At the Common Council meeting on October 15, there will be a presentation by Burgis Associates, the city planner, regarding proposed changes to the Development Regulations and Ordinances. There is one ordinance up for a vote, regarding the creation of a fee structure for a dual-port electric vehicle charging station in Deforest Avenue Lot 1. There are also two ordinances for introduction. The first ordinance would change the distance between liquor stores from 1500 feet to 300 feet with Council having the ability to waive or amend the distance requirement; the second ordinance addresses towing fees.
There are a number of resolutions to be voted on, including the adoption of a Sidewalk Master Plan, sale of 71 Summit Avenue to Family Promise for $1.4M, purchase of multi-band portable radios for the police department for nearly $280K, purchase and installation of a dual-port electric vehicle charging station, approval of a one-year contract extension for valet parking at the Broad Street lot for $135K, approval of a one-year contract extension for the Lyft ridesharing program with a budgeted cost of $200K, adoption of the completed Best Practices Worksheet CY 2019/SFY 2020, approval of spending $10K toward the construction of new bike shelter in partnership with the New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition, and approval of a contract with Union County for leaf composting.
To view the complete Common Council agenda, go to: http://summitcitynj.iqm2.com/citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=1557&Inline=True
Presentation
There will be a presentation by the city planner Burgis Associates on proposed changes to the City of Summit Development Resolutions and Ordinances (DRO). The DRO is a set of rules that governs the construction of buildings and structures, as well as permitted uses in different areas. At the completion of the Master Plan Reexamination process, the Planning Board determined that to effectuate the changes recommended in the Master Plan it would be necessary for the DRO to be reviewed and amended. A comprehensive review of the DRO had not occurred for more than one decade and instead there had been piecemeal changes to it. This presentation will discuss the nearly two-year effort by the Planning Board and Burgis Associates to comprehensively review the DRO and to update it, including design standards and sustainability principles.
Ordinances
There will be one ordinance for consideration and vote relating to fees charged for a new dual-port electric vehicle charging station. The city obtained a $6,000 grant toward the purchase and installation of the station to be installed in Deforest Avenue Lot 1 (if the installation resolution is adopted). The proposed fee structure is similar to fees charged by nearby towns that have installed charging stations. There will be two additional ordinances for introduction. The first relates to changing the distance between liquor stores from 1500 feet to 300 feet with Common Council having the ability to waive or amend the distance requirement. Many stores are already closer than 1500 feet and the intent of the ordinance is to make the rules consistent with actual practice. The second ordinance relates to towing fees.
Resolutions for Consideration
There are a number of resolutions for consideration. The first is a resolution adopting a Sidewalk Master Plan. In the spring, the Department of Community Services made a presentation to Common Council about the installation of sidewalks during paving projects on certain roads. In the intervening months, input was solicited from the Parent-Teacher Organizations since certain sidewalks are on walk to school routes. After evaluating that information, council will vote on this Sidewalk Master Plan, so when roads are paved, if a sidewalk is indicated in the plan, it will be installed.
There is a resolution ratifying the sale of 71 Summit Avenue to Family Promise for $1.4M, which is the assessed value of the building. Among the terms of the agreement is that the historic front facade must be retained, and if the building is used by a commercial enterprise, it will revert back to the city.
There is a resolution to adopt the completion of Best Practices Worksheet CY 2019/SFY 2020, which assesses how the City of Summit practices fiscal and operational best practices.
There are a number of resolutions about acquisitions, including the purchase of multi-band portable radios for the police department for nearly $280K; the purchase and installation of one dual-port electric vehicle charging station; and the authorization to provide $10K toward the construction of new bike shelter with the New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition.
There are also a number of resolutions about entering into agreements, including a one-year contract extension for valet parking at the Broad Street lot for $135K, a one-year contract extension for the Lyft ridesharing program with a budgeted cost of $200K, and a contract with Union County for leaf composting option for the city.
Next Council Meeting: The next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 6 at 7:30PM.