By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
EDISON — Resident Lois Wolke said she wasn’t pleased with the answer Councilwoman Sapana Shah received when Shah recently asked for an update on the status of a quality-of-life initiative that she proposed to the council two years ago.
The initiative is based on some of neighboring Woodbridge’s building and housing ordinances. According to Shah, it would enable the township to create stricter housing regulations and compel landlords to provide the township with tenant records. It would also create stronger penalties for noncompliance.
Shah asked Business Administrator Maureen Ruane for the status at the May 23 business meeting. However, Ruane said there was no update on it.
Shah, who has asked for updates on the effort at previous meetings, responded that she wanted an answer either way as to whether the township wanted to proceed with it, explaining that she spent significant time researching and preparing it.
“It just seems it’s a little unprofessional,” she said, adding that her assessment wasn’t directed to anyone in particular.
Ruane’s response to Shah prompted Wolke to weigh in on the issue two days later at the regular meeting. Wolke called the Ruane’s response on behalf of the township administration “absolutely unacceptable and disheartening.
“Not only should [Shah] have received an answer, but we as residents also deserve an answer as to why the quality-of-life movement is not moving forward,” she said. “I want to know why the quality of life in Edison is not important to this administration.”
However, both Robert Karabinchak, for whom the meeting would be his last as a councilman prior to joining the state Assembly, and Council President Michael Lombardi said the issue is far more complicated.
“I do have to disagree with you,” Lombardi told Wolke. “I think this administration is very concerned about the quality of life in Edison. You don’t have to put that in ordinance form just to be shown.” He pointed to various infrastructure efforts and other projects that he said demonstrated that the current council is committed to improving the lives of residents.
However, he said, he has concerns about Shah’s ordinance holding up in court, and so it still requires further review by township legal counsel.
That answer didn’t sit well with Wolke.
“With all due respect, we’ve been hearing that … for years,” she responded. “It doesn’t seem very difficult to do this.”
She said capturing the township’s intent on a paper is important. Wolke said she felt Woodbridge had been able to implement its quality-of-life ordinance successfully.
“We just can’t take somebody’s ordinance from a different town. It’s a lot more complicated than it sounds like,” Lombardi told Wolke, adding that he felt implementing the ordinance would require additional township positions to be created.
After the meeting, Shah said she disagreed with the council’s concerns, adding that since lawyers had drafted Woodbridge’s laws, she doesn’t understand why the ordinance wouldn’t hold up in court. She praised Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac for assisting her with trying to implement an Edison version of its housing policies.
“He’s got a system that works,” she said.
She acknowledged that Woodbridge and Edison have different setups. “But we can try to do our best,” she said. “We can still get the benefits.”