[Adopted 1-5-2004 by Ord. No. 2003-018]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to conduct, engage in or carry on any business, trade, occupation or activity within the Borough of Spotswood, New Jersey, without having first complied with the provisions of this article and obtained a license therefor as is herein provided, except for those occupations defined as home occupations within § 120-602A of the Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Spotswood.
Applications for all licenses and permits required by this article
shall be made in writing to the Borough Clerk. Each application shall
contain the following information in the suggested format:
A.
Name under which business is to be conducted.
B.
Name of applicant. (If a corporation, give names and addresses of
president and secretary; if a partnership, give names and addresses
of all partners; if a limited liability company, give name and address
of managing member.
C.
Applicant's residence or office address.
D.
Address within the Borough of business to be conducted and addresses
of said business for the past five years.
E.
Nature of business.
F.
Residence of applicant during past five years (if individual).
G.
Whether the applicant has ever had a license to conduct the business
herein described, denied or revoked, except as noted.
H.
Business telephone number of applicant.
I.
Name and address of attorney, if applicable.
J.
Name and address of registered agent, if applicant is a corporation.
K.
A certification that the applicant makes the statements above to
induce the Borough of Spotswood to issue the license herein applied
for and agrees to comply with all laws and ordinances of the Borough
applicable to the subject matter thereof.
Whenever in this Code a license is required for the maintenance,
operation or conduct of any business or establishment or for doing
business or engaging in any activity or occupation, any person, corporation
or company shall be subject to the requirements hereof, if, by himself
or through an agent, employee or partner, he holds himself forth as
being engaged in the business or attempts to perform any part of such
business or occupation in the Borough of Spotswood, New Jersey.
Forms for all licensee and permits, and applications therefor,
shall be prepared and kept on file by the Borough Clerk.
Each license or permit issued shall bear the signature of the
Borough Clerk in the absence of any provision to the contrary.
A.
Upon receipt of an application for a license or permit, the Borough
Clerk shall refer such application to the following departments for
the purpose of making an investigation or inspection, and said departments
shall make a report thereon, favorably or otherwise, within seven
business days after receiving the application or a copy thereat If
said report shall recommend a denial, the reasons for said denial
tract be set forth.
(1)
Health Department (with respect to such licenses in connection with
the care and handling of food, preventing of nuisances and spread
of disease).
(2)
Zoning Officer (to determine solely whether the proposed business
conforms to the zone in which the property is located).
(3)
Code Enforcement Officer and Fine Subcode Official (to determine
whether or not the budding, structure or place in which or where the
business is intended to operate complies with the fire safety and
other codes of the Borough).
B.
In the event that the departments' investigation or inspection
produces an unfavorable decision, that department shall set forth
in writing specifically all reasons why an unfavorable decision has
been reached.
Within seven business days of receipt of the results of investigations
or inspections as set forth, the Borough Clerk shall issue a written
approval or denial of the license. An approval shall be issued if
all investigations or inspections are favorable. In the event that
any investigation or inspection is not favorable, the Borough Clerk
shall issue a denial of such application and forward a copy of the
report or reports denying the license. The written denial and accompanying
reports shall be forwarded via certified mail, return receipt requested,
to the applicant within the five-business-day time period.
A.
In the event that a license is denied by the Borough Clerk, the applicant
shall have 10 days from receipt of the denial to file an appeal of
said decision directly with the Borough Council. The applicant must
file the appeal by forwarding a written notice to the Borough Clerk
advising that the applicant wishes to appeal the denial of the license
and setting forth the specific reasons for the appeal and attaching
copies of any and all reports produced by the investigations and inspections
upon which the denial was issued.
B.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Spotswood shall have 45 days
from receipt of the appeal to review the same and determine whether
said applicant has complied with the general laws and statutes of
this state and the ordinances of the Borough of Spotswood, and said
Borough Council shall be guided in making the determination by the
following standards:
(1)
Zoning Ordinance and Master Plan of the Borough of Spotswood.
(2)
The Fire Prevention Code and other applicable codes of the Borough.
(3)
The reports of all municipal officers required under this article
and the general laws and public health and statutes and codes of the
State of New Jersey applicable to the Borough.
(4)
The license history of the applicant regarding past violations, rejections
or suspensions and the timeliness of past applications for licenses
as well as applicant's continued compliance with license requirements.
