VILLAS — Township Council will introduce an ordinance at its next meeting to repeal an earlier ordinance banning installation of new, outdoor wood-burning boilers (OWBs).
The township received a petition with 775 signatures opposing an ordinance passed by Township Council banning installation of outdoor wood burning boilers.
At a Mon. April 2 meeting, Township Clerk Claudia Kammer said she validated 601 of the signatures. She said 174 of the signatures could not be validated due to duplicate signatures, illegible writing, lack of an address or a signer not registered as a voter.
The matter is scheduled to be reviewed by the township’s Planning Board at its April 19 meeting at 7 p.m.
Mayor Michael Beck said once the planning board has sent its recommendations to council, a new ordinance could be instituted on OWBs.
During public comment, resident John Fleming, who lives on South Andrielle Avenue, ground zero for complaints about a wood burning furnace, said he was perplexed about the rush to repeal the ordinance banning new, OWBs. He said the petition did not meet official requirements.
Beck said council’s move was based on “a lot of signatures” and a number of residents council was not aware of who were opposed to the ordinance. He residents on both sides of the issue would have an opportunity to express their opinions to the planning board on April 19.
At an earlier planning board meeting, residents opposing the boilers dominated the proceedings.
Diane Morton, a South Andrielle Avenue resident who lives next door to an outdoor furnace, said the boilers awakened neighbors at 3:30 a.m. with smoke and fumes, produced “piles and piles of wood,” makeshift structures to keep the wood dry, and the “sound of chainsaws on a quiet Sunday morning.”
Not one individual stood before council or the planning board to defend OWBs, she said. Morton noted the ordinance did not cover fireplaces, fire pits, barbecues or other devices not designed to heat a structure.
She accused Deputy Mayor Kevin Lare of making the OWB ordinance “something it was not.”
Morton said if the planning board recommends OWBs should be allowed in the township, the following restrictions be imposed:
• A minimum of a five acre property with a 500 foot setback from the property line.
• Burn times for future and existing OWBs from November 1 to May 1.
• New OWBs must be at least phase two EPA certified.
• Fuel to be burned must be specified.
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Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…
