BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — The Township Council has unanimously adopted an ordinance that will require builders to post large signs on properties they plan to develop.
The ordinance was proposed by Councilwoman Patti Morelli. It requires applicants who are before the planning and zoning boards to erect 32- to 64-square-foot signs that inform the public about the number of homes being built, or the square footage and type of commercial project that would be constructed on that site.
The signs, which must face a public street, will also name the municipal board considering the application, the date, place and time the application will be considered, and a telephone number where interested parties can obtain more information about the proposal. According to the ordinance, the lettering must be clearly visible to pedestrians and drivers on the street.
"This is a positive ordinance for residents because it will make residents aware of what’s going on in town," Morelli said. "In the past, people did not know where a development is [proposed] until it has already been approved. These developments affect everyone’s taxes."
The new ordinance also mandates that people living within 300 feet of a proposed development receive written notice personally or through the mail. Previously, applicants only had to provide residents living within 200 feet of a development site with written or personal notice of their proposals.
In a separate matter, the council unanimously approved the construction of a basketball court on Vanderburg Road.
The project was awarded to L&L Paving Company, Tinton Falls, which bid $32,500. Halecon, of Bridgewater, bid $43,850 for the same project, according to the resolution passed by the council.