Council passes ordinance requiring new property inspections

At its monthly work/agenda meeting Monday, October 2, 2023, the Borough Council voted final passage to two ordinances affecting certain property owners in the Borough.

One amends Chapter 12 of the Borough Code to mandate new safety & maintenance inspections for homes, businesses or apartments being sold, rented or leased to ensure that incoming homeowners and tenants aren’t left with illegal repairs, additions or alterations that could affect their safety. The inspections will include a requirement for smoke detectors and a state-mandated visual inspection for lead paint. Residential or retail owners selling their properties or landlords whose tenants are moving out will be able to fill out an online form, pay the appropriate fee and arrange a date for the Borough inspector to visit the property. The inspector will be guided by current New Jersey standards for building maintenance. The end-product of the inspection would be a Certificate of Approval for Continued Occupancy (CACO) which will be required for the property sale or tenant change to go through. Details and a start date are still being worked out. Note that this inspection does not replace a private home inspection contracted by a prospective buyer as a condition of purchase.

The other ordinance rewrites Chapter 257 of the Borough Code on flood control to clarify the role of the Borough Engineer as Flood Plain Administrator. It gives him the authority to order remediation measures to prevent flood damage to certain areas of town that are vulnerable to severe flooding during particularly heavy rainstorms. It also updates standards for new construction to build two feet above the flood plain instead of one foot. The ordinance cites existing flood maps, created by the federal government in 2006, to identify which parts of Fanwood are in flood plains. Residents may go to https://link.edgepilot.com/s/eded3106/4CMuB7iQrUSMER9vAipRIQ?u=https://www.floodprice.com/fema-flood-zone-map , type in their address and instantly find out if their property is in a flood zone.

Details of both ordinances including the inspection application and flood maps will appear on fanwoodnj.org shortly.

In other business, Mayor Colleen Mahr presented a proclamation designating October 13^th as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day to Lauren O’Brien, local ambassador to the New Jersey Chapter of METAvivor, a national campaign seeking to bring awareness of MBC. Borough Hall will be lit with the colors of the MBC campaign the evening of October 13^th. Metastatic breast cancer is cancer that spreads to other parts of the body with devastating results. One hundred-15 people die every day of MBC. O’Brien told the Council that 100% of all donations go towards research grants that directly benefit cancer patients and extend lives.