An ordinance to help make Union City quieter at night was introduced at the regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting last week.
“This ordinance prohibits the operation of a vehicle repair garage or body shop between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. the next morning every day of the week,” said Corporation Counsel Christine Vanek. She added that the law was created in response to complaints the city received.
The ordinance will be up for a final vote at the March 17 Board of Commissioners meeting.
The commissioners also proposed an ordinance supporting the city’s participation in the county’s demolition debris recovery plan. All municipalities are now required to comply.
“This ordinance was required to be adopted by the Hudson County Improvement Authority,” said Vanek. “It requires all applicants for building or demolition permits to submit a plan to the city as to how they are going to recycle 50 percent of the demolition debris.”
An applicant must submit a plan stipulating how much of which materials will be generated by the project and how and by which entity those materials will be managed. Plans must be approved by the town’s construction official and recycling coordinator before construction or demolition can begin.
That ordinance, too, will be up for final vote at the March 17 meeting. It is scheduled to be held at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Municipal Chambers, at 3715 Palisade Ave.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners approved a resolution authorizing certain public officials to register landlords who do not comply with state or municipal codes.
“There is a statute in New Jersey that allows public officials to file actions in court to have rent receivers appointed when there are properties in certain situations, such as when the landlord does not take care of the property, has not responded to the requests from the city that they step up to the plate,” said Vanek. “The act allows board commissioners to designate certain public officials.”
In Union City, Police Chief Charles Everett, Construction Official Martin Martinetti, Fire Official Luis Miranda, and Health Officer Richard Censullo have been appointed.
“I think that this resolution is a very good, proactive resolution,” said Mayor Brian Stack. “When we have violations not being abated or oil and gas shutoff in a building, this gives us the opportunity to go in and not only to assist that building that we are going into, but it also helps as a proactive attempt to help the entire neighborhood by not allowing one building to fall into disrepair and decay and affect all the properties in that neighborhood. So, I think it is very good.”
The commissioners also approved the city’s participation in the PARIS (Public Archives and Records Infrastructure Support) Grants Program through a Shared Services Agreement with Hudson County.
“The state has given each county money to then fund a municipal position of reference manager, and the reference manager for the city would assist with purging certain city documents that we don’t have to keep any longer under state law,” said Vanek. “This would pay for a portion of that person’s salary for the next five years.”
The commissioners also passed a resolution that Union City will observe March 8 through March 14, 2009 as Girl Scout Week. The week has been designated by the Girl Scouts of the United States of America to commemorate the organization’s 91st anniversary. More than 3.8 million girls nationwide, including more than 100,000 from New Jersey, participate in the program.
Amanda Staab can be reached at astaab@hudsonreporter.com.