Tenants were issued summonses for exceeding the 30-day residency limit and are due in court Dec. 19
Low-income residents of a former Playboy Club will appear in municipal court six days before Christmas, on complaints that could result in their exit from the once-glamorous compound.
The township's zoning officer issued 29 summonses Nov. 1 charging tenants with violating a 1999 municipal ordinance barring anyone from staying beyond 30 days at the eight-story building, also formerly known as the Legends Resort and Country Club.
All defendants are scheduled to appear Dec. 19 before Municipal Court James Devine for a case management hearing, according to municipal court records.
A 1 p.m. hearing has been scheduled on all but one of the summonses, with the lone defendant who has retained an attorney appearing at 2:45 p.m.
While Devine is not empowered to order evictions, a process that would take place in Superior Court, Mayor Harry Shortway said the township is open to waving fines of up to several thousands dollars for any resident agreeing to depart.
"No one is supposed to be living there," Shortway said Wednesday.
Vernon's zoning officer, Alison Larocca, estimated last month that about 70, including two dozen children, were living in the building.
Some had been there for years, she said, including a 12-year resident, in quarters intended for temporary living.
The Nov. 1 citations to tenants were issued one week after the two entities owning the rental units pleaded guilty to five summonses, issued in November 2016, under the same 1999 ordinance.
They paid a $2,500 fine and agreed to file eviction notices against all tenants, a protracted process that would play out separately from the 29 complaints.
Residents were first asked to voluntarily leave last winter, not long after the Township Council authorized steep fines for violating the 18-year-old ordinance, which until last year had not been enforced.
Shortway said his administration got involved upon discovering conditions posing health and safety risks to the occupants -- from overcrowding and leaking toilets to crossed electrical wires and other fire hazards.
The 617-room building was built by Playboy Enterprises Inc. for nearly $30 million in 1971, with the expectation that gambling would soon be allowed -- a scenario that never materialized.
The Playboy Club closed in the early 1980s and was succeeded by a couple of hotels, culminating at some point in the building being entirely turned over to renters.
Much of the building is already off-limits, with most tenants living on the seventh and eighth floors.
The entire east wing is closed, including the suite once reserved for the late Hugh Hefner, the Playboy magazine founder who died Sept. 27 at age 91.
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook