Council Conflict Smolders As Firewood Ordinance Reappears In Brick

A proposed ordinance to limit firewood storage that became campaign fodder in the days leading up to the Nov. 3 Brick Township Council election has been approved on first reading -- but not without conflict and not unanimously.

The ordinance was initially put on the agenda at the Sept. 21 Township Council meeting. But residents’ complaints that it was overly restrictive and would deter people from using fireplaces or wood-burning stoves led to it being withdrawn and sent back to the land use committee.

Council President Paul Mummolo, in reintroducing the topic, said the ordinance was in response to complaints from residents about what they termed was excessive amounts of wood being stored, and comments that the township’s code enforcement officials needed an ordinance to be able to address the issue.

Mummolo said he visited the homes of residents where firewood storage had become a point of conflict. In a few of those cases, firewood was leaning against neighbors’ fences, and in others the issue was the noise from chainsaws used to cut larger logs into burnable pieces.

“They need help with quality of life issues,” Mummolo said.

During the election campaign, the Republican candidates -- Frank Pannucci Jr., Michael Conti, Charles Bacon and Martin Ebert -- tore into the all-Democratic council over the issue, saying the council was more concerned with petty issues than with more serious problems facing the town, including the heroin crisis and crime issues.

The issue didn’t seem to impact the outcome of the election, as the Democratic candidates -- Andrea Zapcic, Jim Fozman, Lisa Crate and Art Halloran -- easily defeated the Republicans.

However, it was clear that the council was not in agreement on the issue when it came time for formal action. Mummolo’s request for a motion was fulfilled by Fozman, but his request for a second was met with silence from the remaining councilmembers in attendance -- Council Vice President Heather deJong, Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero and Zapcic. Councilwoman Susan Lydecker and Councilman Bob Moore both were absent Monday night.

Mummolo, after seeking clarification, provided the second himself. The 3-2 vote that ensued showed clear displeasure that the topic was on the agenda.

Zapcic, whose vote was the first requested, sat silently for several seconds but voted yes in a tone that conveyed a lack of support for the measure. Fozman voted yes, emphasizing, “We need to help our code officials.” Pontoriero voted no emphatically, as did deJong. Mummolo then voted yes to approve it on first reading.

Second reading of the ordinance and vote on it will be at the Dec. 1 council meeting.

The revised ordinance would limit wood storage to five cords of wood. A full cord is 4 feet high by 8 feet long, with pieces averaging 16 inches in length, according to website Wood Heat.org, which notes that the word “cord” can be used differently in some regions. That is an increase over the initial proposal of two cords of wood.

Additionally, the revised ordinance establishes a one-foot setback from the property line, specifically to address the issue of wood leaning on neighbors’ fences. The initial proposal was a three-foot setback.

(Firewood, by Ari Helminen, via Flickr and under Creative Commons license)