ALLENTOWN – The Borough Council has introduced an ordinance that will, if adopted, ban trucks that weigh more than 4 tons from certain streets in Allentown.
The ordinance was introduced on July 9. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held during the council’s Aug. 20 meeting at Borough Hall.
Several years ago, council members adopted an ordinance that sought to ban trucks from the Monmouth County roads that run through Allentown.
In the intervening years, council members and Mayor Greg Westfall have said county officials failed to support Allentown’s efforts to address the significant number of trucks that pass through town every day, but make few, if any, stops in the community.
Allentown officials have said an Amazon facility on Old York Road (Route 539) in Robbinsville, just beyond the borough’s border, is the source of much of the truck traffic.
Council members are now taking action to adopt an ordinance that deals with roads that are under Allentown’s jurisdiction.
The proposed ordinance states that “trucks over 4 tons gross vehicle weight are hereby excluded from Johnson Drive, Broad Street, Hamilton Street, Mechanic Street, Wilbur Drive, Pearl Street and Lakeview Drive except … for the purpose of the pick-up and delivery of materials and on route to parking. … Agricultural/farm vehicles shall be exempt from (these) provisions.”
Anyone who violates the ordinance will be subject to a civil penalty that will not exceed $100 for a first violation, $500 for a second violation within any three-year period, and $1,000 for each additional violation within any three-year period.
Residents may comment on the ordinance during the public hearing on Aug. 20.
In other business on July 9, council members passed a resolution removing 90 Church St. from Allentown’s abandoned property list “to facilitate the transfer and rehabilitation of the property.”
Officials said Allentown’s designated public officer recommended that the property be included on the abandoned property list given that the parcel qualified as “abandoned property” under state law.
Now, the borough has received a request to remove the parcel from the abandoned property list from resident Wil Borkowski, who has indicated that he intends to rehabilitate the property.
Council members determined it was in the best interests of Allentown and its residents for abandoned properties, such as the one at 90 Church St., “to be rehabilitated and that rehabilitation was the contemplated goal of placing the property on the abandoned property list.”
With that, the council removed 90 Church St. from the abandoned property list and relinquished all claims, interests and/or rights of action it had or may have had against the property as a result of its inclusion on the list.
“Our vacant and abandoned properties are disappearing, thanks to the efforts of our borough attorney, Greg Cannon, and the people who have purchased these properties and are preparing them for reuse,” Westfall said.