[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of South Plainfield as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Cigarettes and tobacco products — See Ch. 186.
Laundromats — See Ch. 278.
Obstructions on public property — See § 288-4. 
[Adopted 10-13-1964 as Art. 9 of Ch. 4 of the 1964 Code (Ch. 190, Art. I, of the 1982 Code)]
[Amended 9-23-1985]
A. 
No person, as hereinafter defined, shall distribute, locate or place, or continue to have located or placed, in the possession of any person, owner, occupant, tenant, lessor, lessee or licensee of any premises located in the Borough of South Plainfield, for the purpose of operation or use thereof by residents of the Borough of South Plainfield or other members of the public at large, any coin-operated automatic machine used for the sale of milk or other perishable food products, as defined herein, without first having obtained from the Mayor and Borough Council a license permitting such distribution.
B. 
No person, as hereinafter defined, shall distribute, locate or place, or continue to have located or placed in the Borough of South Plainfield, for the purpose of operation or use by members of the public at large, any coin-operated vending machine used for the sale and distribution of goods and products as hereinafter defined, without first having obtained from the Mayor and Borough Council a license permitting such sales and distributions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COIN-OPERATED AUTOMATIC MACHINE USED FOR THE SALE OF MILK OR OTHER PERISHABLE FOOD PRODUCTS
Any device or piece of mechanical or electrical equipment which, upon the insertion of a coin into a slot or place on said machine, device or equipment, results in the dispensing of, or making available to the person or persons inserting said coin into said machine, device or equipment, milk or other perishable food products.
COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINE
Any device or mechanical or electrical equipment, which upon insertion of a coin or coins into a slot, results in the dispensing of, or making available to the person or persons inserting said coin or coins into said device, goods or products.
[Added 9-23-1985]
GOODS and PRODUCTS
Items distributed from coin-operated vending machines, including but not limited to candy, soda, newspapers, magazines, books, cigarettes and the like.
[Added 9-23-1985]
PERSON
Any individual, firm, member of firm, cooperatives, corporation or any officer, director or stockholder of any corporation, or any agent or any employee of any such firm, partnership or corporation.
[Amended 9-23-1985]
A. 
A separate application for each coin-operated machine shall be filed with the Health Department of the Borough of South Plainfield, showing the name of the applicant, post office address and answers to other data required by said application. Said application shall be on forms furnished by the Health Department of the Borough of South Plainfield.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
A separate application for each coin-operated vending machine, except those dispensing milk or other perishable food products, shall be filed with the Borough Clerk showing the name of the applicant, post office address and answers to other questions as required by the application. The application forms shall be available from the Borough Clerk's office.
Before any applicant shall be entitled to a license:
A. 
The Health Officer of the Borough of South Plainfield shall certify that the granting of a license for an automatic machine for the sale of milk or other perishable food products at the location applied for will not violate any health regulations or ordinance pertaining to the distribution of milk or other perishable food products in the Borough of South Plainfield, or any laws of the State of New Jersey having application thereto, and further, that said machine has been inspected by authorized representatives of the South Plainfield Health Department and is unobjectionable from the viewpoint of health and sanitation.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
The Chief of the Police Department and the Chief of the Fire Department of the Borough of South Plainfield shall each certify that the placing of said coin-operated machine at the location mentioned in the application is unobjectionable from the viewpoint of welfare, safety or traffic consideration.
C. 
The Building Inspector of the Borough of South Plainfield shall certify that the location of said machine complies with the Building Code and Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of South Plainfield.[2] An automatic machine for the sale of milk or other perishable food products is deemed to be a "structure" and the operation of said machine a "business use" within the purview of the Building Code and the Zoning Ordinance of this Borough.
[2]
Editor's Note: Building construction is now regulated under the provisions of the State Uniform Construction Code Act, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq. The Zoning Ordinance is on file in the office of the Borough Clerk.
D. 
The Chief of Police, Chief of the Fire Department and the Traffic Safety Commission of the Borough of South Plainfield shall each certify that the placement of the subject coin-operated vending machine, at the location set forth in the application, is unobjectionable from the viewpoint of welfare, safety or traffic considerations.
[Added 9-23-1985]
E. 
The Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough of South Plainfield shall certify that the location of the subject coin-operating vending machine complies with the Building Code and Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of South Plainfield.
[Added 9-23-1985]
[Amended 9-23-1985]
A. 
A license fee of $50 for each machine applied for is hereby fixed. Said license fee is for the purpose of regulation and shall be payable with the filing of the application. If the application is rejected, the fee shall be returned to the applicant. The license shall be for a period of one year or any part thereof, terminating the 31st day of May in the year in which the license is granted. Said license shall not be transferable.
B. 
The license fee for coin-operated vending machines shall be $25 for each such machine and shall be payable upon the filing of the application. The purpose of such license fee is to offset the costs of administration of the provisions of regulating said machines.
