Borough of Glen Rock, NJ Article II General Standards

[Adopted 4-22-1974 as part of Ord. No. 792 (Ch. XV of the 1971 Revised General Ordinances)]

§ 162-5 Title.

This article shall be known as the "Property Maintenance Code of the Borough of Glen Rock" and may be referred to in this article as the "Property Maintenance Code" or as "this code."

§ 162-6 Purpose.

The purpose of this article is to:

A. Provide for the public health, safety and welfare.

B. Avoid, prevent and eliminate the maintenance or creation of hazards to the public health or safety.

C. Avoid, prevent and eliminate conditions which, if permitted to exist or continue, will depreciate or tend to depreciate the value of adjacent or surrounding properties.

D. Prevent the creation, continuation, extension or aggravation of blight.

E. Preserve property values in the Borough.

F. Prevent the physical deterioration or progressive downgrading of the quality of housing facilities in the Borough.

G. Maintain the value and economic health of the commercial properties and businesses that serve and help to support the Borough and its citizens.

H. Prevent and eliminate physical conditions in or on property which constitute nuisances and are thereby potentially dangerous or hazardous to the life, health or safety of persons on or near the premises where such conditions exist.

I. Establish minimum standards governing the maintenance and condition of land, buildings, structures and premises in the Borough.

J. Fix responsibilities and duties therefor upon owners, lessees, operators and occupants of property.

K. Provide for administration and enforcement.

L. Fix penalties for the violation of this article.

§ 162-7 Definitions.

For the specific purposes of this article, the following terms, whenever used herein or referred to in this article, shall have the respective meanings assigned to them hereunder unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

COMPOST

Organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a natural fertilizer soil amendment made from recycled food scraps, yard waste, sod, and more.

[Added 11-12-2014 by Ord. No. 1708]

COMPOSTING CONTAINER

A commercially bought or homemade container used for creating compost.

[Added 11-12-2014 by Ord. No. 1708]

EXTERIOR OF PREMISES

Those portions of a building or structure which are exposed to public view or are visible from adjoining or adjacent lots, including all outside surfaces and appurtenances thereto, and the open land space of any premises outside of any building or structure erected thereon.

NUISANCE

A. Any public or private condition that would constitute a nuisance according to the statutes, laws and regulations of the State of New Jersey, its governmental agencies or the ordinances of the Borough.

B. Any physical condition existing in or on the exterior of any premises which is potentially dangerous, detrimental or hazardous to the life, health or safety of persons on, near or passing within the proximity of premises where such condition exists.

OCCUPANT

Any person residing, living or sleeping in or on the premises or having actual possession, use or occupancy of a dwelling premises or rooming unit, or any person or entity in possession of or using any premises or part thereof, whether or not the owner thereof and regardless of the duration of time of such possession, use or occupancy.

OPERATOR

Any person, persons or entity not the owner, who has charge, care or control of a dwelling or premises or a part thereof, with or without the knowledge, consent or authority of the owner.

OWNER

Any person, persons or entity who shall have legal or equitable title in any form whatsoever to any premises or part thereof with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or who shall have charge, care or control of any lot, premises, building, structure or part thereof, as owner or agent of the owner or as a fiduciary, trustee, receiver, guardian, lessee or mortgagee in possession, regardless of how such possession was obtained. Any person, group of persons or entity who is a lessee, sublessee or assignee of a lessee of any part or all of any building, structure or land shall be deemed to be a co-owner with the lessor for the purposes of this article and shall have responsibility over the portion of the premises so sublet, leased or assigned.

PREMISES

A lot, plot or parcel of land, right-of-way or multiples thereof, including the buildings or structures thereon.

REFUSE or RUBBISH

All discarded, useless, unusable or worthless solid waste matter or materials, combustible or noncombustible, including but not limited to garbage, trash, ashes, paper, paper goods and products, wrappings, cans, bottles, containers, debris, junk, glass, boxes, crockery, wood, mineral matter, plastic, rubber, leather, furniture, household goods, appliances, bedding, scrap lumber, scrap metal, construction material, inoperable machinery or parts thereof, garden or farming implements and supplies, tires, abandoned, inoperative or unusable automobiles and vehicles and solid commercial or industrial waste.

[Amended 11-12-2014 by Ord. No. 1708]

YARD WASTE

Leaves, grass clippings and garden debris.

[Added 11-12-2014 by Ord. No. 1708]

§ 162-8 General standards.

A. All residential and nonresidential buildings, structures, lots and premises to comply. Every residential and nonresidential building, structure, lot and the premises or part of the premises on which it is situated in the borough previously or presently used or intended to be used for dwelling, commercial, business, recreational, service, transportation, institutional, religious, charitable, quasi-public, professional or industrial occupancy and uses accessory thereto, including structures under construction, alteration or renovation, shall comply with the provisions of this article, whether or not any such building or structure shall have been constructed, altered or repaired before or after the enactment of this article and irrespective of any permits or licenses which may have been issued for the use or occupancy of such building or for the installation or repair of equipment or facilities prior to the effective date of this article. Vacant lots, lands and premises are also required to comply with the provisions of this article.

