The City' s Code Enforcement Official shall be the primary official
for the enforcement of this chapter. The Code Enforcement Official
should be notified by those citizens who believe that a violation
of the terms of this chapter may exist. The Code Enforcement Official
or his designee shall be entitled to exercise their discretion in
determining the existence of any violation or in determining whether
to seek the imposition of any combination of fines and penalties provided
for a violation of this chapter or to use other means or enforcement,
including but not limited to persuasion or issuance of warnings. Nothing
shall prevent a citizen, homeowner or other interested person from
acting as a complaining witness in the City of Long Branch Municipal
Court or such other court having jurisdiction to enforce this matter.
Businesses will be granted a grace period from the date of enactment
of this ordinance until December 31, 2020, to distribute, transfer
and/or dispose of any on-hand inventory of prohibited single-use plastic
bags, containers, utensils and straws/stirrers as described above.
Any person, business or store violating any of the provisions
of this section shall, upon conviction thereof in municipal court,
be subject to a penalty of up to $500 for a first offense, up to $1,000
for a second offense, and up to $2,500 for a third offense. If the
violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues
shall constitute an additional, separate and distinct offense.
The remedies and penalties provided in this article are cumulative
and not exclusive, and nothing in this chapter shall preclude any
person from pursuing and other remedies provided by law.