[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Somerdale as Ch. 70 of the 1973 Code; amended in its entirety 11-8-2000 by Ord. No.
2000:13. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
No person or business entity shall engage in or carry on any
business, trade, profession or occupation in the Borough of Somerdale
nor aid or assist an employee, Clerk or other person in carrying on
such business, trade, profession or occupation or in using any stand,
store or other business or office premises nor sell or offer for sale
any goods or things nor open or maintain an office or other business
premises for the conducting of any business, trade, profession or
occupation within the Borough of Somerdale unless a license as herein
provided for shall have been first obtained therefor by said person
or business entity engaging in said business, trade, profession or
occupation. Mobile businesses, such as lunch wagons or the like, operating
within the Borough of Somerdale for any period of time on a regular
basis, rather than on a sporadic basis, shall be subject to the provisions
of this chapter and be otherwise deemed a business, trade, profession
or occupation engaged within the Borough of Somerdale. For the purposes
of this chapter, "engaging in said business, trade, profession or
occupation" is intended to mean the act of having or maintaining an
office or other business premises within the Borough of Somerdale
and is not intended to include the provision of services by trades
or professionals on a transitory or nonpermanent basis.
Application for a license shall be obtained from the Borough
Clerk of the Borough of Somerdale, New Jersey. Such application shall
specifically name the person, firm or entity to which the license
is to be granted and the location at which such business, trade, profession
or occupation is to be carried on including all contact information
necessary in case of emergency. Such application shall further provide
all detailed information respecting such person, firm or entity and
said business, trade, profession or occupation as is requested by
the approved application form.
All new businesses, trades, professions or occupations shall
submit the completed application to the Borough Clerk of the Borough
of Somerdale, who shall forward this application to the Planning Board
of the Borough of Somerdale, at which time investigation shall be
made, as deemed necessary by the Planning Board of the Borough of
Somerdale. The Planning Board of the Borough of Somerdale may conduct
a hearing with respect to said application and shall forward any recommendations
with respect to said application to the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Somerdale. In addition, the Borough Clerk shall forward a copy
of the completed application to the Chief of Police of the Borough
of Somerdale, who shall conduct or cause to be conducted an investigation
thereon. The Chief of Police shall make a written report of his investigation
findings to the Mayor and Council, who may conduct a hearing with
respect to any such findings prior to approval. No license shall be
issued except pursuant to the authorization and approval of the Mayor
and Council of the Borough of Somerdale. The Mayor and Council shall
not approve such application if, on the basis of past criminal record
of the applicant or of the principals of a corporate applicant, or
on the basis of other evidence of bad character or morals, or prior
dishonest or fraudulent business practices, the Mayor and Council
shall determine that the granting of approval or renewal of such license
would tend to encourage or permit criminal or immoral activities within
the Borough of Somerdale.
A.
The license fees to be paid annually, as above provided, to the Borough
of Somerdale for conducting any businesses, trades, professions or
occupations at the place designated in the license certificates issued
therefor shall be as set forth in the Annual Fee Ordinance.[1]
B.
All renewal license fees shall be due and payable to the Borough
Clerk of the Borough of Somerdale at her office in the Borough of
Somerdale, New Jersey, on the first day of January of each year, and
all such licenses shall expire on the last day of December following
such payment.
C.
Any license not renewed with the applicable fee duly paid, by the
31st day of January shall incur a late fee, which late fee shall be
as set forth in the Annual Fee Ordinance.
No person or persons shall be allowed to transact any business,
trade, profession or occupation under any license granted under this
chapter, except the business, trade, profession or occupation for
which said license was specifically granted.
A.
No license shall be issued to any person or entity who has not complied
with the laws, rules and regulations of the State of New Jersey or
the ordinances of the Borough of Somerdale, including any regulations
respecting the safety of the persons whom may have occasion to use
the premises or place to be licensed, and all applicable zoning and
lance use regulations, nor shall a license be issued unless the premises
or place to be licensed is current in any taxes or assessments for
local improvements by the submission of proof that no taxes or assessments
for local improvements are due or delinquent on the property for which
the license application is made.
B.
In the event that any licensed person or entity fails to comply with
such laws and ordinances after due notice and opportunity to be heard,
the Mayor and Council may revoke such license.
C.
No license provided for by this chapter shall be transferred from
one person or entity to another person or entity, and no license shall
cover any other place of business, trade, profession or occupation
than that for which it was issued.
The Clerk of the Borough of Somerdale shall turn over all said
license fees collected by her to the Borough Treasurer.
No license shall be issued for the conduct of any business,
trade, profession or occupation if the premises and building to be
used for said purpose do not fully comply with all the requirements
of the State of New Jersey and of the Borough of Somerdale and/or
any other governmental authorities, including but not limited to the
zoning code requirements, the building code requirements and all other
related legal requirements that cover the premises of a business,
trade, profession or occupation within the Borough of Somerdale.
No business, trade, profession or occupation, licensed or not,
shall be so conducted or operated as to amount to a nuisance in fact.
Whenever inspections of the premises used for or in connection
with the operation of a licensed business, trade, profession or occupation
are provided for or required by ordinance or are reasonably necessary
to secure compliance with any ordinance provision or to detect violations
thereof, it shall be the duty of the licensee or the person in charge
of the premises to be inspected to 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.
Licenses issued under this chapter 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.
The fees herein imposed for licenses, while producing revenue
to the Borough, are not solely revenue-producing in nature, but said
fees are used primarily in an attempt to cover the costs of inspections
of such businesses, trades, professions or occupations to ensure compliance
with the laws of the State of New Jersey and the ordinances of this
Borough, and to maintain the appropriate official records for contact
in case of emergencies or for other health and safety concerns. It
is the legislative intent of this chapter to ensure the fact that
all businesses, trades, professions or occupations of whatsoever kind
and wheresoever located in this Borough shall be inspected periodically,
as may be deemed necessary, to ensure compliance with the laws as
aforesaid. In certain instances, there are those businesses, trades,
professions or occupations which warrant additional police surveillance
and inspection or which attract unusual amounts of vehicular traffic,
necessitating additional enforcement and/or inspections; these fees
provide a reasonable relationship to the costs of the administration
of this contact information and of inspections for all such businesses,
trades, professions or occupations maintaining premises within the
Borough of Somerdale.
The proper enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall
be within the jurisdiction of the Police Department of this Borough
and additionally within the jurisdiction of those officers or Borough
employees who are charged with providing the necessary inspections
and regulations, including but not limited to the Borough Zoning Officer.
