Source: https://www.ecode360.com/32166538
Timestamp: 2019-10-15 17:08:07
Document Index: 228909535

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213', '§ 213']

Egg Harbor City, NJ Maintenance of Vacant/Abandoned Properties
Ch 213 Art III Maintenance of Vacant/Abandoned Properties
§ 213-9 Purpose and intent.
§ 213-10 Definitions.
§ 213-11 Applicability.
§ 213-12 Establishment of registry.
§ 213-13 Registration of abandoned real property.
§ 213-14 Maintenance requirements.
§ 213-15 Security requirements.
§ 213-16 Public nuisance.
§ 213-17 Penalties; schedule of civil penalties.
§ 213-18 Inspections for violations.
§ 213-19 Additional authority.
§ 213-20 Opposing, obstructing enforcement officer; penalty.
§ 213-21 Immunity of enforcement officer.
Egg Harbor City, NJ / PART II: GENERAL LEGISLATION / Property Maintenance
Article III Maintenance of Vacant/Abandoned Properties
[Adopted 12-19-2013 by Ord. No. 16-2013; amended in its entirety 3-24-2016 by Ord. No. 4-2016]
It is the purpose and intent of the municipality to establish a process to address the deterioration and blight of municipality neighborhoods caused by an increasing amount of abandoned, foreclosed or distressed real property located within the municipality, and to identify, regulate, limit and reduce the number of abandoned properties located within the municipality. It is the municipality's further intent to participate in the county-wide registration program established by the Atlantic County Improvement Authority and administered by Community Champions Corporation as a mechanism to protect neighborhoods from becoming blighted due to the lack of adequate maintenance and security of abandoned and foreclosed properties.
Any real property located in the municipality, whether vacant or occupied, that is in default on a mortgage, has had a lis pendens filed against it by the Lender holding a mortgage on the property, is subject to an ongoing foreclosure action by the lender, is subject to an application for a tax deed or pending tax assessors lien sale, or has been transferred to the lender under a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The designation of a property as "abandoned" shall remain in place until such time as the property is sold or transferred to a new owner, the foreclosure action has been dismissed, and any default on the mortgage has been cured.
A property that is accessible through a comprised/breached gate, fence, wall, etc. or a structure that is unsecured and/or breached in such a way as to allow access to the interior space by unauthorized persons.
Include, but are not limited to, the municipality's Zoning Code, the municipality's Code of Ordinances ("Municipality Code"), and the New Jersey Building Code.
Properties whose maintenance is not in conformance with the maintenance of other neighboring properties causing a decrease in value of the neighboring properties; or
Properties cited for a public nuisance pursuant to the municipality Code; or
Properties that endanger the public's health, safety, or welfare because the properties or improvements thereon are dilapidated, deteriorated, or violate minimum health and safety standards or lack maintenance as required by the Municipality and Zoning Codes.
Any law enforcement officer, building official, zoning inspector, code enforcement officer, fire inspector or building inspector, or other person authorized by the municipality to enforce the applicable code(s).
Any person, legal entity or other party having any ownership interest whether legal or equitable, in real property. This term shall also apply to any person, legal entity or agent responsible for the construction, maintenance or operation of the property involved.
These sections shall be considered cumulative and not superseding or subject to any other law or provision for same, but rather be an additional remedy available to the municipality above and beyond any other state, county or local provisions for same.
Pursuant to the provisions of § 213-9, the municipality or designee shall participate in the County-wide registration program established by the Atlantic County Improvement Authority and administered by Community Champions Corporation cataloging each abandoned property within the municipality, containing the information required by this article.
Any mortgagee who holds a mortgage on real property located within the municipality of City of Egg Harbor shall perform an inspection of the property to determine vacancy or occupancy, upon default by the mortgagor. The mortgagee shall, within 10 days of the inspection, register the property with the Division of Code Enforcement, or designee, on forms or website access provided by the municipality, and indicate whether the property is vacant or occupied. A separate registration is required for each property, whether it is found to be vacant or occupied. The registration shall be valid for six months, and must be renewed every six months as long as the property is abandoned.
[Amended 5-11-2017 by Ord. No. 8-2017]
If the property is occupied but remains in default, it shall be inspected by the mortgagee or his designee monthly until:
It is found to be vacant or shows evidence of vacancy at which time it is deemed abandoned, and the mortgagee shall, within 10 days of that inspection, update the property registration to a vacancy status on forms provided by the municipality.
The registration statement shall include the name, street address, telephone number, facsimile number, and email address (if applicable) of a person 21 years or older, designated by the owner or owners as the authorized agent for receiving notices of code violations and for receiving process in any court proceeding or administrative enforcement of any applicable code; and the name, street address, telephone number, facsimile number, and email address (if applicable) of the firm and the actual name(s) of the firms individual principal(s) responsible for maintaining the property. The individual or representative of the firm responsible for maintaining the property shall be available by telephone or in person on a twenty-four-hour-per-day, seven-day-per-week basis. The two entities may be the same or different persons. Both entities shown on the statement must maintain offices in the State of New Jersey or reside within the State of New Jersey.
