STONE HARBOR – The Borough Council is proposing to require site plan review for any projects that would remove commercial buildings in portions of the business district for redevelopment as residential properties.
Council member Bunny Parzych called the ordinance a stopgap measure that the council wants to put in place until a special committee of the Planning Board completes its work reviewing what she termed a conundrum, zoning flexibility that allows parts of the business district to be developed as residential.
Parzych, speaking at the council’s Feb. 18 meeting, referred to the business district as the “jewel” of Stone Harbor and said it was in need of protection from too much residential development.
The special committee formed by the Planning Board is trying to balance the rights of the property owner to maximize the financial benefits of a property’s use with those of the borough. where there is a strong desire to protect the business district.
Parzych admitted that the best financial outcome for the property owner is often residential use of the property; the worry is that such action will eventually seriously erode the business district, denying the borough one of its most distinctive and attractive assets.
The ordinance is scheduled to come up for a public hearing and potential vote to adopt at the council’s meeting March 18 at 5 p.m. in Borough Hall.
