-and-breakfast
establishment shall not be transferable if the premises and/or its owner are
in violation of any of the terms and conditions of this chapter at the time
of settlement.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Code Enforcement Officer of the
borough. No permit or license of any kind as provided in this chapter shall
be issued by him for any purpose except in compliance with the provisions
of this chapter, a decision of the Planning Board or Council, or decision
by a court.
A.
Inspection. Each bed-and-breakfast establishment shall
be subject to inspection by the Borough Code Enforcement Officer for compliance
with all applicable borough ordinances. The first inspection must be performed
and the premises found in compliance before the bed-and-breakfast home license
or bed-and-breakfast lodge license shall be valid for operation. Inspections
may be made semiannually thereafter or in response to specific citizen complaints
filed in accordance with this chapter. Premises with outstanding violations
shall be subject to inspection at any time at the discretion of the Code Enforcement
Officer. Current guest registers and those for the immediately preceding twelve-month
period shall be available for inspection by the Borough Code Enforcement Officer
at any time with reasonable notice.
B.
Complaints. Whenever a violation of this chapter is believed
to have occurred, any person may file a written and signed complaint. The
complaint shall state the nature of the alleged violation. It shall be filed
with the Code Enforcement Officer. He shall record promptly any such complaint
and immediately investigate and take appropriate action thereon as provided
by this chapter.
C.
Notice of violation. If the Code Enforcement Officer
shall find that any of the provisions of this chapter are being violated,
he shall notify the person responsible for such violations in writing, both
by certified mail and hand delivery to the premises, indicating the nature
of the violation, and after appropriate hearing, if requested, order the action
necessary to correct it. The date of hand delivery of the notice of violation
shall constitute the violation notice date for the purposes of this chapter.
Violation of the provisions of this chapter can cause harm to the citizens
of the borough which is cumulative over time. Thus, it is the intent of this
chapter that penalties for violations will accrue over time.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which shall
violate the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof in a
summary proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000. In
default of payment of the fine, such person, the members of such partnership
or the officers of such corporation shall be liable to imprisonment for not
more than 90 days, or both, at the discretion of the sentencing magistrate.
Whenever such person has been officially notified by the Code Enforcement
Officer (i.e., on the violation notice date) or by service of a summons in
a prosecution or in any other official manner that he is committing a violation,
then each day after that a violation is continued shall constitute a separate
offense and be punishable by like fine or penalty.
B.
For any and every violation of the provisions of this
chapter, the owner, resident lodge manager or other persons interested in
any premises where any such violation has been committed or shall exist, and
who refuses to abate said violation within five days after written notice
has been served upon him either by mail or personal service, shall for each
and every violation be subject to punishment as a disorderly person. Each
and every day that such violation continues after such notice shall be considered
a separate and specific violation of this chapter.
C.
If any violation remains outstanding for
longer than 60 days, the bed-and-breakfast home license or bed-and-breakfast
lodge license shall be automatically suspended, and the establishment's
operation shall cease. In this event, if the violation can be remedied through
the performance of specific repairs, the borough may, at its discretion, perform
those repairs and pursue any legal avenue to recover the costs of such repairs
from the owner.
