isue e I didn't want to get taken hi good evening everybody uh adequate notice of this meeting as required by the open public meetings Act was provided through the posting mailing and filing of the annual notice of regular scheduled meetings of the Town
Council on December 17 2024 the notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building provided to the Westfield leader in the Star Ledger and filed with the clerk of the town of Westfield Miss lashi may have a roll call Mayor brindle here council members here herea here keeper here
hereo here contract here please rise for the invocation given by councilman dagala and remain standing for the salute to the flag may we acknowledge the delicate balance between personal freedom and the greater good and to remember safe to safeguard
these Liberties ensuring they Remain the source of empowerment and inspiration for all Guided by wisdom let us together make choices that reflect our values and contribute to the well-being of our community to flag the United States of America and
to stand Nation God indivisible Justice for so mayor I just want to make an announcement for the public in the audience and online tonight um we have three uh public hearing scheduled for tonight on three ordinances on second
reading uh the first one is for uh an ordinance uh to address solar solar panels and in the previous meeting at 7 o'clock the council discussed it uh and we expect the council will uh make a motion to table that uh to send it back to committee for further review we will have the public hearing though so if the
public wants to make comments tonight on that we welcome them to come up and do that uh and then uh we'll close the hearing and there'll be action on that um to table that later in the meeting so thank you y um thank you so you why don't we Jim do you have the proclamation you know Girl Scouts you
want to come up all right Council and half good was forgot her sash tonight last time we had she so come on over here girls thank you so much for being here on the school night um we are here to
Proclaim Girl Scout week oh come on up sweetie just in time all right so whereas March 12 2025 the 113th anniversary of Girl Scouts in the United States of America the largest and most
impactful leadership program for girls in the world and whereas the Girl Scout M began on March 12th 1912 when Juliet Daisy Gordon low a native of Savannah Georgia organized a group of 18 girls and provided them with the opportunity to develop physically intellectually
socially and spiritually and whereas for over a Century Girl Scouts of the United States has advanced its mission to build girls of Courage confidence and character and make the world a better place and whereas today more than 50 million women Trailblazers Visionaries
and leaders are girl scout alums who who have who have made the world a better place and whereas since its Beginnings Girl Scouts has emphasize public service and Civic engagement and has fostered a sense of community and girls and whereas during a time when girls are
experiencing increased levels of anxiety stress loneliness and depression low Scouts continue to provide Community consistency and connection for girls across the world and is a safe haven in all the uncertainty and whereas girls say that
girl scout supports their mental health and is and is accepting secure space where they feel free to be themselves and where leaders and other girls are sources of support during difficult times and whereas girl scouting is a powerful force for social connection and creates a positive and uplifting
National Global Network among girls and whereas Girl Scouts plays an IND dispensible role in engaging girls in after school and out of school programming and experiences that expand their world and allow them to tap into their inner Community Builder innovator change maker and
leader whereas Girl Scouts offer girls 21st century programming and science technology engineering and math the outdoors entrepreneurship and Beyond helping girls develop invaluable life skills and whereas Gold Award Gold Award
Girl Scouts take on projects that have a measurable and sustainable impact on the community by assessing a need designing a solution completing a project and inspiring others to sustain it and whereas as a member organization of the world Association of girl guys and Girl
Scouts Girl Scouts is part of an international Sisterhood of 10 million girls and young women in 152 countries and is committed to offering girls more opportunities to engage with communities worldwide make meaningful Global Connections and explore Global Citizens
iip and whereas Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey serves over 13,000 girls across Essex Hudson Hunan Somerset Union Southern waren and parts of middlex counties now therefore I Shelley brindle by virtue of the authority invested in
me as mayor to hereby applaud the Girl Scout movement for providing girls with a secure inclusive all girl space where they can hone their skills and develop leadership abilities and I declare the week of March 9th 2025 to be Girl Scout
week all right girl [Applause] Jim did you have any other comments okay um just a few comments before we get into our agenda this evening um I first want to make a huge congratul
congratulations to the Westfield High School boys hockey team who uh the rescue squad and First Responders uh escorted back into town yesterday following their first ever State Championship uh they team ended their fantastic season with a five-game winning streak and sealed their
championship at the breden center yesterday at 1:00 and I do have to say um I was particularly happy and proud of this for those of us that sat on this Das in 2019 over the Gumpert ice rink um and uh
