[Adopted 4-13-1978 by Ord. No. 883]
In applying and interpreting this article, the following definitions
shall be used:
Any room or rooms or suite or apartment thereof, whether furnished
or unfurnished, which is occupied or intended, arranged or designed to be
occupied for sleeping, dwelling or residence purposes by one or more persons.
Any condition, dangerous or injurious to the health or safety of
the occupants of a building or occupants of neighboring buildings, which arises
out of any of the following circumstances or conditions:
The lack of adequate ventilation or light.
The lack of adequate and properly functioning sanitary facilities.
The lack of an adequate and healthful water supply.
Structural, mechanical or electrical defects which increase the hazards
of fire, accident or other calamity.
From October 1 of each year until the next succeeding May 1, failure
to maintain every unit of dwelling space and every habitable room therein
at a temperature of at least 68° F. during the daytime hours of 6:00 a.m.
to 11:00 p.m. or failure to maintain every unit of dwelling space and every
habitable room therein at a temperature of at least 65° F. during the
nighttime hours of 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. In meeting the aforesaid standards,
the owner shall not be responsible for heat loss and the consequent drop in
the interior temperature arising out of action by the occupants in leaving
windows or doors open to the exterior of the building.
[Amended 8-15-1995 by Ord. No. 1226][1]
Any building or structure of one or more stories and any land appurtenant
thereto and any portion thereof in which four or more dwelling units are occupied
or are intended to be occupied by four or more persons who live independently
of each other. A premises which is used primarily for purposes other than
sleeping, dwelling or residence purposes shall not be considered a multiple
dwelling.
There is hereby established the Palisades Park Multiple-Dwelling Emergency
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the "Commission." Its members shall
be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council and shall
serve without compensation at the pleasure of the Mayor and Council of the
Borough of Palisades Park. The membership of the Commission shall consist
of the State and Local Housing Officers, the Construction Code Official, one
member of the Board of Health of the Borough of Palisades Park and one member
of the Borough Council of the Borough of Palisades Park, who shall be Chairman.
Any conduct or action of the Commission authorized by this article shall be
deemed valid and effective when taken by any three members of the Commission.
At any meeting of the Commission, a quorum shall consist of a majority of
the membership of the Commission.
The powers of the Commission shall consist of the following:
A.
Examining those circumstances and conditions alleged
to constitute emergency conditions and declaring, where applicable, an emergency
condition to exist.
B.
Arranging, in accordance with the terms of this article,
for the prompt repair, maintenance, supply or replacement of those items of
structure, equipment or supplies which are necessary to correct, eliminate
or alleviate the emergency condition.
C.
Receiving, administering and expending security funds
deposited pursuant to the terms of this article.
D.
Notifying owners of multiple dwellings, upon receipt
of appropriate complaints therefor or investigations de novo, that emergency
conditions exist where remedying of the same constitutes the owner's
responsibility, upon which the Commission shall issue to such owner an emergency
notice to proceed to correct or complete and abate said emergency condition
within the time period specified by this article or the order of the Commission.
Where an owner fails to comply with the notice or order of the Commission,
the Commission may undertake the necessary repairs or maintenance or provide
the necessary supplies to alleviate the emergency condition in conformity
with the Local Public Contracts Law.[1] The cost in legal, search and advertising fees or charges, together
with the cost of such repairs, alterations, replacement or supplies, shall
be deemed a municipal lien against the real property for which the costs were
incurred. A detailed statement of said costs and the amount so due shall be
filed with the Borough Tax Assessor, and a copy thereof shall be forwarded
forthwith to the owner by registered mail. Any owner or party in interest
may, within 30 days of the date of the filing of the lien certificate, proceed
in a summary manner, by appealing to the Mayor and Council, to contest the
reasonableness of the amount or the accuracy of the costs set forth in the
borough lien certificate.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.
A.
Any owner of a multiple dwelling failing to respond to the notices of this Commission to abate, remedy, correct or complete remedial work previously instituted within the time periods prescribed by this article and, more particularly, § 189-7A(4) and (5) hereof shall, in futuro, be required, in addition to all other remedies available to the Commission hereby reserved without prejudice, to deposit with the Commission security funds to be used for the repair, maintenance, supply or replacement of those items of structure, equipment or supplies which are necessary to correct, eliminate or alleviate an emergency condition. The amount of the security funds to be deposited with the Commission shall be computed in the following manner:
(1)
Where the owner owns between four and 25 dwelling units,
the owner shall deposit $100 for each dwelling unit.
