[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Somers
Point as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-26-2015 by Ord. No. 4-2015[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance was adopted as Ch. 147
but was renumbered to maintain the organization of the Code.
It is the purpose and intent of this article to establish uniform
regulations for the construction, reconstruction, renovation or repair
and maintenance of existing or new bulkheads within the City of Somers
Point.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A structure separating land and water areas, primarily designed
to retain or prevent sliding of the land or prevent and protect the
upland against erosion and other damage due to wave, storm, overflow
or tidal action.
The Somers Point Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector,
or their designee.
Unless specified to be "business days," "days" means calendar
days.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
A.
Permit required. No person, legal entity or association of persons
shall construct, reconstruct, extend, enlarge, repair (except for
ordinary repairs), locate, move or change the size, shape, configuration
or location of any bulkhead, pier, dock, wharf, boat piling or float
without first obtaining a building permit therefor from the Construction
Official.
B.
Permit application.
(1)
Applications for bulkhead permits shall be submitted to the Construction
Official accompanied by the required fee and the following items in
quadruplicate:
(a)
Plans and specifications of the bulkhead that have been prepared,
signed and sealed by a New Jersey licensed professional engineer.
(b)
A property survey.
(c)
Authorization for the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection and any other State of federal agency having jurisdiction
over the property affected by the proposed work.
(2)
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 12:5-1 et seq., any such work, including
ordinary repairs, requires application to the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection as a prior approval, if said work, or
any portion thereof, is conducted on the water side (as opposed to
the land side) of the bulkhead.
(3)
The Construction Official may relax or waive any or all of the requirements
that are set forth above within the application for a permit pertains
to reconstruction, renovation or repair work for which the cost of
completion is less than $5,000; however, in relaxing or waiving any
such requirements, the Construction Official shall have the authority
to require the submission of such plans, drawings and contract documents
as the Construction Official, in his sole and absolute discretion,
determines will accurately depict the reconstruction, renovations
or repair work to be performed.
(4)
Soil data, depth of water, height of the proposed bulkhead and backfill,
tide conditions, current, ice or other climatic conditions shall be
considered in the design.
C.
In the event that, upon review of the permit application, deficiencies
are noted by the Construction Official, the applicant shall be informed
of the nature of the deficiencies and the Construction Official shall
provide written notice, by regular first class mail, of the deficiencies
to the applicant at the address set forth on the application and the
applicant then shall be afforded the opportunity to correct any application
deficiencies.
D.
Permit fee. The permit fee shall be calculated in the following manner:
(1)
For new construction and renovations, the fee for such permit shall
be $20 per $1,000 of the estimated construction cost, with a minimum
of $100. The Construction Official shall determine if the estimated
cost of the proposed work is reasonable and may request documentation
to verify proposed costs.
(2)
A permit fee shall not be charged if the bulkhead project is part
of a Zoning or Planning Board approval for which an escrow and performance
bond are already required and inspection by the City Engineer is required.
E.
Appeal of permit denial.
(1)
Any applicant aggrieved by the denial of a bulkhead permit may appeal
the permit denial to Zoning Board by submitting to the administrative
officer written correspondence appealing the permit denial. Such written
appeal correspondence briefly shall describe the reason for the appeal.
Such written appeal correspondence shall be submitted to the administrative
officer within 20 days of the permit denial.
(2)
Upon receipt of the appeal correspondence, the administrative officer
shall transmit to the Zoning Board copies of the permit Construction
Official in connection with review of the permit application. Thereafter,
the administrative officer shall schedule a date for the hearing of
the appeal, and notice of the hearing dated shall be provided to the
permit applicant. In all instances the administrative officer shall
endeavor to schedule the appeal hearing date not later than 30 days
after receipt of the appeal correspondence. The hearing of the appeal
shall be conducted by the Zoning Board at a public meeting. The applicant
shall be permitted to produce evidence to Zoning Board in support
of the permit application. The Zoning Board may consider evidence
presented to it by the Construction Official or any other individual
that the Zoning Board deems to have relevant information. The decision
of the Zoning Board to approve or deny the permit application shall
be through adoption of a formal resolution.
F.
