Title
ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 18, CHAPTER 5, SECURITY, ARTICLE 1, HOUSING GUARDS, 18:5-1.1 ARMED SECURITY GUARD REQUIRED, BY ADDING A NEW SUBSECTION 18:5-1.1(c), PETITION TO REDUCE OR INCREASE THE HOURS OF ARMED SECURITY GUARDS FOR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE BUILDINGS WITH FIFTY (50) TO ONE HUNDRED (100) OR MORE HOUSING UNITS AND AMENDING 18:5-1.5 TO REQUIRE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS IN SAID BUILDINGS.
Deferred 6PSF-c 091918
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
[Editor’s Note: Additions are shown as underlined and bold. Deletions are shown as strikethroughs].
SECTION 1: Title 18, Chapter 5, Security, Article 1, Housing Guards, 18:5-1.1 Armed Security Guard Required of the Revised General Ordinances of the City of Newark, New Jersey, 2000, as amended and supplemented, is amended as follows:
18:5-1.1(c). Petition to Reduce or Increase Armed Security Guards.
Notwithstanding the provisions of 18:5-1.1a of this Chapter, requiring the presence of Armed Security Guards on the premises for eight (8) hours and unarmed security for the remaining sixteen (16) hours, the residents of public and private buildings, with fifty (50) to one hundred (100) or more housing units, may petition the Department of Engineering, Office of Code Enforcement, to reduce or increase the number of hours of Armed Security Guards. The petition shall choose from any one of the following:
1. Unarmed guards for twenty-four (24) hours per day; or
2. A combination of Armed Security Guards for sixteen (16) hours per day and unarmed guards for the remaining eight (8) hours; or
3. Armed Security Guards for twenty-four (24) hours per day.
Residents may petition for four (4) hours of unarmed or armed security for public and private buildings, with fifty (50) to one hundred (100) or more housing units.
Public and Private Buildings with fifty (50) to one hundred (100) or more housing units that are in high crime areas, as defined by reported incidents of crime verified by the Department of Public Safety and/or are in need of safety assistance can and shall be required to provide armed and/or unarmed security if deemed appropriate by the Director of Public Safety and/or his designee.
Any petition to reduce or increase the requirement of Armed Security Guards shall include the following:
1. A petition, signed by not less than sixty-five (65) percent of the residents of any covered public or private building, including resident’s name, address with apartment number, and a notarized letter from the individual submitting the petition; and
2. A complete list of all the residents, including addresses and apartment numbers, who occupy the building.
When deemed appropriate by the Director of Public Safety and/or his designee, buildings with fifty (50) to one hundred (100) or more housing units that are in high crime areas, as defined by reported incidents of crime verified by the Department of Public Safety and/or are in need of safety assistance can and shall be required to provide armed and/or unarmed security.
The Department of Engineering, Office of Code Enforcement, shall maintain a list of all buildings that have petitioned to reduce or increase the use of Armed Security Guards, along with their chosen selection.
Nothing in this Chapter shall limit the number of times that a resident of a public or private building, with fifty (50) to one hundred (100) or more housing units, can petition the Department of Engineering, Office of Code Enforcement, to increase or reduce the number of hours that Armed Security Guards must be present.
SECTION 2: Title 18, Chapter 5, Security, Article 2, Surveillance Cameras, of the Revised General Ordinances of the City of Newark, New Jersey, 2000, as amended and supplemented, is amended as follows:
18:5-1.5. Video Surveillance Cameras in Buildings Containing Parking Lots.
b. All public and private buildings, in the City of Newark, New Jersey which contains over fifty (50) housing units (defined as fifty (50) certificates of occupancy under one (1) ownership entity within a one (1) or two (2) block radius) shall be required to install and maintain video surveillance cameras on each floor and stairwell of the building and monitored at a central location, and shall be kept in a state of good repair and operating condition on a twenty-four (24) hour per day, seven days per week basis. Said surveillance cameras shall be positioned in such a manner as to reasonably cover the entire hallway and stairwell of each floor in the building.
SECTION 2: If any provision of this Ordinance or application thereof to any person(s) or circumstance is judged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Ordinance that can be given effect without the invalidated provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are declared severable.
SECTION 3: The Ordinance shall take effect upon final passage and publication in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This Ordinance amends Title 18, Chapter 5, Security, Article 1, Housing Guards, 18:5-1.1 Armed Security Guard Required, by adding a new subsection 18:5-1.1(c), which allows for residents of public and private buildings, with fifty (50) to one hundred (100) or more housing units, to petition the Department of Engineering, Office of Code Enforcement, to reduce or increase the use of Armed Security Guards, and imposes a requirement that these buildings install surveillance cameras in the hallways and stairwells of every floor in the building