[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Borough
Council of the Borough of Berlin 5-18-1970 by Ord. No. 70-6.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alcoholic beverages — See Ch. 82.
Amusement devices — See Ch. 86.
Boardinghouses, rooming houses and hotels — See Ch. 98.
Contractors and sign erectors — See Ch. 132.
Games of chance — See Ch. 173.
Gasoline service stations — See Ch. 182.
Dealers in secondhand goods — See Ch. 238.
Peddlers, solicitors and canvassers — See Ch. 241.
Shows, circuses, carnivals and amusements — See Ch. 266.
Tattooing, body piercing and branding — See Ch. 296.
Taxicabs — See Ch. 301.
Towing — See Ch. 306.
Zoning and land use — See Ch. 335.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided
that it shall take effect 7-1-1970.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to conduct, engage in or carry on any business, trade,
occupation or activity as enumerated in this chapter, within the Borough
of Berlin, New Jersey, without having first complied with the provisions
of this chapter and obtained a license therefor as is herein provided.
A.
Applications for all licenses and permits required
by this chapter shall be made in writing to the Borough Clerk. Each
application shall contain the following information, in the suggested
format:
(1)
Name under which business is to be conducted.
(2)
Name of applicant. (If a corporation, give names and
addresses of president and secretary; if a partnership, give names
and addresses of all partners.)
(3)
Present residence.
(4)
Address of business to be conducted.
(5)
Nature of business.
(6)
Residence of applicant during past five years (if
individual).
(7)
Statement that the applicant has never had a license
to conduct the business herein described denied or revoked, except
as noted.
[Amended 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(8)
Details of any arrests or convictions for misdemeanors
and crimes, including the nature of the offense for which arrested
or convicted, the date of conviction and the place where said conviction
was obtained.
(9)
The business telephone number of applicant.
(10)
Name and address of attorney, if applicable.
(11)
Name and address of registered agent, if applicant
is a corporation.
(12)
A declaration that the undersigned makes the above
statements to induce the Borough of Berlin to issue the license herein
applied for and agrees to comply with all laws and ordinances of the
borough applicable to the subject matter thereof.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(13)
Occupancy load.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(14)
Number of exits.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(15)
Number of parking places.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(16)
Number of curb cuts.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(17)
Size of lot.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(18)
Location on municipal, county or state road.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(19)
Zoning designation.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(20)
Any change from previous mercantile use.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(21)
Are taxes paid: [Please Note: Individual tenant(s) located in a building
owing taxes are exempt from this requirement.]
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord.
No. 2003:12; amended 11-12-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-22]
(22)
Number of persons employed.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
(23)
Date of last fire inspection.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
A.
Whenever in this code a license is required for the
maintenance, operation or conduct of any business or establishment,
or for doing business or engaging in any activity or occupation, any
person or corporation shall be subject to the requirement if, by himself
or through an agent, employee or partner, he holds himself forth as
being engaged in the business or occupation, or solicits patronage
therefor, actively or passively, or performs or attempts to perform
any part of such business or occupation in the Borough of Berlin,
New Jersey.
B.
A certificate of occupancy shall be required prior
to the issuance of any mercantile license by the Borough of Berlin.
[Added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12]
Forms for all licenses and permits, and applications
therefor, shall be prepared and kept on file by the Borough Clerk.
Each license or permit issued shall bear the
signature of the Borough Clerk in the absence of any provision to
the contrary.
A.
Upon receipt of an application for a license or permit,
the Borough Clerk shall refer such application to the proper officers
for making such investigation. The officers charged with the duty
of making the investigation or inspection shall make a report thereon,
favorable or otherwise, within 15 days after receiving the application
or a copy thereof. The Health Officer shall make or cause to be made
an inspection in regard to such licenses in connection with the care
and handling of food and the preventing of nuisances and the spread
of disease, for the protection of health; the Building Inspector shall
make or cause to be made any such inspections relative to the construction
of buildings or other structures. The Zoning Officer shall make the
appropriate zoning inspection. All other investigations, except where
otherwise provided, shall be made by the Chief of Police or his designee.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, which provided that applicants
for a mercantile license were required to be fingerprinted as part
of the investigation process, added 9-24-2003 by Ord. No. 2003:12,
and which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 12-6-2010
by Ord. No. 2010-18.
[Amended 6-16-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-14]
All licenses shall be approved by action of the Clerk of the
Borough. The Clerk shall supply to Mayor and Council, on a monthly
basis, the mercantile licenses approved from the preceding month.
The Clerk shall examine the qualifications of any applicant for a
license or renewal thereof to determine whether the said applicant
or licensee has complied with the general laws and statutes of the
state and the ordinances of the Borough of Berlin, and said Borough
Clerk shall be guided in making a determination by the following standards:
E.
The reports of all municipal officers required under
this chapter. Other general laws and public health statutes and codes
of the State of New Jersey applicable to this municipality.
F.
The license history of the applicant regarding past
violations, rejections or suspensions and the timeliness of past applications
for licenses and the applicant's continued compliance with license
requirements.
A.