I remember the boys hockey when it was the Boys Hockey Club not team and I remember when there's very little girls hockey and when you talk to any of those parents today they will tell you that Westfield rink at gumper has been an instrumental part of why they've been
able to get to the elite status they are today and in particular the expansion of the girls program so often times these these things take a long time to see the impact but I think it was particularly thrilling to watch the boys um win that Championship yesterday so it was really
great um and while we're talking about schools uh yesterday Jim Guild and I met with the Board of Education members um uh well I should say the school superintendent Ray Gonzalez business administrator pat patty Ramos and Board of Ed president Rob bakio and we do this
on a regular basis um always to discuss key issues and opportunities to optimize the use of our residents tax dollars as I remind everybody you might we might go to different places but at the end of the day we are all very cognizant that when you pay the school in the board in the county is coming out of the same
pocket of of taxes residents taxes so but among the topics was Our intention to move forward with a shared service agreement for the maintenance of school-owned fields I know I referenced it early in the year but you're going to expect to hear more about that in the coming weeks with some definitive resolution plan to actually make this a
reality which is great and a lot of it because of the investment that we've been making in our Public Works in terms of field maintenance and so forth so it's really great to see that coming to fruition um we also discussed our mutual desire to eventually use future pilot revenues to support Capital Improvements
for the schools um and we decided once the outcome of the April 15th Bond referendum is known and the revised One Westfield Place Financial Agreements are adopted we will be in a more of form position to continue those discussions and finalize the B path forward that benefits our schools and taxpayers so um
we anticipate doing that um in the coming months so we're luckily we're very much on the same page in that regard um and speaking of the school district I do I promise them that we will continue to remind everybody that on April 15th Westfield residents will vote on an additional spending proposal
for the 2526 School District operating budget and very importantly for a bond referendum that includes funding for school improvements and full day kindergarten um unfortunately the vote Falls during spring break which couldn't be the worst uh situation for this it
was a date that's set by the state um so residents for going away for Spring Break um please uh you know sign up to get a mailin ballot review all the details um and you can please look at all the ways to find uh to get your vote in uh before you go out of town and
there's lots of information on the um Westfield n jk. org vote website um just a reminder about Conservation Center hours sunny weather and warm warm temps um make it time feel working in the yard permits are now on sale on the town
website for 25 or the 2025 organic waste disposal at the Conservation Center the price remains $60 unchanged from last year um and on March 20th the center will begin seasonal hours of Thursday Friday from 9 to 2:30 and Saturday Sunday from 9:00 to 3: um regarding
affordable housing we did just we just had a meeting about it and our work on the fourth round of affordable housing continues um following the unanimous adoption by this Council in January ready to present our modified prospective need obligation numbers for 364 units um we have a committee here as
a reminder comprised of council members hapgood Healey dagala and Saunders and have been doing great work in collaboration with our town and affordable housing professionals so um we are working towards um the dispute resolution program goes through I think we have our mod we will expect to get
findings by an agreement on our numbers by April 1st um and so while we do continue through the remaining of this fourth round um it's reassuring and we talked about this earlier that we are in the process of developing these constitutional informal zoning code and
protects our single family zones while meeting the requirements of the new law and we're very very grateful that as we said if we just continue to click follow on the rules we will be protected from Builders Remy lawsuits and continue to remain control in control ofs of our
zoning um so uh anyway so more information coming up as the year moves forward uh just very great news on the playground front Switching gears um since our last Capital meeting uh Memorial ground Memorial Park playground is now officially open um it was delayed
due to weather and a variety of other kind of unexpected work um I think when you go there you'll agree it was well worth the wait and it's another accessible playground that we've added to the community uh not only again you know I think we see the playgrounds that are happening the schools that are
becoming inclusive and it's thrilling to know that uh that we're also in the town doing our part as well um and there was a it's also important that Memorial playground um it was previously installed as the town's first successful playground by Eagle Scout Gregory Ryan
Jr and that will always be memorialized um it was funded by the 24 capital budget an offset and grants by offset and grants from Union County um a variety of Union County and a federal Community uh development block grant um there are some just if you go over there it's not 100% complete um there's some
