[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Wall 11-8-1978 as Sec. 3-8 of the Revised General
Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any person:
A.
To encumber any street or other place by loafing,
lounging, loitering, sleeping in or about the same to the annoyance
of passersby.
B.
To be under the influence of intoxicating liquor,
or in an intoxicated condition, and loiter or be upon the streets,
highways or other public places, or on property not his own.
C.
To indulge in and utter loud, common, offensive, indecent
or profane language in any public place, quasi-public place or upon
private property not his own.
D.
To indulge in and utter loud, common, offensive, indecent
or profane language upon his own property if the same is audible to
persons on other property or upon the public street or other public
place.
E.
To address or make audible any offensive remarks or
comments upon or to any person passing along or being on any highway
or other public place.
F.
To annoy, obstruct or interfere with any person or
persons lawfully being on any highway or other public place or conveyance.
G.
To go about from door to door or accost or annoy any
other person in any public place by begging or soliciting alms or
wander abroad and lodge in uninhabited buildings, taverns, outhouses,
barns, the open air or other places and not give a good account of
himself.
H.
To revel, quarrel, brawl or otherwise misbehave in
a disorderly manner to disturb the public peace and quiet.
I.
To willfully disquiet or disturb any lawful meeting
or assembly for religious worship, either by making loud noises or
rude or indecent behavior or profane talk whether in the meeting or
in the immediate vicinity of the same.
J.
To place or exhibit in any manner any indecent, immodest,
obscene or vulgar thing where it may be exposed to public view.
K.
To appear in any street or other public place or in
the open air in the Township in a state of nudity or in any indecent
or lewd dress or make any indecent or lewd exposure of themselves
or act in an immodest, indecent or lewd manner.
L.
To keep, manage, maintain, reside in, frequent or
be an inmate of a disorderly house or house of ill fame, or permit,
suffer or allow his or her house or other building or place to be
used, frequented, occupied by or resorted to by riotous or disorderly
persons, prostitutes, gamblers or vagrants.
M.
To set up, maintain, or permit, suffer or allow to
be set up, kept or maintained in any house or other premises or place
any device or game of chance for the purpose of gaming, or engage
in any game of chance either as banker, player, dealer or otherwise
for the purpose of gaming, except those bona fide qualified organizations
which, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 5:8-24 et seq. (Bingo Licensing Law) and
N.J.S.A. 5:8-50 et seq. (Raffles Licensing Law), may conduct games
of chance on any day, including Sunday, upon application to and approval
by the Township Clerk pursuant to the rules and regulations of the
New Jersey Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission. In the event
that the Township Clerk is unavailable or unable to review the application,
the Chief of Police shall approve or disapprove of the application
pursuant to the rules and regulations of the New Jersey Legalized
Games of Chance Control Commission.
[Amended 4-23-2014 by Ord. No. 6-2014]
N.
To make, or cause to be made, or permit, suffer or allow to be made
in his house or other premises any loud or unseemly noises to the
serious inconvenience or discomfort of the peaceful inhabitants of
the neighborhood between 11:00 p.m. Friday night and 7:00 a.m. Saturday
morning, and between the hours of 11:00 p.m. Saturday night and 7:00
a.m. Sunday morning. On all other days those same acts shall be prohibited
from 10:00 p.m. at night until 7:00 a.m. the following morning. For
days preceding legal holidays and for legal holidays the hours applicable
to Fridays and Saturdays listed in this subsection shall apply (11:00
p.m. at night until 7:00 a.m. the next morning).
[Amended 8-24-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
O.
To possess, set or otherwise cause to explode or discharge or burn
any fireworks or explosives of flammable materials, or discharge them
or throw them into any such areas from lands or highways adjacent
thereto. This prohibition includes any substance, compound, mixture,
or compound that would be dangerous from any of the foregoing standards.
Residents seeking to use fireworks must first obtain a permit and
approval from appropriate Township officials, including but not limited
to, fire officials.
[Amended 11-25-2014 by Ord. No. 23-2014]
P.
To use or pretend to use or have any skill in physiognomy,
palmistry, phrenology or like crafty science, or shall pretend to
tell destinies, fortunes or future occurrences.
Q.
To by word, sign, act, or otherwise, invite or solicit
unlawful sexual intercourse or any other unlawful, indecent, lewd
or lascivious act.
R.
To maliciously destroy, damage or injure any property
of another.
S.
To enter any building or go upon any lands used or
occupied for school purposes by a public school and therein disturb
the exercises of the school or molest or give annoyance to the children
or teacher attending said school.
T.