In the absence of provision to the contrary, all fees
and charges for licenses or permits shall be paid in advance at the
time application therefor is made to the Borough Clerk. When an applicant
has not engaged in the business until after the expiration of part
of the current license year, the license fee shall be prorated by
quarters and the fee paid for each quarter or fraction thereof during
which the business has been or will be conducted. Except as otherwise
provided, all license fees shall become a part of the general Borough
treasury.
B.
Where licensee is engaged in more than one activity
as enumerated in this chapter, at the same location, which may be
subject to more then one fee, said licensee shall be required to pay
that fee which would be charged for the activity assessed the highest
fee.
All annual licenses shall terminate on the 30th
day of June each year.
No license shall be issued for the conduct of
any business, and no permit shall be issued for any thing or act,
if the premises and building to be used for the purpose do not fully
comply with the requirements of the Borough.
The location of any licensed business or occupation
or of any permitted act may be changed, provided that 10 days' notice
thereof is given to the Borough Clerk and approval is granted by the
governing body, provided that the requirements of the ordinances are
complied with.
No business, licensed or not, shall be so conducted
or operated as to amount to a nuisance in fact.
Whenever inspections of the premises used for
or in connection with the operation of a licensed business or occupation
are provided for or required by ordinance or are reasonably necessary
to secure compliance with any ordinance provision or to detect violations
thereof, it shall he the duty of the licensee or the person in charge
of the premises to be inspected to admit thereto for the purposes
of making the inspection any officer or employee of the Borough who
is authorized or directed to make such inspection, at any reasonable
time that admission is requested.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough shall have
the right to revoke any license whenever the holder thereof or any
of the licensee's agents or servants violate any provisions of this
chapter, the laws of the State of New Jersey or any rules or regulations
promulgated as herein provided. Prior to the revocation of a license,
a notice of the contemplated action of the Mayor and Council of the
Borough shall be served upon said licensee setting forth such charges
as may be the reason for said proposed revocation and the place, date
and hour when the Mayor and Council of the Borough will hear the matter.
The licensee may be represented by Counsel at such hearing.
Licenses issued under this chapter shall be
posted at the place of business shown on said license, in a conspicuous
place. Said license shall remain posted for the duration of the licensing
year when issued and so long as the licensed business is in operation.
[Amended 8-15-1977 by Ord. No. 77-11; 6-15-1981 by Ord. No. 81-9; 6-24-1985 by Ord. No. 85-14; 5-6-1988 by Ord. No. 88-12; 7-19-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-12; 5-7-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-08]
The license fees to be paid, as hereinbefore
provided, to the Borough of Berlin for conducting or engaging in the
business, trades or activities herein named at the place designated
in the license certificate shall be as follows, the name used being
a designation of such business, trade or activity required to be licensed:
|
Business
|
Fee
|
|---|---|
|
Antique store
|
$85
|
|
Auction stores and places where goods are regularly
sold at auction
|
$110
|
|
Auction establishment commonly known as "farmers'
market," containing more than 10 stalls, stores or retail outlets
|
$760
|
|
Automobile sales agency or showroom or place
for sale of used and/or new cars, each location
|
$260
|
|
Automobile garages:
| |
|
Repair
|
$260
|
|
Automobile body repairs
|
$260
|
|
Bakery, retail or wholesale (baking on premises)
|
$60
|
|
Bowling alleys:
| |
|
For first alley
|
$115
|
|
For each additional alley
|
$25
|
|
Bread, cake and pastry
|
$60
|
|
Burial vaults, caskets and monuments
|
$60
|
|
Cigarette and tobacco dealers, wholesale and
retail
|
$60
|
|
Confectioner, wholesale and retail
|
$60
|
|
Delicatessen and other retail goods, not otherwise
known as a "supermarket"
|
$60
|
|
Department store:
| |
|
To 3,000 square feet
|
$100
|
|
From 3,001 to 7,500 square feet
|
$160
|
|
From 7,501 to 10,000 square feet
|
$210
|
|
Over 10,000 square feet
|
$260
|
|
Drug and medical supply store, commonly known
as a "drugstore"
|
$60
|
|
Dry cleaners, cleaning plant on premises
|
$115
|
|
Dry cleaners, retail
|
$60
|
|
Dry goods and notions
|
$60
|
|
Electrical supplies and appliances
|
$60
|
|
Five- and ten-cent stores
|
$60
|
|
Florists
|
$60
|
|
Flowers, plants and shrubberies and garden supplies
|
$60
|
|
Fruits and produce, retail
|
$60
|
|
Fruits and produce, wholesale
|
$110
|
|
Furniture and house furnishings, new or secondhand
|
$110
|
|
Grocery store
|
$110
|
|
Hardware, wholesale or retail
|
$60
|
|
Ice dealers
|
$60
|
|
Ice cream parlors
|
$60
|
|
Ice dispensing establishment or machine
|
$35
|
|
Jewelry store, retail or wholesale
|
$60
|
|
Keys, locksmiths
|
$60
|
|
