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Neighboring residents ask Parsippany-Troy Hills to intervene on privacy fence issue; council says property lies in Danville and has no jurisdiction
Summary
Residents told the Parsippany (Troy Hills) Township Council on Feb. 18 that an adjacent development approved in Danville is reducing privacy and creating safety concerns; council members said the parcel is outside Parsippany’s jurisdiction and pledged to keep pressing Danville and the property owner for solutions.
Snigdha Mitra and other Parsippany (Troy Hills) residents raised a long-running concern about security and privacy along a development that borders Parsippany property. At the Feb. 18 council meeting Mitra asked for an update on actions the township could take to improve neighbors’ security and privacy.
Council response: council members said the affected parcel and approvals are in Danville, not Parsippany, and that Parsippany officials therefore have no direct jurisdiction to require changes on that property. The council said it has contacted Danville officials and the property owner and will continue trying to find a cooperative solution, but emphasized it cannot impose changes on property it does not own and warned of legal limits to acting unilaterally on private land.
Why it matters: residents said trees and debris have fallen onto private yards and that a developer-approved configuration of the adjacent parcel has left their properties exposed; they asked Parsippany to take ownership of the problem because they pay Parsippany taxes. Council members cautioned that taking unilateral action on private property would create precedent concerns and that any solution would likely require agreement from the Danville municipality and the property owner.
Ending: Council agreed to continue outreach to Danville and the property owner and to assess possible design options once staff and the township engineer can review the situation; no binding remedy was ordered at the meeting.
