Township Committee: Zoning Map Changes, Board Expansions And Attendance Policy

The Township Committee on Wednesday forwarded several pieces of local legislation at the first business meeting of new Mayor Todd Luttman’s single-year term.

Each measure was introduced by a unanimous vote of the all-Republican committee and each was scheduled for a public hearing on Feb. 27.

The first was an ordinance that would give the Committee the power to boot members of any board or committee who has had too may unexcused absences, according to the ordinance.

The measure requires that volunteer members of municipal panels – such as the Planning Board, Recreation, or Shade Tree committees – must attend 65 percent of the scheduled meetings in any calendar year or face expulsion by a two-thirds majority vote by that panel, the ordinance says.

The second measure introduced by the Committee was immediately recommended to the Planning Board for review.  It proposes to change the zoning map to include “Home Centers’’ with a floor area of 55,000 square feet to be allowed in zones currently designated “Highway Business Zones.’’

The third would create two new positions on the Mobile Home Rent Stabilization and Control Board.