Township Council adopts two private roads

Point Boulevard and Point Court are accepted as public streets.

By: Lea Kahn
   Point Boulevard and Point Court, two roads in the Lawrenceville Point age-restricted housing development off Bunker Hill Road, have been accepted as public streets by Township Council.
   The council adopted a resolution at its May 20 meeting that adds the two streets to the list of roads that are maintained by the township. The Lawrenceville Point Homeowners Association asked the township to accept the streets.
   The agreement that was approved earlier this month also calls for the township to reimburse the homeowners’ association for the costs of snow removal and street lighting costs, based on a formula outlined in the state 1989 Condominium Services Act.
   The Lawrenceville Point Homeowners Association, like many townhouse and condominium homeowners’ associations, contracts privately to have the snow removed from its streets rather than depend on the Public Works Department.
   The homeowners association’s request to turn its streets over to the township grew out of residents’ displeasure at being billed for standby water in fire hydrants on their streets, as well as for water in fire hydrants on public streets.
   The residents’ ire was raised when the association received a $5,718 bill from the Trenton Water Works last spring for the standby water in the fire hydrants in the development. The water is used for firefighting purposes.
   They were angry because they felt they were being billed twice — once for the water in fire hydrants on private property in their development, and once for water in fire hydrants on public streets.
   The township pays for standby water in the fire hydrants on public streets, but by law it cannot pay for standby water in fire hydrants on private streets. It is illegal to use taxpayers dollars to pay for something that is a private benefit, Municipal Manager William Guhl said.
   Lawrence Township earmarks money in the municipal budget to pay for water in the fire hydrants on public streets. The money in the municipal budget is raised through municipal property taxes.
   When the residents raised the issue at a Township Council meeting in October 2002, they were told that the township could pay for the standby water if the streets were turned over to the township. The homeowners association and township officials reached an agreement to have the streets accepted by Lawrence Township.
   The streets in the Lawrenceville Point subdivision are the first private ones to have been accepted by the township, said Municipal Engineer Christopher Budzinski. Streets that meet the standards for road width and pavement thickness under the state Residential Site Improvement Standards must be accepted by a municipality if the homeowners association requests it, he said.
   While there are other private streets that may meet those standards, the homeowners associations that control those streets have not requested the township to accept them, Mr. Budzinski said.