By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE – Municipal officials are taking action to place restrictions on house parties that would attract multitudes of guests to any single residence in Millstone Township.
On Sept. 21, the Township Committee introduced an ordinance that requires a special permit to be acquired from the municipality for certain private and public parties.
According to the ordinance, any individual who or entity that wishes to host a private or public party that will be attended by more than 150 people, including the residents of a home, employees, agents, entertainers, DJs, caterers and servers, must obtain a special permit from the township.
According to a separate ordinance, the charging of any fee or contribution for the use of a private swimming pool and its adjacent areas is prohibited in Millstone.
No permit will be issued for any site that has outstanding enforcement actions for ordinance violations or building code and subcode violations, according to the ordinance.
The committee also introduced an ordinance that gives the township’s emergency management coordinator, Monmouth County’s emergency management coordinator and the township administrator the power to be involved in emergency parking prohibitions.
According to the ordinance, parking is prohibited on streets and sections of streets where temporary emergency notification signs have been posted after an emergency is declared by one of the three referenced officials or the New Jersey State Police and a resolution is passed by the Township Committee.
Currently, only the state police have the power to declare an emergency parking prohibition.
The two ordinances are expected to be considered for adoption on Oct. 19.
Prior to the introduction of the ordinances, two large house parties in Millstone Township prompted complaints from residents during the summer.
At the July 20 meeting of the Township Committee, officials said two parties that were believed to have attracted dozens, if not hundreds, of guests each occurred on July 17: one at a home on Clarksburg Road, near Cottrell Drive and Mountain View Court, and one at a home on Beechwood Lane, off Disbrow Hill Road.
A large party at the Beechwood Lane home also occurred on July 16, according to officials.
Residents expressed their objections to those large house parties during the July 20 meeting. They discussed issues including guests’ vehicles clogging streets, littering, noise, the guests’ attire, public urination and the general behavior of the guests.
A large house party at the same Clarksburg Road home occurred in June 2014 and resulted in the arrest of a resident of the home and a resident of Burlington City. Those individuals were charged with the unlicensed sale of alcoholic beverages. In municipal court, the Burlington City man pleaded guilty and was fined $2,158, while the summons issued to the resident of the home was dismissed.