Follow-up with advisory groups, tree regulations among others
CAPE MAY POINT — Borough Commission discussed potential action items for this year, including following up with advisory groups, a safe intersections project and a six-month review of the tree ordinance.
Deputy Mayor Elise Geiger said Feb. 25 her top priority is following up with the Planning Board and Environmental Commission on the groups’ ongoing work.
“The Planning Board has a high back replacement change they’d like to make,” she said. “I think they’ve got echo pavers, and they might have other issues [to discuss].”
Geiger said the Environmental Commission sent a report to commissioners on lighting and dark sky initiatives, noting that the report was great but nothing has occurred [yet].
“If we ask our advisory boards like the Environmental Commission to do that kind of work, we should at least discuss whether we want to do anything in the form of an ordinance, perhaps in addition to building code or education,” Geiger added.
Additionally, she said she would like to undertake a safe intersections project with the Department of Public Works. She noted Commissioner Suzanne Yunghans was absent from this meeting and could not identify intersections with sightline issues.
Geiger would like to pick the top three to five intersections of concern, contact homeowners and have Public Works complete a follow-up. She indicated further discussion was needed to prioritize the intersections.
Geiger added that the tree ordinance should be in harmony with the landscaping ordinance.
“There are significant questions that I think are outstanding on the fundamentals,” she said. “Questions like the two-for-one tree standard, and that would be nice to determine what a path forward is either tweaking and changing the ordinance and what we want to accomplish.”
Another tree-related point Geiger discussed was residents donating trees in memory of people. She said she had been asked about donations by residents as well as clubs such as the Cape May Point Taxpayers’ Association.
“I know we have four trust funds, but very few people know about [them] and I think we need to develop a communication on what they are and what they are for,” Geiger added.
One last topic on Geiger’s action list was an inquiry into starting a “good neighbor communication project.”
“Basically it’s ‘What does it mean to be a good neighbor in Cape May Point,’ which would highlight things such as noise control, light pollution, things of that nature,” Geiger said. “It would have to come from all the borough commissions.”
In other news, commissioners discussed the proposed draft construction trailer ordinance, which would prohibit parking overnight. Solicitor John Amenhauser asked the commissioners if they wanted to use the same restriction hours as Cape May City, from midnight to 6 a.m.
The discussion included the hours in which code enforcement officer Brady Schoenrock would cite potential violations. Geiger said Cape May Police cannot ticket if there is a trailer on the street during the restricted hours, but they could note it in their police log and create communication between them and Schoenrock.
“I’m just thinking about the enforcement side of it because Brady isn’t riding around at one o’clock in the morning,” Geiger said. “We would be totally reliant on having a connection between the police.”
Resident Jim Fraatz asked if there were a way to incentivize contractors to remove their trailers. He said he was recently involved in a situation in which a trailer and a port-a-potty were placed across the street from his house for several months.
Geiger said that is why they are working on the ordinance, and the hope is that the contractors don’t decide to drive it back every day.
“I feel very strongly about what you’re saying,” VanHeeswyk told Fraatz. “That’s really the point of this [ordinance] and I wish there was more we could do to incentivize.”
VanHeeswyk added that the ordinance would be the first attempt to try to cull this issue and that they could try to find more incentives.
Commissioners also discussed a request for ordinances on water and sewer line replacement under certain conditions.
Borough Clerk Elaine Wallace said towns need to comply with the state’s new regulations. She discovered in the borough’s sewer ordinance that there is a section requiring terra cotta or transit sanitary sewer pipes between the building and borough connection. They must be replaced in their entirety with PVC pipe with appropriate sealing to code.
Wallace also explained that the water ordinance requires non-lead galvanized pipes because the state considers them hazardous. She said the borough needs to adopt an ordinance that would require an installation cover or plastic when a house is demolished, and likely also during a significant renovation.
Geiger said Amenhauser would need to define partial and substantial demolition for this new ordinance.
Amenhauser, in turn, asked the commissioners if they had a preference on the definition of partial and substantial renovations. Geiger said Public Works supervisor Bill Gibson could provide insight on the definitions.
He said there have been issues with people buying newer houses that have old galvanized pipes left in the ground.
“Now they’re being told by the state to replace this water line,” Amenhauser said. “It’s not right for people, so we need to make sure the contractors aren’t going to keep around old line and should replace it all the way back to the street where the borough connection is.”
Wallace brought up the substantial improvement in flood regulations that kick in when a renovation exceeds 51% of the value of the house. Amenhauser said they would want a smaller number than 51%.
VanHeeswyk said zoning officer Bruce Britton would be a good source to discuss the zoning sizes. She also added looking into what other municipalities have done with this ordinance was important.
“I think we should take this month to look at things, to check out other places and check with Bruce and find what his recommendations are,” VanHeeswyk said. “He is also an architect, so that gives us another layer of understanding sizes and how people approach things.”
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave