By John Tredrea, Special Writer
At the recommendation of the Hopewell Borough Planning Board, the Borough Council adopted, during its Monday night meeting, an ordinance permitting and regulating outdoor dining at eateries in town.
Many new restaurants have opened in recent years in the borough’s downtown area.
Mayor Paul Anzano has noted that, unlike many towns in the state and around the country, Hopewell Borough doesn’t have a single vacant storefront.
In a memo to the council, the Planning Board recommended borough regulations “be amended to permit outdoor dining areas for licensed food establishments . . . in order to provide enhanced community character and encourage attractive spaces to promote local businesses and restaurants.”
The ordinance adopted Monday night includes many regulations on outdoor dining, including that the number of outdoor seats to be allowed at a food establishment be based on a number of factors, including site capacity and design and parking demand and availability.
In addition, a minimum width of 4 feet must be maintained for passage of pedestrians on sidewalks where outdoor tables are placed.
Outdoor dining equipment must be constructed of weather-resistant and fire-retardant material and not block any municipal sign, public bench, planter, fire hydrant or other public amenity, according to the ordinance.
It also states that food preparation, storage, cooling or refrigeration is not allowed in outdoor dining areas. And additional lighting and signage for outdoor dining areas are prohibited, as are sound systems for that area.
Outdoor dining equipment must be removed at the end of the outdoor dining season, which runs from March 1 to Nov. 1, according to the ordinance.
Also at Monday night’s meeting, the council introduced an ordinance establishing parking time limits on the southerly side of East Broad Street.
Under the measure, which is expected to be scheduled for a public hearing and adoption vote at the council’s meeting next month, the parking time limit would be two hours on two sections of East Broad Street between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., except Sundays.
One of those sections runs from a point 100 feet east of Greenwood Avenue to a point 73 feet west of Seminary Avenue. The other section runs from Seminary Avenue to a point 190 feet west of Princeton Avenue.
Another section of the southerly side of East Broad Street would have a 15-minute time limit on parking between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., except Sundays. This section runs from Seminary Avenue to a point 73 feet west of Seminary Avenue.
