Mahwah September 30, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Parking prohibited on local road by Frank J. McMahon A new ordinance that was recently adopted by the Mahwah Council will prohibit parking on both sides of the entire length of South Houvenkopf Road, a townshipowned right-of-way located just west of Route 17 and east of Route 287. The ordinance was proposed in response to the conditions of the township planning board’s May 2008 approval of an application by Prestige Motors to lease a 16.5-acre site between Stag Hill Road, Ramapo Valley Road, and South Houvenkopf Road for use as a vehicle storage lot. One of those conditions was to request the council’s approval to add South Houvenkopf Road to the township’s list of no parking areas. The property is located in the township’s B-40 highway business zone. Prestige has leased the site from Short Line Bus Tours, Inc. and will use five aces of it to store new and lease-back vehicles. The original plan for the site would have located the entrance to the vehicle storage lot on Stag Hill Road. However, in response to concerns expressed by residents of that area, Prestige eliminated the entrance and exit on Stag Hill Road and decided instead to install a four-foot estate style fence in that area with plantings in front of the fence. A new plan with a landscaped entry and exit on South Houvenkopf Road was then submitted to, and approved by, the planning board with the understanding that the road would be improved by Prestige. The gate to the site was also moved in so that trucks waiting for the site to open in the mornings would not have to park on the road. At the time of the board’s approval, Bruce Whitaker, the attorney for Prestige, said the change would allow his client to clean up South Houvenkopf Road and to crown and curb on the side of the property owned by Prestige. The change would also eliminate the parking of trucks in that area. Whitaker also recommended the township place no parking signs and barriers there to eliminate the complaints about trucks parking overnight in that area. The Prestige plan was approved with the conditions that the truck turning radii and drainage plan for the site be approved by the township’s engineer, and that a drip irrigation system be provided on the site to maintain the landscape. The approval also contained the condition that the board would send a recommendation to the township council to place no parking signs on South Houvenkopf Road. The ordinance adopted by the township council prohibits parking on both sides of the entire length of South Houvenkopf Road and requires the International Motor Plaza, the owner of the property on which the road is located, to bear all expenses, including engineering costs associated with the installation of “no parking” signs along the entire length of the road, according to the direction of the township engineer. The Prestige plan was approved by a 5-3 vote of the board. The three board members who voted against the approval said they felt the site was too close to the township’s wells and that it could cost the township millions of dollars if those wells became polluted because of the vehicles parked on this site. Several residents objected to the plan, saying it would add additional truck traffic in a very dangerous area, that it would have a devastating effect on the low income housing located nearby, and that 216 trees would be removed in an environmentally sensitive area. A member of the Sierra Club, an environmental organization, also wanted the board to have an environmental impact study done before this site is developed because of all the wildlife in the area, including the wood turtle, an endangered species. The majority of the board voted to approve the Prestige plan with conditions. Ready to go Gabrielle and Michael Sargenti are ready to head off to classes at the Lenape Meadows School in Mahwah.