Municipal Construction Could Skip Planning Board

Municipal building projects may soon bypass the planning board process in a move Moorestown officials say will save time, money and unnecessary delays.

Moorestown Council unanimously introduced an ordinance Monday that exempts municipal buildings from Planning Board approvals. If approved, the regulations will still allow—just not require—any municipal project to get the Planning Board’s OK.

Something like the huge town hall project, for example, could still get kicked back for the Planning Board’s input. But the tree in the new complex parking lot—which the town wants to save but will impact several parking spaces—could skip the Planning Board’s input.

“The ordinance itself came from the Planning Board,” township administer Scott Carew said. “They thought it was a step in the process they could remove themselves from.”

Carew stressed that municipal projects are still subject to the Uniform Construction Code, must meet all code standards and are subject to construction inspections.

Reaction from Council was a mix of praise and some skepticism for the ordinance.

“How many meetings have we sat in on as a council” about the town hall project, Councilman Chris Chiacchio wondered. “I’ve lost track. It’s redundant. The Planning Board was right on by making this recommendation. … Ultimately, it does save the town time and money.”

Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano asked how much money Moorestown might have saved had the ordinance been in place during the town hall project. Carew said he’d look up figures for the next meeting.

Councilman Greg Newcomer questioned whether Moorestown would miss on its chance to “measure twice and cut once,” while resident Evan Begg asked if private developers could sue the town over unequal treatment about the process.

Township solicitor Anthony Drollas noted that public projects are subject to debate from the beginning, from the professionals hired to the plans drawn up. Private developers, he said, usually have a hearing or two before the Planning Board and that’s the extent for public input.

“Anything that the Council does has to be discussed in public,” Mayor Stacey Jordan said. “There are lots of chances for the public to have their two cents and say what they need to say, and for the Council to hear that.”

She noted a matter such as the parking lot tree, which requires professionals to attend meetings, provide testimony and bill more hours, can quickly add up to $10,000.

“To spend thousands of dollars on that is a disservice to the taxpayer.”

The public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for July 8.