Frequently Asked Questions

Five private historic residences are listed in the Tenafly Historic Sites brochure available at Borough Hall. Also, Tenafly has three historic districts: the Palisades, Atwood’s Highwood Park Historic District, and the Magnolia Avenue Historic District. The Zoning Officer can inform you if your home is a contributing or non-contributing home. The Historic Preservation Commission welcomes informal discussion of projects at the earliest stage of planning.

Contact the Zoning Officer at 201-568-6100, ext. 5506 in the Building Department in Borough Hall.

A "contributing" house is significant to the history of an historic district. A "non-contributing" house is not significant to the history of an area.

Any interior construction-as long as it does not affect the exterior does not require a Certificate of Appropriateness.

The Zoning Officer determines if the proposed change or construction is minor or major, and informs the Chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission. Contact the Zoning Officer at 201-568-6100, ext. 5506 for more information.

If the Chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission agrees with the Zoning Officer’s determination, then the Certificate of Appropriateness is issued immediately if your home is a contributing structure. No Certificate of Appropriateness is necessary if you home is non-contributing.

The Chairperson may request modifications to the proposed changes or construction, or the Historic Preservation Commission is asked to make a determination at its next regular meeting.

The applicant must comply with the ordinance which includes:

• Notification of all property owners within 200 feet and proof that an official notice was published
• A public hearing that determines whether the Certificate of Appropriateness will be issued
• Submission of all forms and plans as indicated on the application

Information About the Process

This process is very similar to Planning Board applications and requests for zoning variances.

You may obtain an application form online (PDF) at the Building Department located in Borough Hall.

You must call the Building Department at ext. 5505 or ext. 5454. 

You can call ext. 5505 or ext. 5454 to set up inspections.

You must contact the Building Department to be assisted.

No. For the sale of a residential property, you must apply for a smoke detectors/ carbon monoxide alarms inspections with the Fire Prevention Bureau. You must call the Building Department first, to make sure there are no open permits on the property before consideration of selling the home. 

No. If you will be opening walls, a Building permits is required. 

No. If you will be upgrading or changing the electric and plumping pipes, or opening the walls, permits are required.

Yes. You need to apply for a zoning and building permit application, attached with a copy of the property survey and the spec of the shed. The Zoning permit application fee is $25.00, payment in the form of a check only made payable to The Borough of Tenafly. Zoning takes 10 business days for approval, once Zoning is approved, the Building permit will be reviewed by the Building Sub Code Official for approval or denial. Once the Building permit have been approved, it will be priced out with our permit system and one of our Building Department employees will call the owner/contractor for the permit payment. 

Yes. You need to apply for a fence permit application, attached with a copy of your property survey, highlighted on the survey the location of the fence. The fence application fee is $25.00. We accept payments in the form of checks only. made payable to The Borough of Tenafly. 

The Department of Public Works issues all tree removal permits.  The application is available on the Preservation & Protection of Trees tab within the Public Works Department pages.  Completed applications may be mailed or dropped off in the mailbox in front of the DPW office at 107 Grove Street, Tenafly, NJ.  For specific questions, please call the DPW office at 201-568-4134 Monday through Friday, between the hours of 7:00am and 3:00pm.

To register for a decal, residents must provide valid New Jersey Driver’s license, proof of residency and vehicle registration. Residents will be asked to bring the paperwork from the Public Works office to the Recycling Center at 153 Grove Street, where a Recycling Center employee will affix a recycling center decal to the registered automobile. Decals are not issued to commercially registered vehicles.

Household garbage is collected by Waste Industries from 6:00am to 4:00pm on regularly scheduled dates.  If your garbage is not picked up on your regularly scheduled collection day, please call the private garbage contractor, Waste Industries, directly at 201-567-3100 to report a skipped pickup.  

For all other questions or concerns regarding garbage collection, please call Amy Kneisler at the Borough Hall at 201-568-6100, ext. 5501.

Curbside commingled and paper/cardboard recycling collection is provided by the Department of Public Works. Commingled material must be placed into the Recycling Cart with Blue lid and placed at the curb with the arrows pointing toward the street the night before your scheduled pickup.  Paper/cardboard must be placed into the Recycling Cart with the Brown lid and placed at the curb with arrows pointing toward street the night before your scheduled pickup. No other containers or loose materials will be collected.  No recyclables will be picked up when storm conditions exist.  For missed pickup call DPW at 201-568-4134.

The Borough operates the Tenafly Recycling and Convenience Center located at 153 Grove Street for use by Tenafly residents only with a valid Recycling Center decal. The Center is open from 8:00a.m. to 2:30p.m. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The Center is closed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and holidays observed by the Borough. For questions concerning the Tenafly Recycling & Convenience Center, call the DPW office at 201-568-4134.

SEWER STOPPAGES

The owner/occupants of premises in the Borough shall be responsible for proper maintenance and repair of all house sewer connections between the dwelling and the main sanitary sewer line.  In case a stoppage in the sanitary sewer occurs, the owner/occupant shall immediately notify the Tenafly DPW who shall make an inspection of the main sewer line.  If the main sewer line is obstructed, it shall be the responsibility of the DPW to remove the obstruction.  If the main sewer line is not obstructed, the DPW shall immediately notify the owner/occupant to proceed with removal of the obstruction in the house sewer line.

IN ALL CASES, CALL THE DPW FIRST!

TO CALL DPW TO REPORT A SEWER STOPPAGE:

Regular Business Hours: 7:00am to 3:00pm – Monday thru Friday – CALL DPW at 201-568-4134

All other hours, including weekends and holidays – CALL Tenafly Police Department at 201-568-5100.

The Police Department will notify the DPW.