Said automatic machines used for the sale of milk or of other perishable food products shall have a refrigeration unit of sufficient capacity so as to keep the entire contents at a temperature of 50° F. or below. The said machines shall be equipped with an automatic cutoff device that locks the machine when the temperature of the interior where the products are stored goes over 50° F. and also refuses patrons coins. Keys to said machines shall be available in the office of the Health Department.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
No automatic machine shall be licensed hereunder whose dimensions exceed the following limitations:
A. 
Width: five feet;
B. 
Depth: five feet;
C. 
Height: 6 1/2 feet.
No automatic machine shall be licensed hereunder unless it is operated on a separate and independent electrical service and which service is not used in conjunction with any other dwelling or structure. All lighting on any such automatic machines must be properly shielded so as not to proceed beyond the limitations of the property on which said machine is installed.
There shall be no sign or advertising painted, attached or in any manner affixed on any automatic machine, other than a sign setting forth the product sold in each individual machine, and there shall be in no event any sign or billboard or any other type of advertisement which extends either above or beyond the limits of the machine.
The licensee shall cooperate at all times with the Health Department, the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief and the Building Inspector of the Borough of South Plainfield, when required or requested so to do, to obtain information or knowledge which will enable them or any of them to safeguard the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the Borough of South Plainfield, as the same may be affected in anywise by said automatic machine used for the sale of milk or other perishable food products. Failure to render such cooperation shall permit the Health Officer or authorized representative to immediately temporarily suspend such license and, after a hearing by the Mayor and Borough Council on two days' written notice to the licensee, at the address stated in the application, giving the time and place of hearing, to revoke said license.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Any license granted under the provisions of this article may be revoked by the Mayor and Borough Council upon proof of circumstances or conditions which are inimical to the health, welfare, morals or safety of the residents of the Borough of South Plainfield; provided, however, that two days' written notice of a hearing is sent to the licensee at the address stated in the application, designating the time and place of said hearing.
If the licensee shall intend to renew said license for a year beyond that for which it was granted, said licensee shall advise the Health Department, in writing, not later than the 30th day of April of the year in which the license expires. If the license is not renewed, the licensee shall take all necessary proceedings to remove said coin-operated automatic machine from the Borough of South Plainfield within five days, or, in default thereof, said licensee shall be presumed to have abandoned said machine to the Borough of South Plainfield, which may thereupon cause said machine to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of. Also, if a license is revoked during the year for which it was granted, the licensee holding the revoked license shall, within five days, remove the said machine from the Borough of South Plainfield or cause the same to be removed, or, in default thereof, said licensee shall be presumed to have abandoned said machine to the Borough of South Plainfield, which may thereupon cause the machine to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of. In the case of a failure to renew said license, the five-day period mentioned above shall commence from June 1; and in the case of a revocation of a license, the five-day period above shall commence from 2:00 a.m. the day following that on which notice of revocation was sent by certified mail to the licensee at the address stated in the application of the licensee.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[Added 9-23-1985]
A. 
The types and number of coin-operated vending machines sought to be placed in any particular location shall be considered from the viewpoint of need to the public for such machines located in the place or places set forth in the application(s).
B. 
The operation of such machines shall be considered the operation of a business use and hence shall not, without the benefit of necessary variance, be allowed in residential zones in the Borough of South Plainfield.
C. 
Notwithstanding the obtaining of variances where necessary, no coin-operated vending machines shall be located in the public right-of-way where such location or placement shall be in conflict with the provisions of § 288-4 of the Code of the Borough of South Plainfield.
D. 
The dimensions of coin-operated vending machines shall be in accordance with any requirements of the Building Department and Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough of South Plainfield.
[Added 9-23-1985; amended 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 1044]
Any person, association or corporation maintaining coin-operated vending machines in the Borough of South Plainfield without same being properly licensed in accordance with the provisions of this article, as amended and hereby supplemented, shall, upon conviction, be fined not in excess of $500 for each violation. Each day that said coin-operated vending machines are maintained without proper licensing shall be considered a separate violation.
[Added 9-23-1985]
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with this article are hereby repealed. However, the enactment of this article shall not be construed as granting any waivers of the licensing requirements for coin-operated vending machines, which may already be located within the Borough of South Plainfield, it being the intent of this article that all such machines be licensed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
[Adopted 6-9-1986 by Ord. No. 1051; amended in its entirety 10-14-1986 by Ord. No. 1066 (Ch. 190, Art. II, of the 1982 Code)]
Where the vending machines sought to be licensed under this article are for the distribution of newspapers, books and/or magazines, the following shall apply:
A. 
Application for permit. Where any person, firm or corporation places, maintains or operates a vending machine for the sale and/or distribution of newspapers, magazines or books within the public right-of-way within the confines of the Borough of South Plainfield, and such public right-of-way shall include any public streets or sidewalks, an application for a permit for such vending machine shall be applied for from the Borough Clerk within five business days from the date of the placement of said vending machines.
B. 