A permit shall not be required when the nature of the work to be
performed consists of ordinary repairs to an existing structure. Ordinary
repairs, for the purpose of this subsection, shall be deemed to be
any repairs or replacements to a portion of the railing or the deck
boards of any pier, dock, wharf, or float. The complete replacement
of railings or deck boards on any pier, dock, wharf or float, and
any and all repairs to a bulkhead or boat piling shall not, however,
be deemed ordinary repairs and shall require a permit.
G.
Expiration and display of permit.
(1)
Any permit which may have been issued by the Construction Official,
but under which no work has commenced within three months after the
date of issuance, shall expire by limitation.
(2)
The permit which has been issued must be kept at the scene of operation
at all times during the progress of the work.
A.
The permittee shall provide to the Construction Official written
notice of delivery of all necessary materials to complete the project
within 10 days of delivery to the site but not less than four business
days in advance of said commencement of construction. The Construction
Official shall inspect all materials delivered within two business
days following receipt of the notice.
B.
The permittee shall provide to the City Engineer and to the Construction
Official notice of commencement of construction not less than two
business days in advance of said commencement of construction.
C.
The Construction Official shall have the right of inspection at any
time between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., at his or her convenience,
for the purpose of ascertaining whether the construction and materials
used are in accordance with the provisions of this article, and any
owner, contractor or other person who shall refuse to comply with
the reasonable and proper orders of the Inspector with relation to
any matters committed to him by this article shall be guilty of a
violation of the same.
Prior to the backfilling of any bulkhead construction, reconstruction,
renovation or repair, the Construction Official shall perform an inspection
to ascertain that the bulkhead has been built pursuant to the plans
that were submitted with the permit application. Written notice of
project completion shall be given to the City Engineer and to the
Construction Official within seven business days of substantial completion
of the project, but prior to backfilling, and that written notification
shall be accompanied by a certification from a land surveyor of the
elevations of the completed bulkhead height. If the Construction Official
determines that the work that was performed pursuant to the bulkhead
permit and the subject bulkhead fail to comply with the plans, drawings
or documents that were submitted with the permit application or fail
to comply with the provisions of this article, then written notice
of final inspection failure shall be transmitted by the Construction
Official by regular first-class mail to the permittee at the address
set forth on the permit application. The notice of final inspection
failure shall detail the reasons for inspection failure. Permittees
shall correct all deficiencies that resulted in final inspection failure
within 20 days of the date of the written notice of final inspection
failure. If, upon the expiration of those 20 days, the bulkhead is
not approved upon inspection by the Construction Official then the
permittee is deemed to be in violation of the duty to maintain and
repair the subject bulkhead as established by this article.
All bulkheads constructed, reconstructed, renovated or repaired
within the City of Somers Point shall conform to the following minimum
specifications:
A.
All new bulkheads shall be designed by a New Jersey licensed professional
engineer.
B.
All piles, except anchor piles, shall have a butt diameter of not
less than 12 inches and a tip diameter of eight inches.
C.
All piles shall be No.1 Douglas Fir Southern Yellow Pine and shall
be treated with chromated copper arsenate to a net retention of 2.5
pounds per cubic foot or an acceptable preservative for marine construction
according to the latest AREA specifications and American Wood Preservers'
Association (A.W.P.A.) specifications. Piles must be constructed of
non-polluting materials, if required or determined by the NJDEP.
D.
Sheet piles.
(1)
Sheet piles shall be vinyl unless a repair of less than an aggregate
cost of $2,500 to an existing wood bulkhead is being made.
E.
Wales shall be Douglas Fir or Southern Yellow Pine and shall be treated
with acceptable preservative for marine construction according to
the latest AREA specifications and American Wood Preservers'
Association (A.W.P.A.) specifications. Wales must be constructed of
non-polluting materials, if required or determined by the NJDEP. Wales
shall be four inches by six inches. At least two wales shall be required.
A third wale shall be used where the finished top of bulkhead extends
more than seven feet six inches above the existing bottom. All wale
joints shall be staggered at pilings.
F.
All timbers shall be set by the water jet method. Piles shall be set on not more than five-foot-two-inch centers, and shall be tied to anchor piles with tie rods as specified in Subsection G below. Anchor piles shall be treated, creosoted (or equivalent) pilings and shall have a butt diameter of not less than six inches, and shall be not less than 12 feet in length, and the top of same shall be set at least 18 inches below the elevation of the bulkhead cap.
G.
All hardware shall be new, unused, hot-dipped galvanized steel in
accordance with latest standards for saltwater applications.
