East Orange, NJ Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

East Orange's vacant-lot and untenanted-building standard at § 159-63, added in 1972 and last amended in 2014, applies to any lot that is vacant or holds an unoccupied building. Owners and operators must keep the site free of brush, weeds, broken glass, tree stumps, roots, obnoxious growths, filth, garbage, trash, refuse, debris and abandoned vehicles, the same list of hazards addressed more generally at § 159-62A. Beyond clearing debris, the section requires a physical perimeter barrier: a chain-link, picket or stockade fence between 42 and 54 inches tall, or, as an alternative, a steel-beam barricade about 36 inches high driven roughly 48 inches into the ground.

Barbed wire, spikes or similar devices on the fence or barrier are prohibited outright. For vacant buildings specifically, the owner or operator must also close every window, door and other opening with plywood or another suitable material so the structure cannot be entered. Because § 159-63 is on the no-notice prosecution list at § 159-30A, the Public Officer can file a Municipal Court complaint for a vacant-lot violation without first serving written notice or holding a hearing, unlike most Chapter 159 maintenance violations, which get the standard 30-day correction window under §§ 159-25 and 159-26.

Violations are enforced under the general penalty schedule at § 159-44, and repeated vacant-lot violations on the same premises can lead to prosecution without any further notice under § 159-30C.