Irvington, NJ Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Findings section
- § 460-1, blight and slum findings
- Operative duty
- § 460-9, exterior hazard removal
- Vacant-lot fence height
- 42 to 54 inches
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Housing Services
- Adopted
- 10-24-1967 by Ord. No. MC 2173
- Applies to
- Nonresidential premises (§ 460-3)
Summary
Chapter 460 opens by declaring that structural deterioration, infestation and lack of upkeep create blighting conditions and initiate slums, and Section 460-9 backs that finding with an operative duty: owners must keep premises free of hazards and fence off untenanted lots.
It is hereby found and declared that there exist in the Town structures used for nonresidential as well as residential use which are or may become in the future substandard with respect to structure, equipment or maintenance, and, further, that such conditions ... constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals, welfare and reasonable comfort of the citizens and inhabitants of the Town ... by reason of lack of maintenance and progressive deterioration, certain properties have the further effect of creating blighting conditions and initiating slums ... The exterior of the premises and all structures thereon shall be kept free of all nuisances and any hazards to the safety of occupants, pedestrians and other persons utilizing the premises, and free of insanitary conditions ... Vacant lots or lots containing untenanted buildings shall be kept free of brush, weeds, broken glass, tree stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, filth, garbage, trash, refuse, debris and abandoned vehicles. The owner or operator of said lot shall erect and maintain around the perimeter of such lot a chain link, picket or stockade fence of a height no less than 42 inches nor more than 54 inches.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4996945; v39 updated 2026-07-13; through 07-13-2026).
Full Breakdown
Section 460-1, the findings and declaration of policy that opens Chapter 460, Property Maintenance, states that structures which become substandard with respect to structure, equipment or maintenance create conditions, structural deterioration, lack of maintenance, infestation, missing heating or plumbing equipment, fire hazards and insanitary conditions, that constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals, welfare and reasonable comfort of the citizens. The same section goes further, finding that unchecked deterioration creates blighting conditions and initiates slums that will eventually require large public expenditures to correct if not curtailed.
Chapter 460 was adopted 10-24-1967 by Ordinance No. MC 2173 (Chapter 148 of the 1981 Revised Code) and today reaches nonresidential premises specifically, per Section 460-3's applicability clause. The operative duty tied to that blight finding sits in Article II at Section 460-9, amended as recently as 5-12-2025 by Ordinance No. MC 3901: owners and operators must keep the exterior of a premises free of hazards, insanitary conditions, brush, weeds, broken glass, stumps, filth, garbage, trash and debris, and must remove loose or overhanging objects and ice or snow accumulations that could fall on passersby.
Vacant lots or lots with untenanted buildings carry an added obligation: the owner must erect and maintain a perimeter fence, chain link, picket or stockade, between 42 and 54 inches high, or a steel-beam barricade about 36 inches high extending roughly 48 inches below ground, with no barbed wire, spikes or similar devices.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 460's fine schedule at Section 460-64 escalates by offense, for example $50 rising to $750 for hazards under Section 460-10 and $100 rising to $1,000 for appearance violations under Section 460-12, so a blighted, unfenced vacant lot under Section 460-9 is billed on the same rising scale unless the Township's Department of Housing Services proceeds instead to formal abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
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