[HISTORY: Derived from Sec. 14-4 of the 1969 Revised General
Ordinances of the Borough of Spotswood (adopted by the Borough Council 5-11-1970 by Ord. No.
278, as amended through 9/94). Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter is designed to provide the Borough with a means
of ensuring that building contractors engaged in performing various
types of construction work are qualified to perform such work and
render their service in a professional manner and to include a means
by which building contractors found to be unscrupulous and unprofessional
can be denied the privilege of performing their service, for the preservation
of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this Borough.
A.
Each individual, firm, partnership or corporation involved in the
building contracting trade for the purpose of performing building
construction of new structures, additions, renovations, alterations,
replacement or repair of structures for which a construction permit
is required within the Borough shall be registered with the Borough
as herein prescribed prior to undertaking any such work, except that
in the case of an individual property owner performing such construction
him/herself, on a structure owned by the individual, and where a construction
permit is required, the individual property owner shall not be required
to be a registered contractor. If the individual property owner, however,
uses the services of a contractor or subcontractor, such contractor
or subcontractor shall be registered under the provisions of this
chapter.
B.
The building contractor's registration shall be valid for a
period of one year from the date of issuance, unless revoked due to
action as hereafter provided. The registration shall cover all employees,
and the contractor shall be responsible for the quality of the services
performed by such employees.
Individuals, firms, partnerships or corporations required to
be registered with the State of New Jersey, pursuant to the New Home
Warranty and Builders' Registration Act (N.J.S.A. 46:3B-1 et
seq.) shall not be required to be registered under the provisions
of this chapter to engage in the construction of new homes.
Application for registration shall be accomplished by completing the application form supplied and filing it with the Construction Official, together with a fee as set forth in § 91-6 of Chapter 91, Fees. The applicant shall supply the following:
A.
The name and address of the applicant; if a partnership, the names
and addresses of all partners; and if a corporation, the names and
addresses of all officers, directors and persons holding 5% or more
of the issued and outstanding stock in any class.
B.
The type or types of work customarily performed by the applicant.
C.
A statement as to whether the applicant, or any person named in Subsection A above, has ever been determined to have violated any building code, and if so, the date and place of the determination, the nature of the violation and the sanction imposed therefor.
D.
Appropriate information as to the applicant's skill, expertise
in business and financial responsibility, including the names and
addresses of two persons who shall corroborate the accuracy of such
information.
Any developer, property owner, contractor or any other person
seeking an off-site improvement within the Borough, where the total
cost of such improvement is in excess of $2,500, including, but not
limited to, roadways and streets, shall be required to post a maintenance
guarantee bond in an amount not to exceed 15% of the total cost of
the improvement, which shall remain posted for a period not to exceed
two years. If cash is posted in lieu of a bond, such cash shall be
deposited in an interest-bearing account.
The Construction Official may deny or revoke a registration in any case where the applicant has made any materially false statement on the application for registration or if it appears that any person listed in § 75-4 has been guilty of repeated or continued violation of any municipal code. Prior to denying or revoking a registration, the Construction Official shall serve upon the applicant or registrant, as the case may be, a written notice of the proposed denial or revocation. An applicant whose registration is proposed to be denied, or a registrant whose registration is proposed to be revoked, shall have an opportunity to be heard by the Construction Official within 10 days from the date of receipt of the notice of the proposed revocation.
Upon a determination by the Construction Official adverse to
the applicant or registrant, the applicant or the registrant, as the
case may be, shall have an opportunity to appeal any denial or revocation
to the Borough Council. Such appeal shall be taken within 10 days
from the date of the denial or revocation and shall be heard by the
Borough Council within 30 days from the date that the appeal is filed
with the Borough Council. The Borough Council shall decide the appeal
within seven days from the date of the hearing on appeal. Additional
time in which to prepare for any hearing may be requested by any party.
All reasonable requests for additional time shall be granted. The
denial or revocation of a registration may be in addition to any other
penalty which may be imposed by law for the violation of any building
code, including this Code.
