Tenafly council moves to tighten commercial dumpster enforcement after Stop & Shop complaints

Mayor Mark Zinna opened the meeting by reading the Open Public Meetings Act statement and said the borough took on dumpster duties because the complex was frequently left in poor condition. Borough Administrator David P. Fanslau told the council that Councilmember John Roglieri ‘‘would like to redo the standards the business have to uphold’’ and that the borough has effectively been subsidizing Stop and Shop because DPW has been emptying its trash cans.

Councilmember Lauren Dayton said the current ordinance is not being enforced and is not strong enough; Councilmember Dr. Julie O’ Connor said she will communicate with Health Inspector Ruby Parra if enforcement is lacking. Borough Attorney Wendy Rubinstein urged the council to focus on enforcing existing property-maintenance and code provisions rather than immediately creating a new enforcement mechanism. Mayor Zinna said ‘‘there should never be garbage or recycling waste outside the dumpsters.’’

Officials discussed options including consolidating front- and rear-dumpster locations and legislating dumpster enclosures for new properties. Mr. Fanslau said Councilmember Roglieri favors enclosing all dumpsters and noted that some existing locations likely would be grandfathered, with new requirements applying to new developments. Mr. Fanslau was directed to confer with Health Inspector Ruby Parra and return recommendations; the council also discussed removing borough-paid dumpsters and issuing summonses if properties do not clean up.

Public comment raised practical concerns: Andrew Mik warned that ‘‘if you take away the waste collection receptacle people will use whatever receptacle that is available,’’ and suggested that enforcement changes may have unintended consequences. The council scheduled further action and asked staff to return with options at a future meeting.