BERKELEY – With many homes throughout Ocean County turning into rentals, the Berkeley Township Council instituted a Liability Insurance Registry to make sure that the property owners were insured.
Any landlord will have to present a certification to the clerk with a $25 fee.
Township Attorney Christopher Dasti said that it’s a nominal fee. The maximum penalty for not applying is $5,000. It’s a home-grown ordinance because if the township doesn’t have it in place, the state would get penalty fees.
Because the town is creating the ordinance, they can enforce it locally, Dasti further explained. Otherwise, it would be enforced by the State Department of Community Affairs. If the landlord gets caught, the state would receive the fee. Now, the town will get the fee.
Any change in law brings about the question of how would it be enforced. If property owners don’t comply, code enforcement would be called. This change would require this paperwork to be done before a certificate of occupancy is given. If code enforcement goes out for a noise complaint, for example, they can then learn if the business is up to date on its permits.
Business Administrator John Camera said that all businesses and landlords have to provide certain insurance. That is standard and that hasn’t changed.
Township Clerk Beverly Carle said it’s already following through on what the township already does. The $25 fee is new.
Whales And Wind Turbines
In other news, the Berkeley Council joined the list of other governing bodies calling for a halt to the development of offshore wind turbines until the cause for whale deaths is found.
Environmental groups have been divided on this topic. Some are saying that they need to have more information. Some are saying that the plight of the dead whales has been co-opted by politicians who don’t want green energy.
Mayor Carmen Amato said that they are not against environmentally clean energy, noting that they are in the process of having a large solar field installed. However, the numbers of whales washing up on shore is cause for alarm.
