[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Upper Deerfield 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 181 (Ch. 53 of the 1977 Township Code); amended in its entirety 8-1-2019 by Ord. No. 808. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
Fire lanes as defined in, and required by, the Uniform Construction Code, as amended from time to time, and the New Jersey Fire Prevention Code, as amended from time to time (collectively the "Codes"), shall be designated on all site plans and shall conform to the requirements of the Codes. The Upper Deerfield Township Fire Marshal shall review all applications for site plan and shall report the Code requirements for fire lanes to the Upper Deerfield Planning Board.
The Fire Marshal may, as part of the site plan review process, designate fire zones, and upon designation by the Planning Board the fire zones shall be incorporated in the approved site plan. As used herein, "fire zones" shall mean designated areas at entrances, exits, loading doors, or other accesses to premises, and Fire Department connections which shall remain unobstructed at all times so as to provide access to buildings by fire apparatus, personnel and other emergency vehicles.
[Amended 11-21-2019 by Ord. No. 814]
The location, dimensions, markings and number of signs that shall be required in or upon a fire lane or zone shall be in accordance with the Codes, any other applicable rule or regulation established in the State of New Jersey and in accordance with generally accepted engineering practices. In the event that neither the Codes nor any other applicable rule or regulation provides for the dimension and design of fire lanes and/or fire zones, the following shall apply:
A. 
Fire zones shall be no less than six feet nor more than 50 feet in width and shall be striped and lettered in yellow on a paved surface. Such striping and lettering shall be legible at all times. Said striping and lettering shall comply with the standards set forth in Schedule 2 of this chapter[1] and with all applicable standards which shall hereinafter be promulgated by the State of New Jersey.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said schedule is on file in the Township offices.
B. 
Fire lanes shall conform with the following:
(1) 
Fire lanes shall be a minimum width of six feet.
(2) 
Fire lanes shall be constructed of either asphalt paving, concrete, concrete paving blocks, or eight-inch minimum of dense graded aggregate. Where soil conditions warrant geotextile fabric shall be installed. Fire lanes shall be designed to support a weight of approximately 25 tons. The design of the fire lanes shall be subject to the approval of the Planning Board with the advice of the Township Engineer, and Fire Marshal. All fire lanes shall be designed with a turning radii that will allow the largest fire vehicle to remain within the designated fire lane or travel lane while negotiating a turn. Fire lanes located in landscaped areas shall be designed by locating "fire lane" signs on both sides of lane at an interval determined by the Township Engineer. Where required to access a roadway, fire lanes shall provide a depressed curb.
(3) 
Fire lanes and fire zones shall have signs, the lettering on which shall be legible at all times, which shall advise that the area is a "fire zone" or "fire lane," with all applicable standards established by the State of New Jersey and/or the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
(4) 
The Planning Board may grant a waiver of the foregoing requirements, in accordance with the standards applicable to design waivers in the site plan review process.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner or owners of the land or premises on which a fire lane and/or fire zone has been designated to stripe, letter and maintain the appropriate signs as required and to maintain said striping, lettering and signage in a clean and legible manner at all times and replace when necessary to insure adequate visibility and not obstruct in any fashion the fire lane or fire zone.
A. 
Upon a finding by the Fire Marshal that a landowner has failed to comply with this chapter, the Fire Marshal shall first proceed by issuing to the landowner a notice of violation and order to terminate whereby the Fire Marshal advises the landowner of the violation and sets a date by which the landowner must correct the violation. If the landowner does not correct the violation within the times set forth in the notice and order to terminate, the Fire Marshal may issue a notice and order for penalty assessing a penalty to the landowner for his failure to comply of not more than $1,000 per week for each and every week that the condition remains uncorrected.
B. 
Any penalty assessed by the Fire Marshal as set forth herein may be collected by Upper Deerfield Township pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Construction Code, the Uniform Fire Code, the Penalty Enforcement Law (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10) or as otherwise is authorized under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
C. 
Any landowner aggrieved by the decision of the Fire Marshal pursuant to the provisions of this § 218-5 may appeal to the Cumberland County Construction Board of Appeals.
A. 
Fire lanes and fire zones shall at all times remain unobstructed. No vehicles may park, stop or stand at any time in a fire lane or fire zone and no person shall deposit any matter in a fire lane or fire zone.
B. 
The Fire Marshal or his designee and any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction in Upper Deerfield Township may issue a summons through the Upper Deerfield Municipal Court (or any regional court of which Upper Deerfield Township is a party). The fine for a violation of this § 218-6 is $50 per violation.
The Fire Marshal or Director of Emergency Management Services is authorized to remove any obstruction of a fire lane, fire zone and/or fire hydrant during the course of an emergency. The owner of any vehicle shall be responsible for the costs of removing the vehicle including but not limited to towing and storage charges. In the case of a nonvehicular obstruction, the landowner on which the fire lane or fire zone is located and the owner of the nonvehicular obstruction shall be liable for the costs of removal.