(2)
Where the owner owns between 26 and 40 dwelling units,
the owner shall deposit $2,500 for the first 25 units and $50 for each additional
dwelling unit owned.
(3)
Where the owner owns more than 40 dwelling units, the
owner shall deposit $2,500 for the first 25 units, $50 per unit for the next
15 units and $30 per unit for each additional dwelling unit.
(4)
In no event shall an owner be required to deposit more
than $5,000 in security funds pursuant to this article.
B.
All funds required to be deposited under the terms of
this article shall be deposited with the Commission by delivering such funds
to the office of the Board of Health of the Borough of Palisades Park within
10 days after receipt of notice from the Commission of the amount due. Notice
of the amount due may be given by the Commission or its agent by personally
delivering the same to the owner or the owner's agent, servant, employee
or joint venturer on the owner's premises or by certified mail sent to
the owner's last registered address. Upon receipt of such security funds,
the Commission shall deposit the same in an interest-bearing savings account
in the name of the Commission in trust for each particular owner. All interest
payable on such accounts shall accrue to the particular owner on whose behalf
the account is maintained by the Commission.
A.
In the event that the Commission spends money from any account, as authorized by this article, thus reducing the amount in the account and leaving less than the sum required as computed in § 189-5 of this article, the Commission shall immediately notify the owner, in the same manner as notification is given in § 189-5 of this article, of the amount necessary to bring that account up to the originally required amount. The owner shall thereafter deposit said required sum necessary to bring the account up to the originally required amount with the Commission and within the following time schedule:
(1)
Where the balance remaining in the owner's account
is more than $1,500, the deposit shall be made within 30 days from the date
the owner received notice.
(2)
Where the balance remaining in the account is $1,500
or less, the deposit shall be made within five days from the date the owner
received notice.
B.
Where the Commission has spent money from an account,
the owner of the premises may appeal to the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Palisades Park for a hearing concerning solely the issues of whether or
not an emergency condition existed and whether or not the amount expended
to remedy the emergency condition was reasonable. If such appeal is desired,
the owner shall, within 10 days of receiving notice of the amount spent, file
with the Borough Clerk of the Borough of Palisades Park a letter requesting
such appeal. The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Palisades Park shall
hold a hearing regarding the aforementioned issues not less than 10 or more
than 30 days after the Borough Clerk has received the request from the owner,
and it shall render its decision within 14 days after the hearing has been
concluded. By mutual consent between the Mayor and Council and an aggrieved
party, the time limitations herein stated may be extended.
A.
The Commission shall be authorized to expend the moneys
from the account it maintains for an owner to correct, eliminate or alleviate
an emergency condition only when:
(1)
It has examined those circumstances and conditions alleged
to constitute an emergency condition and has declared an emergency condition
to exist; and
(2)
The remedying of such emergency condition is the owner's
responsibility; and
(3)
The owner or the owner's agent, servant, employee
or joint venturer has received notice of the circumstances or conditions constituting
the emergency condition, from either the Commission or an affected tenant,
in person or by regular mail, telegram or telephone conversation; and
(4)
No work has been commenced by the owner or the owner's agent, servant, employee or joint venturer to correct, eliminate or alleviate the emergency condition within 24 hours after the owner or the owner's agent, servant, employee or joint venturer has received notice, as described in Subsection A(3) of this section, of the circumstances and conditions constituting the emergency condition; or
(5)
Work was commenced within the twenty-four-hour period referred to in Subsection A(4) of this section, but such work has not been reasonably completed within 72 hours after the work was commenced, and such work, under the applicable circumstances and in the opinion of the Health Officer or the Building Inspector, could have been completed within 72 hours.
B.
Any such withdrawal and expenditure of security funds
by the Commission shall require the signatures of any two members of the Commission.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 7, which immediately followed
this section and dealt with violations and penalties, was deleted 8-15-1995
by Ord. No. 1226.
