[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough of Rutherford
Council 12-18-2001 by Ord. No. 2995-01. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Ch. 35, Fire Zones,
adopted 10-1-1974 by Ord. No. 2155-74, amended 12-19-1974 by Ord.
No. 2164-74, was repealed 3-20-1984 by Ord. No. 2364-84.
It is hereby determined that the unregulated
operation and parking of motor vehicles in parking yards and parking
places which are open to the public or to which the public is invited,
including shopping centers, hospitals, schools, churches, public buildings,
office buildings, day-care and senior care buildings, condominium,
cooperative, or rental residential and commercial buildings, and other
similar uses, constitutes a danger to the public health, safety and
welfare in that such unregulated operation and parking interferes
with and impedes the approach, operation, and departure of fire and
other emergency vehicles and equipment. Therefore, this chapter is
enacted pursuant to the authority conferred upon the Borough by N.J.S.A.
40:48-2.46, N.J.S.A. 39:4-197, and such other statutory and legal
provisions as may be applicable to the within subject.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Police
Department of the Borough of Rutherford or the Bureau of Fire Safety,
which departments shall have concurrent jurisdiction in policing and
issuing summonses for violations of this chapter.
A "property owner" shall be defined as stated
in the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code and any amendments thereto.
A.
The Borough Fire Official, in consultation with the
Chief of Police or his designated representative, may designate fire
lanes or zones on private property to which the public is invited
or which is devoted to public use if such designation is necessary
to provide safety for the public or to provide proper access for fire
or other emergency equipment or vehicles in the event of an emergency.
Fire hydrants and water connection devices located on private property
shall be designated as fire zones.
B.
The Fire Official or Bureau of Fire Safety shall keep
drawings of properties delineating fire lanes and fire zones on file
in the office of the Bureau of Fire Safety.
Whenever a determination has been made that
a fire lane/zone designation on private property is necessary, the
Fire Official shall notify the owner of the property, in writing,
either by certified mail or personal delivery, briefly describing
the property to be designated and the reason for the designation.
A.
Within 30 days after receipt of the notification of
the necessity for designation, the property owner shall submit a plan
to the Bureau of Fire Safety. The plan shall be either a formal site
plan showing placement of all proposed markings, striping, curbing,
and signage, or a written descriptive narrative detailing the placement
of all proposed markings, striping, curbing and signage, which narrative
shall contain distances and details of the area.
B.
The Bureau of Fire Safety shall approve the submitted
plan or shall amend the submitted plan to include any modifications
that are reasonably necessary to effect the purposes of this chapter.
The approved or amended plan shall be certified by the Bureau of Fire
Safety and shall be forwarded to the property owner thereafter.
A.
Within 30 days after the certified plan is sent to
the property owner, the property owner shall install the required
markings, striping, curbing, and signage in accordance with the certified
plan and shall take whatever other necessary steps as are directed
by the Fire Official or his designated representative to establish
the fire lanes or zones.
B.
Suitable signs bearing the words "No Parking Fire
Zone" may be required. Such signs shall be installed at the beginning
of the designated fire zone and at such other areas as may be necessary
to properly identify the fire zone or as may be required in the discretion
of the Fire Official or Police Chief or his designated representative.
Signs shall be standard twelve-inch by eighteen-inch traffic signs
with light reflective material for the background and black lettering.
C.
Striping shall be four inches wide. Fire lanes shall
be 18 feet in width from the curb and shall be striped and painted
to state "No Parking Fire Zone" as directed by the Fire Official.
All striping and lettering shall be yellow in color and reflectorized.
Curbing which is required to be painted shall be painted yellow in
color.
D.
The owner shall properly maintain any such markings,
striping, curbing, and signage in the designated areas at all times.
Defacing, tampering with, or damaging any such markings, striping,
curbing, or signage, or allowing them to deteriorate so as to reduce
their effectiveness, shall constitute violations of this chapter.
It shall be illegal to park, stop, or leave
standing any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, or to place
any obstruction on lands, whether publicly or privately owned, in
any designated fire lane or fire zone. It shall be illegal to park,
stop, or leave standing any vehicle, whether attended or unattended,
or to place any obstruction on lands within 10 feet of any fire hydrant
or other water connection device.
An enforcing officer is authorized to remove
or have removed obstructions or vehicles as may violate this chapter
at the expense of the owner of the premises, in the case of obstructions,
or at the expense of the owner of the vehicle.
A.
Violators who obstruct a fire lane or fire zone, whether
on public or private land, shall be subject to a minimum fine of $75,
which fine shall be imposed on complaint and conviction in the Municipal
Court of the Borough of Rutherford.
[Amended 7-26-2021 by Ord. No. 3571-21]
B.
Property owners failing to timely respond to the initial notification or failing to timely install the requirements contained in the certified plan or by the Bureau of Fire Safety or failing to maintain the installations, shall be subject to a minimum fine of $250 up to a maximum fine of $1,000 in accordance with the requirements of the New Jersey Fire Safety Code. A court appearance shall be mandatory upon issuance of any summons under this § 35-10B.
C.
Any other violations of this chapter shall be subject
to a fine not to exceed $1,000.
D.
The imposition of one penalty for any violation shall
not excuse the violation or permit it to continue, and such violators
shall be required to correct or remedy the violations or defects within
a reasonable time, and each 10 days that such violations are continued
shall constitute a separate offense.
