Councilmen Seek Zoning Board Probe
Three City Council members are proposing a highly unusual probe into an unpopular Board of Adjustment decision.
Councilmen Ray Blanco, Rashid Burney and Don Davis want to bring the zoning board members before them to hear exactly why they approved expansion of the Abbott Manor Nursing Home on July 13. Blanco handed out a draft resolution on Aug. 1 that bases the action on council powers outlined in Section 2.8 of the city’s special charter:
“The Council may make investigations into the affairs of the City and the conduct of any City department, office, commission or agency and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of evidence. In addition to any other remedy, any person who willfully fails or refuses to obey a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers by the Council shall be adjudged a disorderly person, punishable by a fine of not more than $200 or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days.
“The Council may remove any officer or employee, other than the Mayor or a councilman, upon notice and an opportunity to be heard.”
Blanco said the proposed resolution will be up for discussion at the council’s agenda-fixing session, 7:30 p.m. Monday (Aug. 8, 2005) in the Plainfield Public Library, Park Avenue and Eighth Street.
The resolution notes that the Board of Adjustment members normally explain why they are voting for or against an application, but none was given on July 13. Besides hearing an explanation, the council members want the board members to answer “any and all questions” from the council.
If the resolution is moved to the Aug. 15 agenda and passed, the council members want the board members to appear at the next meeting on Aug. 22.
The board initially opposed the expansion in the Van Wyck Brooks Historic District, but the applicant, CPR Holdings, took the matter to court. According to an April 1 legal notice, the board was to meet April 12 to act on a proposed settlement of “pending federal litigation.”
The settlement required granting a use variance for the expansion from 35 beds to 60. But testimony in the public hearing spilled over into many subsequent meetings.
The board set 20 conditions on the expansion, including one limiting any further increase in the number of beds.
If the proposed resolution passes legal review, the three sponsors will have to get at least one other council member to support it for passage on Aug. 15.
--Bernice Paglia
Councilmen Ray Blanco, Rashid Burney and Don Davis want to bring the zoning board members before them to hear exactly why they approved expansion of the Abbott Manor Nursing Home on July 13. Blanco handed out a draft resolution on Aug. 1 that bases the action on council powers outlined in Section 2.8 of the city’s special charter:
“The Council may make investigations into the affairs of the City and the conduct of any City department, office, commission or agency and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of evidence. In addition to any other remedy, any person who willfully fails or refuses to obey a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers by the Council shall be adjudged a disorderly person, punishable by a fine of not more than $200 or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days.
“The Council may remove any officer or employee, other than the Mayor or a councilman, upon notice and an opportunity to be heard.”
Blanco said the proposed resolution will be up for discussion at the council’s agenda-fixing session, 7:30 p.m. Monday (Aug. 8, 2005) in the Plainfield Public Library, Park Avenue and Eighth Street.
The resolution notes that the Board of Adjustment members normally explain why they are voting for or against an application, but none was given on July 13. Besides hearing an explanation, the council members want the board members to answer “any and all questions” from the council.
If the resolution is moved to the Aug. 15 agenda and passed, the council members want the board members to appear at the next meeting on Aug. 22.
The board initially opposed the expansion in the Van Wyck Brooks Historic District, but the applicant, CPR Holdings, took the matter to court. According to an April 1 legal notice, the board was to meet April 12 to act on a proposed settlement of “pending federal litigation.”
The settlement required granting a use variance for the expansion from 35 beds to 60. But testimony in the public hearing spilled over into many subsequent meetings.
The board set 20 conditions on the expansion, including one limiting any further increase in the number of beds.
If the proposed resolution passes legal review, the three sponsors will have to get at least one other council member to support it for passage on Aug. 15.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 12:10 AM
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