Allendale August 8, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 Shed ordinance updated by John Koster After conferring with Allendale Borough Attorney David Bole, the Allendale Council has reintroduced an updated ordinance that would eventually make it possible to build small backyard sheds without variances. The ordinance, listed under “non-conforming structures,” will be re-advertised, reviewed, and probably adopted at the end of August. “This is not an ordinance that we have to get passed,” said Mayor Vince Barra, meaning that the ordinance would be useful, but not urgent. “Let’s do it right.” Based on an initiative by Councilman Jim Strauch, who is a former Allendale Board of Adjustment chairman, the proposed ordinance would waive variances for backyard sheds that have no underground foundation and adequate side-yard and rearyard space. As it was first proposed, the ordinance would have allowed construction of a 100 square foot free-standing shed without a variance. Input from the Allendale Board of Adjustment, the Allendale Planning Board, Rotary aids CFA Allendale/Saddle River Rotary Club members look over the school supplies the organization has been collecting on behalf of the Center for Food Action in Mahwah. Pictured are Omar Niebles, president-elect; Bob Traitz, founding president; Nicki Lisella, past president, Joseph Chinnici, president; and June Stahl, secretary. The club will continue accepting school supplies for needy area children through Aug. 22. Items may be dropped off at TD Bank in Allendale. Suggested donations include back packs, highlighters, Post-it Notes, pencils, pens, crayons, marble composition notebooks, spiral notebooks, loose leaf paper, rulers, glue sticks, scissors, colored pencils, erasers, pencil cases, index cards, assignment pads, two-pocket folders, three-ring binders (one-inch and two-inch), and colored pens (red and green). For more information, contact Joseph Chinnici at Joseph.Chinnici@td.com or (201) 825-1011. Items will be accepted at Center for Food Action in Mahwah through Aug. 27. CFA is located at 90 Ridge Road in Mahwah. Call (201) 529-2029. the borough’s planning consultant, and the borough council convinced officials that the size of the shed could be increased to 150 square feet, and finally decided on a size of 200 square feet. The council agreed that 200 square feet would be a viable size for a building with the required setbacks and no underground foundation, and there was no comment from the public. The Allendale Planning Board had not seen the most recent revision of the proposed ordinance and will not meet again until after the next public meeting of the Allendale Borough Council. Mayor Barra is a member of the planning board and said he did not foresee any objections, but he and Borough Attorney Bole concurred that, since there is no rush, observing the letter of the law would be the best way to handle the non-conforming structures ordinance. Accordingly, the Allendale Borough Council withdrew the ordinance proposed for adoption on July 26 and reintroduced the ordinance for non-conforming structures so it can be reviewed by the planning board, advertised, and probably adopted at the second public meeting in August.