The Livingston Township Council, at its Wednesday, June 12, meeting, enacted a policy to help end traffic fatalities and approved outdoor dining, among other business.
At the start of the meeting, the Council honored Poorval Gopal, the winner of the Louis Bay II Future Municipal Leaders Scholarship; and the Livingston High School History Bowl team, for winning its national competition.
The Council also lauded Livingston mom and special needs advocate Pam Tepper, who created a free currency calculator app to help her son, Ben, and other individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities to count change.
“Not everybody learns the same way,” Tepper said when explaining why she made the app.
There were no ordinances for introduction or second reading on the June 12 agenda.
Outdoor Dining
In the conference meeting, held prior to the start of the regular meeting, Business Improvement District (BID) director Beth Lippman asked the Council to approve the outdoor dining regulations that have been in place each summer since the start ofCOVID.
The state approved an extension of these rules after New Jersey’s COVID State of Emergency ended in 2022, which runs through November 30 of this year. The rules permit outdoor dining between April and November. Generally, they allow businesses to set up tents and extend into the parking lot for seating.
Lippman said the Planning Board has been working with the BID to permanently update the outside dining ordinance, but that will not be completed in time for this summer.
The Council agreed to informally approve relaxing the restrictions for the summer. It was unclear if an official ordinance or resolution was needed, or if simply directing code enforcement to not ticket those extending their restaurants outside would be enough. One caveat of the approval was that all tents set up needed to be secured to the ground, which had not been the case for all restaurants in recent summers.
The Council also directed township manager Barry Lewis to follow up with the Planning Board to see when the permanent ordinance would be considered.
Vision Zero
The Council adopted a “Vision Zero” policy, which is a strategy aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries on township roadways.
Specifically, the Council approved a goal to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Additionally, the resolution adopted the goal of “equitable enforcement of traffic laws and regulations.”
Other Resolutions
A place to place transfer of the plenary retail consumption license for Panevino, to expand the license for use of the basement at their current 637 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue location, was approved.
Purchases were authorized under the state’s Cooperative Purchasing Program. The sale of surplus property – including firearm equipment, firefighter protective clothing, and snow plow parts – was also approved. Also authorized for sale were 47 solar renewable energy certificates that are no longer needed for public use.
A $24,700 contract was awarded to Ischia Corp. for Berkeley Terrace driveway repairs. The damage was due to a severe flooding issue.
Upcoming Business
At the next meeting, on Monday, June 24, the Council was expected to discuss the annual budget. Should the Council have no major issues, it may be introduced at that meeting and up for final passage at the first meeting in July.
The town is also currently working on a request for quote (RFQ) for the new Department of Public Works building to be constructed on Industrial Parkway. The land was purchased in 2019 by the town to build the new facility.
The RFQ is expected to be out by the end of the month, allowing applicants to respond in July. The hope is to have qualified firms selected by the end of summer. It is unclear if the work would begin immediately in September, or if it would be pushed back another year, into 2025.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Garden State Preservation Trust approved Livingston’s application for a Green Acres matching grant of $700,000. The funding is contingent on the Council passing a resolution at an upcoming meeting.
