In Toms River, you could pay extra for raising hell

TOMS RIVER - If police, fire officials or code enforcement are constantly visiting your property, the township plans to make you pay.

Homes or businesses that have drawn repeated negative attention from the municipality — whether it be from the police, code or zoning enforcement — can now be labeled as nuisances, under a new ordinance adopted by the Township Council.

That designation will toss the property onto a probationary list for a year, subjecting the property owner to a "user fee" of $300 for each additional call for township services.

The law marks the latest attempt by the township to target so-called "nuisance properties" — locations where police, fire code and code enforcement officials have been repeatedly called.

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Township Administrator Don Guardian said the new law goes hand in hand with another new ordinance that will fine property owners who abandon residential homes or businesses and allow them to deteriorate.

Guardian said the nuisance property ordinance was spurred by concerns township officials had about motels and hotels where police and code enforcement have repeatedly been summoned.

From 2015 to 2017, Toms River police responded more than 1,000 times to just two properties in town: downtown's Red Carpet Inn, and the Americana Motel, located on Route 166, just north of Route 37, Councilman Terrance Turnbach said.

In the fall, the township's new "Quality of Life Task Force" conducted raids at the Red Carpet Inn and the Americana; last month, task force members visited the Pine Rest Motel, on Route 37 West in East Dover.

Police arrested 15 people — 11 men and four women — on drug distribution and drug possession charges, at the Red Carpet, and 10 more were arrested on drug charges during the Americana raid.

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"It sends a strong message to those attempting to utilize hotels and motels for illegal activities," Turnbach said of the ordinance. Watch the video above to learn more about the new law.

The township plans to purchase the Red Carpet Inn and has bonded $4.8 million to buy it, demolish it, and use its downtown site to build a flood-control berm for the downtown.

Guardian said Monday that after negotiating with township officials, the inn's owners have made "an acceptable offer" and the council has approved the purchase, although he said he could not yet disclose the amount Toms River will pay.

No one could be reached for comment at the Americana Motel.

Last year, the township adopted a new law that requires people checking into hotels and motels in town to show government-issued photo identification.

Alizar Zurojew, executive director of Downtown Toms River, the township's business improvement district, said the ordinance was welcomed by the group's board of directors.

"This is something that is going to really address the businesses that aren't socially conscious," Zurojew said. "It forces businesses, private residents, landlords, everyone across the board, to look at how they are impacting their community."

The ordinance was suggested by Township Administrator Don Guardian, who was mayor of Atlantic City when that South Jersey town adopted a similar law in 2016. Toms River's issues with motels are the same problems Atlantic City has with rooming houses, he said.

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Guardian said the Atlantic City law spurred some rooming house and motel owners to invest in their properties and reduce illegal activities there. The hope is that the same thing will happen in Toms River.

"We had rooming houses, in a similar situation, police and fire were there on a weekly basis or twice a week," Guardian said. "It changed the clientele in the rooming houses. It actually changed the use. The owner said, 'The rooming house is a bad product for Atlantic City. We can't afford to pay an extra $300 or $600 a day.'"

Under the ordinance, officials in various township departments will maintain records about incidents at properties throughout town that required municipal services. The new law specifies the number of calls for service that will be considered excessive in a 60-day period.

For residential properties, with one to four units, it's five calls; for convenience, liquor or grocery stores, 10; and restaurants, bars and "adult entertainment establishments," 30.

Hotels and motels are ranked by room size: only 10 calls are allowed for establishments with five to 40 units, while 40 are allowed for those with more than 200.

Routine visits, for fire inspections or to renew a permit, would not be counted as "excessive" calls for service.

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If the number of calls in 60 days exceeds the designated limit, a hearing will be held before one of the lawyers in the township's Law Division, who will determine if the property is in violation of the ordinance and if fines should be paid.

And if the owner doesn't pay the fine? After 60 days, the township can place a lien on their property, similar to the liens towns slap on residences or businesses for payment of delinquent property taxes.

Certificates of occupancy or municipal licenses could also be revoked.

Last fall, Toms River created the quality of life task force, which includes members of the police department's Criminal Investigative Bureau and Special Enforcement Team, as well as employees from the Division of Fire Prevention, Code Enforcement and Zoning.

In April, The Pine Rest Motel on Route 37 West was shut down by its owners after the task force found numerous code violations, including no electricity in some cabins at the rear of the motel property.

The Pine Rest's owners, C. Seaside Heights Hospitality LLC, received approval from the Planning Board in 2016 to build a 72-room Hampton Inn on the property, which is located in East Dover, not far from the Thomas J. Mathis and J. Stanley Tunney bridges, which bring traffic to and from Seaside Heights and the barrier island.

Toms River lawyer Harvey L. York, who represented the owners before the planning board, said C. Seaside Heights Hospitality was sued by two other local hotel owners after the planning board approved the Hampton Inn proposal.

C. Seaside Heights Hospitality won following a trial before Ocean County Superior Court Assignment Judge Marlene Lynch Ford, but the company's competitors have appealed the decision, and the case is awaiting a hearing before a state appellate panel, York has said.

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com



