BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
EDISON — Township officials have decided that word of any major development warrants more widespread notification.
With that objective in mind, the Township Council, at its March 24 meeting, introduced amendments to an ordinance designed to extend the customary notification rules for residents living near any tract of land slated for development. Should the ordinance pass after a public hearing on April 24, it would extend notification of "any major site plan or major subdivision" to all people living 300 feet from the proposed development’s boundaries.
The present notice requirement, which is required under state law, is 200 feet.
The intent of the extended notification, modeled after a New Brunswick ordinance, is only an extended courtesy to residents, officials in the mayor’s office said.
State law says the notification limits the notice to 200 feet.
"Our expansion to 300 is for information only to those between 200 and 300 feet from the (Zoning or Planning Board) application," a statement from the mayor’s office said.
In addition to the notification, the manner in which it is conveyed is also a requirement of the new ordinance.
No more than 10 days after any major site plan or subdivision application hits the Zoning or Planning Board, the applicant must erect a freestanding sign on the property with specific information, consisting of the applicant’s name; the name of the board from which the applicant is seeking approval; a contact phone number from a representative of either board from which people can get information, such as hearing dates and site plan data; and a description of the approval sought, such as number of dwellings, type of homes or commercial development and square footage.
According to the ordinance, the sign must be no less than 32 square feet and no more than 64 square feet. It should also "face a public street abutting the premises, and shall be located not more than 30 feet from such street," the proposed ordinance reads.
The design of the sign should include lettering that is legible from a distance and must "remain on the property until such time as the board shall grant or deny final approval or until the applicant shall withdraw any such application."