Chris Bombino, a Northville resident, told the Mayor and Council on Sept. 11 that parking and traffic violations connected to his neighborhood and the local church have continued since Ordinance 19-03-2024 was enacted. Bombino asked the council to restore a no-parking restriction on Chestnut Street to address repeated curbside drop-offs, u-turns into private driveways, and vehicles standing in no-parking zones and near fire hydrants.

Bombino said he prepared and submitted multiple video exhibits documenting instances across several dates, including July and August and the first week of September. He described repeated incidents: vehicles blocking or partially entering private driveways, stopping in the roadway to drop off passengers, standing near fire hydrants for multiple minutes, and vehicles without visible license plates. He also said that on Aug. 23 police responded and officer Puccio issued summonses to four unoccupied, illegally parked vehicles.

Bombino told the council that a large off-street lot became available and was being used by church attendees; he estimated it provided 75 to 100 spaces and said that fact undercut the need for on-street parking on Chestnut Street. "If we get rid of the parking on Chestnut Street as I've been begging for the last 11 months, you'll also eliminate a couple of other problems," Bombino said, referring to sidewalk issues and drivers making U-turns into driveways.

He urged the council to enforce the planning-board conditions that he said were imposed when the church received variances in 2013 and 2014; Bombino cited planning-board resolutions (2013-03 and 2014-06) that he said included a condition that "no parking shall be allowed on Veterans Drive or Chestnut Street when a church building is in use." He said the continued curbside activity represented a breach of that promise to neighbors.

Council members and staff asked Bombino clarifying questions: whether the church had been encouraged to use the newly available lot (staff said the church had discussed it with borough staff and had promoted it to congregants) and whether the on-street activity had increased or simply become more visible because neighbors were documenting it. Bombino said the problem persisted and said he would return to a future meeting with additional documentation.

No formal council action was taken at the Sept. 11 meeting; the item was raised during public comment and the council said it would monitor the situation. Bombino asked the council to "do the right thing by my neighborhood" and said he would return to the council next month.