[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Rockaway 12-11-2008 by Ord. No. 30-08. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The following terms, whenever used or referred
to in this chapter, shall have the following respective meanings for
the purposes hereof, unless a different meaning clearly appears from
the context:
- SOLICITATION or SOLICIT
- The request, directly or indirectly, for money, credit, property, financial assistance or other thing of any kind of 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 to the contrary,
no person shall place, use or employ a donation clothing bin for solicitation
purposes unless all of the following requirements are met:
A.
The donation clothing bin is owned by a charitable
organization registered with the Attorney General of the State of
New Jersey, pursuant to P.L. 1994, c.16,[1] or any person who is exempt from registration under N.J.S.A.
45:17A-26; and
[Amended 4-28-2011 by Ord. No. 02-11]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 45:17A-18 et seq.
B.
The registered charitable organization or the person
has obtained a zoning permit, valid for a period of one year, from
the Zoning Department in accordance with the following:
(1)
In applying for such a zoning permit, the registered
charitable organization or person shall include:
(a)
The location where the bin would be situated,
as precisely as possible;
(b)
The manner in which the charitable organization
or 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 of the applicant and of any entity which may share or profit
from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin;
(d)
The schedule of pickups removing the articles
from the bins, which can be no less often than once per week, and
the name and telephone number of the person to be notified if the
bin is overflowing prior to the scheduled date of pickup; and
(e)
Written consent from the property owner, or
the owner's authorized representative, to place the bin on his/her
property.
(2)
The Zoning Department shall not grant an application
for a zoning permit to place, use or employ a donation clothing bin
if it determines that the placement of the bin is either in the front
yard setback or could constitute a safety hazard. Such hazards shall
include, but are not limited to, the placement of a donation clothing
bin in parking spaces, in any area that interferes with pedestrian
or vehicular traffic, or any place which stores large amounts of,
or sells, fuel or other flammable liquids or gases.
(4)
An expiring zoning permit for a donation clothing bin may be renewed by a charitable organization or person upon payment of the renewal fee as provided in Chapter A263, Fees, and by application that shall include the following information:
(a)
The location where the bin is situated, as precisely
as possible and, if the applicant intends to move it, the new location
where the bin would be situated after the renewal is granted;
(b)
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 it may
make in these processes during the period covered by the renewal;
(c)
The name and telephone number of the bona fide
office of the applicant and any entity which shared or profited from
any clothing or other donations collected via the bin and of any entities
which may do so during the period covered by the renewal;
(d)
The schedule of pickups removing the articles
from the bins, which can be no less often than once per week, and
the name and telephone number of the person to be notified if the
bin is overflowing prior to the date of pickup; and
(e)
Written consent from the property owner, or
the owner's authorized representative, to place the bin on his/her
property.
(5)
The following information shall be clearly and conspicuously
written in either paint or permanent marker on the exterior of the
donation clothing bin:
(a)
The name and address of the registered charitable
organization or 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;
(b)
The telephone number of the organization's bona
fide office and, if applicable, the telephone number of the bona fide
office of any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing
or other donations collected via the bin. The telephone number of
an answering machine or service unrelated to the charitable organization
does not satisfy this requirement; and
(c)
The charitable organization's registration number,
permit number and its date of expiration.
(d)
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 with, or given entirely
to, an entity other than the person who owns the bin and identifying
all such entities which may share or profit from such donations; and
(e)
A statement indicating the manner in which the
charitable organization or 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.
The Zoning Department shall receive and investigate,
within 30 days, any complaints from the public about the bin.
A.
Whenever it appears to the Borough that an organization
or a person has engaged in or is engaging in any act or practice in
violation of this section, the organization or person who placed the
bin shall be issued a warning stating that if the violation is not
rectified or a hearing before the Land Use Board requested within
45 days, then 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, a warning shall be affixed to the exterior of
the bin itself.
[Amended 12-13-2012 by Ord. No. 26-12]
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 Borough may seize the bin, remove it or
have it removed, at the expense 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 Borough.
In addition to any other penalties or remedies
under this chapter, any person violating any of the provisions of
this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not
less than $100 nor more than $2,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding
90 days or by 90 days' community service, all in the discretion of
the Court.
