Town: Let It Snow Plow on Coppola Ct.

When it snows, Montville Township will have one more road to plow—a private cul de sac off Pine Brook Road with six homes and an alpaca farm.

A Montville couple's was resolved this week. The road's owners, husband and wife Russ Pisano and Angela Pisano, and the revised a developers agreement to say the town would plow the street if it is brought closer to town standards, which would involve excavating and widening certain areas and improving drainage.

A town estimate said the total cost of the improvements would be $26,575. Pisano said the court battle cost him $10,000 and he estimates the improvements will cost more than the town's estimate, between $40,000 and $50,000.

Russ Pisano said he posted a $5,000 bond with the town so the town can start plowing immediately.

The Pisanos signed a developers agreement with the town in 2009 in which they agreed to take care of the road. They said they were told at the time—as they were told when they moved in three decades ago—the town doesn't plow private roads. When they learned the town does plow some private roads, they asked to have theirs plowed, but were denied.

The Pisanos sued the town, saying the denial was "arbitrary, capricious and or unreasonable." A Superior Court judge said the parties should continue to discuss the issue.

The agreement was amended on Tuesday to say the town would plow the street if it's brought to town standards, minus the installation of street lights and Belgian block curbing.

Committeeman Jim Sandham said they reached a "good solution."

Pisano and township attorney Martin Murphy have said they don't know if the other private roads have developer agreements outlining who will take care of them, but that Pisano does have a developer's agreement saying he will be responsible for the road.

Murphy said it's outlined in the agreement, and the issue is as simple as that.

Some Township Committee members, discussing the issue at their last meeting, said they would open to having the town plow the road while others worried going against the developer's agreement would set a bad a precedent.

Garbage trucks, mail delivery trucks, landscapers and emergency medical crews all have to use the street, so it gets traffic, Pisano said. The properties on the road pay a total of more than $100,000 in property taxes, he said.

Coppola Court is named for Pisano's cousin, Gerard Coppola, who died on 9/11.

Montville has raised issues with plowing another private road in town, a spur off Indian Hill Road. The township engineer that could cause the road to sink.