To willfully or maliciously ring or cause to be rung
any bell, siren or alarm of any fire company in this municipality
and thereby give or cause to be given a false alarm of fire.
U.
To willfully, maliciously or recklessly beat, torment,
kick, strike, mutilate, torture, injure, disable, kill or otherwise
mistreat any dog used by the Police Department in the performance
of the functions or duties of the Department, or to interfere with
any such dog while the same is being used in the performance of any
of the functions or duties of the Police Department.
[Added 10-22-2014 by Ord.
No. 22-2014]
A.
Declaration of findings and policy. Whereas, excessive noise is a
serious hazard to the public health and welfare and the quality of
life; and a substantial body of science and technology exists by which
excessive noise may be substantially abated; and the people have a
right to, and should be ensured, an environment free of noise that
may jeopardize their health or welfare or degrade the quality of life;
and the necessity in the public interest for the provisions and prohibitions
hereinafter contained and enacted is declared as a matter of legislative
determination and public policy and the provisions and prohibitions
hereinafter contained and enacted are in pursuance of and for the
purpose of securing and promoting the public health, comfort, convenience,
safety, welfare, and the peace and quiet of the inhabitants of the
Township of Wall.
B.
Enforcement and authority. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the Police Department of the Township of Wall to enforce all of the provisions of this section with the exception of those set forth under Subsection D entitled "Specific acts deemed to be violations." Said Subsection D may be enforced by the Police Department and by the Code Enforcement Department and its agents and employees.
(1)
Method of enforcement. Violation of this section shall be cause for
summons and complaint to be issued forthwith; provided, however, that
if the noise source is not a motor vehicle moving on a public right-of-way,
in lieu of a summons and complaint, enforcement personnel may issue
a twenty-four-hour notice, in writing, which may be served personally
or by certified mail to the last known address of the person or persons
in charge of or in control of the device, building or premises to
abate said violation of this section. Failure to comply with the order
issued and served shall constitute a violation of this section. Enforcement
personnel are not required to serve warnings prior to the issuance
of any summons.
C.
Loud sounds and noises prohibited. No person shall cause or cause
to be made any loud, raucous, annoying sounds, noise or disturbances
so as to disturb the comfort, peace, quiet and tranquility of the
residents of the neighborhood or of the community.
D.
Specific acts deemed to be violations. The doing of any of the following acts as outlined in Subsection D(1) and (2) below so as to cause any particularly or unnecessarily loud or disturbing noise is deemed to be a detriment to the health and welfare of residents and shall be deemed to be a violation of this section. The enumeration of these acts shall not be deemed to be an exclusive list of violations of this section.
(1)
Any unreasonably loud and disturbing sounds such as, but not limited
to, the playing of music or amplified sound of any type, crowd noise
or loud conversations or celebrations which transmit beyond the bounds
of the property from which they emanate shall be prohibited when carried
on between the hours of 11:00 p.m. Friday night and 7:00 a.m. Saturday
morning and, between the hours of 11:00 p.m. Saturday night and 7:00
a.m. Sunday morning. On all other days those same acts shall be prohibited
from 10:00 p.m. at night until 7:00 a.m. the following morning. For
days proceeding legal holidays and for legal holidays the hours applicable
to Fridays and Saturdays listed in this subsection shall apply (11:00
p.m. at night until 7:00 a.m. the next morning).
(2)
The following acts shall be prohibited when carried on between the hours of 7:00 p.m. in the evening and 7:00 a.m. the following day on any weekday and after 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and at any time on Sundays and legal holidays, except as described in Subsection E(3).
(a)
Operating or causing to be operated any equipment, hand-held or otherwise, operated by commercial contractors or entities in commercial or residential construction, repair, alteration, excavation, demolition, and other commercial activities generating noise comparable to the activities listed herein, on buildings, structures, streets, alleys or appurtenances thereto, in residential or commercial land use categories, including, but not limited to, cranes, bulldozers, backhoes, front-end loaders, trucks, dump trucks, commercial saws, jackhammers, nail guns and other similar construction equipment. Operating or causing to operate any equipment used by commercial landscapers or commercial entities in the course of lawn care and property maintenance including lawn mowers and leaf blowers. The prohibitions enumerated in this section shall not be in effect when the Township of Wall has determined that exceptional circumstances justify suspension of these restrictions. Exceptional circumstances shall include but will not be limited to: weather emergencies; and emergencies impacting on individual property owners (see Subsection E(3) for more details).
(b)
The use of any sound truck, loudspeaker, sound amplifier or
other such instrument for any commercial use.