final items that will be completed in the short term such as like work around the perimeter and some more aesthetic type things um restroom repairs Etc but uh please know please go out and enjoy it on these beautiful spring days we're excited to have it on uh in working
order um regarding our agenda tonight um we have reviews of uh we have ordinance on second reading from the code review in town property Committee in ordance to change the front yard setback regulation for the gbt zone to allow for de development to be located closer to the rideway which was approved by the plan
board um an ordinance to update the existing green buildings checklist and lastly as Jim mentioned the council decided tonight's conference session to refer the solar panel ordinance back to committee the one that pertains to removing exine restrictions on Street facing mounted solar panels for further
review so more on that in a future meeting so with that let's get to work tonight miss ly are there any advertised hearings yes mayor we have three advertised hearings tonight starting with General orience 2025 three an ordinance amending the L ordinance of
town of Westfield relating to the installation of solar energy systems anyone wishing to be heard on General or 20253 please come to the microphone state your name and address for the record hi Evan Topo 355 orenda Circle um
if we're talking about solar I am a uh this isn't the solar yeah this is solar okay I'm I'm a a builder and home remodeler in town and um this is coming from uh mostly personally that I don't
really like the idea of solar panels on front-facing uh roofs I think that solar panels are great in uh certain applications but to have them on a front-facing roof I think kind of degrades the look and feel of
homes in our town and um my opinion I have an opinion on some of the other things that are coming up so that's it on solar thank you very much and I mean again I like solar I just don't think it's applicable for every home and every
front-facing roof in town thank you see no further comments Mary May close hearing this hearing is closed and can just I do want to mention one front-facing solar panels are currently allowed today so they're already allowed
this ordinance was simply um providing uh actually loosening some of the compliance restrictions around it and that's what's being tabled so just want to me just so you know um okay I'm sorry next is General ordinance 20254 in ordinance to amend the land use
ordinance of the town of Westfield in regard to the front yard setback requirement in the gb2 general business district anyone wish to be heard on General 2024 please come to the microphone state your name and address for the
record see no one may you may close the hearing this hearing is closed last the general ordinance 20255 in ordinance to amend the land use ordinance of the town of Westfield in regard to Green development checklist anyone wishing to be heard on General or
20255 please come to the microphone state your name and address for the record hi Topo again 355 are in the circle um on the green development checklist as again as a uh home remodeler in town this is something that
I think is a good idea but it requires uh some work on the part of the um contractors and which in turn would add an additional expense to the homeowner
because it's seems like kind of a a long list of things that we have to do and it's just another thing as as a a builder we have to fill out the forms and answer a lot of questions that um you know may or may not
be something that they want to pay for because at at the end of the day what we have to do for them as clients and our PE people who live in town here um it already costs a lot of money to do work to your home this is another one of
those things that could add to the cost so um again I like the idea of green development but I would encourage you to consult with uh people who do work in town for our residents um because I and
we've had this discussion before it would be great to have a builder perspective on some of the things that the town does in regards to uh Renovations remodeling new construction that kind of thing thank you thank you
do you want to comment on that Mr Telo I think it's always a balancing act um just for you to know that the checklist is is is meant to be an awareness driving vehicle so builders contractors residents are thinking about
Green Green Building and green development uh opportunities in the in the midst of putting their plans together that's the goal of it it's really meant to be fairly straightforward to fill out I don't think it's a huge expense personally you know uh um so uh you know we're trying
to to help move our town to a more sustainable future and we we believe that this is a great way to do that you know to raise awareness to make sure that everybody's considering Green Building practices um so that just a little bit of clarification as to the intent intention of it so we already
have one um this one is a little bit longer right to to bring in to uh take into consideration some additional things uh but this this idea already exists uh in town was put in place uh several years ago mayor mask oneck clarifying question is that an is it an
optional checklist or is it a mandatory checklist it's it's mandatory to fill out but nothing's required it's really meant to hey you know have you considered this have you considered that so we want people to fill it out yeah it's not mandatory that they do all the things no nothing's mandatory to
do see no further comments close this hearing is closed councilman contract please move for the adoption of this ordinance uh instead of moving for the adoption of General ordinance number 20253 I'm going to make a motion to table this and send it back to the code
