By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE – As summer approaches, municipal officials are taking action to prohibit large house parties from becoming a nuisance in Millstone Township.
On May 17, the Township Committee passed a resolution declaring an emergency and a temporary condition for special parking regulations on portions of the following roads: Mountain View Court, Cottrell Drive, Hartshorne Court, Francis Court, Clarksburg Road, Beechwood Lane, Disbrow Hill Road, Ossener Court, Purcell Court, Princess Court, Perrine Circle, Agress Road and Mercy Mount Way.
The resolution prohibits parking at locations on those streets from noon June 16 through 2 a.m. Sept. 16. The resolution states that the committee’s action was taken on the advice of Township Administrator Maria Dellasala.
Dellasala informed committee members that an emergent and temporary condition exists on those roads as a result of activities that were held at homes on Clarksburg Road and on Beechwood Lane which resulted in the potential inability of emergency vehicles to adequately travel on those streets, according to the resolution.
The parking prohibition follows several incidents involving large house parties that occurred over a weekend in July 2016. The parties were met with objections from neighbors on the streets where the parties were held.
At a committee meeting that was held days after the incidents, officials said two parties took place – 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.
Residents who were upset by what transpired near their homes expressed their objections to the house parties during the 2016 committee meeting. They discussed issues including guests’ vehicles clogging streets, littering, noise, the guests’ attire, public urination and the general behavior of the guests.
Streets clogged with vehicles belonging to party guests was a primary source of concern for the residents, who were worried that emergency vehicles would not be able to respond quickly in the event of an emergency. Residents were also concerned about their own and their guests’ ability to navigate their neighborhoods.
No arrests were made at either of the large parties on Clarksburg Road or on Beechwood Lane, according to the New Jersey State Police.
After hearing the residents’ concerns, the committee held a special meeting and passed a resolution placing temporary parking prohibitions on roads at and near where the parties had occurred. Those prohibitions expired in October.
Following the expiration of the 2016 parking prohibitions, the prohibitions will return for 2017.