(c)
The loading or unloading, or the pickup or delivery of material
of any nature to any commercial or residential property including
boxes, crates, containers and dumpsters, lumber and similar materials,
including garbage cans or other similar objects, which may include
the operation of a forklift, hydraulic lift or similar device that
causes unreasonably loud and disturbing noise, other than delivery
of consumer items to a commercial or residential property such as
newspapers, delivery food service, milk deliveries, UPS and Federal
Express deliveries, pharmaceutical deliveries and other such similar
deliveries that do not involve forklifts, hydraulic lifts and other
similar devices that may cause excessive noise.
(d)
The running, operating, or permitting the operation of any motor
vehicle which creates a disturbing noise.
(e)
The operating or permitting the operation of the motor or any
attached auxiliary equipment of any motor vehicle whose manufacturer's
gross weight is in excess of 10,000 pounds for a period longer than
three minutes in any hour while such vehicle is stationary on a public
right-of-way in a residential district or in any designated quiet
zone, or is on private property in a residential or commercial zone
and is not within a completely enclosed structure.
(f)
Private and commercial garbage collection before 7:00 a.m. on
any day.
E.
Exceptions.
(1)
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to church bells
or chimes, or to sounds typically generated by vehicles engaged in
the residential sale of ice cream.
(2)
The playing by a musician, band or orchestra in a hall, building,
public place of entertainment, or in the open air shall be permissible
by special permit to be granted by the Township Committee. Such permit
shall be issued for a period of time, but not to exceed one year at
no cost to the applicant.
(3)
Residential property owners may themselves operate lawn maintenance equipment, home repair equipment and home improvement equipment on their own property on weekdays, Sundays and legal holidays between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Residential property owners, pursuant to Subsection D(2)(a), are restricted as to when they may hire commercial contractors to undertake these activities.
(4)
The operation of any sporting stadiums and/or venues and the events
they host which were in existence prior to the adoption of this section
shall be permissible. Such sporting stadiums and/or venues will be
held to the preexisting Township noise standard whereby it is not
permissible to make or cause to be made, or permit or suffer or allow
to be made, any loud or unseemly noises to the serious inconvenience
or discomfort to the residents between the hours of 12:00 midnight
and 7:00 a.m.
(5)
Emergencies. Noise caused in the performance of emergency work for
the immediate safety, health or welfare of the community or individuals
of the community, or to restore property to a safe condition following
a public calamity shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit law enforcement,
ambulance, fire, or other emergency personnel to make excessive noise
in the performance of their duties when such noise is clearly unnecessary.
The use of stationary emergency signaling devices shall be for emergency
use only.
F.
Penalties.
(1)
Any person, firm or corporation who shall be found guilty of violating
any provision of this section shall, for each offense, be fined a
sum of not less than $200 nor more than an amount indexed to the maximum
allowable fine under New Jersey state statutes and a jail term not
to exceed 90 days. Each day of such violation's continuance shall
be considered as a separate offense and shall be separately punishable.
(2)
Any person, firm or corporation who shall be found guilty of violating
any provision of this section for a second time within a six-month
period shall, for each offense, be fined a sum of not less than $500
nor more than an amount indexed to the maximum allowable fine under
New Jersey state statutes and a jail term not to exceed 90 days. Each
day of such violation's continuance shall be considered as a
separate offense and shall be separately punishable.
[Added 11-20-2018 by Ord. No.
20-2018]
A.
Adoption of standards.
(1)
A code defining and prohibiting certain matters, things, conditions
or acts and each of them as a nuisance, prohibiting certain noises
or sounds, requiring the proper heating of apartments, prohibiting
lease or rental of certain buildings, prohibiting spitting in or upon
public buildings, conveyances or sidewalks, authorizing the inspection
of premises by an enforcing official, providing for the removal or
abatement of certain nuisances and recovery of expenses incurred by
the Board of Health in removing or abating such nuisances and prescribing
penalties for violations is hereby established pursuant to N.J.S.A.
26:3-69.1 et seq. A copy of the code is annexed to this section and
made a part of it without the inclusion of the text.
B.
Title of code. The code established and adopted by this section is
described and commonly known as the "Public Health Nuisance Code of
New Jersey (1953)."
C.
Public record. Three copies of the Public Health Nuisance Code of
New Jersey (1953) have been placed on file in the offices of the Secretary
of the Board of Health and the Township Clerk for the use and examination
of the public.
D.
Enforcing officials. "Enforcing officials" shall mean and include
regular and special patrolmen and superior officers of the Police
Department, the Code Official or Building Official, the Plumbing Inspector
of the Township, the Executive Officer, the Certified Health Officer
or any other official authorized by the Board of Health to enforce
this code and chapter.
