[Adopted 4-10-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-02]
The Township Committee finds, determines and declares that:
A. Sandyston
Township is a rural community that is heavily involved in eco-tourism
and its citizens have experienced disturbances, damage and public
expense resulting from carelessly granted and inadequately supervised
rentals to irresponsible tenants and/or vacationers by inept or indifferent
landlords.
B. This section
is enacted to preserve the peace and tranquility of the community
for its permanent residents, and to maintain the municipality as a
viable vacation resort for all persons and families availing themselves
of the facilities in the community.
C. The enactment
of this section is necessary and desirable to provide a means to curb
and discourage those occasional excesses arising from irresponsible
rentals, seasonal or otherwise.
D. The Legislature
of the State of New Jersey enacted N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12n et seq., to
enable certain communities to take effective action to assure that
excesses, when they occur, shall not be repeated, and that landlords
be held to sufficient standards of responsibility.
E. Where the
Internet has created a virtual short term rental market without proper
supervision in which properties are rented with the purpose to make
parties and loud events.
For the purpose of this article, the following meanings shall
apply:
HEARING OFFICER
A licensed attorney of the State of New Jersey appointed
by the Township Committee. The hearing officer shall not own or lease
any real property within the Township of Sandyston, nor hold any interest
in the assets of or profits arising from the ownership of such property.
LANDLORD
The person or persons who own or purport to own any building
in which there is rented or offered for rent housing space for living
or dwelling under either a written or oral lease, which building contains
no more than four dwelling units.
SEASONAL RENTAL
Any rental of residential accommodations for a term of less
than one year during the calendar year.
WRITTEN COMPLAINT
A complaint which may form the basis for proceedings in accordance
with the provisions of this article which is reduced to writing.
[Adopted 2-15-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]
It is the intent of this article, as further detailed within
its enabling ordinance, to enable the Township of Sandyston to engage
in the identification, registration, monitoring, and migration of
properties that are or may become vacant and abandoned to the fullest
extent permitted by P.L. 2021, c. 444, in order to combat the immeasurable and deleterious effects
of blight arising from residential and commercial properties that
become vacant or abandoned during the foreclosure process.