Mount Laurel is cracking down on problem motels "that have proven to be a consistent and serious security problem," according to the Township.
In recent years, motels have generated more than 1,000 police calls to control disturbances and make arrests for criminal activity including narcotics, prostitution, thefts and assaults, according to a Township Council resolution that last month established a municipal investigative committee.
The committee could issue administrative subpoenas to require testimony from the motel owners.
"We pride ourselves on Mount Laurel. It's a nice community, it looks nice. Other businesses are keeping their businesses up," Township Manager Meredith Riculfy told 70and73.com in an interview. "We've seen some of our hotels go down, probably since COVID."
She mentioned drug paraphernalia found in parking lots and in one case a motel staircase dangerously held up by a stilt. A parking lot required power washing to remove blood and other material, she said.
Violation notices from this year for some of the motels, which tend to be in areas on or near Route 73, were provided to 70and73.com under an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.
"The inspection revealed numerous violations. There is a lot of trash and debris near the trash container areas, parking lot, mulch beds, surrounding the building, stairways, and walkways," Luis Amaro, the Township code enforcement officer, wrote a motel owner in a July violation notice. "There is also drug paraphernalia all around the property," he added.
In another July violation notice to another property, Amaro wrote: "There is a lot of trash, debris, dog feces, and drug paraphernalia all around the parking lot, mulch beds, surrounding the building, stairways, walkways and the wood line."
He added: "Overall, around the property, there are signs of deteriorating and deformed steel and deteriorating and rotting wood."
Cars that are believed to be abandoned also are issues in some of the motel parking lots.
"This office has received a complaint concerning the above-described property, specifically that there are numerous abandoned vehicles on the property," Amaro wrote to one owner in a violation notice this month. "Some of these were brought to your manager's attention a couple of months back, and there has been no change."
Re-inspections of the motels with violations resulted in all but one correcting the issues, Amaro told 70and73.com.
Riculfy said the investigative committee will pull together Mount Laurel regulators including the police department, the code enforcement office, zoning and housing officials. The group will meet about problem motels and, when an inspection is necessary, the team will make surprise visits to lodging facilities that reportedly have violations.
If the problems are not fixed, the committee will take legal action.
Under Township law, violators can be fined between $50 and $1,000 for each day that a code violation continues, Amaro tells the motel owners in his violation notices. Violations also can result in imprisonment for up to 90 days.
