SENATE, No. 976
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED MARCH 18, 1996
By Senator HAINES
An Act providing for a standard 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system in the State and supplementing chapter 23 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that it is necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the residents of this State that a standard, basic three-line address system be established and adopted on a county-by-county basis which will accurately reflect the location of all existing and potential properties, without duplication. The Legislature further finds and declares that such a standard mailing address system shall function for use in conjunction with the emergency 9-1-1 system, for delivery of mail, and for all other uses for which an address is applicable.
2. As used in this act:
"Building" means a house, residence, dwelling, store or other structure used for residential, commercial or public purpose which has frontage on, or access to, a street in a municipality.
"Street" means any paved or unpaved road, highway, avenue, lane, pedestrian mall, alleyway or cartway for the passage of motor vehicles and pedestrians and located within the borders of a municipality or a county.
"System" means the 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system.
3. The governing body of every county in the State shall, by resolution, establish a 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system within the county. The county governing body shall require the governing body of each municipality within the county to implement the system as follows:
a. The governing body of each municipality in the county shall review the names and numbers assigned to county and municipal streets within the municipality and the numbering of properties and buildings within the municipality to determine if the assignment of names and numbers conforms with the guidelines established in section 4 of this act.
b. Upon completion of the review required by subsection a. of this section, the governing body of each municipality shall determine what changes, if any, are necessary in the naming or numbering of the county or municipal streets, or in the numbering of properties or buildings in order to effectuate the provisions of this act.
c. Any changes which are made pursuant to the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section shall be reflected on the appropriate municipal tax and house numbering maps and the 9-1-1 maps for inclusion in the 9-1-1 data base. A copy of the corrected municipal tax map cover sheet, and emergency services map as adopted by the governing body, shall be presented to the county for its use. The new or corrected maps are to be available to the public, map companies, and any State or federal agency requesting or entitled to a copy.
4. The guidelines for the implementation of this act shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
a. Municipalities shall have one correct name, which shall be filed with the county clerk and the Secretary of State.
b. No two municipalities in the county shall have the exact same name. For the purposes of this act, a prefix or suffix in the name of a municipality, such as "Township," shall constitute a separate name.
c. In the event that two or more municipalities within a county have the same name, the municipality which incorporated first under its existing name shall retain the right to continue to use its existing name.
d. If a municipality is required, or chooses, to change its name pursuant to the provisions of this act, it shall not adopt any existing municipal or county name currently being used in this State.
e. One correct name shall be used for each street in a municipality and where two separate and noncontiguous streets within a municipality have the exact same name, a distinctive prefix or suffix shall be assigned to distinguish the streets, or a new name shall be assigned to one street. If two existing streets have names that have resulted in confusion due to any similarity, and a name change is not practical, the property numbering on the streets shall be made to contrast significantly as an added safety measure. Numbering by the mile post system may be used as an alternative, if applicable.
f. All properties which now or hereafter have frontage on or access to any street shall be plotted on the official tax map of the municipality.
g. Each property with frontage on or access to any street shall be assigned an official property number, except where one or more buildings or lots are located on an unnamed private road, lane or way having access to a street. In that situation only one official number shall be assigned, and it shall be based upon the number which best describes the location of the access point on the street. If more than one occupied building exists, each building shall be known as the number assigned, followed by a letter, beginning with "A" and continuing alphabetically.
h. Official property numbers shall proceed from a logical point of origin and shall be in proper numerical sequence in relation to the numbers assigned to other lots with frontage on or access to the same street.
i. Odd numbers shall be assigned to properties on one side of a street and even numbers assigned to properties on the other side of the street with sufficient flexibility so that the numbering system may accommodate maximum density as allowed by zoning regulations now in effect. If existing lot frontage is less than the minimum zoned frontage, the numbering shall compress to accommodate the existing lot frontage.
j. Governing bodies shall number property on federal and state highways and are encouraged to number property on important county roads by the mile post marker system, according to the following protocol. Even numbers shall be on the right as the numbering increases according to the mile posts. The most southern or westerly street origin of a mile post marker system shall be indicated as zero. The numbering shall relate and progress according to the mileage. If a municipality has already established mile post marker numbering with the odd numbers on the right, the numbering may remain if no confusion exists.
If the county elects to request mile post numbering on a county road, or a key access road, it shall erect the mile post markers if they do not presently exist. If a county route is comprised of two or more streets that have separate names, then the names assigned by the municipality shall be used in the addressing, the 9-1-1 data base and on the 9-1-1 map, and street signs. Where applicable, the county route number shall also be listed in the 9-1-1 data bank.
k. Priority shall be given to numbers or names of federal highways and roads over all other numbers and names of streets in a county. State highway or street numbers or names shall have priority over all county or municipal street names or numbers. Governing bodies are encouraged to number property on important county roads by the mile post marker system, except that if an important county road that provides access to many municipalities is not easily numbered by the mile post marker system, it shall have one set of numbers that is in sequence for its entire length.
l. All municipalities shall erect "Entering ........" (insert name of municipality) signs at the municipal boundary on every major access road that enters the municipality, except interstate highways. The sign shall face traffic as it enters the municipality. If the street name changes or the property numbering is not in sequence on any municipal street that crosses a municipal boundary then that data shall be announced by a sign. When a county road or major access road crosses a municipal boundary, the street name shall stay the same and the property numbering shall remain in sequence.
m. Upon any subdivision of land in a municipality resulting in lots other than those delineated in the official municipal tax map, the governing body of a municipality shall assign a property number to each lot resulting from the subdivision. Any new street shall have a unique name which shall be registered with the county 9-1-1 coordinator for entry into the data base prior to the issuance of a construction permit.
n. If a large lot has more than one available property number and it contains a building, then the property number that best describes the location of the driveway, or access point shall be assigned.
o. The owner of any building or occupied lot for which an official property number is designed and assigned shall be required at his own expense to place the official number at a point near where the driveway enters the street, or in such a manner that the number is easily visible from the street, or both. Three inch high numbers shall be the standard, and reflective numbers shall be encouraged. In those cases where more than one building exists on a lot or private road, land, or way, an address sign shall be placed near the point of access to the street showing the official number and letter designation of each building with a legal address on the lot or private roadway. Each building shall also have the number and letter designation clearly posted in front of or on the structure. The cost of erecting and maintaining an address sign shall be borne by the owners of the buildings who are also responsible for notifying any tenants of their official 9-1-1 locatable mailing address.
p. Each municipality shall, after implementation and adoption of the 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system, forward a correct version of the official municipal tax map and house numbering map, where available, to each U.S. Post Office serving the municipality, and to all emergency services. Each municipality shall take any steps which it deems necessary to inform the residents and businesses of the changes in their addresses. The residents or businesses are responsible for making the address corrections at their delivering postal facility and all other notifications.
q. The legal name of the municipality shall appear on the bottom line of all mailing addresses within the municipality. The name of the postal facility shall not be used unless it is exactly the same as the municipal name. The existing five digit zip-code that presently delivers the mail shall be incorporated into the address and remain unchanged unless it has been changed by the U.S. Postal Service.
The standard three-line 9-1-1 locatable mailing address shall appear as follows when mail is delivered to the property location:
RESIDENT OR BUSINESS NAME
###STREET NAME APT, SUITE, ETC.
MUNICIPAL NAME NJ XXZIP-CODE
The standard 9-1-1 locatable mailing address shall appear as follows for location when the occupant receives mail delivered to a post office box within a postal facility:
RESIDENT OR BUSINESS NAME
###STREET NAME APT, SUITE, ETC., MUNICIPAL NAME
P O BOX ###
POST OFFICE NAME NJ XXZIP-CODE
This standard shall apply to the entire State and shall become effective within each county after adoption, by resolution, of the provisions of this act by the county governing body. Street name changes shall be accomplished by municipal ordinance and property numbering changes shall be accomplished by municipal resolution. Official municipal maps and emergency services maps shall be adopted and approved by municipal resolution as changes dictate.
If postal rural route or rural box numbers are still in use, they shall be replaced by municipally designated and assigned property numbers according to standard protocols defined in this legislation. The county governing body shall assist any municipality unable to accomplish the property numbering or street name corrections if financial hardship exists or technical assistance is required by funding or performing the necessary work in cooperation with the municipal governing body.
5. The governing body of the county shall require municipalities within the county to complete the review required under section 3 of this act and to complete all changes required under section 4 of this act as soon as is practical and in combination with the mandated enhanced 9-1-1 program.
6. Sections 1 through 7 of P.L.1991, c. 265 (C.40:23-47 to C. 40:23-53) are hereby repealed.
7. This act shall take effect 60 days after enactment.
STATEMENT
The provisions of this bill will greatly enhance the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the State through the provision of emergency services, by eliminating the confusion which arises in municipalities which have the same postal name, or which have multiple streets of the same name or inconsistent numbering of buildings on a particular street.
The bill requires every county governing body, by ordinance or resolution, whichever is appropriate, to establish a 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system pursuant to the provisions of the bill. Under such a system, no two municipalities would be permitted to have exactly the same name, and a mechanism would be provided to be used by counties to effectuate a locatable mailing address system. The bill also repeals the 9-1-1 locatable mailing address program currently in effect in Burlington County, effectively requiring Burlington County to conform to the provisions of this bill.
The provisions of the bill are especially important with respect to the implementation of a 9-1-1 program. County governments must have the ability to ensure that the system of street addresses will not create confusion for emergency response teams, or police or fire vehicles, as they seek out persons in need of assistance. The current existence of postal names that are different from a municipality's name presents a severe problem for emergency response teams, police or firefighters seeking to respond in a timely fashion to an emergency circumstance. This problem has been documented, and extends beyond emergency dispatching to other governmental functions because statistics gathered on postal names or zip-codes cannot be applied to a municipality unless the boundaries of the postal delivery area and the municipality are exactly the same.
Enactment of the 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system will also enhance the business climate in the State by facilitating all deliveries and eliminating the dual address files maintained by all utilities and many service and delivery companies.
The 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system will also facilitate the delivery of census forms and insure that the tabulation of all data is easily and correctly accomplished.
Provides for a standard 9-1-1 locatable mailing address system.