[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Clark 6-15-2009 by Ord. No. 09-20. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is hereby created so as to cause business entities
seeking to locate clothing bins within the Township of Clark to be
required to be licensed.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
are hereby adopted:
Any person or entity who has applied for a license in accord
with the terms and provisions hereof.
An enclosed container, suitably constructed of metal or such
other material as may be employed, which is not susceptible to deterioration,
forced entry, rusting or exposure to the elements, within which residents
of the Township of Clark may choose to place new or used clothing
or materials of such type for collection by the licensee.
Any person or entity who has applied for, been issued, and
holds a valid license in accord with the terms and provisions of this
chapter.
A person or business entity formed, pursuant to the laws
of the State of New Jersey, as a nonprofit corporation, whose status
as such has been approved by the Department of Treasury Internal Revenue
Service, which conducts a business, the proceeds of which are devoted
exclusively to the purposes of a philanthropic, charitable or religious
society on whose behalf he or she acts as an agent, without or without
pay, which locates or seeks to locate, anywhere within the Township
of Clark, clothing bins, the purpose of which are to receive and collect
first- or secondhand clothing of all types, the proceeds of which
are used solely for nonprofit purposes of the licensee.
[Amended 1-17-2012 by Ord. No. 12-01]
[Amended 2-16-2010 by Ord. No. 10-02]
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
no person or entity shall place, use or employ a donation clothing
bin within the Township of Clark for solicitation purposes without
first obtaining a permit from the Chief of Police (which permit is
approved by the Township Council). Permits shall be renewable on an
annual basis in accord with the terms hereinafter set forth.
[Amended 2-16-2010 by Ord. No. 10-02]
There shall be an annual permit fee in the amount of $25 per
annum to be paid to the Township of Clark in order to offset the cost
involved in enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
Only nonprofit corporations, as defined hereinbefore, shall
be eligible for the issuance of a license pursuant to the provisions
hereof. At the time of application, the applicant shall submit to
the Township Clerk evidence of its nonprofit status in the form of
a copy of its certificate of incorporation and nonprofit status, together
with its approval by the Internal Revenue Service of its nonprofit
status.
For-profit entities and companies that pay royalties to charities
in order to utilize the charity's name and status on their bins
do not qualify as licensees under this chapter. The purpose of this
chapter is to license only legitimate not-for-profit entities engaged
in this endeavor on a not-for-profit basis.
[Added 7-16-2012 by Ord. No. 12-06[1]]
B.
No more than two clothing bins, six feet by six feet by five feet
in size, regardless of ownership, may be placed on any one lot in
the Township of Clark and must be placed in such a manner that they
abut one another. Said bins shall be located in such a manner as to
be visible from the street;
C.
All clothing bins must be located in such a manner that they do not
reduce the number of parking spaces required for the property below
the minimum number of parking spaces required either by application
of the parking requirements under the zoning ordinance, by a previously
granted variance, by developer's agreement, or otherwise;
D.
Placement of clothing bins shall be such that they meet the minimum
setback requirements for all accessory structures within the zone
in which they are being placed, and otherwise meet all other zoning
requirements for accessory structures within the zone in which they
are being placed. All such clothing bins shall be painted in earth
tone colors of gray, black green and brown so as to be nonobtrusive
to the neighborhood;
E.
There may be no more than three lots within any one zone upon which
clothing bins may be placed, and clothing bins may not be placed upon
any lot within 1,000 feet of a lot upon which one or more clothing
bins exist;
F.
The Chief of Police or his designee shall refer each application
to the Zoning Office, which shall be responsible to confirm compliance
with this chapter by each owner of a clothing bin. The owner of any
clothing bin shall provide the Chief of Police with an emergency phone
number at which the owner can be reached 24 hours a day/seven days
a week;
G.
The licensee shall arrange for the pickup and emptying of the contents
of all bins permitted herein at least once per week; and
H.
All penalties and remedies set forth in this chapter shall be applicable
to any violation of the regulations set forth herein.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the renumbering
of former §§ 177-7 through 177-10 as §§ 177-8
through 177-11, respectively.
The application for obtaining a permit shall include:
A.
The name and telephone number of the nonprofit entity seeking the
license and any person who is an officer or agent, at which such person
can be reached during normal business hours. For the purposes of this
section, an answering machine or service unrelated to the person does
not constitute a bona fide office.
B.
The location where the bin would be situated, as precisely as possible.
A license hereunder may be issued for a location only in such zones
in which such use is a permitted use by state statute.
[Amended 1-17-2012 by Ord. No. 12-01]
C.
Written consent from the property owner to place the bin on his property.
D.
The manner in which the licensee anticipates any clothing or other
donations collected would be used, sold, or dispersed, and the method
by which the proceeds of collected donations are to be utilized by
the licensee.
The following information shall be clearly and conspicuously
displayed on the exterior of the donation clothing bin:
A.
The permit number and its date of expiration;
B.
The name and address of the registered entity which owns the bin,
and of any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing
or other donations collected via the bin;
C.
The telephone number of the licensee's principal office in the
State of New Jersey and, if applicable, the telephone number of the
principal office of any other entity which may share or profit from
any clothing or other donations collected via the bin. For the purposes
of this section, an answering machine or service unrelated to the
person shall not constitute a principal office;
D.
In cases when any entity other than the licensee which 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 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, consistent with the information provided to the Township
in the most recent permit or renewal application, indicating the manner
in which the owner 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 are to be utilized by the licensee.
[Amended 1-17-2012 by Ord. No. 12-01]
The Police Department and/or Construction Code Official shall
receive and investigate and enforce any complaints regarding the licensee,
location of any bin, or any other complaint with respect to the violation
of this chapter. Whenever it appears that a licensee has engaged in,
or is engaging in, any act or practice in violation of this chapter,
the licensee who placed the bin shall be issued a warning, stating
that the violation must be rectified or a hearing requested within
45 days; otherwise, the Township Council shall adopt a resolution
terminating the license, in which case the bin will be seized or removed
at the expense of the licensee who placed the bin, and any clothing
or other donations collected will be disposed of as refuse. In addition
to any other means used to notify the person who placed the bin, such
warning shall be affixed to the exterior of the bin itself.
A.
In addition
to any other penalties or remedies authorized by the laws of this
state, any person who violates any provision of this chapter or the
provisions of P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.60 et seq.), shall
be:
B.
A person disqualified from placing, using, or employing a donation
clothing bin by violating the provisions of P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A.
40:48-2.60 et seq.), may apply to the Township Council of the Township
of Clark to have that person's eligibility restored. The Township
Council may restore the eligibility of an entity who:
