Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rooftop Decks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Seaside Park council to study rooftop-deck rules after planning-board recommendation
Summary
The council received a letter from Planning Board attorney Gregory Hawk urging study of rooftop-deck regulations amid recurring neighbor complaints about privacy and behavior. Council members agreed to research options; no ordinance was proposed or voted on.
The Mayor and Borough Council of Seaside Park on Thursday agreed to study whether local rules should be adopted for rooftop decks after the Planning Board’s attorney recommended the governing body examine how neighboring towns regulate them.
The recommendation, submitted in a letter from Gregory Hawk, planning board attorney, asks the council and its committees to review other municipalities’ approaches to issues raised by rooftop decks — including privacy, noise, and conflicts related to short-term rentals. Mayor Peterson told the council the planning board has raised the issue repeatedly and that “it’s really not ripe for doing anything at this very moment.”
Why it matters: rooftop decks have become a recurring planning question in Seaside Park and nearby towns where decks can overlook neighboring properties. Council members flagged concerns about enforcement and community impacts and said they want a fuller record before proposing any restriction.
Council members described the next step as research and discussion at the committee level rather than immediate ordinance drafting. “I think we need to do some research on it,” one council member said, and the council agreed to refer the matter for study.
Public comment underscored the enforcement-versus-ban debate. Mitch, who gave his address as 204 10th Avenue, urged officials to “focus more on the behavioral issues of the people abusing [rooftop decks], not on the families that build and want to use it for their own pleasure.” The council did not dispute that framing and did not introduce a motion to change local law during the work session.
The council did not provide a timeline for the review. When a policy proposal reaches the committee or council agenda it would be the subject of future public meetings and formal action.
Next steps: the matter will be studied by the council/committee and compared with approaches used in adjoining towns; no regulatory action was taken at the Oct. 2 work session.
