The Blairstown Township Land Use Board Jan. 16 will vote on finalizing an application to certify that existing non-conforming uses of property at 147 Route 94 were in place before the township adopted its zoning ordinance.
The application by SJH Realty Associates Inc. for the property, which has long been the location of Fuel-Rite Petroleum and Ash Plumbing and Heating Co., would declare that uses of the property that do not conform with the existing HC-2 Highway Commercial Zone do not violate zoning regulations because they predate current rules.
The HC-2 zone does not permit residential dwellings and generally limits a commercial property to one primary structure. The 147 Route 94 property is the site for both Ash Plumbing and Fuel-Rite, as well as a storage building. The property also includes one residential house.
Should the application be approved on Jan. 16, it would mean the township concurs that the buildings and their uses are exempted from the current regulations because the property existed in this manner before zoning laws were adopted.
The move would also allay concerns of a potential buyer of the property that all structures and uses would not be subject to meet township rules.
Town officials said there are currently no other applications pending related to the property.
Joe Phalon
Joe was lured out of retirement by the opportunity to be a part of The Ridgeview Echo. During a decades-long career in publishing and journalism, he has covered government on many levels from local school boards to the United States Supreme Court.
Along the way, Joe has worked at American Lawyer Magazine, The National Law Journal and The Record among other publications, and as the Press Officer of Columbia Law School. His work has been recognized with several first place awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the New Jersey Press Association.
Being part of the Ridgeview Echo brings Joe back to his roots and the kind of news coverage he loves: Telling the stories of people and local communities as well as keeping an eye on how their money is spent by their government officials.
Joe lives in Blairstown with his wife Rose, the founder of Quilting for a Cause, and their two wiener dogs. He is an artist in his spare time.
