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Council agrees to prepare redevelopment-study resolution for prominent vacant property
Summary
Council members gave consensus to prepare a resolution referring a long-vacant commercial parcel to the planning board for a redevelopment study (non-condemnation); public commenters asked the borough to require screening and site cleanup as code enforcement measures.
At the Oct. 21 meeting, Fair Lawn council members agreed to prepare a resolution referring a vacant, commercially prominent parcel that houses the former Green Dragon/Zadie’s Roadhouse site for a planning-board redevelopment study.
Council discussion: A council member said the property—near the borough’s commercial corridor—has sat vacant for roughly a year and a half and that prior attempts to learn the owner’s redevelopment plans have been unsuccessful. The council member asked the borough attorney and borough manager to prepare a resolution referring the parcel to the planning board as an “area in need of redevelopment,” specifying a non-condemnation study unless the council directs otherwise.
Public comment and code enforcement: Resident John Bennett pressed the council to require immediate remediation measures such as screening fences and site cleanup to address an exposed excavation pit and overgrowth. Borough staff responded that existing code-enforcement ordinances appear adequate for many violations and that the borough’s code officers had been directed to inspect the site and issue summonses where ordinances are violated. The borough attorney explained that designating the area for redevelopment initiates a planning-board study and that the council must specify whether the desired study should include condemnation authority; council members indicated they prefer a non-condemnation referral at this time.
Why it matters: The property sits in a visible commercial area; designation as an area in need of redevelopment would start a formal planning-board review that could shape future redevelopment standards and allowable uses. In the interim, code-enforcement action may be used to require fencing or other short-term remediation if the owner is violating local ordinances.
Next steps: The borough attorney will draft a resolution for the council’s work session; the planning board’s next regular meeting is Nov. 10 and the planning department also has a special meeting scheduled for Nov. 3. The council indicated consensus to place the draft resolution on a future work-session agenda for consideration.
