Avalon Debates Construction Regs

AVALON – Avalon Borough Council continued its discussion Oct. 10 of proposed changes to construction regulations, seeking to respond to widespread calls for better regulation.
Business Administrator Scott Wahl noted that as of October 2018, Avalon had already increased its ratables for the year by $97 million due in large measure to new home construction. Objections to the disruptions caused by summer construction have been a constant theme during public comment at council meetings.
Council members have indicated that they wish to have revised regulations in place before the start of the summer in 2019. The work session discussion focused on a review of proposed changes intended to give the officials who are drafting amended ordinances a sense of council’s position on the issues.
Among the first of the proposed changes was a revised and more encompassing definition of construction activity, meant to include under the regulatory umbrella more of the activities homeowners found disruptive.
One debate was over whether or not clean-up tasks constituted construction activity, and thus would have to be completed by the end of allowable construction hours.
Consensus seemed to form that clean-up activities that do not involve noisy machinery would not have to be finished by the end of allowable work hours.
Debate then turned to when construction can occur during the summer. Council agreed that work hours would be trimmed to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. No construction would be allowed on Sunday.
Complaints about summer disruption due to construction had emphasized homeowners’ desires to have construction-free holidays for Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. Council agreed.
The ordinances changes will incorporate weekend bans for Memorial Day and Labor Day, and a variable ban on construction for July 4 depending upon what day of the week it falls.
The definition of what constitutes the summer itself was also up for discussion with apparent agreement that the summer rules would apply to a period from mid-June to the second Sunday in September. The obvious exception was the ban on activity over the Memorial Day Weekend.
What to do with trailers and dumpsters remains unsettled. Council is considering a defined construction zone that would incorporate the street area in front of a construction site, giving contractors freedom to place equipment or vehicles within the zone.
Residents have argued that trailers should be removed from the street at the end of each construction day, and that the size of dumpsters should be limited.
Council member Nancy Hudanich said she wanted “strong language” regarding environmental hazards, like dust produced when contractors cut Azek and other materials that give off plastic particles. John McCorristin, who is the owner of a construction company, argued that bags on the saws would probably only capture about 50 percent of the resulting dust. He suggested requiring a tarp in any cutting area to capture what falls to the ground.
When Hudanich proposed that council consider a ban on Sunday construction all year, McCorristin warned that council was straying into areas that went beyond residents’ complaints.
“Nobody asked for this much,” he said.  For now, the focus of discussion appears to be on the newly-defined summer season.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.