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Summit planning board recommends DRO edits, limits rooftop music to 11 p.m. and asks council to review EV charger rules
Summary
The Summit Planning Board voted June 29 to forward a set of development-regulation (DRO) edits to the governing body that clarify accessory-structure rules, move design guidelines into the main DRO, propose mandatory on-site stormwater controls and recommend a 11 p.m. limit for amplified rooftop music; members also asked staff to circulate the state's EV charging model ordinance for local consideration.
The Summit Planning Board voted June 29 to recommend that the City Council consider a package of edits to the municipal Development Regulation Ordinance (DRO) that would tighten design guidance, clarify accessory-structure standards and spell out stormwater-management requirements.
The board’s changes include inserting the town’s design guidelines into the main DRO text to make illustrations and compatibility rules more visible, strengthening stormwater language so projects “shall be designed to manage all storm water on-site,” and advising a recommended cutoff of 11 p.m. for amplified rooftop music. “We’ll recommend 11,” the chair proposed after members raised concerns about late-night amplified music for neighbors.
Board members debated accessory structures — the existing square-foot and length caps and whether a height limit needs to be restated in the DRO for clarity. Staff and members said plumbing and functioning utilities in detached accessory buildings can create de facto secondary dwelling units and typically require variance or explicit limits; the board asked staff to confirm current enforcement practice and repeat any height limit where the DRO could be ambiguous.
On rooftop amenities and noise enforcement, the board flagged that many municipalities lack equipment to measure low-frequency noise (C-weighted or ‘DBC’) even though the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection model ordinance uses decibel thresholds (the chair’s legal adviser noted DEP guidance uses roughly 50 dBA nighttime and 65 dBA daytime at lot perimeters). Members recommended the reexamination process include an analysis of enforcement options, whether the city should buy specialized meters or consult DEP or noise experts, and whether DBC-weighted limits should be proposed for certain zones.
The board also discussed Section 8 (electric-vehicle charging stations). Staff said New Jersey adopted a model ordinance in 2021 that the city can adapt; the planning staff will circulate the state model for the board to review. Members debated whether to allow limited advertising on chargers as a revenue source and agreed to consider design restrictions if advertising is permitted.
After discussion of these and other minor edits — including porte-cochere wording and several drafting fixes — the board moved and by voice vote recommended forwarding the DRO changes to the governing body for formal consideration.
The board then proceeded to an executive session to discuss pending litigation.
