August 14, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Mahwah Committee mulling several potential ordinances by Frank J. McMahon A committee created by the Mahwah Council to review the township’s ordinances is considering several potential measures that may be presented to the council in the near future. Councilman Steven Sbarra, the chairman of the com- mittee, recently gave the council a report during which he outlined some of the ordinances being considered. One ordinance would limit landscaping activities in the township to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and another would regulate the decibel level permitted from home generators and air conditioners. Another ordinance under consideration, according to Sbarra, is the size and location of mailboxes that have brick and mortar enclosures. Sbarra said the committee is studying the requirements of the U.S. Postal Service, but he pointed out that some of those mailboxes are close enough to the street that they are often damaged by snowplows leading to expenses to repair the plows, and bills from resi- dents for the damage to the mailboxes. The committee is also considering an ordinance to limit Guadagno addresses academy grads New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno was the keynote speaker at this year’s Mahwah Police Youth Leadership Academy graduation ceremony. Dignitaries in attendance also included Mahwah Mayor William Laforet, Senator Gerald Cardinale, and Assemblywoman Holly Schipesi. In the summer of 2002, the Mahwah Police Department hosted its first Junior Police Academy with 33 students in attendance. Nine years later, the academy expanded from one week to two weeks and has grown to over 250 students. It has become an overwhelming success with both parents and children. The children learn all the rigors of police academy training and see many areas of specialization in the field of law enforcement. The Junior Police Academy is structured for students who will be entering sixth grade, although older student counselors also participate in the program. Today, the Mahwah Junior Police Academy has become a model for many other agencies to follow. Many questioned why there was not a program for older students. The police department considered different pro- grams they thought might be of interest to young teens. (continued on page 23) New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno. fences to a height of four feet in front yards and six feet along side yards, and another ordinance that would give condominium associations the right to approve in advance all applications for improvements in their units. In addition, the committee will soon consider a sign ordinance and an ordinance concerning bus stops along Franklin Turnpike. Mahwah Township Administrator Brian Campion rec- ommended that the committee also consider updating Chapter 24 of the township code, which pertains to zoning. Campion explained that Chapter 24 was being updated by the township planner in 2004 and was discussed at several meetings of a subcommittee of the planning board at that time, but was never completed. He suggested that the com- mittee resurrect that document and ask the current town- ship planner to review it in order to replace Chapter 24, which dates back to 1987. “Work was done on it, but it fell off the table,” Cam- pion said. “The time has come to update that chapter of the code.” Mahwah Township Attorney Andrew Fede asked Sbarra to provide him with a list of the ordinances being consid- ered by the committee.