Outdoor Storage Ordinance Being Introduced

There is some talk about the Outdoor Storage Ordinance the Council is looking to introduce tonight. Unfortunately there is some misinformation about the ordinance being talked about and emailed around. I'm not sure why this is happening but here is the truth about the ordinance as well as a link to the actual document.

• General property maintenance has been one of the most popular issues residents have expressed to me since running for office and since being elected to office

• There was a sub-committee of various different individuals with different backgrounds that worked on re-looking at many ordinances

• 95% of the Outdoor Storage Ordinance has already been in place since the 1970s.

• The change in the ordinance affects commercial areas that have unregistered vehicles in disrepair visible to the public.

• The revision to the ordinance gives commercial property's affected as long as 5 months to complete repair or move the vehicle to an interior storage area.

• I know of 3 garage owners that have been informed of this change and have no problem with it.

• Ultimately, this is a good thing for businesses. Something in disrepair and on display that long is essentially pollution and affects other businesses.

• All the other areas of the ordinance affecting residents have been in effect since the late 70s

• The ordinance is locally enforced. This is not some Federal or State law burdening down on our individual rights. This is simply an example of community. Many residents have united to help preserve our town and as part of a democratic process they are helping and asking their local government to assist in this need.

A copy of the ordinance being introduced can be found here

I plan on supporting introduction of this ordinance but also look forward to public feedback.

No Giant Billboards in Denville

THE PROBLEM - NJ Transit wants to build a billboard along Route 80 in Denville. It is currently proposed to be about 73 feet high and 42 feet wide. It will only be one-sided on the East bound side but visible to West bound traffic. It may eventually be converted to an LED sign featuring rotating digital pictures.

WHERE WILL IT BE? - On the East bound side of Route 80 but facing West bound right along the curve towards Parsippany in Denville. It is near Luger Road and Anthony & Son's Bakery off the highway. (see map below)

WHY CAN'T DENVILLE STOP IT?- We have to try. The Mayor, Planning Board and Township Council are helpless. While NJ Transit has listened to our concerns and have adapted the sign considerably, the governing bodies appear to be unanimously opposed to it at any height and size, myself especially. It does not fit with the character of our town. Legally the state has no obligation to follow local municipal laws and ordinances. That needs to change.

WHAT CAN I DO? - Senator Bucco, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carrol and Assemblyman Bucco Jr. have jointly sent a letter to NJ Transit asking for revisions but we need to push hard to keep the billboard from being erected. They have also express the Legislature to consider making the state adapt to local ordinances but we need more. Many residents have told me they will boycott NJ Transit and any advertisers on the proposed sign. Make sure NJ Transit knows that when you contact them.

Contact them (you can use the contact link on the below pages)

Senator Bucco

Assemblyman Carroll

Assemblyman Bucco, Jr

Write NJ Transit & tell them you don't want billboards along Route 80 in Morris County

The Honorable James Weinstein

Executive Director, NJ Transit

One Penn Plaza East

Newark, NJ 07105-2246

PROPOSED BILLBOARD LOCATION

View Proposed Billboard in Denville in a larger map

Ordinance on Underage Drinking

At Next Tuesday's Denville Town Council Meeting (November 9, 2010) we are scheduled to introduce an ordinance regarding underage drinking. The entire Council, by way of consensus, agreed to put the ordinance through for introduction. This allows the ordinance to be officially introduced to the public for review. At a future council meeting, the Town Council will vote to adopt the ordinance. (Read the Proposed Ordinance Here)

Recently at our Town Council Workshop, I had several questions regarding the ordinance. I wanted to make sure it did not infringe on private property and our constitutional rights. Obviously, a local ordinance can never trump the Constitution. Essentially, the ordinance will allow the Police to cite an underage individual who is consuming alcohol on private property. However, they can not enter private property without consent or just cause. If there is a legal parent or guardian with the underage individual there is no offense.

State Law currently gives sole responsibility to the property owner if an underage individual is consuming alcohol on private property. This ordinance will allow authorities to hold the individual underage person responsible with a citation and local municipal court appearance. This ordinance will hopeful quell the massive problems of underage individuals consuming large amounts of alcohol on private properties where the property owners or other responsible adults are not present.

Again, the ordinance excludes cases with parental supervision and consumption of alcohol at private religious or other personal events & ceremonies.

However, I do recognize the power of unintended consequence so I hope you'll evaluate the proposed ordinance for yourself and let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Thanks

No Issues with the St. Francis Fall Festival

This past October, St. Francis Residential Center hosted a Fall Festival to raise money to keep the center, historic building and staple Denville institution operating. This was truly an amazing community event. Organizations from all across town participated. It created increased visibilty and visits to downtown and rejuveniated our town. Undoubtedly a huge success for Denville.

Unfortunately shortly afterwards there was some minor controversy regarding the event. While the organizers of the event followed every proper protocol and process with the Township, a question regarding the payment of Denville Police & permits arose at a recent council meeting. I was not aware of this until the public portion of a recent Town Council Meeting.

The Mayor did question payment of the police officers used for security at the event as well as the permits. Obviously the permits were obtainted and approved by the Council. They were done months ago at Public Meetings with the Mayor and Council. The question of police payment is a legitimate one although, I firmly believe The Chief of Police should be allowed to manage his deparment the way he sees fit. Each year we approve budgets for the Chief and he has always managed to those budgets impeccably while still delivering the best police force in the county. If he sees a need for a certain amount of officers at certain town events he should be free to assign & budget them as he sees fit.

