Council tables vote on zoning changes

The Township Council unanimously voted to table a proposed ordinance amending requirements for the Planned Commercial Economic Development (PCED) Zone at its meeting Aug. 8.

The council also voted to table a proposed ordinance revising rules on food trucks, saying it deserved more time for discussion.

A public hearing and final vote on the food truck ordinance is scheduled for the council’s meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22. The meeting will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@SpartaTwp/streams

During the four-hour meeting Aug. 8, the council held a public hearing on the proposed zoning ordinance. Among the proposed changes for the PCED Zone were limiting the total size of new buildings to 25,000 square feet, or to a septic system that could handle up to 2,000 gallons of waste, rather than the 40,000 square feet permitted now, and reducing impervious coverage to 30 percent from 40 percent.

The PCED Zone is slightly less than 50 acres and includes a big field across from the ShopRite.

During the public hearing, Eric Wilson, whose family holding company owns about 37 acres in the zone, asked the council to table the proposed ordinance and send it back to the Planning Board for revision.

He said he was very involved in the creation of the current ordinance in 2018 along with the Planning Board, council and township professionals.

Frank McGovern, a lawyer representing the Wilson family and their holding company, Awesome Acres, objected to the vote, citing a lack of written notice to the Wilsons. He argued that written notice to the property owners was required because the proposed changes are so substantial that they constitute a reclassification of the property.

Sparta’s municipal attorney, Thomas Ryan, said the proposed ordinance does not change the property classification. “It remains the same zone that it was.”

McGovern pointed out one proposed change that would require a 300-foot buffer zone in the rear of one 32-acre lot, “which obviously is a huge constraint and restriction on that property in addition to the other buffers that would apply.”

Reducing impervious coverage from 40 percent to 30 percent and cutting the maximum size of new buildings also are significant changes that affect the value of the property, he said. “These restrictions are very severe.”

There is no need to rush a vote on the proposed ordinance because no sale or development of the property is being considered now, McGovern noted.

Other residents objected to the proposed zoning changes, saying they would increase traffic.

Some urged that the PCED Zone be used for agriculture, recreation and open space only.