BRICK – The township’s Land Use Committee wants to create a standard driveway width so that on-street parking is still available for cars.
“We don’t have a required minimum or maximum driveway width in our municipal ordinance, and what we are now experiencing is that a lot of folks are using stone or pavers along the entire width of the front of their property as their driveway,” said Township Planner Tara Paxton at a recent Planning Board meeting.
A 50-foot-wide property would have the appearance of having a 50-foot-wide driveway for cars to park on with an unintended consequence of the elimination of all on-street parking, since it would appear that you are parking in front of someone’s driveway, she said.
Many of the surrounding municipalities have maximum driveway apron widths, so the administration has fashioned an ordinance to address the issue, which was recently passed by the council on its first reading.
“A lot of us – township staff, council people, administration – all have some questions and concerns about the limitation of width,” said Paxton of the proposed ordinance. “So [we] are going to work a little bit more on this and see if we can leave the intent without unduly restricting the driveway opening at the property line.”
Lot size could help determine the width of the driveway. Some homes have horseshoe driveways, which even further limits the on-street parking available.
The administration has asked the council to hold off on the second reading so the ordinance could be revised. If the changes are substantial, a first reading might be needed again, she said.
The way ordinances get passed is that the first reading introduces it, and then there is time for people to think about it before the second reading, when it becomes law if passed.
The intent is to preserve on-street parking while allowing people to make changes to their driveway, Paxton said.
