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Dear Neighbors,
I hope your summer is off to a good
start. As usual, there are some new
items to report such as a new Super Wal-Mart
lawsuit, coyote sightings, a Route 38 study,
and an interesting petition to the FCC by
Comcast. There are also some updates on
some on-going items such as the disbanding of
HARC and the Landlord Registration
ordinance. Finally, there are a couple
new items on the Community Calendar.
Super
Wal-Mart Lawsuit: Just four months
after granting preliminary
approval to Wal-Mart for a Super Wal-Mart
expansion, Lumberton Township is getting sued
again by a local resident for approving the expansion.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit against the
Lumberton Township Land Development Board
alleges that the Board improperly granted
approval to Wal-Mart. The Land
Development Board first approved Super
Wal-Mart in 2006, but the decision was
remanded by a court, and the current Land
Development Board starting hearing the
application again in 2007.
Coyotes in
Lumberton: Several residents spotted
a coyote in the vicinity of Fostertown Road
and Livingston Lane. The police placed
flyers on the doors of residents adjacent to
the area, and additional information from the
NJ Department of Fish and Wildlife on the township
web site. Police are urging
residents who sight a coyote to call
911. Coyotes are a breed of wild dog and
have been making a comeback in many parts of
New Jersey. Coyotes are protected by the
New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife,
and the department's
web site states coyotes rarely attack
people or domestic animals.
Route 38
Study: The Burlington County Board
of Freeholders initiated a Smart Growth study
of the Route 38 corridor. The goals of
the study are to help plan traffic and land
use changes to better manage the needs of the
communities. The study is expected to
take one year and make specific
recommendations for traffic improvements and
land use. The study team is
meeting individually with each of the eight
towns effected including Lumberton as well as
with the public. The area covered by the
study reaches from the Cherry Hill border in
Maple Shade to the Route 206 in
Southampton. For more information
on the study, residents can contact the
Burlington County Department of Economic
Development and Regional Planning at 265-5055.
Comcast
Petitions the FCC: Comcast Cable
Communications, LLC has petitioned the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) for special
relief in 20 South Jersey municipalities
including Lumberton. The company asserts
there is effective competition or low market
penetration in these 20 municipalities to warrant
an order by the FCC acknowledging effective
competition exists. The Township
Committee requested and was granted an
extension to the decision time
frame. The township has
posted Comcast's petition
on the township's web site and has reached out
to the other 19 municipalities to try to
coordinate a challenge. The Township
Committee speculates that this petition may be
precursor to rate increase by the cable
provider.
HARC
Disbanded: On June 10th, the Township
Committee adopted an ordinance disbanding the Historic Architecture Review Committee
(HARC). HARC was an advisory board to the
Land Development Board to help residents
preserve the historic look of the homes in the
historic district. Over the past few
years, there have been relatively few applicants
to HARC, and residents in the historic
district frequently complained about the extra
bureaucratic step. The Township
Committee also introduced another ordinance
defining standards for the historic district
which is being preserved. The Township
Committee also tasked the Land Development to review
the proposed ordinance and
make recommendations for improvement.
The Township Committee expects to have a
public hearing on the ordinance on July 22nd.
Landlord
Registration Ordinance: On
June 10th, the Township Committee
re-introduced the landlord registration
ordinance. The proposed ordinance
applies to all rental residential property in Lumberton
and requires landlords to maintain their rental
properties to the building code, and holds
landlords accountable for renting to tenants
who are convicted of repetitive violations of
the peace and crimes against people and property in the neighborhood. Under the
ordinance, landlords who do not maintain their
rental properties to code or continue to rent
to tenants with repetitive convictions for
violating the peace or crimes against people
or property, can be fined and have their
rental license revoked. The revised
ordinance was changed at the request of
several landlords to mirror the state
procedures on evicting tenants. The Township
Committee has scheduled the public hearing and
potential adoption for the July 22nd Township
Committee meeting.
New
Recycling Carts: The Burlington
County Department of Resource Management will
be implementing a new paper recycling cart for
all paper and cardboard recyclable
products. The new container is similar
to our existing trash cans but smaller.
Paper and cardboard can be thrown into the new
cart without having to break down the boxes
and bundle the papers. Last year, the county piloted the
new containers in parts of Medford and Evesham.
Residents in the pilot program were very
satisfied with the new containers and recycling
rates increased. Lumberton is expected
to receive 1,000 new carts in late 2008 and the
remaining 3,000 over the next few years.
The first 1,000 houses will be determined by
the county. The cost of the program is being split between the county
and the
township. The township expects to pay
for the new container with the new recycling tonnage
grant.
Main Street
Traffic Slowdown: Main Street will
be getting closed down to one lane through the
village for periods of time over the next few
weeks as New Jersey American Water continues
to replace the water main running down Route
541. Expect traffic delays.
Community
Calendar: Here are some upcoming
events in Lumberton. More events can be found
on the Lumberton E-News Community
Calendar.
You
can also add your own events to the Community
Calendar - no middleman!
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GLRBA
Summer Social: The Greater
Lumberton Regional Business
Association (GLRBA) will be holding
its summer social on July 9th from
5:00-7:00 PM at Dadz Bar and
Grill. For more information,
visit the GLRBA web site at www.GLBRA.org.
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Lumberton
Historical Society Car Show:
The Lumberton Historical Society (LHS)
is having its annual Car Show on July
19th from 8:30 AM- 3:00 PM at the
Municipal Building. The event is
open to all cars, any year. The fee is
$15 for pre-register, and $20 the day
of show. The LHS is looking for
vendors and sponsors for the
event. Vendor space is a $25
donation, and the sponsorship fee is
$300. All fees are tax deductible
donations. For more information,
call Lou at 267-8869, or Ruth at
267-6647.
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Farm Fair:
The dates are set for the 2008
Burlington County Farm Fair. The
fair will be held at the Village Green
from July 23-26. For more
information, visit http://www.burlingtoncountyfarmfair.com.
As always, thanks for reading and thanks
for your continued support.
Pat Delany
122 Kingsbridge
Drive
Lumberton, NJ
08048
(609)
560-8045
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