[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Swedesboro 10-20-2003 (Ch. 91, Art. II, of the 1982 Code). Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Clerk of the Borough of Swedesboro, being marked and designated as the "International Property Maintenance Code, 2003 Edition," as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of the Borough of Swedesboro in the State of New Jersey for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures; by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit lot occupation and use; and the condemnation of building and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefore; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Property Maintenance Code on file in the office of the Borough of Swedesboro are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this chapter, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 241-2 of this chapter.
The following sections are hereby revised:
A.
Section 101.1 Title. Section 101.1 is hereby amended
by inserting the words "Borough of Swedesboro, New Jersey" for and
in exchange of the words "name of jurisdiction".
B.
Section 106.3 Prosecution of violation. Any person failing
to comply with a notice of violation or order served in accordance
with Section 107 shall be deemed guilty of a violation. If the notice
of violation is not complied with, the code official shall institute
the appropriate proceeding at law or in equity to restrain, correct
or abate such violation, or to require the removal or termination
of the unlawful occupancy of the structure in violation of the provisions
of this code or of the order or direction made pursuant thereto. Any
action taken by the authority having jurisdiction on such premises
shall be charged against the real estate upon which the structure
is located and shall be a lien upon such real estate.
C.
Section 106.4 Violation and Penalties. Any person who
shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter or any order promulgated
hereunder shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed
$500 or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed
90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, and each violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter and each day that such violation
shall continue shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.
D.
Section PM 111.0 Means of Appeal. Section PM-111.0 is
hereby deleted in its entirety.
E.
Section
PM 302.4 Weeds. All premises and exterior property shall be
maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of six inches.
All noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all
grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs
provided; however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers
and gardens.
[Added 2-6-2012 by Ord. No. 1-2012]
F.
Section PM 304.14 Insect screens. Section 304.12 is
hereby amended by inserting the words "April 1 to September 30" for
and in exchange of the words "date to date."
G.
Section PM 602.3 Heat supply. Section 602.2.1 is hereby
amended by inserting the words "October 1 to April 1" for and in exchange
of the words "date to date."
H.
Section PM 602.4 Nonresidential structures. Section
602.3 is hereby amended by inserting the words "October 1 to April
1" for and in exchange of the words "date to date."
Nothing in this chapter or in the Property Maintenance Code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding impending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed as cited in § 241-2 of this chapter; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this chapter.
[Added 8-20-2012 by Ord. No. 11-2012]
The exterior of the premises and all structures thereon shall
be kept free of all nuisances and any hazards to the safety of occupants,
pedestrians and other persons utilizing the premises and free of unsanitary
conditions, and any of the foregoing shall be promptly removed and
abated by the owner or operator. It shall be the duty of the owner
or operator to keep the premises free of hazards, which include, but
are not limited to, the following:
A.
Refuse: broken glass, filth, garbage, trash, litter and debris.
B.
Natural growth: brush, weeds, ragweeds, stumps, roots and obnoxious
growths and dead and dying trees and limbs or other natural growth
which, by reason of rotting or deteriorating conditions or storm damage,
constitute a hazard to persons in the vicinity thereof. Trees shall
be kept pruned and trimmed to prevent such conditions.
C.
Overhangings: loose and overhanging objects and accumulations of
ice and snow which, by reason of location above ground level, constitute
a danger of falling on persons in the vicinity thereof.
D.
Ground surface hazards or unsanitary conditions: holes, broken or
missing pavement, loose stone, excavations, breaks, projections, obstructions,
ice, uncleared snow and excretion of pets and other animals on paths,
walks, driveways, parking lots and parking areas and other parts of
the premises which are accessible to and used by persons on the premises.
All such holes and excavations shall be filled and repaired, walks
and steps shall be repaired, and other conditions shall be removed
where necessary to eliminate hazards or unsanitary conditions with
reasonable dispatch upon their discovery. It shall be the responsibility
of owners and operators to take reasonable steps to discover any such
hazards or unsanitary conditions which may exist on their premises.
E.
Recurring accumulations or stormwater. Adequate runoff drains shall
be provided and maintained to eliminate any recurrent or excessive
accumulation of stormwater.
F.
Sources of infestation.
[Added 8-20-2012 by Ord. No. 11-2012]
Premises shall be kept landscaped, and lawns, hedges and bushes
shall be kept trimmed and kept from becoming overgrown. Plantings
required by site plan approval shall be replaced when the same have
died.
[Added 11-19-2012 by Ord. No. 13-2012]
A.
The Borough
Clerk, Code Enforcement Officers or Public Works officials shall have
the power to require the owner or tenant of land lying within the
limits of the Borough, where it shall be necessary and expedient for
the preservation of the public health, safety, general welfare or
to eliminate a fire hazard, to remove from such land or destroy the
brush, weeds (including ragweed), dead and dying trees and debris
within 10 days after notice to remove the same, and to provide for
the removal of the same by or under the direction of the Code Enforcement
Officer, Public Works official or individual/company specifically
appointed by the Borough, if the owner or tenant shall have refused
or neglected to remove same after notice and within the provided aforesaid
time allotted.
B.
All procedural requirements, notices, hearing, findings and determinations shall be as enumerated in Subsections 107 through 107.5 in the International Property Maintenance Code of 2003 as followed in Chapter 241 of this Code.
C.
In all
cases where brush, weeds (including ragweed), dead and dying trees,
stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, filth, garbage, trash, and debris
are removed or destroyed from any land under the provisions of this
section, by and under the direction of the Public Code Officer or
the individual specifically designated to perform such functions,
shall certify the costs thereof to the Clerk/CFO/Tax Collector who
shall examine the certificate and, if found correct, shall cause the
costs as shown thereon to be charges against the lands, the amount
so charged shall forthwith become a lien upon such lands and shall
be added to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed
and levied upon such lands, the same to bear interest at the same
rate as taxes, and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers
and in the same manner as taxes are collected and enforced in the
Borough.
