Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hawthorne introduces drive‑through coffee ordinance, approves 90‑day one‑way trial on North 8th Street
Summary
On July 23 the Hawthorne Borough Council introduced zoning changes to reinstate a 2020 rule allowing drive‑through, coffee‑based businesses in B3/B3A zones and approved first reading of a one‑way streets ordinance establishing a 90‑day trial on North 8th Street (Sept. 8–Dec. 8). Both ordinances were set for final passage on Aug. 13, 2025.
Hawthorne officials on July 23 introduced two ordinances that would alter local traffic flow and zoning for drive‑through businesses. The council voted to advance Zoning Ordinance 23‑73‑25, restoring language to permit drive‑through, coffee‑based shops only in B3 and B3A commercial zones, and to advance Ordinance 23‑74‑25 to add one‑way streets, including a 90‑day trial on North 8th Street.
Mayor (speaker 5) reported that negotiations with Prospect Park and Passaic County are complete and that North 8th Street will be made one‑way from Hawthorne into Prospect Park to improve safety. Borough attorney Michael Pasquale said the drive‑through language is a reinstatement of the 2020 rule that was omitted in a 2023 code rewrite and recommended limiting drive‑throughs to coffee‑based businesses because those tend to operate during daytime hours and create fewer late‑night quality‑of‑life impacts.
"When we redid the entire ordinance in 2023, this was unintentionally omitted," Pasquale said, urging reinsertion limited to B3/B3A and only coffee‑based shops. The council set final consideration for Aug. 13, 2025. Pasquale added the one‑way trial was timed to coincide with the school year so the borough and neighboring Prospect Park can measure effects while schools are in session; the council noted the trial period would run roughly Sept. 8–Dec. 8.
Both measures passed first reading on roll call. The ordinances will be published and return for final passage at the council meeting on Aug. 13, at which time members of the public will again have an opportunity to comment.
What’s next: The council will publish the required notices and hold the Aug. 13 hearing and vote on final passage. If adopted, the one‑way trial will be implemented under the trial dates announced and Prospect Park will match the timing on its side of the border.
