JACKSON – If you need a big garbage container, you have to tell the town where you plan on putting it. But do you need a professional survey done or just a sketch?
During a recent Township Council meeting’s public comment period, Abraham Hershkowitz of Toms River brought up details of a Jackson ordinance that took effect recently. Ordinance 16-2022 regards construction containers.
“On that topic there is a couple things that don’t make sense and doesn’t add up as far as enforcing this ordinance,” he said.
He started with “There is a $100 application fee for the dumpster fee which is a good thing and a good idea as I like it when you drive through the township and you see dumpsters in their proper locations. There isn’t five of them all over and crap all over the place. It looks neat and I think the ordinance is a great idea.”
However, Hershkowitz doesn’t like the idea of having to have a current survey included with the application, “which makes it really hard for the average homeowner to do that. I started out as a volunteer helping people put together permits and follow compliance.
“I helped people do things properly and what started as volunteer work became a business for me where I go out there and help people with their permits and put together their building jackets, submit zoning permits and so on to do things the proper way,” he added.
“I do this across the state and not just in Jackson, Lakewood and Toms River,” Hershkowitz added, giving the example of another township which charges $70 and doesn’t require a survey but involves the zoning officer being informed of the container’s placement.
He again took issue with the need to have an updated survey for the container which would cause the surveyor to visit the site “costing the homeowner a potential $850, two to eight weeks lead time affecting everything.”
“I work with a bunch of companies in organizing containers and Dumpsters and having already spoken to the zoning officer and code enforcement and came to the realization that while this is a great idea and I support it as far as application fees (which could also bring in more money for administration), the only issue here is that I don’t feel it is fair for homeowners or anyone else to have to go out and get a survey costing homeowner potentially $800-$850 for a Dumpster,” he added.
Hershkowitz recommended a sketch used in place of a survey to illustrate where the garbage container would be. He said this would also provide less work for the township staff who have to follow up on the surveys.
“I don’t feel putting this on code enforcement is fair. What I am proposing is that we remove that part of the ordinance, a sketch would be fine and I think it will become a much more simplified way to work,” he added.
Hershkowitz noted that a number of firms who service Jackson with containers “will take a big hit and when a big storm comes through and the shingles are all over the place. Roofers won’t want to work in Jackson Township.
“They have called me and said I don’t want to do work here because a homeowner is going to put a Dumpster here and code enforcement is going to come after me saying code enforcement gave me a notice. We need to find a way to streamline this properly. I do respect the ordinance but I think this should be removed as it is unnecessary,” he stressed.
Hershkowitz added, “this ordinance is non-enforceable, it is a joke. We need to remove the survey part of it.”
Council Vice President Andrew Kern asked Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin “if a township house was built in 1980 and no alterations have been made would the original survey be current? In my estimation it would be.
“Updated would mean any changes made that would need to be made on the survey that is done. It is not that they need to pay to get a survey, they should have one but they don’t have to get a new one. Am I wrong?” Kern asked the attorney.
McGuckin answered, “the language of the ordinance does say updated but I believe that is discretionary with the zoning officer and if there were no changes, I would imagine he would accept it but the zoning officer would be the one to make that determination.”
“Current would reflect what is there on the property,” Kern added. “It has to match what the property looks like.”
Councilman Alex Sauickie noted that sketches are used in “a lot of other applications pertaining to zoning so this wouldn’t be atypical to switch from a survey to a sketch.”
“I fully support the sketch idea,” Hershkowitz said. “It would be a good resolution.”
“I would certainly be in support of amending it. I don’t think anyone up here had the intention of causing additional expense by saying ‘survey,’” Sauickie said.
Kern said the $100 fee was “calculated out to enforce this. We are not allowed by the state to make money by doing these things. It is not revenue generated. That money has to be spent to enforce it.”
Council members discussed amending the ordinance to drop the survey requirement and bringing it up for a vote at a future Council meeting.