[Amended 6-26-1996 by Ord. No. 1272]

B. Higher standard to prevail in cases of conflict with other laws or ordinances. In any case where the provisions of this article impose a higher or stricter standard than set forth in any other ordinance or regulation of the borough or under the laws or regulations of the State of New Jersey or any of its agencies, then the standards as set forth herein shall prevail; but if the provisions of this article impose a lower or lesser standard than any other regulation or ordinance of the borough or of the laws and regulations of the State of New Jersey or any of its agencies, then the higher standard contained in any such other ordinance, regulation or law shall prevail.

C. Compliance with other ordinances. Compliance with this article shall not constitute a defense against any violation of any other ordinance of the borough applicable to any structure or premises, nor shall any one act of compliance constitute a defense against any subsequent or other violation of this article.

D. Responsibilities of owner, operator and occupant to be independent of each other. Owners, operators and occupants shall have all the duties, obligations and responsibilities prescribed in this article, and no such person or entity shall be relieved of any such duty, obligation or responsibility hereunder, nor be entitled to assert as a defense against any charge made against him or her or them for violation of this article the fact that another owner, operator or occupant or any other third person or entity is also responsible therefor and in violation thereof.

E. Application of Building Code. Any alterations to buildings, structures or appurtenances thereto or changes of use therein which may be caused directly or indirectly by the enforcement of this article shall be done in accordance with all applicable sections of the building code of the municipality.

F. Application of Chapter 230, Zoning. Nothing contained in this article or any requirement of compliance herewith shall be deemed to alter, impair or affect the application of Chapter 230, Zoning, or zoning laws of the municipality.

G. Existing remedies. Nothing in this article shall be deemed to abolish or impair existing remedies of the municipality or its officers or agencies relating to the removal or demolition of any buildings or structures which are deemed to be dangerous, unsafe or unsanitary.

§ 162-9 Duties and responsibilities of owners, operators and occupants.

In furtherance of the purposes of this article, it shall be the duty and responsibility of the owner, operator or occupant of the premises to comply with any or all of the requirements and standards of this article, to keep the premises free of conditions which constitute violations hereof and to promptly remove, prevent or abate such conditions.

§ 162-10 Maintenance standards.

A. Exterior conditions. The exterior of all premises shall be kept free of the following matter, materials or conditions:

(1) Refuse, as hereinabove defined.

(2) Rubbish, as hereinabove defined.

(3) Abandoned, uncovered or structurally unsound wells, shafts, towers, exterior cellar openings, basement hatchways, foundations or excavations.

(4) Abandoned iceboxes, refrigerators, heaters, television sets and other similar major appliances.

(5) Structurally unsafe or unsound buildings, structures or fences.

(6) Rodents, vermin, pest infestations or rodent harborages.

(7) Animal excrement.

(8) Hidden or uncovered ground or surface hazards, such as holes, sudden depressions, sharp or jagged projections or obstructions.

(9) Buried rubble, refuse or rubbish.

(10) Stagnant surface or ground water accumulations which create or are likely to create mosquito or other insect breeding areas.

(11) Nuisances, as hereinabove defined.

(12) Vehicles or parts thereof, including boats and trailers, motorized or not, licensed or unlicensed, registered or unregistered, which vehicles or parts thereof are or have been junked, abandoned, dismantled or are in a state of visible disrepair.

(13) Dangerously loose and overhanging objects, including but not limited to dead trees or tree limbs, accumulations of ice or any object, natural or man-made, which could threaten the health and safety of persons if caused to fall, or other similar dangerously loose and overhanging objects, which, by reason of their location above ground level, constitute an actual hazard to persons or vehicles in the vicinity thereof.

(14) Inadequate or unsafe foundation walls, piers and columns and other similar structurally unsound, damaged or defective load-bearing components which are incapable of bearing imposed loads safely at all points.

(15) Structurally unsound, loose, dangerous, crumbling, missing, broken, rotted or unsafe exterior portions of buildings or structures, including but not limited to porches, landings, balconies, stairways, handrails, steps, walls, overhangs, roofs, fences, supporting members, timbers, abutments, fire escapes, signs, loose, crumbling or falling bricks, stones, mortar or plaster.

(16) Exterior surfaces or parts of buildings or structures containing sharp, rough or projecting surfaces or objects which might cause injury to persons coming in contact therewith.

(17) Broken glass or windows or rotted, missing or substantially destroyed window frames and sashes, door frames, exterior doors or other major exterior component parts of buildings or structures.

(18) Weeds or plant growth which are noxious or detrimental to public health and safety. This includes but is not limited to poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac and ragweed growth.

