Township of Mendham, NJ Article III Maintenance of Right-of-Way

[Adopted 11-13-2017 by Ord. No. 13-2017[1]]

[1] Editor’s Note: This ordinance was originally adopted as Ch. 259 but was renumbered in order to include it in this chapter with like legislation.

§ 258-11 Duties of owner.

It shall be the duty of the owner of any lands in the Township of Mendham to:

A. Maintain and keep living trees in the road right-of-way or trees which threaten the road right-of-way of any road in the Township in a manner so as to keep the right-of-way safe to preserve the public health, safety and general welfare and to remove dead or dying trees and/or branches.

B. Maintain and keep the right-of-way free of garbage, trash and other debris for the purpose of preserving the public health, safety and general welfare of the public.

C. On and after the effective date of this article, no structures, fences or obstructions shall be placed in the road right-of-way. No shrubbery or trees that will be placed in the right-of-way shall interfere with the sight distance from any property. The foregoing shall not be deemed to prohibit the placement of mailboxes and house numbers in the right-of-way.

D. Existing trees and shrubbery shall be maintained so as not to interfere with the sight distance from any property and to keep the right-of-way safe to preserve the public health, safety and general welfare.

§ 258-12 Notice of violating conditions.

If any condition exists that violates this article, the Township Zoning Officer or Tree Committee Chairman shall notify the owner of the property of such condition or conditions, in writing, by regular mail or personal delivery. The owner of the property shall have 45 days from the date of such written notice to correct the condition or conditions so noticed. The Zoning Officer or Tree Committee Chairman shall reinspect the lands in question after the forty-five day period has expired to determine if the condition or conditions have been abated or remedied.

§ 258-13 Failure to abate or remediate conditions.

If the owner of the lands in question fails to abate or remediate the condition or conditions noticed by the Zoning Officer or Tree Committee Chairman within 45 days of the notice, the following shall occur:

A. A complaint shall be issued by the Zoning Officer or Tree Committee Chairman for the violation or violations of this article, which complaint shall be brought before the Municipal Court of the Township of Mendham.

B. If it is necessary to preserve the public health, safety or general welfare of the Township, the Zoning Officer or Tree Committee Chairman shall cause the condition or conditions complained about to be abated or remedied and shall certify the cost of abatement or remediation to the Township Committee of the Township of Mendham. The amount of such abatement or remediation shall be paid by the owner, tenant or person in possession within 10 days of the date of the mailing by which the invoice is sent to the aforesaid person.

C. If the said invoice is not so paid, the amount so charged shall be added to and become a part of the taxes next to be assessed upon the lands in question and shall bear interest at the same rate as municipal real estate taxes, and shall be collected and enforced by the same officer and in the same manner as delinquent taxes.

§ 258-14 Violations and penalties.

For each day the condition or conditions complained of continue to exist after the fourteen-day period has expired, the owner in possession shall be subject to one or more of the following: a fine of not less than $20 nor more than $200, imprisonment for a period not to exceed 90 days or a period of community service not to exceed 90 days for each and every day the condition or conditions exist.