[Amended 2-8-2018 by Ord. No. 1-2018]
Annual registration fees.
[Added 2-9-2017 by Ord. No. 1-2017; amended 5-11-2017 by Ord. No. 8-2017; 6-22-2017 by Ord. No. 11-2017]
Vacant property registration fee schedule.
Initial registration: $500.
Subsequent renewals: $500 for every six-month period.
Any changes to the fee schedule or the penalties for violations to register any applicable property may be made by resolution of the Common Council of the City of Egg Harbor.
All registration fees must be paid directly from the mortgagee, servicer, trustee, or owner. Third party registration fees are not allowed without the consent of the municipality and/or its authorized designee.
Properties subject to this section shall remain under the annual registration requirement, and the inspection, security and maintenance standards of this section as long as they remain vacant or in default.
Pursuant to any administrative or judicial finding and determination that any property is in violation of this article, the municipality may take the necessary action to ensure compliance with and place a lien on the property for the cost of the work performed to benefit the property and bring it into compliance.
Properties subject to this chapter shall be kept free of weeds, overgrown brush, dead vegetation, trash, junk, debris, building materials, any accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, notices, except those required by federal, state or local law, discarded personal items including, but not limited to, furniture, clothing, large and small appliances, printed material or any other items that give the appearance that the property is abandoned.
Failure of the mortgagee and/or owner to properly maintain the property may result in a violation of the applicable code(s) and issuance of a citation or Notice of Violation in accordance with Chapter 213 of the municipality of the City of Egg Harbor's Code of Ordinances. Pursuant to a finding and determination by the municipality's Code Enforcement Officer/Board, Hearing Officer/Special Magistrate or a court of competent jurisdiction, the municipality may take the necessary action to ensure compliance with this section.
If a mortgage on a property is in default, and the property has become vacant or abandoned, a property manager shall be designated by the mortgagee to perform the work necessary to bring the property into compliance with the applicable code(s), and the property manager must perform regular inspections to verify compliance with the requirements of this article, and any other applicable laws.
All abandoned real property is hereby declared to be a public nuisance, the abatement of which pursuant to the police power is hereby declared to be necessary for the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the municipality.
Any person who shall violate the provisions of this article may be cited and fined as provided in Chapter 213 of the municipality of the City of Egg Harbor Code of Ordinances. The following table shows violations of these sections, as may be amended from time to time, which may be enforced pursuant to the provisions of this regulation; and the dollar amount of civil penalty for the violation of these sections as it may be amended. The descriptions of violations below are for informational purposes only and are not meant to limit or define the nature of the violations or the subject matter of the Municipality Code sections, except to the extent that different types of violations of the Code section may carry different civil penalties. For each Code section listed in the schedule of civil penalties, the entirety of the section may be enforced by the mechanism provided in this section, regardless of whether all activities prescribed or required are described in the "Description of Violation" column. To determine whether a particular activity is prescribed or required by this Code, the relevant Municipality Code section(s) shall be examined.
Failure to register abandoned real property on annual basis and/or any violation of the sections stated within.
Adherence to this article does not relieve any person, legal entity or agent from any other obligations set forth in any applicable code(s), which may apply to the property. Upon sale or transfer of title to the property, the owner shall be responsible for all violations of the applicable code(s) and the owner shall be responsible for meeting with the municipality's Code Enforcement Division within 45 days for a final courtesy inspection report.
If the enforcement officer has reason to believe that a property subject to the provisions of this article is posing a serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare, the code enforcement officer may temporarily secure the property at the expense of the mortgagee and/or owner, and may bring the violations before the municipality's Code Enforcement Board or Code Enforcement Special Magistrate as soon as possible to address the conditions of the property.
The Code Enforcement Board or Hearing Officer/special magistrate shall have the authority to require the mortgagee and/or owner of record of any property affected by this section, to implement additional maintenance and/or security measure including, but not limited to, securing any and all doors, windows or other openings, employment of an on-site security guard or other measures as may be reasonably required to help prevent further decline of the property.
If there is a finding that the condition of the property is posing a serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare, then the Code Enforcement Board or special magistrate may direct the municipality to abate the violations and charge the mortgagee with the cost of the abatement.
If the mortgagee does not reimburse the municipality for the cost of temporarily securing the property, or of any abatement directed by the Code Enforcement Board or special magistrate, within 30 days of the municipality sending the mortgagee the invoice then the municipality may lien the property with such cost, along with an administrative fee of $500 to recover the administrative personnel services.
Whoever opposes, obstructs or resists any enforcement officer or any person authorized by the enforcement office in the discharge of duties as provided in this chapter shall be punishable as provided in the applicable code(s) or a court of competent jurisdiction.
Any enforcement officer or any person authorized by the municipality to enforce the sections here within shall be immune from prosecution, civil or criminal, for reasonable, good faith entry upon real property while in the discharge of duties imposed by this article.