Naturally I was a bit taken back by the questioning of this event at the last moment. As a Councilperson, it is my job to debate and vocalize my agreement or disagreement with policies of the adminstration. Again, police payment is a legitimate question although this event should not jeopardize any additional overtime. It is something that should have been brought up months ago or should be brought up again during our budget workshops for the next year. I never felt the concern to bring it up because the Administration was fully involved and knows how to manage our township budget appropriately.

The Mayor and I agree on many things but I am not shy to also express myself if we disagree. It is the Mayor's responsiblity to know what his own administration is doing. In this case, they were handling the process of a great Fall Festival in town with proper process. Unbudgeted Police overtime (which is most likely not the case) can not be blamed on the Council. If any event in town grows large enough to demand an excessively large police presence, the idea of sharing that cost with the organizers can be evaluated. However, I don't believe the St. Francis Fall Festival or any of our other town events are even near that level yet.

All in all, This Tradition Reborn in Denville is a great thing for our town. I look forward to it's return October 2, 2011.

Clearing Up The Misconceptions On Property Maintenance.

UPDATED

Property Maintenance Ordinances, Environmental Ordinances & Renter's Township Ordinances are a very delicate subject for local government. We have to find a balance between protecting our health, property values and environment and the role of government in our lives.

I despite large government. And I do not favor strong Federal Government or State Government mandates. Our local government should be an example of This is why the council is working hard to find the right balance on such ordinances.

I would like to have a framework established this year. We have been working with a recent ordinance which the council unanimously defeated that many felt was too overbearing. While I believe we could have amended many of the objectionable items upon passing it proved to be easier to defeat re-introduce as a new ordinance. We will do that in the coming months.

I hope you'll continue to be part of the conversation. Whatever we settle on will be governed locally by your local officials and local residents. Ultimately, we are a small community of neighbors that needs to be involved in this process.

Summing up the 6/15/10 Council Workshop

At last Tuesday's Town Council Workshop, we discussed several items;

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE & ORDINANCE REVIEW

This year the Township Council chose not to commit to the Master Plan of the Highlands Council. This would be a regional plan for development. While there were many attractive environmental protections in the plan, there was still too much uncertainty. We can still evaluate joining the plan over the next several years, I believe it was a good decision to not commit to a State run plan just yet.

instead, we must apply many of those planning principals for ourselves to govern. We have asked our Township Planner to re-evaluate our ordinances. Last Tuesday was the first discussion of some of his suggestions. While I oppose over-bearing government and regulations, I believe it is important for the Township of Denville to have a framework to rectify extreme situations where property maintenance is clearly an health and safety concern. As well, we will also tighten our lighting ordinances and more environmental ordinances. I plan to support these ordinance revisions at introduction and further.

DENVILLE'S POLICE STATION

We also discussed the ongoing issues of our Police Station. While it was determined that the mold in the police headquarters was not threatening, there is no doubt that the building is in bad shape. My position has remained the same, I could not yet support a 1.8 Million renovation of the headquarters. As well others on the council were rethinking their positions. Because there was no longer 5 council members in support of the full renovation, a new consensus was taken on fixing the current issues and expanding the locker room for a much less price tag of $500,000. This money would be bonded over time and will have much less impact on the taxpayer. Most importantly the Police Station desperately needs it and is several years overdue. We can not allow our officers to work in the unacceptable conditions any longer. As well, our Building Manager will look at cost-effective ways to improve the conditions and press harder for other measures that can be accommodated for the lesser price tag. This was just a consensus that will now proceed down the governmental process of issuing an introduction, applying for bonding then final approval.

My Position on the Denville Police Station

Parts of Denville's Police Station are in horrible shape. There is inadequate space in the locker room, evidence room, break area, server room and other areas. They have an unacceptable mold problem in the men's locker room. For several years the Denville Police have been promised renovations. Should the Police Station have been updated when the Municipal Building was completed? - Probably. Should the mold problem and overcrowding been addressed a year ago? Definitely. I was not on Town Council then and I am not interested in passing blame. We have a problem now that needs to be addressed.

This year, the Town Council, with 3 new members, was presented several options to remedy the situation. The first, an immediate "band aid" of approximately $300,000, then 2 other options ranging from 1 million to 1.8 million dollars. The "band aid" solution and smaller priced option would only be temporary solutions. However, any cost would be financed over a long period of time with the hopes of minor tax impact.

At a recent Town Council Workshop, we all committed to finding a solution. However, I couldn't vote to give direction to the architects to preliminarily proceed with 1.8 Million dollar renovation just yet. I have seen the Police station and understand the gravity of the situation. Instead, I would have preferred to immediately approve the $300,000 or slightly more to temporarily fix the immediate problems. Perhaps this would cost more in the long run but after last evening I'm concerned with the process of a new renovation. As well, there are times when you just don't have money to buy a new car and must continue to repair the old car in order to make it through a difficult time. I think we are in those times. Most of the Council supported moving forward with the full expansion, however many had differing ideas on the process. The Mayor also had another new proposal he was looking into. This unclear direction worries me that 2 years from now our police station will be no further than it is now. Therefore I would rather a smaller fix that could be executed quickly to improve the working conditions now.

Regardless of my vote, I am committed to keeping the public informed about the condition and needs of our police station. We have the best Police Department in the County led by an outstanding Chief. Several weeks ago the public tours of the station were cancelled, but they need to be reinstated The awareness campaign must continue. We now need to make sure we follow through with improving the Police Station responsibly.