EDITOR
I read your Sept. 29 article concerning “stacking’’ in
Bernardsville with great interest. I have been trying to
get this problem addressed for years.
Maureen Sciaretta’s assertions are correct. This town
has very little desire to address this situation. This town
has not deemed it necessary to hire the needed manpower to
correct this problem.
We have to first classify this problem in legal terms. The
state calls these living accommodations rooming houses. I
have been in contact with state officials prompting them
to send inspectors to examine targeted houses. A landlord
was fined $5,000 for noncompliance with the law. Our town
has not written one summons about this type of housing violation
in the six years I have been active in the cause.
The problem was that we had part-time zoning officers, not
a full time employee, to address this problem. Our council
than replaces two part-time officers with one fulltime officer
and expands her responsibility to Shade Tree Commission.
Here’s where the council shows its priorities, lumping
in the duties of the Shade Tree Commission with a quality
of life problem.
I have stood before the council no less them seven times,
councils as far back as Mayor Hugh Fenwick, enlightening
them to the situation. They all were appalled, shocked, concerned,
disturbed, pick a descriptive adverb, but nothing was done.
I have been to the “meet the candidates” public
forum where the question about overcrowding was directed
to our officials during the primaries. The answers ranged
from, “It’s a very difficult situation and we
have to look into it, to nothing can be done.”
Our elected officials have no desire to stop this situation.
Our council doesn’t think this is a big problem because
it is not happening in their neighborhood. Councilman Joseph
Rossi is the only one willing to hire a full-time inspector
to handle this situation and that’s what is needed.
We live on the south side of town. We are also the most
densely populated. We should use this power at the polls
to get adequate representation.
I have corresponded with all pertinent state officials and
was informed that they are willing to help stop these practices
if only our local representatives would tell them what laws
need to be amended.
What follows is a portion of a letter I received from William
Connolly, director of Division of Codes and Standards: “Furthermore,
if a municipal construction official finds a building to
be a rooming house, he can cite the owner for failure to
obtain a certificate of occupancy for a change of use and
can order the dwelling vacated if a dangerous condition exists.
A building in which rooms are rented to two or more persons
who live independently of each other is subject to Department
of Community Affairs jurisdiction under the Rooming and Boarding
House Act of 1979. Any person who owns or operates a rooming
or boarding house without being licensed by DCA to do so
is subject to a $5,000 penalty. Municipalities can assist
us in enforcing this by reporting suspected unlicensed rooming
or boarding houses to us.”
We are one of many towns with this problem. Our local officials
will have a problem controlling this mess as long as the
state overlooks contractors, landscapers, painters, house
cleaners, and yes, even at times, ourselves for dealing with
contractors that exploit the immigrant work force for profit.
The contractor is the one who benefits from the cheap labor,
not the purchaser. This problem also impacts the cost of
education locally.
Mario Mennella’s assertions that his problem concerning
over stacking was addressed inadequately by the borough is
disingenuous. He as the landlord has the right to evict his
tenants for violations. He as a landlord should have all
the occupants living in his rental units on the lease and
submit a copy to the town.
Only when a procedure like this is instituted for all landlords
can our zoning officer have the ability to pursue the stacking
problem.
I would like to suggest that the council send an invitation
to landlords who have rental properties in Bernardsville
to a town meeting. Here a meaningful exchange can be had
between neighbors. I invite Mr. Mennella to enlighten us
to the landlord’s problems at a town hall meeting with
concerned homeowners.
NEIL SCHETELICK
Mine Avenue
Bernardsville
