The approval of an ordinance by the West Windsor Township Council will allow the school district to enforce its smoking ban in Municipal Court.
By: David M. Campbell
WEST WINDSOR The Township Council on Monday night approved an ordinance to enforce the local school district’s new no-smoking policies in Municipal Court.
An identical ordinance was approved by the Plainsboro Township Committee last week.
Last year, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education approved two no-smoking policies, one defining the district’s policy for students caught smoking on school property and another defining the district’s commitment to maintaining a smoke-free environment for students and teachers. The school district asked both townships to approve ordinances that would empower the district to enforce its stricter no-smoking policies in Municipal Court.
Under the ordinances, certain school officials have the power to issue summonses and the courts in both communities can impose fines or community service on students caught smoking on school grounds.
"The point of this ordinance is to give teeth to existing policies," Councilwoman Jacqueline Alberts said Monday night.
The measures in West Windsor and Plainsboro were delayed to allow lawyers from both communities to draft consistent ordinances, which are necessary in order for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District to fairly enforce its smoking ban districtwide.
Similar bans have been adopted in Princeton, Hopewell and Hamilton.
In other business, the council, at press time, was expected to introduce ordinances to acquire a 49-acre open-space parcel on Cranbury Road and 26 acres of open space on Old Trenton Road, adjacent to Mercer County Community College.
The purchase on Cranbury Road is part of a joint agreement among the state, county and township to preserve the land, which is adjacent to the Millstone River, as part of the state’s "Crossroads of the Revolution" project. The crossroads project is a bicycle and hiking trail that runs from Princeton Battlefield to Monmouth Battlefield Park.
The township’s share is about $7,000 per acre, or $343,840 total, Mayor Carole Carson said.
The property near the community college is owned by the Diocese of Trenton. According to the mayor, 75 percent of the total $576,840 asking price will be covered by the Mercer County Agriculture Advisory Committee. The township will be obliged to pay about $144,210 of the total cost, she said.