Merchants urge Hopewell council to fix conflicting parking rules; council introduces ordinance to set 100-foot no-parking zone

Hopewell Borough Council heard extended public comment June 6 from small-business owners and residents pressing the council to resolve a long-standing conflict in local parking rules that merchants say has cost storefronts customers and revenue.

"That extra 100 feet means five parking spaces in front of our five shops," said Bobby Fishman, a West Broad Street merchant, who apologized for earlier incorrect statements about the code and said the posted 200-foot sign forced a recent, painful drop in customers. "I hate talking in public and I hate having this issue take up far too much of all of our time," Fishman added.

Carol Kho, owner of Hopewell Antiques, told the council the sign changes have been an "economic nightmare," saying her business is down about $20,000 and that many potential customers "won’t walk half a block" to enter a shop they can’t see from the curb.

The council introduced Ordinance 888, described by staff as an amendment deleting the 200-foot no-parking reference so the borough’s code will consistently reflect a 100-foot no-parking distance and remove references to a mid-block crossing that was never constructed. The council scheduled the public hearing and final vote on Ordinance 888 for the July 1 meeting and said it will notify affected residents and property owners by mail and other notices.

Brian Bron, chair of the Economic Development Committee and a local business owner, urged the council to consider temporarily removing or covering enforcement signage while the ordinance conflict is resolved to prevent immediate economic harm during repaving work on Mercer Street. The council said it would consider the request but made no immediate commitment.

Why it matters: West Broad Street merchants told the council the short-run visibility and easy curb parking are critical to capturing drive-by and first-time customers who otherwise will bypass small shops. Several speakers urged the council to treat the issue as an urgent, local economic problem rather than a minor code technicality.

What officials said: Staff and council members acknowledged historical ambiguity in how ordinances were codified — an original ordinance can be later incorporated or summarized into the municipal code — and said search efforts for the original ordinance documents were underway. Council members said adopting a clear, single ordinance is a standard way to correct inconsistent code language.

Related actions taken: The council introduced Ordinance 888 (first reading) and set a July 1 public hearing and vote. During the same meeting the council adopted Ordinance 886 to appropriate approximately $199,498.27 in American Rescue Plan funds for a Public Works facility project and approved a separate resolution to appoint outside counsel for redevelopment matters.

Redevelopment and stormwater: At the meeting the planner gave an introductory presentation on the draft 'Hopewell 57' Redevelopment Plan (Ordinance 887). The planner said the planning board found the draft consistent with the borough master plan and said detailed site-plan review and public hearings will follow. Council and the planner discussed adding stronger “green infrastructure” language to stormwater requirements; council set the redevelopment-zone public hearing for July 1.

Water system and related litigation: Council members also gave a detailed update on the borough water system process, leak repairs, and federal/state compliance work. Council member David Mackie said recent leak repairs reduced system demand, reporting a roughly 23% drop in May water demand year-over-year and a 48% reduction in purchased water volume from New Jersey American, lowering the borough’s purchased-water bill from about $31,800 last year to roughly $18,000 this May. The council said it submitted a request to the Department of Environmental review process that could lead to an appeal period and reiterated that a sale of the system remains one of several options.

Executive session and PFAS counsel: The council pulled a consent-item resolution to appoint special outside counsel for a PFAS class-action matter to discuss in executive session; after the closed session the council returned to open session and moved to table the PFAS-counsel appointment to a future meeting.

What’s next: Public hearings and votes on Ordinances 887 (redevelopment) and 888 (parking/no-parking schedule) are set for July 1. The council said it will continue outreach to affected property owners and the wider community before the hearings.

(Reporting note: quotes and attributions come from public comment and council remarks recorded at the June 6 Hopewell Borough Council meeting.)