committee may I have a second second any discussion please call the role and we're voting to table it council members have yes Daria yes tomal yes keer yes
thers yeso yes contract yes heing yes may yes this motion is carried uh next I'd like to move for the adoption of General ordinance number 20254 an ordinance to amend the land use ordinance of the town of Westfield in regard to the front yard setback
requirement in the gb2 general business district May the second second by councilman Saunders any discussion please call the role Council memb P yes D yes Tom yes keep yes yes armento yes
contract yes yes may yes this m is carried uh last I'd like to move for the adoption of General ordinance number 20255 an ordinance to amend the land use ordinance of the town of Westfield in regard to a green development checklist I have a second second invite councilman
dagala any discussion please call the RO council members yes D yesal yes keeper yes Founders yes armento yes Contra yes yes yes this motion is carried I have a
motion to approve the minutes for the Town Council conference and regular meetings of February 25th 2025 so move by councilman contract second second second by councilman Saunders any discussion all in favor yes oppos this motion is carried now it's
time for open discussion by citizens anyone may come up to the microphone and speak to the Council on any subject on which we have jurisdiction please take your name and address for the record and limit your comments to five minutes hi my name is Donna Peron and my address is 8 US Highway 22 East Westville New
Jersey 07090 for some of you that might be a foreign uh address because we are the very end of Westfield hitting the highway uh my neighbor and I are both residents of Westfield um but we also
have a neighbor to the uh other side of us who's in Mountainside our homes were involved in a very serious incident on Sunday I wish would like to thank the police officers of Westfield and the fire department of Westfield as long as as well as all the other fire companies
and police officers that showed up to the scene on Sunday um I don't know if any of you heard about it but the highway was shut down to due to this incident um a tree that is on state property at the end of my driveway fell
onto the highway and onto a car thank goodness the people in the car only suffered minor injuries they could have been seriously killed um then it ignited a fire because all the power lines were pulled down and it ignited a fire on
both sides of my driveway that it was extending to my neighbor's property we had to wait until the um Power was shut off as that fire increased and luckily they were able to put the fire out however this tree was a V shaped tree
and one part of it came came down the other part is still there and it is leaning and it's leaning more towards Falling Again the people who have been working on those power lines and on the cable lines have all looked at it and
said that tree is going to fall in about two or three days for sure it's swaying more each day it is on State Property we do not know who to get in touch with in such an emergent situation yes we're trying to find out who to
call but if it falls there could be another tragedy it could be me with my car cuz it's right on my driveway that could crush me as I'm going down or my husband who walks to the bus walking down the street or it could be one of my
neighbors or could be several cars on the highway um we don't know what to do and we're we're I'm basically here on on their behalf asking you for help could one of you contact the state so they can know how serious the situation is to get
that tree cut down I do not want to have Westfield in the news again because this tree falls and and it we were lucky the wind was not with us the other day they came in the back of my house because my house sits 475 ft back they went in the
back of our house because we have all the forest behind us too to make sure that no flame had gotten to the back of the house so that all of those woods would go up and there are multiple Westfield homes
behind us so we don't know what to do we're desperate we need that tree taken down as soon as possible and it's a situation that that's why I'm here if one of you could call this date and have somebody come down and cut that tree down so everybody in the town could be
safe we would really appreciate it well I'm always happy when I have a response so I heard from one of your neighbors this morning yes probably my neighbor to to the left yeah well right and um because of our frustration historically with the lack of response for the Department of Transportation I called
the governor's office and they called me back and we have a contact now at the do I spoke to her I they were sending people out um I didn't tell her about the tree specifically but I told her about I guess your neighbor had mentioned a bunch of brush and like a
lot of things that need to be cleared so um I gave her the location where it was and then I have her cell phone I gave it to Jim did you did Jim called her so you should see some response to that we just want that tree gone Pronto I agree I was
just so happy to finally have a name and a phone number of someone who actually called me back um I would just make sure that you touch Bas with Jim because he's the primary contact for them now but um we're on it and we completely understand the series of it we should see that tree gone and I sent them the picture that
the fire chief had sent me just to show they understood the seriousness of it and uh just really grateful that there weren't any more serious injuries from that really for sure and we understand that you guys tend to be the Forgotten homes as far we Jim and I talk about it we hear about the bus I called them
