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Planning board presses mayor and council for transparency after DPW erects large storage building on borough open space
Summary
At the planning board’s sine die meeting residents and board members criticized the rapid construction of a 140-by-60-foot Department of Public Works storage building on borough-owned wooded land and asked the governing body to explain the process and provide final landscaping plans for review.
Public commenters and planning board members on Tuesday pressed the mayor and council for more transparency after the Department of Public Works erected a large storage building on borough-owned open space without an apparent prior planning-board review.
"It is shameful that this planning board was not given the opportunity of a courtesy review nor was the environmental commission consulted," said John Kramer (speaker 6), who identified himself and his address at the start of public comment. Kramer said the 140-by-60-foot structure sits on eight acres of borough-owned wooded property and described the building as "grotesque" and inconsistent with potential public uses such as a community center or recreational facilities.
Board attorney (speaker 3) and the board engineer (speaker 9) told members that when a public entity undertakes a capital project the municipality should submit the proposal under Section 31 of the Municipal Land Use Law for a consistency review with the municipal master plan, noting that such a review is not the same as a public hearing but is the board’s statutory avenue to review municipal capital projects.
A member of the Department of Public Works (speaker 10, introduced in discussion as Tom) said a contractor built the structure while DPW completed in-house site work and leveling. "That building will be utilized by us with the equipment," the DPW member said, adding the goal was to keep equipment under cover so it lasts longer. He said landscaping remains to be installed and urged members to judge the finished product when planting is complete.
Planning board members pressed on process and aesthetics, asking whether the tree ordinance was followed, how many regulated trees were removed and whether a tree-survey exists. One member recommended the board request a presentation from the mayor and council and for the DPW liaison or architect to explain why the site and design were chosen. The board agreed to request the governing body present the project history and to review the final planting/landscaping plan at a future meeting.
The board did not take formal enforcement action; members said building permits and code compliance fall to the building department. Next steps recorded by the board include asking the mayor and council to present the project's timeline and submitting the landscaping/planting plan for the planning board’s courtesy review at a forthcoming meeting.
