Six Days Before Christmas: The 12/19/2023 Town Council Meeting & Municipal Land Use Ordinance

Dec 20, 20231 Comment

On December 19, 2023, the Berkeley Heights town council unanimously voted on the final adoption of the Municipal Land Use ordinance.

This is a 290-page document that was introduced for initial reading on December 5, 2023, and the planning board unanimously voted on this during it’s December 6, 2023 meeting.

On the planning board agenda for December 6, 2023, it was listed as:

Ordinance amending the code of the Township of Berkeley Heights, Appendix A entitled “Municipal Land Use Procedures Ordinance,” which will be introduced by the Township Council at the Public Meeting on December 5, 2023. The Ordinance is submitted to the Planning Board for its review and recommendation in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-64.

The Planning Board is directed to make and transmit to the Township Council, within 35 days after referral of the above referenced Ordinance, a report including an identification of any provisions in the proposed Ordinance which are inconsistent with the master plan and recommendations concerning these inconsistencies and any other matters as the Board deems appropriate.

Please NOTE the planning board had 35 DAYS after a referral from the township council to provide feedback. It remains unclear as to why this Ordinance was voted on unanimously if there were concerns.

It should also be noted that some concerns were raised about temporary political signs and the installation of tall poles in residential areas at the planning board meeting, among other concerns.

Yesterday, during the public hearing on the final adoption of the municipal land use ordinance, town council member- elect Margaret Illis raised a valid concern – Have the amendments discussed at the planning board been incorporated?

And, most importantly, are these changes considered “Substantive charges?”

Councilwoman Jeanne Kingsley and Mayor Angie Devenney responded that these were reviewed with Mr. Keenan and the attorney. If incorporated, the municipal land use ordinance might have to be reintroduced with these substantive changes, and could NOT have been voted on at yesterday’s meeting.

They also referenced another legal opinion that these are NOT “substantive changes,” and the council can vote on the 290-page municipal land use ordinance AS IS at the very last town council meeting of 2023 during the lame-duck session – that if these amendments needed to be made then the future council can amend this critical piece of legislation for local government.

Another resident, Dr. Foregger, raised concerns about the sign ordinance incorporated in the municipal land use ordinance. The main concern was that it violates the First Amendment rights of residents. How can a local government stipulate the size and number of lawn signs to a property owner? A resident might want to support multiple candidates and have multiple lawn signs.

I raised the same questions in my article.

It was very enlightening to listen to one response among others that other towns have this local sign ordinance in response to questions surrounding it’s intent and that this municipal land use ordinance will generate revenue and has needed change for a long time. Neither of those points were relevant to the concerns I raised about this specific portion of the ordinance. However, using the “other towns” logic- other towns, especially many of our neighboring towns, also have FREE garbage pickup, weekly recycling pickup, and fall leaf pickup, which we in Berkeley Heights don’t. Residents have been asking for these services for over a decade. Still, all we have in return for our rising taxes is a leaking municipal complex with large offices for our elected representatives. We are still unsure how much space is used after our $44 million dollar spend.

Many taxpaying residents ponder why our elected officials don’t consider increasing services for our tax dollars instead of trying to amend and pass 290-page documents that limit our right to free speech SIX days from Christmas when hardly anyone is paying attention.