Six ordinances covering restaurant odor controls, tree preservation, residential building size and more face their final public hearings and votes Tuesday night, Aug. 11, when the Millburn Township Committee also introduces a $22.375 million bond for the downtown redevelopment project.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Millburn Education Center, 434 Millburn Ave. It is residents' last chance to comment before the five-member committee — Mayor Frank Saccomandi, Deputy Mayor David Cosgrove and Committeemen Michael Cohen, Jamie Serruto and Ben Stoller — votes to adopt or reject each measure.
Ordinance 2759-26 would add ventilation and filtration requirements to the township health code so cooking odors from restaurants do not become nuisances for neighboring homes. The measure does not restrict existing restaurants or block new ones from opening; it sets baseline standards for managing smoke, grease and exhaust.
Cohen, who introduced the ordinance July 15, said at that meeting that the existing health code "is a start, but it's not what we had agreed to," TAPinto reported. He noted the committee may revisit the ordinance as part of a broader restaurant-zoning overhaul that residents in the B2 and B3 business zones have pushed for amid complaints about noise, trash and ventilation.
Ordinance 2758-26 consolidates two existing tree-protection chapters into a single "Tree Preservation" chapter. Serruto said at the April 7 committee meeting that he and the mayor had met with the township forester and engineer to identify new ways to protect trees, work that led to this ordinance.
Residential floor area ratio
Ordinance 2756-26 amends the township's zoning rules governing how large a home can be relative to its lot. Cosgrove moved the ordinance to first reading at the June 18 meeting, according to township minutes. Homeowners planning additions or teardown-rebuilds would be directly affected.
Other ordinances on the docket
Three additional measures also face final votes: Ordinance 2757-26 (traffic and stop-sign intersections), Ordinance 2761-26 (wireless telecommunications facility siting and design) and Ordinance 2762-26 (creating a formal arts committee under the township's boards and commissions structure).
$22.375 million bond introduction
The committee will introduce Bond Ordinance 2764-26, appropriating $22,375,000 for the Alternative Site Redevelopment Project and authorizing $21,850,000 in bonds or notes. The project is a 93-unit mixed-income, mixed-use development at Essex Street, Spring Street and Millburn Avenue, with 75 deed-restricted affordable units, 18 market-rate units, ground-floor retail and on-site parking.
The bond finances the settlement reached July 27 that replaced a 2021 plan to build affordable housing on the contaminated DPW site at 9 Main Street, as TAPinto reported. That deal eliminated an estimated $11 million in taxpayer costs that would have been needed to relocate the DPW facility. When the settlement was announced July 27, Mayor Saccomandi said it "ends costly litigation, protects taxpayers, fulfills affordable housing obligations and creates a mixed-income development that integrates families into downtown rather than concentrating them on a contaminated site."
As we reported Monday, the Planning Board will conduct a required Master Plan Consistency Review of the redevelopment plan on Wednesday, Aug. 19. A court compliance hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Because the bond is only being introduced Tuesday night, a public hearing and final vote will follow at a future meeting.
Residents can attend in person, watch the YouTube livestream or join via Zoom (Webinar ID: 997 8768 7448, Passcode: 063284). Written comments may be emailed to [email protected]. The next Township Committee meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m.
