Officials Give the Okay to Parking Lot Rental Restrictions

Borough officials have given the green light to an ordinance which now puts restrictions on the use of non-residential parking lots, allowing spaces to be rented to residents for overnight use only and preventing large vehicles such as trucks from parking in lots for continued periods.

Officials approved the ordinance Tuesday night following the continuation of the public hearing which was extended from last month to allow time for the Planning Board to review. Borough officials accepted recommendations from the Planning Board and zoning code official by way of introducing a separate ordinance which will amend the newly approved one.

The recommendations involve specifics on how the zoning code official will go about designating which parking spaces could be rented out upon inspection.

According to the newly approved ordinance, spots can only be rented to residents for use during the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. The size of vehicles is limited to 20 feet, no wider than 9 feet and no greater in height than 10 feet.

For the past several years parking spots in non-residential lots have been rented out by way of a moratorium which borough officials put in place to ease parking woes of residents and to maintain the borough’s no-overnight street parking rule.

Now property owners will need to apply for a permit annually to rent spaces. The permit fees, which was also approved via a separate ordinance, will cost $10 per year for premises used by charitable or non-profit organizations and $50 for all other premises. Part of the process involves an inspection by Nick Melfi, zoning code official, who will determine which spots can be rented,  Ralph Chandless, borough attorney explained.

Andy Gamble, VFW post commander, asked the borough officials for clarification  regarding the time restrictions. Chandless explained that the ordinance does not affect how long cars can park during normal functions and activities during day hours.  It only restricts the rental of spaces to overnight use.

Gamble told the council he disagreed with the decision to no longer allow cars to rent for 24 hours pointing out that residents who rent spaces who may have a day off will now have to be concerned with moving their vehicles during the day hours.

Judy Ferrari a Baldwin Avenue resident told borough officials she was concerned the overnight hours could cause noise level issues for neighborhoods bordering such lots.  Chandless stated that the noise level should be substantially reduced as a result as this ordinance does not allow trucks and trailers to be parked in lots anymore such as the Elks Lodge, an issue Ferrari brought to the attention of the council at the last public hearing.

He added that upon inspection the zoning code official is expected to give consideration to the area and therefore should designate the spots for rental to the portion of the parking lots that would be furthest away from neighboring homes.

Any existing agreements by way of the moratorium will no longer be in effect as of Dec. 31 of this year.