Atlantic County, NJ Ordinances (2026)

Atlantic County will not release a dog or cat from its Animal Shelter until the animal has been spayed or neutered and given age-appropriate immunizations, under County Code §…

Atlantic County requires any pet in a County parks area to be restrained on a leash no longer than six feet under § 97-12, or it may be seized and treated as a stray. Owners must also…

Atlantic County bars feeding any wildlife on County property under § 97-19, a rule the Board of County Commissioners added January 24, 2006 by Ordinance No. 1-2006. 'County property'…

No one may run a hotel, boardinghouse or rooming house in participating Atlantic County municipalities without a certificate of approval from the New Jersey Department of Community…

Atlantic County sets minimum room sizes, ceiling heights, egress, window and heating standards for hotels, boardinghouses and rooming houses under County Code Chapter 81. A single…

Anyone performing tattooing, permanent cosmetics, body piercing, or piercing of the trailing edge of the ear in Atlantic County must first obtain an annual license from the County…

A towing company cannot handle Atlantic County's illegally parked, police-impounded, accident, or abandoned-vehicle tows without first becoming an Atlantic County Sheriff-approved…

A retaining wall built along, under, or over an Atlantic County right-of-way needs more than a permit: County Code Section 72-4 requires the owner to sign a formal agreement with the…

Installing a fence within an Atlantic County road right-of-way requires a written highway occupancy permit from the County Engineer before construction starts. County Code Chapter 72…

A vehicle towed under Atlantic County's contract towing program and left unclaimed at a contractor's lot for 21 calendar days or more may be deemed abandoned. The Sheriff's Office must…

Atlantic County bars off-street truck loading and unloading spaces from sitting inside a County road right-of-way and requires them to be designed so trucks can maneuver in and out…

Driveways onto a County road in Atlantic County must clear specific distance and angle rules: single-family driveways stay 25 feet from an intersection right-of-way and other uses stay…

Atlantic County bans smoking and tobacco use across its park system, including outdoor parking lots, playgrounds and trails, allowing it only in signed designated smoking areas under…

Atlantic County bans loitering, fishing, crabbing, swimming and diving on nine named county bridges, limiting use to crossing on foot or by vehicle, under Code § 99-1, with fines up to…

Atlantic County bans possessing, consuming or bringing alcohol into any County parks area under § 97-20, with narrow exceptions for the Lake Lenape East Catering Hall, permitted…

Atlantic County bars selling food or merchandise on county roads or roadsides except from a hand-cart on a pedestrian sidewalk, and limits operation to 8 a.m.-5 p.m. under Code §§…

Atlantic County confines food and merchandise sales on county property to a county park lease or pedestrian sidewalks on other public property; unleased vending inside a county park is…

Atlantic County bars new encroachments in a FEMA A or V Zone flood hazard area it reviews unless a professional engineer or architect certifies the project will not raise the base…

Atlantic County requires erosion and sediment control measures once a subdivision disturbs more than 5,000 square feet of land or alters a ditch, stream, brook or watercourse. Control…

Atlantic County's Table 3 sets minimum freeboard above base flood elevation for new construction it reviews: residential buildings need at least 1 extra foot in Zones X and A and 2…

New Jersey's Stormwater Management rules, N.J.A.C. 7:8, govern every Atlantic County municipality. Any major development, disturbing one acre or more of land or creating a quarter-acre…

Atlantic County requires every hotel, boardinghouse and rooming house to stay free of rodents, vermin and insects, and lets the Health Officer order extermination and rodent-proofing…

Atlantic County requires a permit before you can hold a special event, public assembly, wedding, or bike-a-thon in a County park, and a separate advance reservation for exclusive use…

Atlantic County requires advance permission before any fair, festival, sale, show, parade or marketplace uses a county right-of-way, under Code § 72-3(G), with fines up to $1,000 per…

Atlantic County requires a permit before holding a parade, festival, fair or other special event, or a public assembly, in any County parks area under § 97-39. The Division of Parks…

Atlantic County confines drone and park-flyer flights to two spots at Estell Manor County Park: the North End Field and the Softball Field. Flying anywhere else in the county park…

Atlantic County caps drone flights at 400 feet, requires line-of-sight operation and current FAA registration, and bars flying over people, vehicles or others' property, per Code §…

Trimming or removing a tree that sits within or overhangs an Atlantic County road right-of-way requires a written highway occupancy permit from the County Engineer, even when a utility…

Atlantic County's Public Health Nuisance Code, adopted from the 1953 New Jersey model code, declares the growth of ragweed on any lot, highway, right-of-way or public or private place…

Atlantic County officially disclaims responsibility for maintaining sidewalks and, because of that, its Development Review Committee will not require a new sidewalk in a County…

Digging into, opening, or placing anything within a County road or right-of-way in Atlantic County requires a written permit from the County Engineer before work starts. Chapter 72…

Atlantic County bans dumping litter, solid waste or hazardous waste on county property outside a licensed receptacle or facility. Littering draws a $100 to $500 fine per offense, and…

Atlantic County parks open at 7:30 a.m. and close a half hour after sunset under § 97-8, when every visitor must exit and vehicles must leave unless holding a camping or vehicle…

Backyard recreational fire pits are legal across Atlantic County, but the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code keeps a recreational fire in an approved container at least 15 feet from any…

New Jersey has no statewide defensible-space mandate for homeowners. Burning brush to clear it is prohibited under N.J.A.C. 7:27-2.3, which bars disposing of any type of plant by open…

Open burning is generally prohibited across Atlantic County under N.J.A.C. 7:27-2.3. No one may dispose of refuse, fallen leaves, or plant material by open burning. Only contained…

New Jersey's state noise code, N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.2, caps nighttime sound at 50 dBA at any residential property line from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Every Atlantic County municipality enforces…

Construction hours are set by each Atlantic County municipality, not the state. Atlantic City, Brigantine, and Galloway limit powered work to weekday daytime, and equipment noise must…

Amplified music answers to the state noise code, N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.2, capping sound at 65 dBA by day and 50 dBA overnight at a residential property line, plus each town's ordinance and…

Every Atlantic County town builds pools under one rulebook, the state Uniform Construction Code. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14 makes a construction permit mandatory before any pool is dug or…

A carport is a roofed structure, so it takes a construction permit in every Atlantic County town under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14. Municipal zoning setbacks under the Municipal Land Use Law…

Turning a garage into living space is regulated work in every Atlantic County town. Under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14 a change of use to habitable space requires a construction permit before…