Conditions for permit issuance. Such an application may include a single or any number of proposed specific locations of the vending machines and shall be made, in writing, to the Borough Clerk upon a form as provided and shall contain the name and address of the applicant and the proposed specific location of the vending machines, and the application shall be signed by the applicant and accompanied with a fee of $5 per vending machine. The Borough Clerk shall, upon receipt of the application, request an examination by the Traffic Safety Officer of the South Plainfield Police Department and the Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough of South Plainfield, to each certify as to the placement locations of the applied for vending machines. Within 10 days after the application has been filed, the Clerk shall certify to the Mayor and Council those applications which are complete and are ready for the issuance of permits. In the event that a permit is not to be issued by the Mayor and Council, the Clerk shall soon notify the applicant, who may then appeal within 10 days from the date of receipt of notice of the denial of the permit for the specific vending machine at the specific location. At such an appeal hearing, the Mayor and Council will review the application and its location in conjunction with the various standards for the placement of said vending machines as contained in this article.
Such permits as are issued shall be valid for a period of one year, beginning June 1 and expiring May 31 of the following year, and shall be renewable on an annual basis thereafter upon the payment of $5 per machine per location. Permits shall be renewed with nothing further required of the applicant, provided that the machine location is not to be changed.
Any newspaper vending machine which, in whole or in part, rests upon or over any public sidewalk shall comply with the following standards:
A. 
No vending machine shall exceed 60 inches in height, 24 inches in width or 20 inches in thickness.
B. 
No vending machine shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than that dealing with the display, sale or purchase of the newspaper, magazine or book sold and/or distributed therein.
C. 
Each vending machine shall be equipped with a coin-return mechanism in good working order.
D. 
Each vending machine shall have affixed to it in a readily visible place, so as to be seen by anyone using the vending machine, a notice setting forth the name and address of the distributor and the telephone number of a working telephone service to call to report a malfunction or to secure a refund in the event of a malfunction of the coin-return mechanism, or to give the notice as provided for in this article.
E. 
Each vending machine shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times. Specifically, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each vending machine shall be serviced and maintained so that:
(1) 
It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof;
(2) 
It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible and painted metal areas thereon;
(3) 
Its clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any, through which the publications therein are viewed are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes and discolorations;
(4) 
The paper or cardboard parts or inserts thereof, if any, are reasonably free of tears, peeling or fading;
(5) 
The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly misshapen.
Any vending machine for the sale and/or distribution of newspapers, books and/or magazines, which rests in whole or in part upon or on any portion of the public right-of-way, or which projects onto, into or over any part of a public right-of-way, shall be located in accordance with the provisions of this section:
A. 
No vending machine shall be used or maintained which projects onto, into or over any part of the roadway of any public street, or which rests wholly or in part along or over any portion of the roadway of any public street.
B. 
No vending machine shall be used or maintained which when located in a public right-of-way provides access to the printed materials from the roadside of the public right-of-way thus enable persons in automobiles to obtain the printed materials while remaining in their vehicles.
C. 
No vending machine shall be permitted to rest upon, in or over any public sidewalk when such installation, use or maintenance:
(1) 
Endangers the safety of persons or property;
(2) 
Unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrians or vehicular traffic, including any legally parked or stopped vehicle;
(3) 
Unreasonably interferes with the ingress or egress of any residence or place of business; or
(4) 
Unreasonably interferes with the use of traffic signs or signals or fire hydrants permitted at or near said location.
D. 
Vending machines shall be weighted so as to prevent their being blown down or around the public right-of-way; said machines shall not be chained to public signs or utility poles for such purpose.
E. 
Vending machines may be placed next to each other, provided that no group of vending machines shall extend for a distance of more than six feet along a curb. By "group" is meant up to three machines and separated from any other group by a distance of at least three feet.
F. 
No vending machine shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
(1) 
Within three feet of any marked crosswalk;
(2) 
Within 12 feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk;
(3) 
Within five feet of any fire hydrant, fire callbox, police callbox or other emergency facility;
(4) 
Within five feet of any driveway;
(5) 
Within three feet of or on any public area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs, trees or other landscaping, except those areas between curblines and sidewalk locations, whether existing or not;
(6) 
Within 100 feet of any other vending machine on the same side of the street in the same block containing the same issue or edition of the same publication;
(7) 
Within five feet of any no-stopping no-standing zone.
Any person, association or corporation maintaining a coin-operated vending machine for the sale and/or distribution of newspapers, magazines or books in the Borough of South Plainfield without obtaining proper permits in accordance with the provisions of this article, as amended and supplemented, shall, upon conviction, be fined up to $100 per violation. Further, at the option of the Borough of South Plainfield, vending machines for which no permit is obtained may be confiscated by the Borough after notice of the violation of the provisions of this article are given to the machine owner five days prior thereto.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with this article as they are applied to vending machines for the sale and/or distribution of newspapers, magazines or books shall be superseded by the provisions of this article. The enactment of these sections of this article shall, however, not be construed as granting any waivers of the licensing and permit requirements for coin-operated vending machines for the sale and/or distribution of newspapers, magazines or books which may already be located within the Borough of South Plainfield, it being the intent of this article that all such machines obtain permits and be licensed in accordance with the provisions of these sections of this article.