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St. Jude’s presents generator and storage plan; board signals no objection to permits
Summary
St. Jude’s Church told the board it has grant funding for a 60 kW standby generator and proposed a 30x40 storage addition to free interior space for ADA bathrooms; the board advised proceeding with permits and recommended an as‑built when completed.
Rob Bond, co‑chair of the Spirit Ministry at St. Jude’s Church, briefed the Hopatcong Land Use Board on plans to install a stand‑by generator and to add a small storage addition so the parish center can be used more effectively as a daytime warming/cooling shelter.
Bond said the generator is funded by a nonprofit security grant and that the proposed unit is a 60‑kilowatt diesel unit on a 5‑by‑12 concrete pad roughly 50 feet from the building; a future 30‑by‑40 storage addition was presented conceptually to allow interior renovations for ADA‑compliant bathrooms and easier public access. Bond said the generator location was chosen to allow for the storage addition and to avoid preventing interior remodeling.
Board members asked technical questions about the transfer switch location, fuel arrangement and whether a site‑plan amendment would be triggered. Staff and board counsel said the application appears to serve municipal emergency‑management needs and is unlikely to require a formal site plan amendment for the generator placement; they recommended submitting final construction documents and an as‑built plan when work is complete. The board noted the benefit of the parish center serving as a warming center for the borough and suggested the applicant coordinate final permits with the construction office.
Why it matters: the generator and added storage will support the church’s role as an emergency shelter for the municipality and improve accessibility. Board members emphasized safety, fuel storage and routing of buried electric lines, and asked that the transfer switch, fuel arrangement and final entrance changes be shown on the working drawings.
No formal land‑use variance vote was needed at the work session; the board signaled informal approval to proceed with permitting and suggested submitting finalized drawings to the construction office and producing an as‑built when work is finished.
Next steps: St. Jude’s will coordinate with the municipal construction official on permits, and the church agreed to provide final drawings and an as‑built when the project is complete.
