Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Code Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council discusses stalled enforcement against long-running hoarding case; borough says court process limits action
Summary
Council members and the borough attorney described ongoing daily summonses, hundreds of citations and appeals in a long-running case involving a property owner (referred to as Spolda/"Spoilder"); officials said they cannot enter the property without court authorization and are exploring moving venue to superior court.
Council members raised renewed concern about a property whose owner has accumulated refuse and stored materials on his front lawn and driveway for years; officials said enforcement efforts have produced many summonses but that legal protections and appeals have limited immediate cleanup.
Borough Attorney Michael Pasquale told the council the matter is being prosecuted in Prospect Park Municipal Court and that the borough has issued more than 200 summonses to the property owner. Pasquale said the owner repeatedly appeals, and that some hearings have gone as far as the New Jersey Supreme Court, which denied the appeals.
Pasquale said the difficulty is constitutional: the borough cannot lawfully enter private property to remove items without prior court authorization. He described the difference between "rubbish" and "garbage" under the International Property Maintenance Code and said that, while the lawn storage is unsightly and a neighborhood problem, local fire officials have not yet certified the property as an immediate life-safety hazard that would allow emergency entry.
Council members and the mayor said the owner's behavior had continued despite daily summonses and prosecutions. Pasquale said the municipal prosecutor, Hesham Masri, is pursuing the case and is examining whether to move the venue to superior court; Pasquale cautioned that the superior-court route may not be faster but could give judges broader powers.
Why it matters: Multiple council members said the ongoing condition affects neighbors and creates a public-nuisance perception. Officials said they will continue to pursue every lawful enforcement avenue and that municipal staff are frustrated but constrained by due-process protections that apply to property rights.
No new enforcement action was authorized at the March 19 meeting; Pasquale and the prosecutor will continue prosecution in municipal court while exploring superior-court options.
