The Livingston Township Council discussed Open Space and housingrelated ordinances at its Monday, November 8, meeting. The meeting was held virtually and may be viewed on the Livingston Township, NJ Facebook page.At the start of the meeting, the Council was read a letter from resident Ronald Schlein asking members to ban gas powered leaf blowers in town. Mayor Shawn Klein said that it was a great idea to consider. Council member Al Anthony noted that the Livingston Environmental Commission is already in discussions on the matter and plans to provide recommendations on use of electric leaf blowers in the near future.Resident Matthew Boxer also submitted a letter asking if Council members read the legal bills, an item on every Council meeting agenda. Council members said that they read all of the bills given to them in their meeting packet, even if they are not publicly discussed in detail. When they are discussed, township manager Barry Lewis noted that they are typically done so in closed session. Mayor Klein also noted that most towns do not include legal bills as its own separate item, as the Livingston Council does.Habitat OrdinancesTwo ordinances were discussed that would authorize the private sale of township-owned property to Habitat for Humanity. These properties are 10 Ashby Avenue, (block 3800, lot 1) and 28 Harvest Lane, (block 4000, lot 5).There were many public comments and letters – all of which the Council said they received within 48 hours of the meeting – focused on the Ashby Avenue property. Residents complained of traffic issues, the lot size, drainage concerns, and the dangers associated with the corner that the property is located on as reasons not to pass the ordinance.The Ashby ordinance was ultimately carried to Monday, December 6, to allow the township engineer to look at the concerns of traffic and drainage raised by the residents.It was carried on a four to one vote, with Mayor Klein voting against it, suggesting the Council should just vote down the ordinance rather than carry it. There appear to be a majority of Council members who do not intend to vote for the ordinance when it is up for a vote on December 6.For the Harvest Lane property, the Council noted that the township would receive one “credit” with Fair Share Housing Center (a group focused on finding affordable housing in municipalities by enforcing the Mount Laurel Doctrine) in the next ...
