[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Hopatcong 2-2-1989 by Ord. No. 2-89; amended in
its entirety 8-2-2023 by Ord. No. 17-2023. Subsequent amendments noted where
applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The area of the water body or ice surface disturbed by the
operation of an ice-retardant system. Said disturbed or affected area
includes open water, weakened ice (excessively cracked), thin ice
(less than four inches in depth) and area where adjacent ice is covered
by a film of water.
The high-water mark of 10.30 feet on the staff gauge as recorded
at Lake Hopatcong State Park or the line established by the Bureau
of Navigation, State Department of Environmental Protection, defining
the lake's permanent shoreline.
A mechanical device(s) or a series of mechanical devices
designed to retard or prevent the formation of ice in or around lakefront
structures. Said devices utilize as their mode of operation one or
more of the following mechanisms: pumped air, artificial water turbulence
or the addition of heat to the water body.
The owner of record of a tract of land according to the tax
rolls of the Borough of Hopatcong or any person occupying said premises
or utilizing the property.
Any individual, association of individuals, corporation or
partnership.
A line running parallel to the bulkhead line and extending
not more than 50 feet from said bulkhead line, as approved by the
Natural Resources Council and Bureau of Navigation, State Department
of Environmental Protection, beyond which no dock, pier or marina
or other structure, permanent or temporary, floating or affixed to
shore or lake bottom, may be located.
Any device designed, marketed, or sold to the general public
for use in retarding the formation of ice around protected structures
which is typically cylindrical in shape, containing an electric motor
within the cylinder which drives a propeller in such a manner that
it forces water to travel through the cylinder and agitate the surface
of the water body to prevent the freezing of water through artificial
water turbulence.
Any lakefront or within-lake structure which the ice-retardant
system is designed to protect. Such protected structures include but
are not limited to docks, piers, bulkheads, catwalks, seawalls and
boathouses.
A.Â
Utilization of ice-retardant systems is hereby authorized
within the municipal limits of the Borough of Hopatcong from December
1 of each year through April 1 of the following year.
B.Â
No person shall operate an ice-retardant system within
the municipal limits of the Borough of Hopatcong unless said operation
is in conformance with this chapter.
C.Â
No person
shall operate a propeller-driven device within the municipal limits
of the Borough of Hopatcong unless the system has been annually registered
prior to December 1, 2023, with the Borough on a form prescribed by
the Zoning Officer. The registration form shall include, but not necessarily
be limited to, the following information: (1) name of property owner,
street address, block and lot number and dock placard number where
the ice-retardant system is to be operated; and (2) the name, address,
telephone number and e-mail address of the person in charge of maintenance
of the ice-retardant system. A dock placard number must be installed
upon the dock or structure where the propeller-driven device is to
be operated so that it is visible when viewed from Lake Hopatcong.
There shall be no fee for registration of an ice-retardant system.
D.Â
By registering
a propeller-driven device, a property owner shall be deemed to consent
to entry upon the owner's property upon reasonable notice for purposes
of inspection of the system by the Zoning Officer to ensure compliance
with this chapter.
A.Â
All ice-retardant systems shall be marked with an
appropriate sign placed along the shore or on the protected structure
specifying "Danger, Thin Ice." Such sign shall be a minimum of two
feet by three feet in size and shall feature letters of a minimum
height of three inches and colors in such a way as to be clearly visible
on the ice from a distance of 100 feet. Where the ice-retardant system
will disturb a distance measured horizontally along the shoreline
of more than 25 feet, an additional sign shall be required for each
25 feet of shoreline or fraction thereof.
B.Â
Under normal
operation conditions, the affected area of ice created by the ice-retardant
system shall not extend more than 10 feet beyond the protected structure.
C.Â
Under normal operation conditions, the affected area
of ice created by the ice-retardant system shall not extend more than
10 feet, measured along the shoreline, from the protected structure.
D.Â
Irrespective of the standard appearing in Subsections B and C above, the affected area of ice, under normal operating conditions, should not extend to within 10 feet of a side property line. Said requirement may be waived if the owner and/or operator of the ice-retardant system obtains written permission from the adjacent property owner.
E.Â
Unless the ice-retardant system has been designed and approved in accordance with § 137-4 of this chapter, no system shall be designed or operated in such a way as to prevent ingress or egress to any portion of the water body or to foreclose the formation of ice across a channel.
F.Â
Any ice-retardant
system used in accordance with this chapter shall be operated with
a ground-fault-protected circuit, a timer and a thermostat installed
pursuant to and in conformity with the BOCA Code and as otherwise
required by law. The thermostat shall be set so that the ice-retardant
system does not operate when temperatures are above 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
The timer shall be set in such a manner that the ice-retardant system
operates for no more than 12 hours per day.
The Mayor and Council may, by resolution, waive
the requirements of this chapter in situations of hardship or exceptional
public necessity. "Exceptional public necessity" shall include but
not limited to a necessity to maintain an open channel of water for
ferry service or access to island lakefront homes. In considering
such an application, the Mayor and Council may refer the application
to the Lake Hopatcong Commission for comment. In adopting the resolution,
the Mayor and Council shall specify requirements as to markings and
lighting. Such requirements can include but are not limited to requiring
buoys to be placed in the frozen water body to clearly mark the approach,
requiring nighttime illumination or flashing light to indicate that
open water is present, limiting the size of the affected ice area
to the minimal necessary for the use and/or publishing public notice
of the condition to specify minimal levels of insurance requirements.
A.Â
The Zoning Official is hereby designated as the enforcement
officer under the terms of this chapter. All complaints received by
any municipal agency concerning the operation of ice-retardant systems
shall be referred to the Zoning Official. Upon receipt of a complaint,
the Zoning Official shall investigate within five days and, if the
complaint is found justified, notify the owner and operator of the
terms of this chapter and require compliance within an additional
10 days. The Zoning Official may reduce the time period for compliance
when the interest of public safety so requires. If the owner or operator
of the system fails to undertake the corrections within the specified
time frame, the Zoning Official may cause a summons to be issued in
the Municipal Court of the Borough of Hopatcong to enforce the requirements
of this chapter.
B.Â
A violation of the terms of this chapter, including
the operational requirements, shall be punishable by a fine of $150
for the first offense, $350 for the second offense and $1,000 for
the third and subsequent offenses. Each day that a violation of this
chapter continues may be deemed to be a separate offense.
