RED BANK — They all seemed like good ideas at the time.
Proposals to reduce or eliminate gas lines in case of a storm, helping diners count calories when they eat out, prohibiting drive-throughs in residential neighborhoods and encouraging people to compost their food scraps all have been made to the borough council this year.
Some of the grand ideas died shortly after they were proposed, such as the Mayor Michael Bloomberg-inspired calorie counts to be listed on restaurant menus. That was made voluntary less than a week after its proposal in February, following an outcry by restauranteurs.
The others are in in the midst of the legislative process which some compare to how sausage is made ? going through re-writing or waiting for other government agencies to weigh in on the ideas.
The gas station ordinance, which was proposed in February to avoid the types of gas lines seen throughout the shore and the state after superstorm Sandy knocked out power, would have required gas stations to have some form of back-up energy source to power gas pumps.
The borough's three existing gasoline stations and any future ones would have until January 2016 to comply. If an existing gas station seeks site plan approval to remodel, redevelop or remove tanks before January 2016, it would have to install a backup power source at the time of reconstruction.
A Shell station at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue has an application pending to build a 7-Eleven store and build new gas pumps and a canopy, which could be approved by the zoning Board of Adjustment as early as Thursday night.
Mayor Pasquale ?Pat? Menna said the borough is waiting for feedback from the state Department of Community Affairs on the proposal and on the fate of several bills in the state legislature that also would require back-up power sources at gas stations.
?We sent it to a bunch of departments for comment and we sent it to DCA to see what their thoughts are. We?re not ready to move on it,? Menna said.
If the borough council does decide the borough needs its own requirements, Menna said the January 2016 timetable would likely be pushed back for gas stations to comply.
The drive-in ordinance, which was proposed in July to protect residential neighborhoods was quickly pulled off last Wednesday?s council agenda for introduction after officials realized they?d have to notify every landowner in the borough that a vote and public hearing was being held. That amendment to borough zoning ordinances would have banned drive-throughs located less than 300 feet of a residential zone.
?The problem with amending it is we would have had to notify every single property owner in Red Bank,? Menna said. ?What we?re looking at, with our planner, would accomplish the same thing, but in a different sense.?
Replacing it could be an ordinance only permitting drive-throughs in areas that are at least a certain distance from residential zones, which would exempt the downtown business district and existing drive-ins, he said. What that distance would be has yet to be determined. A business proposing a drive-through within that distance could then apply for a variance from that standard, if the ordinance is approved, Menna said.
Another Bloomberg-inspired idea, for voluntary residential composting and collection, is also on hold waiting for more information from the borough?s Environmental Commission.
?The Environmental Commission wants to do more research on composting,? said Councilwoman Kathy Horgan.
Composting was proposed in June by Councilman Michael DuPont, who said the borough could save money in trash-tipping fees by taking food out of the waste stream through voluntary composting by residents.
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