By jane meggitt
Staff Writer
ROOSEVELT — A discussion about creating a quality-of-life ordinance caused a lot of noise at the Sept. 17 council meeting.
Councilman Neil Marko, the liaison to the Planning Board, reported at the meeting that during a recent discussion of a noise issue, "the board came to the conclusion that it appears we have no hard and fast rules. We have nothing in the ordinances on what is an acceptable noise level in the borough."
"There are no ordinances on light pollution, grass cutting, no ordinances on quality-of-life issues," he added.
Marko said the Planning Board requested that the council look into adopting formal standards for sound, light and public nuisances so when a problem arises, "we don’t have to use back door and other alternatives. It seems like it’s almost neighbor vs. neighbor."
He noted that there are no ordinances on keeping horses or any other animals in town, and "if people want to keep horses at a Roosevelt home, there’s nothing to say they can’t do it, [although] most people acknowledge that a half-acre is not enough to keep a horse."
Councilwoman Marilyn Magnes remarked that she had lived in Roosevelt for 32 years, "and this issue has been recycled. I think the better solution is to have a mediator committee sit down with neighbors in dispute. It’s better than trying to pass an ordinance."
Marko said objective standards were needed.
"We have a zoning ordinance, and one thing you can’t do in a residential area is farm," he said.
Magnes said that an earlier noise complaint was solved when the Board of Health went out and took a decibel reading.
In other business, Councilwoman Elly Shapiro announced that there was an initial meeting of the Community Crime Watch group, although it was sparsely attended.
"We’ll try again to form a group," she said. "There have been a number of break-ins to vehicles and some vandalism in town. We’ll try to get a group together to assist with keeping crime down."
Councilman Jeff Hunt, reporting on the recreation program, said, "We’ve finally received our projector, which is high technology for outdoor and indoor uses for movies and other uses."
The soccer goals are up, he said, and "it’s nice to see the soccer fields back in action."
According to Hunt, the yoga program will be expanded with an additional session to be held on Thursday evenings.
The Friday morning program is reserved for seniors, but Thursday’s program will be open to the general public.
The first kayak trip, in conjunction with East Windsor, is scheduled for Oct. 6. Participants will be going to the Delaware River, and the fee is $45 per person, Hunt said.