Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • February 2, 2011 Franklin Lakes Becton Dickinson drops appeals, seeks zoning change by Frank J. McMahon Becton Dickinson & Company has come to an agreement with the Borough of Franklin Lakes to drop its property tax appeals for 2007 through 2010 in return for an amendment of the zoning of the HOB-RL zone district in which the company’s headquarters is located. The amended zoning ordinance, which was introduced at a recent public council meeting and recommended for adoption by the planning board, is expected to be adopted by the council at its Feb. 15 public meeting. According to Franklin Lakes Borough Administrator Gregory Hart, the ordinance would permit multiple owners of the property, although he said Becton Dickinson does not have specific plans to develop its property. The existing ordinance contained a provision that required the entire property to be occupied by a single owner. The amended ordinance also added the two ramp lots on the other side of Route 208 to the HOB-RL zone that encompasses Becton Dickinson’s 128-acre main office property on Route 208. Hart explained that the idea of amending the zoning ordinance for this property originated in discussions with Becton Dickinson during the litigation over its tax appeals, and the company’s agreement to withdraw their appeals will avoid a potential substantial reduction in the $1.9 million in property taxes that Becton Dickinson currently pays to the borough. Hart explained further that, while Becton Dickinson feels the amendments to the zoning ordinance will improve the future marketability of its property, the borough’s professional planner has advised the borough that the amended zoning will not significantly affect the potential development of the site from the standpoint of intensity. The amendments listed in the new ordinance include one that permits product development, marketing and quality testing, and the receipt, inspection, and culling of defects and shipping defective items back to warehouses of recalled for-sale products, or the processing and fabricating incidental to the quality testing, provided that no materials or finished products can be manufactured, processed, or fabricated on the premises for sale, at wholesale, retail, or otherwise. The ordinance would permits a pre-existing residential structure of a fieldstone masonry construction to be used for any purpose consistent with the general provisions of the HOB-RL district, or for residential use for an employee or contracted service employee. In addition, storage buildings, drop and storage areas for landscaping and construc- tion materials, and outdoor recreational facilities and the outbuildings related to those facilities, including pond areas, lakes, and streams were added as accessory uses. The ordinance would change the maximum gross floor area of a building in the HOB-RL district from 9,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet per acre of lot area, excluding public streets. Parking structures, roadways, on-grade parking areas, paved courtyards and patios, and equipment slabs would not be included in the computation of maximum gross floor area of building. The ordinance would permit either a parking structure (continued on page 14) The Franklin Lakes Borough Council has introduced an ordinance that, if adopted on Feb. 15, would require the licensing of limousines where the owner’s principal place of business is within the borough. The ordinance would repeal the chapter of the borough code pertaining to taxicabs and replace it with a new chapter defining the use of a limousine and the requirements for obtaining a license in order to operate a limousine within the borough. Franklin Lakes Borough Administrator Gregory Hart explained that there are no taxi companies located in the borough, but the borough currently has five limousine licensees. This new ordinance, he said, would update the borough code to make it consistent with applicable law. In the new chapter of the code, “limousine” is defined as an automobile or motor car used in the business of carrying passengers for hire as defined in state law, and a “limousine service” is defined as the business of carrying passengers for hire by limousines. A “principal place of business” is defined as the location of the main place of business of Council acts to license limousines the limousine service in the borough where the limousine service is conducted, where limousines are dispatched, or where limousine drivers report for duty. The ordinance would require that all limousines where the owner’s principal place of business is within the borough must be licensed, and no limousine license would be issued by the borough clerk unless the owner of the limousine files proof of not less than $1.5 million liability insurance covering the limousine. The insurance must be issued by a company duly licensed to transact business under the state’s insurance laws. That insurance would have to cover the limousine owner against loss by reason of liability imposed by law and for damages due to bodily injury or death suffered by any person as the result of an accident occurring by reason of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the limousine upon any public street. The ordinance would direct the borough clerk to issue a license to operate a limousine in duplicate to show that the (continued on page 14) New Jersey Pediatric Neurosurgical Associates welcomes Dr. Lauren Schwartz to its new state-of-the-art facility in Hackensack Certifications: American Board of Pediatric Neurology; American Board of Neurological Surgeons. One of two board certified N.J. Pediatric Neurosurgeons and one of the few female neurosurgeons in N.J. Dr. Mazzola has published several peer – reviewed articles and has presented numerous posters and abstracts at national neuroscience conventions. She was responsible for the creation of the Neuromuscular and Movements Disorder Center for Children at Hackensack University Medical Center in 2001 and the Craniofacial and Cleft Lip and Palate Center at Morristown Memorial Catherine Mazzola, M.D. Hospital in 2006. 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