(1)
Bolts and tie rods shall be galvanized after threading and shall
have sufficient length of thread so that no blocking will be required.
No rethreading or thread extension shall be permitted. Bolts shall
be 5/8 inch in diameter and of sufficient length to comply with the
above requirements. Wales are to be bolted to all piles. Tie rods
shall be at least 5/8 inch in diameter and shall have a minimum length
of 14 feet. One tie rod will be required for each main pile. Galvanized
nails or spikes shall be not less than 20 penny and each sheet pile
shall receive not less than two nails or spikes per wale.
H.
Construction of bulkhead returns shall tie into adjacent bulkhead
construction.
I.
All outfall piping shall be fitted with a tide-control device that
is approved by the City Engineer.
J.
Bulkheads subject to wave runup forces.
(1)
A bulkhead that is subject to wave runup forces, specifically, a
bulkhead in a V-Zone as described at N.J.A.C. 7:7E-3.18, shall be
designed and certified by a professional engineer to withstand the
forces of wave runup, and shall include a splash pad on the landward
side. The splash pad shall have a minimum width of 10 feet, and may
be constructed of concrete, asphalt or other erosion resistant material.
If a cobblestone or similar splash pad is used, an appropriate subbase
and filter cloth shall be incorporated into the design. The use of
rip-rap along the seaward toe of the bulkhead structure may be required
on a case-by-case basis as a means to limit the scour potential.
(2)
A splash pad shall be required for all repaired, reconstructed or
new bulkheads which are subject to wave runup forces.
K.
Bulkhead construction, reconstruction, renovation or repair shall
not adversely affect adjoining property.
L.
All existing utilities shall be protected from damage during any
work performed pursuant to a bulkhead permit. The bulkhead permittee
shall be responsible for obtaining current "utility markout" from
all appropriate state and local agencies prior to commencement of
work.
M.
Deviations from construction materials set forth herein are allowed
so long as all specifications and technical data concerning the proposed
construction material are submitted to the City and are approved in
writing by the Construction Official. The use of any construction
material that is not specifically set forth above or approved by the
Construction Official is strictly prohibited.
N.
All design materials herein shall be subject to the dictates of the
NJDEP and USACOF.
O.
Where required for installation or repair of a bulkhead, the soil
and water either pumped out or removed from the basin, facility, stream,
channel, marina or other area shall be performed in such a manner
that the surface of the area where the residue of said pumping or
removal placed shall properly drain and so that such pumping or removal
shall not cause or permit water to stand or pond thereon to be the
cause of blocking the other drainage of lands in the immediate vicinity
of such pumping, removal or placing of residue.
P.
No person shall use any boat basin, boat docking facility, stream,
lagoon, channel, marina or other area subject to this article unless
and until the said building permit has been issued and has been paid,
and the construction of the boat basin, boat docking facility, stream,
lagoon, channel, marina or other area covered by the building permit
has been completely constructed, including the bulkheading thereof,
and said construction and bulkheading inspected and approved by the
Construction Official. The Department of Public Works and City Engineer
shall inspect the outfall pipe and bulkhead penetration. In lieu of
this inspection, the property owner may submit certification of proper
installation by a licensed New Jersey engineer.
Q.
Written approval; liability.
(1)
No private contractor shall use a City street end or place any material,
supplies or equipment on or over bulkheads at a City street end without
first receiving specific written approval of the City, which shall
require execution of an indemnity agreement in a form satisfactory
to the City and proof of general liability insurance in an amount
to be determined by the City Administrator and Joint Insurance Fund
representative, which policy of insurance shall be endorsed to add
the City of Somers Point, its officials, officers, agents, servants,
employees and contractors as additional insured and shall be further
endorsed to contain a waiver of subrogation against the City.
(2)
If any such damage occurs to the City street, bulkhead or other City
property, or damage or injury occurs to any third person or property,
by any person, individual or business entity (regardless of whether
written permission has or has not been granted by the City), such
person, individual or business entity shall be solely responsible
for any and all damage and shall indemnify and hold harmless the City
of Somers Point and be responsible for the cost of repair of any such
damage or destruction to said City street, bulkhead or City property.
(3)
Failure to obtain written permission from the City shall be a violation
of this article subject to the penalties set forth herein which shall
be in addition to the indemnity obligation and cost to repair or correct
any damage or injury.
A.