(19) Residents may choose not to have their leaves brought to the curb.

[Added 11-10-2021 by Ord. No. 1857]

B. Storage of yard waste.

[Added 11-12-2014 by Ord. No. 1708[1]]

(1) Sweeping, raking, blowing or otherwise placing yard waste at the curb or along the street is strictly prohibited. If such placement of yard waste occurs, the party responsible for placement of the yard waste must remove it from the street, or said party shall be deemed in violation of this article.

(2) Materials such as yard waste should either be composted on the resident's property in an appropriate composting container or taken to the Borough landfill.

(3) A composting container must not exceed two square yards in size and must be placed closer to the resident's home than to any neighboring homes. In no case shall a composting container be placed in a resident's front yard or within 10 feet of the resident's property line in an A-1 Zone or six feet in an A-2 Zone.

(4) From October through December, loose leaves may be placed at the curb for pickup by the Department of Public Works and shall not be placed closer than 10 feet from any storm drain inlet in an A-1 Zone or six feet in an A-2 Zone.

(5) Residents can use a mulch mower, and are permitted to rake leaves under shrubs and perennials, or use them in a contained composting bin.

[Added 11-10-2021 by Ord. No. 1857]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the renumbering of former Subsection B as Subsection C.

C. General responsibility. Without limitation by the foregoing, it shall also be the duty and responsibility of owners, occupants or operators to keep the exterior of all premises structurally sound, in good general repair and sufficiently maintained, to an extent so as to prevent and avoid conditions that violate the purposes of this article, as hereinabove set forth in § 162-6.

§ 162-11 Enforcement.

[Amended 6-26-1996 by Ord. No. 1272; 4-25-2007 by Ord. No. 1548]

A. Enforcement officer. The Property Management Officer of the Borough is hereby designated as the officer charged with the enforcement of this article and is hereinafter referred to as the "Enforcement Officer." All members of the authorized inspectors of the Building Department and Board of Health of the Borough are hereby designated as Assistant Enforcement Officers for purposes of the enforcement of this code.

B. Enforcement procedure. Whenever the Enforcement Officer or Assistant Enforcement Officer determines that there is or has been a violation of any provision of this article, he or she shall give notice of such violation to the person, persons or entities responsible therefor under this article. Such notice shall be in writing and shall include a concise statement of the reasons for its issuance. Such notice shall be deemed to be properly and sufficiently served if a copy thereof is sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the person or entity upon which the same is served, as shown by the most recent tax lists of the municipality, or a copy thereof is handed to such person or persons or a copy thereof is left at the usual place of abode or office of such person or entities. Notice shall be given as aforesaid within or without the municipality. The notice shall also state that unless the violation is abated, removed, cured, prevented or desisted from within 5 days of the date of service of such notice (exclusive of the date of service), a summons and complaint shall be issued for such violation. The Enforcement Officer or Assistant Enforcement Officer may, at the time he or she issues the notice, extend the period for compliance with the violation stated in the notice for a period in excess of the aforesaid 5 days if, in his or her judgment, the abatement, removal, prevention, cessation of or cure of the condition violated cannot reasonably be effected within the five-day period; and, in such cases, the Enforcement Officer, or Assistant Enforcement Officer, shall state such reasonably required extended period in the notice, which shall then be applicable instead of the aforesaid 5 days. In the event that the violation is not abated, removed, cured, prevented or desisted from or otherwise fully remedied within the five-day period or within such extended period as set forth in the notice, pursuant to the foregoing, a summons and complaint shall then be issued against the person, persons, entity or entities so notified.

[Amended 6-27-2018 by Ord. No. 1791]

C. Emergency conditions. Whenever the Enforcement Officer or Assistant Enforcement Officer finds that an emergency condition in violation of this article exists, which condition requires immediate attention in order to protect the public health or safety, he or she may issue an order by service of notice as set forth in Subsection B, reciting the existence of such an emergency condition and requiring that such action be taken by the violator as soon as is reasonably necessary to meet the emergency. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, such order shall be effective immediately. Any person to whom such an order is directed shall comply therewith immediately; but, upon objection, in writing, to the Enforcement Officer or Assistant Enforcement Officer, any such person shall be afforded a hearing before the governing body of the Borough as soon as it is reasonably possible. After such a hearing and decision by the governing body as to the existence or nonexistence of the emergency condition, the governing body may continue such order in effect or modify or withdraw it, subject to issuance of summons and complaint for violation thereof, if such order is continued.

§ 162-12 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 9-28-1997 by Ord. No. 1291]

Any person or entity who shall violate any of the provisions of this article or any order promulgated hereunder shall, after a summons is issued under the terms hereof, upon conviction, be punished by any combination of the following: by a fine not to exceed $1,000, by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed 90 days or by a period of community service not to exceed 90 days. Each violation of any of the provisions of this article and each day that each such violation shall continue shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.