[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Closter
5-24-1972 as Ord. No. 1972:232 (Ch. 86 of the 1967 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees and deposits — See Ch. A301.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
A hand-drawn or propelled vehicle or wheeled container made of metal,
wood or otherwise, such as is generally provided by merchants for the carting
or carrying to automobiles or other places of merchandise or foodstuffs.
Any place which is open to the public or to which the public is invited,
whether maintained or operated separately or in conjunction with any business
or enterprise.
Such term shall include a person of either sex or a corporation,
partnership, association or joint-stock company or societies and other entities
capable of being sued.
Such terms shall include any street, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway,
boulevard, concourse, driveway, culvert or crosswalk and every class of road,
square, place, municipal park, parking field or area, parks or other places
used by the general public and parking yard and parking place.
It shall be unlawful for any person or his or her agent or employee
to leave or to cause or permit or allow to be left any cart, either owned
by him or her or in his or her possession, custody or control, upon any street
or sidewalk.
It shall be unlawful for any person to remove a cart, as herein defined,
from the property of any food-dispensing establishment.
At or before the close of business hours of any food establishment or commercial establishment providing carts for the use of its customers and patrons, the owner or operator of such food establishment or other commercial establishment shall remove all carts from its parking yard or parking place or the exterior of its premises and shall cause them to be removed to the interior of the commercial establishment. Upon the failure of any such owner or operator to so remove the carts to the interior of the premises at the close of its daily business hours, said carts may be removed by the borough in accordance with the provisions of § 162-5 and disposition made thereof in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The borough shall remove or cause to be removed any cart found upon
any street or sidewalk and shall take the same or cause the same to be taken
to property or premises of the borough where the same shall be held until
redeemed or sold, as provided in this chapter.
Whenever the borough shall receive any cart containing identification
of ownership or right to possession, a notice shall be sent by ordinary mail
to such person, advising that such cart is held by the borough and advising
the amount necessary to redeem.
Any impounded cart may be redeemed by the owner thereof at any time prior to the sale, dismantling, destruction or disposal thereof, and he or she shall be entitled to receive such cart upon tendering the sum set forth in Chapter A301, Fees and Deposits. In addition, the person seeking to redeem shall pay the cost of advertising the sale thereof, if any. No cart shall be delivered to a person seeking to redeem it unless proof establishing to the satisfaction of the borough such person's ownership or right to possession is submitted. Any delivery to a person apparently entitled thereto shall be a good defense to the borough against any other person claiming to be entitled thereto. The person to whom delivery ought to have been made may recover the same with interest and costs from the person to whom the same shall have been delivered.
Where any impounded cart remains in the custody of the borough for a
period of fifteen (15) days after impoundment and with respect to which no
person has presented to the borough proof establishing to its satisfaction
such person's ownership or right to possession, the Borough Clerk shall give
public notice in the official newspaper of the borough advising that at a
specified place and time, not less than five (5) days after such notice is
published, such cart shall be sold at public auction for the best price to
be obtained. A general description in such notice of the cart to be sold shall
be sufficient. Such sale shall be conducted by the Borough Clerk or by such
person as he or she may designate.
In the event that any impounded cart shall remain unsold at public auction,
the borough may reoffer such cart for sale at a subsequent public auction
held pursuant to this chapter or it may dismantle, destroy or otherwise sell
or dispose of such cart. Any such sale or other disposition of such cart pursuant
to this chapter shall be without liability on the part of the borough to the
owner of such cart or other person lawfully entitled thereto or having interest
therein.
Immediately after an impounded cart is redeemed, the borough shall pay
over to the Borough Treasurer the amount received for redemption costs and
expenses of the article redeemed, together with an itemized statement thereof.
Immediately after a sale or other disposition of such cart, the Borough Clerk
or person designated by him or her shall pay over to the Borough Treasurer
the proceeds of sale or other disposition of such cart, with an itemized statement
of the article sold, the price received and the costs and expenses of sale,
and the Borough Treasurer shall retain such proceeds and credit them to the
general fund.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished as set forth in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, Violations and Penalties, of this Code. This shall be in addition to any fees for redemption of such property or costs of public sale chargeable to an owner or person entitled to possession of such property as hereinbefore provided.