Laundry, collecting and distributing
|
$60
|
|
Laundry, self-service
|
$75
|
|
Laundry plant
|
$110
|
|
Lumber dealers
|
$110
|
|
Machine shop
|
$85
|
|
Manufacturing
|
$260
|
|
Meat, retail or wholesale
|
$60
|
|
Millinery and furnishings
|
$60
|
|
Mobile signs may be licensed on a temporary
basis for a maximum of 30 days within any six-month period
|
$60
|
|
Newspaper publisher
|
$65
|
|
Newspaper publisher/printer
|
$165
|
|
Newsstand or news dealer
|
$60
|
|
Optical goods
|
$60
|
|
Oil or fuel supplier or servicer
|
$260
|
|
Paints, oil and paint supplies
|
$60
|
|
Pawnbroker
|
$160
|
|
Photo supplies and/or photographic establishments
|
$60
|
|
Plumbing, steam or gas fitting supplies and
appliances, retail or wholesale
|
$110
|
|
Phrenology and horoscope, also known as "fortune
telling"
|
$160
|
|
Printing, general
|
$60
|
|
Public parking lot
|
$115
|
|
Publisher/printer
|
$185
|
|
Radio and television stores, including radio
and television supplies and/or service
|
$60
|
|
Restaurants and diners and other eating establishments:
| |
|
Seating capacity up to 25
|
$85
|
|
Seating capacity from 26 to 75
|
$110
|
|
Seating capacity from 76 to 150
|
$160
|
|
Seating capacity over 150
|
$210
|
|
Secondhand stores
|
$85
|
|
Seafood business
|
$60
|
|
Shoe repair stores
|
$60
|
|
Sales of goods, wares and merchandise to be
advertised, held out or represented, or which is advertised, held
out or represented to the public, by any names directly or by implication,
or forced sales at reduced prices or as insurance, bankruptcy, mortgage
foreclosure, insolvency removal, loss or expiration of lease or closing
sales, or as sales of goods damaged by fire, smoke or water, except
any sale of which is to be held under a judicial order or writ
|
$260
|
|
Supermarket:
| |
|
Up to 4,000 square feet
|
$110
|
|
From 4,001 to 8,000 square feet
|
$135
|
|
From 8,001 to 10,000 square feet
|
$160
|
|
Over 10,000 square feet
|
$210
|
|
Sporting goods store
|
$60
|
|
Stationery and stationery supplies
|
$60
|
|
Storage house or warehouse or place for regular
storage of goods, mobile (per unit)
|
$110
|
|
Storage house or warehouse or place for regular
storage of goods:
| |
|
Up to 1,000 square feet
|
$55
|
|
From 1,001 to 8,000 square feet
|
$75
|
|
From 8,001 to 15,000 square feet
|
$95
|
|
Over 15,000 square feet
|
$115
|
|
Stores, other than those designated or classified
or other than those regulated by other ordinances of this Borough
|
$60
|
|
Theaters, cinemas and show houses, concert halls,
dance halls and other places of theatrical performance
|
$260
|
|
Trailer sales
|
$110
|
|
Upholsterer
|
$60
|
[Added 5-7-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-08]
Licensing fees are due and payable on or before July 1 annually.
Mercantile licensing fees not paid on or before July 1 annually shall
be subject to a late fee of $30.
[Amended 6-24-1985 by Ord. No. 85-14; 7-19-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-12; 5-7-2012 by Ord. No.
2012-08]
All businesses, trades and activities which
have not been classified in the license fee section of this chapter,
for each location, shall pay a license fee of $60.
The fees herein imposed for business and mercantile
licenses are revenue-producing in nature, but said fees are used primarily
in an attempt to cover the costs of inspections of such businesses
to ensure compliance with the laws of the state and the ordinances
of this municipality. It is the legislative intent of this chapter
to ensure the fact that all businesses of whatsoever kind and wheresoever
located in this Borough shall be inspected periodically to ensure
compliance with the laws as aforesaid. In certain instances, there
are those businesses which warrant additional police surveillance
and inspection. There are those businesses which attract unusual amounts
of vehicular traffic, necessitating additional regulation and enforcement.
These fees provide a reasonable relationship to the costs of regulation
and administration.
This chapter shall not apply to any business
or occupation licensed under those various laws of this state which
prohibit licensing by municipalities.
The proper enforcement of the provisions of
this chapter dealing with mercantile licenses shall be within the
jurisdiction of the Police Department of this Borough and additionally
within the jurisdiction of those officers charged with providing the
necessary inspections and regulations.
A.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-5, any person, firm, association
or corporation violating any section of this chapter shall, upon conviction
in the Municipal Court, having jurisdiction, be subject to a fine
not exceeding $500 or imprisonment in the county jail or in any place
provided by the municipality for the detention of prisoners, for any
term not exceeding 90 days, or both.
B.
Any person convicted of the violation of any ordinance
may, in the discretion of the court by which he was convicted, and
in default of the payment of any fine imposed therefor, be imprisoned
in the county jail or place of detention provided by the municipality,
for any term not exceeding 90 days.
C.
The court before which any person is convicted of
violating this chapter shall have power to impose any fine or term
of imprisonment, or suspension thereof, not exceeding the maximum
fixed in this chapter.