The top elevation of any bulkhead to be constructed or reconstructed
shall be set at a minimum elevation of 7.0 msl (Datum NAVD 1988) and
a maximum of 10.0 msl (Datum NAVD 1988) except along Block 2012, where
the maximum height may be 14.0 msl (Datum NAVD 1988), with approval
of the Construction Official.
B.
The reconstruction of a bulkhead shall be required when the cost
of repairing an existing bulkhead exceeds the aggregate cost of $2,500.
This requirement shall not be avoided through making phased repairs.
A.
All bulkheads within the City of Somers Point shall be maintained
in such a condition so that they shall pose no danger to the health,
safety or welfare of the residents of the City of Somers Point or
to public or private property within the City of Somers Point. Bulkheads
shall be kept in a state of repair so as to prevent erosion or damage
to abutting, adjacent or adjoining properties.
B.
Bulkheads shall be kept in such a state of repair so as to maintain
the filling in of land around and about said bulkhead to the grade
above the mean high-tide level as established for the City of Somers
Point; and shall also be maintained to prevent erosion or damage to
abutting, adjacent or adjoining properties.
C.
Whenever a bulkhead has deteriorated or suffered damage to such a
degree that a danger to the property, to the safety of the public,
or adjoining properties is present, the Zoning Official or Code Enforcement
Officer shall notify the property owner, in writing, by regular first-class
mail to the address that is set forth on the City's tax records,
of the nature of the deterioration or damage and require the owner
to make the necessary repairs. The property owner shall apply to NJDEP
for a bulkhead permit no later than 30 days from the date of the notice.
Documentation that a permit has been applied to NJDEP may be request
by the Zoning Official or Code Enforcement Officer. The application
for a bulkhead permit shall include a plan of corrective action.
D.
Upon issuance of the bulkhead permit and approval of the plan of corrective action from the NJDEP, the property owner shall promptly commence construction and shall complete all necessary repairs within 30 days from the date of NJDEP permit. Approval from the NJDEP does not exempt the applicant from completing a permit application and obtaining approval from the City Construction Office as required by § 92-3 and compliance with the other requirements of this article.
E.
In the event that the property owner fails to submit a corrective
action plan, fails to obtain a bulkhead permit to implement the corrective
action plan or fails to implement the corrective action plan, the
property owner shall be subject to the penalties set forth herein.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Building Inspector, from time to time,
to inspect all waterfront bulkheads, piers or docks in this City and
to report to the Council and notify the owners or occupants of said
premises of the existence of a dangerous, rotten or defective condition
therein; thereafter, it shall be the duty of the owner, possessor
or other persons in interest in said property to forthwith replace,
remedy or repair or cause to be replaced or repaired such dangerous
and defective condition.
B.
Notice.
(1)
Upon the neglect or failure of any such owner, possessor or other
person in interest to repair or remedy such damaged, dangerous or
defective condition within a reasonable time to be determined by the
Construction Official, or immediately upon the discovery of such dangerous
and defective condition, the Construction Official shall give written
notice of the work required to be done to the owner or owners of such
lands by mail, if their post office address be known, or if not known,
then by posting such notice upon the property affected thereby, or
by leaving the same with any occupant thereof or by personal service,
if the owner be a resident of and present within the City of Somers
Point.
(2)
Such notice shall provide for allowing the owner 30 calendar days'
time within which to perform the work thereby required. In the event
that the owner must obtain a permit or approval from the Department
of Environmental Protection, the owner must provide proof within the
thirty-day period that such permit or approval is required and that
the appropriate permit has been applied for. The owner must further
provide documentation to the municipality that any required permits
with the Department of Environmental Protection are being diligently
pursued. Failure to complete the required repairs within 30 calendar
days after receipt of the appropriate permit from the Department of
Environmental Protection shall constitute a violation of this article.
A.
Any person violating any provision of this article, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,250 or by imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both.
B.
A separate offense shall be deemed to be committed on each and every
day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
C.
In the event a foreclosure complaint has been filed in any court
within the State of New Jersey, this article and the enforcement remedies
and penalties as set forth above shall be enforceable against the
bank, mortgagee, mortgage company, or other financial institution
who is a holder of a mortgage on the property or who has instituted
foreclosure proceedings.
All other provisions of the Somers Point Municipal Code which
are not affected by this amendment are ratified and confirmed and
shall remain in full force and effect.
