Council Considers Streamlining of Construction Process

Town council is considering steps to streamline future construction projects by cutting out some of the red tape.

Council was presented with an ordinance Tuesday that would allow the township to bypass the planning and/or zoning board for municipal building projects. Township manager Scott Carew and solicitor Anthony Drollas explained the proposed ordinance isn't intended to skirt codes or construction guidelines, but rather to eliminate redundancies and save taxpayer money.

Community development director Tom Ford said certain elements of the review phase of a project—i.e. the town hall complex—are duplicated elsewhere in the review process. The ordinance before council, which was recommended by the planning board, would solve that.

The township would still have to go through the construction permit process, get the necessary inspections and hold public hearings, Ford said.

These redundancies in the planning process "add time and expense that's all coming out of the taxpayer's pocket anyway," said Drollas.

Ford used town hall as an example, citing a pair of planning board hearings the township held for the project, which were attended by a number of professionals—all of whom had to be paid for their time. 

He said most municipalities do not require planning board approval for public projects.

If the ordinance passed, private construction would still be held to the same standards and have to go before planning and zoning for the necessary approvals, Ford said.

"They're not doing it for the public good," he explained. "They're doing it for their business."

Council tabled the ordinance at Tuesday night's meeting so they could get more information.

Resident Edmund Begg warned against passing the ordinance, suggesting that it would allow the township to ignore necessary parts of the planning process.

Though he disagreed with Begg, Carew said, "The concerns you have are shared by members of council, which is why this was not voted on this evening."