[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Camden as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-9-1987 by Ord. No. MC-2289 as Ch. 222, Art. I, of the 1987 Code[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. MC-577, which originally adopted the provisions of this article, contains a preamble which reads as follows:
"The Mayor and Council hereby finds and declares that:
"Whereas the State of New Jersey imposes certain responsibilities upon cities for injuries and damages to persons and property caused by mob action; and
"Whereas the City of Camden has made and continues to make substantial efforts to prevent disorder, but it is deemed that it is necessary and in the public interest that the City of Camden take all appropriate action to ensure that orderly procedures exist to protect persons and property of the citizens of the City of Camden; and
"Whereas N.J.S.A. 40:48-1, Subdivision 6, grants to the City of Camden the power to preserve the public peace and order and to prevent and quell riots, disturbances and disorderly assemblages;
"Therefore the Mayor and Council, in order to preserve the public peace and order, deem it necessary to enact appropriate legislation therefor."
Whenever, in the judgment of the Mayor or, in the event of his inability to act, the person designated as Acting Mayor, it is determined that an emergency exists as a result of mob action or other civil disobedience causing danger of injury to or damages to persons or property, he shall have the power to impose, by proclamation, any or all of the following regulations necessary to preserve the peace and order of the City:
A. 
Prohibit or limit the number of persons who may gather or congregate upon the public highways or public sidewalks or in any outdoor place, except persons who are awaiting transportation, and further provided that physicians, nurses and ambulance operators performing medical services, utility personnel maintaining essential public services, firemen and City-authorized or requested law enforcement officers and personnel may be exempted from such curfew.
B. 
Prohibit all access or egress upon public highways to or from the City or any part thereof.
C. 
Prohibit the movement of trains, boats or any other vehicles into, within or from the City.
D. 
Establish a curfew limiting the hours when persons may go upon or travel the public streets.
E. 
Require the closing of taprooms and bars and prohibit the sale or service of alcoholic beverages in any hotel, restaurant, club or other establishment.
F. 
Prohibit or restrict the sale of gasoline or other flammable liquids.
G. 
Prohibit the sale, carrying or possession on any public street or public sidewalk or any public park or public square of weapons, including but not limited to firearms, bows and arrows, air rifles, slingshots, knives, razors or missiles of any kind.
The state of emergency declared by the Mayor or Acting Mayor shall be effective upon its issuance and dissemination to the public by the appropriate news media.
Any emergency proclaimed in accordance with the provisions of this article shall terminate upon the issuance of a proclamation by the Mayor or Acting Mayor determining that an emergency no longer exists.
[Amended 4-9-1987 by Ord. No. MC-2289; 10-12-2006 by Ord. No. MC-4234]
Unless otherwise provided in this article, penalties against persons violating the provisions of this article shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of § 1-15.
[Adopted 11-26-1986 by Ord. No. MC-2253 (Ch. 222, Art. II, of the 1987 Code)]
The emergency operational plan recommended by the Emergency Management Agency and approved by the Business Administrator is hereby officially adopted as the official City of Camden Emergency Operational Plan, a copy thereof being hereto annexed and incorporated herein by reference without inclusion of the text thereof herein. Copies of said plan have been placed on file in the office of the City Clerk and will remain on file there for the use and examination of the public.
In the event of a natural disaster or a local disaster emergency or war emergency, when declared by the Coordinator of the Emergency Management Agency of the City of Camden, in accordance with federal and state laws pertaining thereto, the provisions of the Emergency Operational Plan shall come into force.
The following words and phrases, as used in this article, shall have the following meanings:
DISASTER
Any unusual incident, resulting from natural or unnatural causes, which endangers the health, safety or resources of the residents of the City of Camden and which is or may become too large in scope or unusual in type to be handled in its entirety by regular municipal operating services.
LOCAL DISASTER EMERGENCY
Includes any disaster or the imminence thereof resulting from natural or unnatural causes other than enemy attack and limited to the extent that action by the Governor under state laws pertaining thereto is not required.
WAR EMERGENCY
Includes any disaster occurring anywhere within the state as a result of enemy attack or the imminent danger thereof.
Whenever the Camden Emergency Operational Plan shall come into force under the terms of this article, all employees of the City shall give full cooperation to the Director of Emergency Management and his staff in the planning, activating, coordinating and conduct of disaster control operations within the municipality. Prior to the occurring of a disaster, local disaster emergency or war emergency, for test or drill purposes, all employees of the City of Camden shall give every possible and reasonable cooperation to the Coordinator of Emergency Management.