Boro looks to create historical committee
Attorney to draft ordinance creating advisory board
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

MILLTOWN - The borough is moving closer to having an entity that will look out for historic preservation.

At a Borough Council agenda meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Gloria Bradford and council members discussed the viability of creating a historic preservation advisory committee, which would make recommendations to the council.

"I think the council is inclined to walk before they can run," Bradford said, referring to the debate over creating a committee rather than a commission, which would have more power.

Borough Attorney Patrick Diegnan will draft an ordinance to create the advisory committee. The ordinance will then be sent to the Planning Board for input, according to Councilman Joseph Cruz.

A commission has certain decision-making powers under state statute, and the borough would have financial responsibilities to a commission, Councilman John Collins said. He said he would prefer a commission, which would offer greater protection to historic properties, but that he will go along with whatever it takes to move forward with some type of historic preservation entity.

Collins voiced concern that if action is not taken, the town will lose more and more historic structures, and suggested the existing historical society in town be tied in with the established entity.

"We can't bring them back now, we can just look at the pictures," Collins said of the properties that have already been demolished. "I had proposed this a couple of months ago, but they shot me down on it."

Two other Milltown buildings dating to the 1800s are currently proposed for demolition to make way for new housing and a bank branch.

While Councilman Eric Steeber said there were a number of points that he liked about a commission, he agreed with the idea for an advisory committee, saying he would be hesitant to create a commission. The zoning and planning boards should take recommendations from an advisory committee, he told the Sentinel.

The advisory committee would not have to meet regularly and make recommendations, Steeber said. He suggested that it could set guidelines that could be referred to by the boards, and reconvene when it is deemed necessary.

Citing the example of the town of Chatham, where a commission was created, Steeber pointed out that the residents there are finding out that regulations can be made by the commission regarding what they can or cannot do to their homes. He said this can become a financial issue for homeowners.

Steeber also mentioned costs that could be incurred by taxpayers as a result of creating a commission, since the group would have access to the borough attorney and engineer.

"It frightens me to think we are going to have another body in town for people to report to," Steeber said at the meeting.

Borough Environmental Commission member Alan Godber was in favor of creating a commission instead of a committee. He spoke of the large number of New Jersey municipalities that have established commissions to promote historic preservation.

"We have an environmental commission, and we have a shade tree commission. I don't think either of them have done anything the council wouldn't like," Godber said. "I just ask that we move ahead with all deliberate speediness."