A.
In the absence of provisions to the contrary, all fees and charges
for licenses or permits shall be paid in advance at the time application
therefor is made to the Borough Clerk. Except as otherwise provided,
all license fees shall become a part of the general Borough treasury.
B.
Where the licensee is engaged in more than one activity, as enumerated
in this article, at the same location, which may be subject to more
than one fee, said licensee shall be required to pay that fee which
would be charged for the activity assessed the highest fee.
All licenses shall terminate when the licensee ceases operating
within the Borough of Spotswood.
No license shall be issued for the conduct of any business,
and no permit shall be issued for any thing or activity, if the premises
and building to be used for the purpose do not fully comply with the
laws of the Borough, county, state or federal government.
The location of any licensed business or occupation or of any
permitted activity may be changed, provided that 10 days' notice
thereof is given to the Borough Clerk, approval is granted by the
governing body and applicant complies with the requirements of all
Borough ordinances, including but not limited to the Zoning Ordinance,
and makes payment of a license transfer fee in accordance with this
article.
Whenever inspection of the premises used for or in connection
with the operation of a licensed business or occupation is provided
for or required by ordinance, or is reasonably necessary to secure
compliance with any ordinance provision or to detect violations thereof,
the licensee or the person in charge of the premises to be inspected
shall admit thereto, for the purposes of making the inspection, any
officer or employee of the Borough who is authorized or directed to
make such inspection, at any reasonable time that admission is requested.
A.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough shall have the right to revoke
any license granted under this chapter for the following reasons:
(1)
A finding that there was any misstatement of material fact in the
application upon which the license was issued.
(2)
The occurrence of any fact which, had it occurred and been known
to the licensing authority before issuance of the license, would have
resulted in the denial of the application.
(3)
Repeated violations or prolonged failure to correct any violation
of any applicable building, housing, health, fire or safety code or
regulations.
(4)
Refusal to allow access to any portion of the licensed premises at
reasonable times with or without advance notice in order that officers
or agents of the licensing authority or any official charged with
enforcement within the municipality of any building, housing, health,
fire or safety code or regulations applicable to the premises may
determine compliance with such codes or regulations.
(5)
Failure or refusal to comply with any lawful regulation or order
of the Borough Council.
B.
A license shall not be revoked until 10 days' prior notice of
the grounds therefor has been served upon the licensee, either personally
or by certified mail addressed to the licensee at the licensed premises,
and a hearing or opportunity to be heard given to the licensee before
the Borough Council.
Licenses issued under this article shall be posted at the place
of business shown on said license in a conspicuous place. Said license
shall remain posted for the duration of the licensing year when issued
and so long as the licensed business is in operation.
A.
A license when issued shall be valid until a change of ownership
or change of use. No license fee shall be required for any business,
trade or activity doing business on the effective date of this article
or commencing such business, trade or activity prior to July 1, 2004,
so long as such business, trade or activity shall procure the license
required hereunder by July 1, 2004. The license fees to be paid after
July 1, 2004, as hereinbefore provided, to the Borough of Spotswood
for conducting or engaging in a business, trade or activity at the
place designated in the license certificate shall be as follows:
The fees herein imposed for business and mercantile licenses
are not revenue-producing in nature, but said fees are used primarily
in an attempt to cover the cost of inspections of such businesses
to ensure compliance with the laws of the state and the ordinances
of this municipality. It is the legislative intent of this article
to ensure that all businesses of whatsoever kind and wheresoever located
in this Borough shall be inspected periodically to ensure compliance
with the laws as aforesaid. In certain instances, there are those
businesses which warrant additional police surveillance and inspection
and there are also those businesses which attract unusual amounts
of vehicular traffic, necessitating additional regulation and enforcement.
The fees herein set forth provide a reasonable relationship to the
costs of the regulation of these businesses and the administration
of this article.
The Zoning Officer, the Construction Official, Code Enforcement
Officer or any other Borough officer designated by the Mayor and Council
may be and is hereby authorized and directed to enforce this ordinance.
[Amended 2-6-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-02]
Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity violating
any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to one or more
of the following: a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment for
a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not
exceeding 90 days in the discretion of the judge before whom such
conviction shall be had. Each and every violation under this chapter
or each day that any provision of this chapter shall have been violated
shall be construed as a separate and distinction offense hereunder.
