Politics & Government
Pinto Bros. Solid Waste Trucks And Containers Variance To Be Considered Next Month
Due to the fact that only six Zoning Board members could vote last night, applicant Andrew Pinto of South Plainfield, chose to move the consideration of his case to the next Zoning Board meeting, on Aug. 9.
Another delay occurred in the Pinto Bros. application at the Zoning Board meeting last night.
The solid waste company is asking permission to park 12 garbage containers and 12 garbage trucks at their gas station and auto shop site near the intersection of routes 72 and 554 in Barnegat, but the case could not be heard,
Barnegat residents who have concerns over the possibility of garbage trucks and containers parked at the site will have to wait until the next meeting on August 9th, to voice their opinions.
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"The applicant [for this kind of application] has the right to seven possible votes -- not necessarily all in favor, but seven possible votes nevertheless, that is the law," explained Zoning Board chairman John VanDerBass.
While seven voting members were present last night, one of them, Fred Bost, who got sworn in that night as a permanent board member, was not familiar with the Pinto Bros. case, and thus could not vote.
Find out what's happening in Barnegat-Manahawkinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Another member, Jacqueline Szal, was absent because of conflict of interest with this particular application.
The Pinto Bros. application was originally supposed to be heard in the beginning of this year, but has gone through several delays. A few times, Pinto requested to defer the applications, and on several other occasions the board simply ran out of time. Sometimes not enough members are present. The nine-member board has two vacancies and according to zoning officials, some board members have recently faced health concerns, which interfere with attendance.
Zoning Board member Frank Caputo expressed annoyance with the fact that the public and the applicant must wait yet again.
"Why are we then delinquent in fulfilling our responsibilities not only to the public, but also to [the applicant]?" Caputo said.
"You have seen the copy of the letters going out to all the members of the board about the importance of attending meetings," Chariman VanDerBass replied."This is basically a legal technicality. It is as upsetting to me as it is to you. I don't know any other way around it."
