by Tony Gonzalez
November 16, 2010 11:20 AM
Opening, running, and maintaining a small business, be it a self storage facility or any other kind of business, can be a challenging and daunting task. Having to pay thousands of dollars to local officials in fees that do not apply to your business sure does not help much either. For years that was the case for Mitch Danzis of the Storage Station in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
Danzis, a member of the Self Storage Association board of directors, has been fighting the state of New Jersey for designating his facilities as falling under a law which requires large structures such as warehouses and covered malls to pay a Life Hazard Use fee every year.
State officials were telling Danzis, who has been involved with acquiring self storage facilities since 1999, that self storage business qualified as a life hazard use and therefore had to be inspected yearly and the fee paid.
The law originated back in 1981 following incidents that led to 55 people being killed in fires. After a study was commissioned to review the existing fire safety codes new laws were put in place in 1983. As a result, a number of different businesses became required to under go safety inspections each year and get registered as compliant with the Uniform Fire Safety Act. Among the businesses were warehouses, covered malls, buildings with atriums, and high-rise buildings.
Danzis insisted that self storage facilities like his did not fall under the Uniform Fire Safety Act and were not subject to an annual inspection and the fees that go with it. Not only would the fee make operating a facility more expensive, but if self storage facilities were designated as warehouse than they would be open to other strict regulations that were really not necessary.
Initially, Danzis did not appear to have much luck through the legal system. He argued that the law did provide for a clear distinction between warehouses and self storage facilities. State officials were not willing to see them as being different. Danzis also pointed out that the Life Hazard Use fee was not being applied with any sort of regularity making it difficult to interpret.
The presiding administrative law judge handed down the decision in September of this year. Chapter 7 Title 12A of the NJ Statues clearly stated that ‘”a self storage facility is not a warehouse.” It may have taken four years, but Danzis was successful in his endeavor. In the end the designation between self storage facilities and warehouses became a matter of public record.
Sources used:
New Jersey Court Sides with Storage Operator on Fire Hazard Fee; Nov 2010.
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs; Fire Registration Form.