about the bus stop too the ice and so forth I called the governor's office about that thank you and we did want to let you know um when it occurred um my my daughter's um boyfriend called the uh fire dep you know 911 and they were told
we don't know this address it's crazy so he had to give the address for across the street in Mountainside to get the fire trucks there so that's another issue that 911 doesn't have our addresses in the system well before you
leave give your contact information to Jim and he'll also he can let you know when he speaks to the do woman and directly and make sure that we get the best location for where to send her thank you okay so much just just to follow I did reach out
to the woman today I El her the actual address and mile marker on 22 as well as eight driveway number eight which is y okay and it was we we the tree is one part of it but we also we need we need better vegetation management along that Hall Corridor so that that's other part
of it okay thank you thank you anybody else sure of course I just want to give a special thank you to the recreation department I got to attend the Me and My Gal event I have to say it was absolutely spectacular I think they did
a phenomenal job uh met so many nice fathers and their daughters we had a great time and I'm sorry to promote this because I know it was filled up in just a few minutes but if you haven't done it before it is great you'll have a wonderful time nice thank you did you
have come on up I was like well I saw him I saw him one coming up before I fig promise this is the last time this is a very efficient meeting for you yes it is covering a lot of basis so um I feel like one of the more important reasons I came here
tonight was to talk a little bit about something that you may not have um complete control over but the um the building department has recently asked for um more information when we submit
permits for um soils uh grading plans stuff like that so any proposed disturbance greater than 200 square F feet requires this this soil disturbance plan which is relatively new and um it caught several people off guard including the architects who didn't
really know about it we we take the plans from The Architects we take whatever uh survey work is given to um us and either from the homeowner from the architect and we submit it to the building department for a permit when it gets so recently we were had stuff that
was kicked back because it was slightly over 200 ft of disturbance which is practically nothing so it used to be a much larger area and what happens is we now have to go to the Union uh Somerset Union Soil Conservation District with a
soils grading plan that comes from an engineer and um that process is kind of is is much longer so if you're expecting to submit a permit now you get kicked back and you have to go through this process of submission not only does it
take um the better part of a month or two it's several thousand doll and to me like it doesn't cost me like I'm passing that along to my clients but um every time we have to do this it's um it costs a lot of money so not only do they have
to do this up front with a engineer and The Soil Conservation District um once the work is done we have to bring the surveyor out again and do more work again it's it's like thousands for our residents and um I don't know if this is
something that necessarily can be reversed but it was it took a lot of people off guard and we submitted several permits that all had the same issue recently and um The Architects were unaware clients were unhappy because they realized that their start
dat it had to be pushed back um so I'm not asking that this needs that this should be reversed um I think it's a little um egregious I think 200 square ft is is really nothing and most towns um don't require these type of grading
plans unless you're deserving let's say a th000 feet or more uh for a new construction just to give you an idea that's typically like 5,000 so 200 square feet is practically nothing um over 5,000 ft of disturbance you have to
do a more comprehensive soils plan so and that's what we are what that's what we expect when we do much larger jobs um on these really small things it's just I feel like it's more of a burden on the homeowner because of the the additional cost and time involved so again I don't
know if this is something that was really enacted by the council but if you're not aware of it that's what's going on so thank you um for what it's worth great thank you thank you thank you Jim do you want to address that sure
um so uh the 200 square foot uh disturbance ordinance was put into place I think it was late 20123 uh and has been rolled out since 2024 in the building department and really um intent of it and we we're
discussing in the co Town property meeting now about other potential zoning permit discussions we've had um but the intent was to do just what Mr topel talked about get more information on the grading storm order management those things because of issues we've had where
when homes are going in whether it be a new home or not even a new home it may be a patio it may be driveway it could be lots of things if there's a disturbance over a certain amount of square feet in this case 200 square feet was the ordinance uh that was enacted in late 2023 um and to you know take some time
for it to roll out um we want to make sure that these plans that we received the information we receive we then can address uh drainage issues or you know topographical issues to Neighbors which ends up happening after the work is done then the neighbor calls us could be
