The Alternative Press

LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIP, NJ – At the September 5 meeting of the Lafayette Township Committee, committee members introduced two new ordinances for approval.

One ordinance was the new sign ordinance, designed to help businesses advertise better and gain more customers driving through the town.

This ordinance is still under discussion and will be amended before the next meeting. The main concern was over the maximum size of the sign allowed.

The main sign for a building with several tenants, called a monument, is allowed a maximum of 25 square feet. And each tenant is only allowed a two-square-feet sign.

“A two-square-foot sign is really useless, in my opinion, when people are driving by at 45 miles per hour,” Committee Member Richard Bruning said.

Committee Member Richard Hughes explained that the original ordinance proposed a much larger size for the monument, and the tenant signs would be as large as the businesses wanted the sign to be.

Hughes also suggested that an incentive be provided for businesses that used stone or materials that enhance the look of the town. These signs could be bigger and the tenants could have any size sign as long as it were made of these nicer materials.

An open sign would be allowed in an interior window, provided that the sign does not blink or flicker. Other window signs are allowed, but cannot exceed 20 percent of the total window area. The open sign is not included in this 20 percent.

An open sign will be the only neon- or LED- lit sign in the window.

The business owner will purchase a sign permit based on the size of the sign, and additional permits for any temporary signs.

The committee hopes that, after some discussion, the new sign ordinance will help businesses where the old sign regulations only hindered and confused business owners.

In other business:

-       The council introduced an ordinance defining “kennel” as any home with more than four dogs in the residence. If a single residence has more than four dogs, the owners must apply for a kennel license. Those residents with a kennel license may have as many dogs living or boarding on their property as they choose.

-       The town is looking to set up a Snow Removal Reserve Trust Fund. In years when the town does not use much of its budgeted snow removal fund (such as 2012), the town can place this money in the trust fund for years when the necessary snow removal may go over budget. “We’ve never had enough money to set up this account in previous years, but we should have enough this year is we do not receive any major storms before Christmas,” Financial Officer Gail Magura said.

-       During the audience portion of the meeting, the EMT chief made a comment regarding the Lafayette Pond incident on August 26, when a four-year-old child had drowned there. “I just wanted to tell everyone that when I arrived on the scene, the lifeguard and supervisor were correctly performing CPR, and they did the best they could,” he said. “I know this situation has brought on many different rumors, but you should be proud of your firemen, EMTs and lifeguards.”