2968-26 Amended Ordinance - PB Signed Report.pdf

Mayor and Township Council Township of West Orange June 4, 2026 Page Two the ordinance provides the penalties and additional prohibited activities related to “pop-up” parties. The Board finds that the proposed ordinance is consistent with the Master Plan as one of the expressed objectives in the Township’s 2019 Master Plan Update states: While the goal of the Master Plan highlights mainly structural strategies for maintaining residential neighborhoods, such as the rehabilitation of dwellings, a critical component of improving and maintaining a strictly residential neighborhood involves managing the nature of activities which occur there. The Board finds that the proposed amendment is substantially consistent with the Township of West Orange’s Master Plan, as it provides for clearer enforcement of the ban on “pop-up parties,” which disrupt the general public welfare and the long-term character of the Township residential neighborhoods. Though the proposed ordinance amendment is consistent with the Master Plan, the Board has reservations as to the ordinance in terms of inconsistencies and ambiguities which may thwart the intended purpose of the ordinance. Specifically, the ordinance as written in paragraph c.2. states: Any person who rents or otherwise loans their property in the residential district of the Township.... This sentence is confusing as to there is no defined “residential district.” Is the purpose of the ordinance to prevent pop up parties in any residence (which would include multi-family buildings, mixed use buildings and residences that are non-conforming uses located in non- residential districts) or is the purpose to prevent pop-up parties anywhere in town?