[Adopted 7-13-1995 by Ord. No. 407]
This article shall be known as the "Right-of-Way
Width and Sight Distance Ordinance of the Borough of Medford Lakes."
Whenever any words or phrases are used in this
article, the meaning respectively ascribed to them in Subtitle One
of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey shall be deemed
to apply to such words and phrases as used therein.
Owners, tenants, or other occupants of property
are prohibited from encroaching upon Borough rights-of-way, roadways,
shoulders, and berms by establishing plantings or by placing rocks,
wood, curbing, or any other objects in or upon such areas.
Whenever it is necessary and expedient for the
preservation of public safety, the Borough Manager or his designee
shall give notice to the owners, tenants, or other occupants of the
property of lands within the Borough, that all brush, hedges, specific
trees and other plant life growing within 10 feet of any roadway shall
be cut to a height of not more than 2 1/2 feet within 10 days
of the receipt or delivery of such notice, as provided for in N.J.S.A.
40:48-2.26.
The notice required in § 181-4 of this article shall be addressed to the owner, tenant, or occupant of such lands, and shall include the address and/or the block and lot number(s) of such lands, and shall advise the owner, tenant, or occupant of such lands that if such owner, tenant, or occupant fails to comply within 10 days of the receipt or delivery of same, said person or entity shall be subject to penalty, and further that, upon failure to comply, the removal of such brush, hedge, specific trees and other plant life shall be accomplished by the Borough of Medford Lakes, and the cost thereof shall be assessed against such land and collected in the same manner as taxes. If the person, persons, corporation, or other entity to whom such notice is addressed cannot be served with such notice by personal delivery within the Borough of Medford Lakes, such notice may be served by registered or certified mail addressed to the last known address of such person, persons, corporation, or other entity, or by leaving a copy of such notice posted or secured to the door or entranceway of the residential or commercial building situate on such lands.
Whenever an owner, tenant, or occupant fails to comply with notice given pursuant to § 181-4 hereof, an officer of the Borough may have the plant life cut and removed, and the costs for same may be charged against said lands in the manner provided for in N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.27.
Every person, corporation, or other entity convicted of a violation of § 181-3 of this article shall be liable to one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding $1,250 or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days for each day that the condition is in existence, and every person convicted of failure to comply with a notice to remove plant life, as provided for in § 181-4 of this article, shall be liable for the penalty above for each day that the condition continues after the expiration of the ten-day notice period.