months or days or weeks after the thing is done and they're now negatively affected in some way so our thought was to try to get the information up front so we could address it and most times it's a pretty simple fix or no no need to fix at all um but that's the intent of that uh and it does require more work it it definitely no no doubt about more
submission uh but it's been in place by ordinance by this Council since I think it was October or November of 2023 and if I remember right this now this was in response to residents who are complaining about a new home or work that had been happened adjacent to them they had no flooding on
their property previously and then the place gets built and it was mostly it wasn't all about new homes it was mostly about um and that's why the committee is still discussing a potential zoning permit because um it really wasn't new homes particularly because as as as M to
said a lot of those plans are expected and the disturbance is much greater right um in this case it was more about the things that we don't have uh any eye to now so someone puts it this really a result of Co when Co happened everyone is home we had a lot of new pools going
in new backyard patios new outdoor grills things that were a lot of more impervious coverage and not always required a th000 square foot of movement it could have been 200 squ feet or or a little b a little less than that so we need to have some sort of controls to figure out okay we don't want the negative effects happening to neighbors
or just to the area itself where we have low-lying properties you have easements of properties with drainage easements already there uh or drainage in the area so that was the intent it wasn't really to affect new homes much more of the smaller backyard uh or driveway issues and and we've had some people affected
by that that's what sparked at the time got it Jim can I ask a question yeah I thought uh the process was internal like to Westfield Mr too said he had to go to Union County Somerset so he no he's referencing the soil conservations um requirement um so that's that's common
place he knows especially for new homes where um when a lot of Earth is Disturbed uh you have to put up Sil fences for example and those type of things but there's a requirement to do that in certain circumstances that's to protect the neighbors from having dirt you know obviously um uh you know come
out neighbors property but that is a separate issue that's controlled by that organization not the town so when you have to go there they can come out and inspect or be called to come out and inspect to make sure that the property owner or the developer on that property is handling things properly and they administer and force that we
don't thanks thank you J anyone else okay hearing none I close this mtion portion of the meeting and move to bills and claims councilman hap good thank you mayor I'd like to move bills
and claims in the amount of $499,500 Council and have good thank you again mayor I have eight resolutions seven of which I'd like to move as a package the first a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw a warrant to replenish folk mail permit two a
resolution authorizing the CFO to draw a warrant for dog licenses for February 2025 third a resolution authorizing the CFO to refund Recreation Department fees fourth a resolution authorizing the CFO to refund Police Department fees Five a
resolution authorizing the CFO to draw a warrant for Board of adjustment escrow monies six a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw warrants for overpaid taxes for 2025 and seven a resolution authorizing affordability assistance grant pursuant to the town of
Westfield's affordability assistance program for a tenant of an affordable housing unit may I have a second second second my Council onia any discussion all in favor yes yes oppos this motion is carried I would also like to move a
resolution authorizing the CFO to make a budget transfer I have a second by Council contract any discussion please call the role council members H yes D yes D yes keeper yes Saunders
yes Aro yes yesy yes may yes this motion is carried next step is cod mayor I'm sorry if I can just add before we move on to the next um just to everyone that next meeting we're going to be presenting the budget so I hope that everyone will come out in person and
hear all about it thank you great it's Council contract you're I'm sorry just jump in one second so in addition to the budget um it's important so next meeting is the budget introduction and the capital budget introduction um and um that's important mostly because the majority of the capital is the road
program for 2025 so that's a big uh thing to do the quicker we can start on that the quicker we can get the road process started so two big introductions on the 2 5 and then the capital budget will be expected to be uh public hearing and adoption on April 8th and then the budget itself public hearing and adoption on April 22nd so thanks thank
you J come to all the meetings that's right uh I'd like to move a resolution amending leases with the Westfield senior housing urban renewal partnership LP and Westfield senior C senior citizens housing Corporation we have a second second so my councilman n
Saunders um all in favor yes opposed this motion is carried next Tas Public Works committee councilman hilly uh yes I move a resolution awarding a contract for various landscape materials for the Department of Public Works you have a second second s councilman armento any
discussion all in favor yes opposed this motion is carried and may I have a motion to adjourn by councilman dagala second second by councilman Daria all in favor opposed this motion is carried this meeting is ajour good night everybody