§ 73A-4. Removal and storage of vehicles.

A. 

Removal. Vehicles shall be removed as follows:

(1) 

Abandoned vehicles.

(a) 

Abandoned vehicles, as defined in Title 39 of the New Jersey Revised Statutes, shall be removed under the direction and supervision of the Police Department on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis. The tower shall, once notified, dispatch a tow truck(s), as circumstances warrant, to provide towing services anywhere within the Borough, when requested by the police and/or Zoning Official, in such a manner that the tow truck arrives at the site within a maximum response time of 20 minutes, except when extraordinary circumstances occur. Unless heavy or unusual traffic conditions within the Borough prevent a wrecker from arriving at the site within 30 minutes, failure to respond within that time frame shall be considered a breach of this chapter. In the event that a wrecker fails to respond within 30 minutes from the time of the call, the police reserve the right to contact the next available wrecker on the rotational list.

(b) 

Abandoned vehicles shall be towed without charge to the Borough to the aforementioned required storage area and stored thereon for no longer than 90 days without any charges or liens accruing against the Borough. Abandoned vehicles remaining after 90 days may be removed from the secured area, provided that a junk title has been applied for pursuant to the provisions of Title 39.

(c) 

The tower may be penalized $150 per day for each abandoned vehicle not removed and towed within a reasonable amount of time after notification by the Police Department, and that may be grounds for termination of tower's appointment.

(d) 

The requirement to tow abandoned motor vehicles shall only apply to public rights-of-way, easements, avenues and places, including public parks and playgrounds, and all quasi-public areas. The owner of private property shall be responsible for the removal of any unattended or disabled vehicles in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6 and shall employ a tower of his/her choice.

(e) 

The Borough retains the right to require that the abandoned vehicle shall be towed to municipal property and to retain any monies realized from the sale of such vehicles. The Borough shall pay the tower's reasonable fees as set forth in this chapter for towing a vehicle sold in this manner from the proceeds of the sale. Abandoned vehicles, not claimed by the owner or lien holder, may be sold at public auction pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:10A-1 through 39:10A-7. Prior to sale at auction of any abandoned vehicle, the Borough will obtain the appropriate junk title or certificate of ownership for said abandoned vehicle from the Division of Motor Vehicles. If the Borough does not exercise its right to retain the abandoned vehicle, the Borough shall notify the tower of this decision and allow the tower to dispose of the vehicle pursuant to any remedies allowed under N.J.S.A. 39:1-1 et seq. or other applicable statute or regulation.

(2) 

Vehicles not abandoned.

(a) 

All vehicles involved in accidents, disablements, stolen vehicles, vehicles involved in suspected crimes, and the like shall be towed and stored under the direction and supervision of the Police Department 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as set forth above. Vehicles shall be available for release between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Saturdays and Sundays, except legal holidays. Sunday hours are optional. The tower shall arrive at the scene of the accident within 20 minutes under normal conditions after police notification. Repeated late arrivals at the scene of accidents may result in the termination of the tower's services as otherwise provided in this chapter.

(b) 

In the event that the tower has been summoned by the Borough, as set forth in this chapter, for purposes of towing a vehicle and the owner of the vehicle has also summoned his own tower, and said tower arrives on the scene prior to removal of the vehicle by the Borough's tower, then the owner is entitled to remove his own vehicle at no cost or expense to the owner or the Borough. There shall be no charge to the Borough for the tower appearing at the scene under said conditions. Further, owners of vehicles that are involved in motor vehicle accidents may opt to have their car towed by any tower of their choosing, provided that said tower can respond to the scene within the time limits set forth in this chapter.

B. 

Storage. The tower shall store the abandoned and nonabandoned vehicles in the storage area as required in this chapter. The vehicles shall be stored until claimed by the owner or until auctioned by the Borough in compliance with state law or as otherwise to be disposed of pursuant to state law. Vehicles to be removed shall be towed to the tower's storage area or to Borough property, at the discretion of the Police Department. Upon request by Borough police, vehicles that are identified as potentially having been involved in a crime shall be stored in a secure, indoor location as described in this chapter for the purpose of preserving and securing the potential crime scene and/or evidence. Said vehicles shall remain stored and locked and shall not be accessible to anyone except law enforcement until such time as the necessary search warrants can be obtained and the vehicle is processed by detectives. Failure to properly store vehicles suspected to have been used in a crime shall constitute a violation of this chapter and shall be grounds for immediate removal from the towing rotation.