John’s Notes: The Rest of the June 30 Berkeley Heights Summer Monstrosity

The two most prominent items on this agenda- Recreation Commission Dissolution and Terrace II re-development are covered in other articles – the shock and awe summer agenda has a lot more to unpack.

Most of the resolutions are listed on the consent agenda as usual, which means they can be approved in one shot with little to no discussion and there are quite a few items that go far beyond routine housekeeping.

The Agenda begins with a conference session covering::

-Amending the Police Department Organizational Structure

-JCP&L Representative

-Amending the Tree Ordinance

-Creating a Recreation Department

Then…

Westminster/OZ Agreement

Resolution 2026-224 authorizes a developer agreement with OZ Custom Builders, LLC for the Westminster property and involves four detached single-family homes, a new public right-of-way with the existing Church property remaining on a separate lot.

Some context….

The Zoning Board voted 4-3 to approve the application in September 2023, but because the application required use variance relief it actually needed 5 ‘Yes’ votes. The developer filed litigation and a Whispering Woods hearing followed with the Board later approving the settlement by a 5-1-1 vote.

The agreement requires a $69,390 performance guarantee with $6,939 having to be paid in cash along with ~$75K in inspection fees.

The agreement prohibits construction vehicles and equipment from parking on existing Township streets and sets demolition and construction hours from 7am to 7pm., Monday through Saturday.

Data Center Ban

Ordinance 2026-13 would prohibit data centers in all zones within Berkeley Heights and defines data centers as facilities, or portions of facilities, primarily used for housing, operating and maintaining computer servers and associated power distribution and cooling infrastructure for storing, processing or transmitting digital data for third parties.

The definition includes co-location, cloud computing and artificial intelligence training or inference facilities. It excludes server rooms or equipment spaces that are incidental and subordinate to a primary permitted use on the same lot.

The ordinance cites environmental concerns, potable drinking water concerns and electricity-cost concerns connected to certain data center operations.

One drafting issue and evidence that this is probably another copy/paste should be cleaned up – the ordinance uses the phrase “Township Committee,” even though Berkeley Heights uses Mayor and Council language everywhere else.

Police Radio at ~ $92K

Resolution 2026-235 authorizes the purchase of vehicle-mounted radios (with accessories) through the State Cooperative Purchasing Contract for ~$14K.

Resolution 2026-243 amends a prior authorization for portable radios (with accessories) from ~$77K to ~$78K.

PBA Academy-Rate Sidebar

Resolution 2026-239 approves a sidebar agreement with PBA Local 144 setting a police recruit academy rate at $40K per year for recruits hired by the Town and sent to the police academy for PTC certification.

The sidebar says recruits will not receive holiday pay while in the academy and will be paid every two weeks during academy training. After graduation and full PTC certification, the recruit moves to the probationary step of the salary schedule.

An obvious question involves how many recruits the Town expects to send to the academy and how this would affect police hiring.

Littell-Lord Farmhouse

Shows up in two spots

Resolution 2026-234 rejects the bid for Phase II Exterior Restoration and Structural Stabilization at the Littell-Lord Farmhouse because it exceeds the available appropriation.

The backup resolution identifies two bids:

Paragon Restoration: $812,120

Spartan Construction: $1,076,000

The Township is rejecting the lowest responsive bid from Paragon because it exceeds the appropriation.

That means the project appears to be underfunded given what it got back on the bids.

The agenda line, however, says “NJAW,” while the backup resolution identifies Paragon Restoration and Spartan Construction.

Littell-Lord Architect Contract

Resolution 2026-241 awards a professional services contract for bidding and contract administration services for the exterior and interior restoration and rehabilitation of the Littell-Lord Farmhouse with an NTE of ~$44K.

The contract is awarded through a non-fair and open process, with professional services exempt from public bidding.

So…what is the full project budget? How much grant funding is available? How much local funding is needed? Are grant deadlines or matches at risk because the construction bid came in too high?

Flood Mitigation Bid

Resolution 2026-237 authorizes the Clerk to go out to bid for flood mitigation construction work as the Town received a grant through the state to replace headwalls and install valves at outfalls along Riverbend Road to help reduce flooding.

This is a meaningful infrastructure item for residents affected by flooding.

Community Energy Plan

Resolution 2026-238 adopts the Township’s Community Energy Plan as part of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Community Energy Plan Grant Program.

The resolution ties the plan to New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan goal of 100% clean energy by 2050.

Residents should ask what specific actions, costs, timelines and policy changes follow if this gets approved.

Animal Control Contract

Resolution 2026-242 authorizes an agreement with Animal Control Solutions, LLC for animal control services from July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 with an NTE of ~$11,500, ($1,926/ month), from the Animal Control Trust.

However, the contract includes potential additional costs for kenneling, veterinary care, dangerous dog holds, animal disposal and related services and allows for a 10% late fee, compounding monthly, if payment isn’t received within 45 days of the invoice date.

The contractor may suspend services if payment is not received within 45 days after written notice, while monthly payments continue to accrue.

So the base amount may not represent the full cost, as it could rise depending on impoundments, holds, veterinary needs and disposition fees.

Capital Ordinance for DPW, Equipment and Sewer Truck

Ordinance 2026-12 is up for public hearing and final adoption and appropriates $145K from Capital Fund Balance and covers…

$60K for DPW and Township grounds repairs and improvements, including the Municipal Complex, Rescue Squad building, DPW building, Wastewater Treatment Plant and public paths

$25K for parts and major repairs to heavy equipment

$60K for sewer acquisition of a pickup truck with plows

Road Capital Ordinance

Ordinance 2026-17 appropriates $135,000 from Capital Fund Balance for road capital improvements.

The obvious question is where this money is going and whether roads/intersections/drainage areas have already been identified.

Land-Use Clarification

Ordinance 2026-16 amends the Township’s land-use procedures relating to permitted and accessory uses.

The ordinance says permitted principal uses are permitted by right upon proper application to the Zoning Officer for a zoning permit, provided the use conforms to the applicable zone district.

Accessory uses require zoning permit approval and the Zoning Officer must determine whether the proposed accessory use is customarily associated with the principal use, appropriate in size, intensity and scale and not contrary to the intent of the zone.

The ordinance also says accessory buildings or structures in the front yard are prohibited, excluding fences and walls and swimming pools associated with hotel and/or fitness center uses in the OR-B Zone.

This sounds technical, but it could matter in future zoning disputes because it gives the Zoning Officer interpretive authority over accessory uses.

Washington Street and Berkeley Ave Stop Signs

Ordinance 2026-14 amends the Township traffic code to reflect stop signs at Washington Street and Berkeley Avenue with a stop sign on all three approaches.

Budget Insertions and Grants

As we indicated in our coverage of the last NP meeting insertions happen when the town gets revenue after budget adoption.

Here the money is coming from Alcohol Education, Rehabilitation and Enforcement Fund Grant money, CDBG funding for the Berkeley Heights Senior Citizen Public Services Program, a 2026 Sustainable Jersey Grant and two New Jersey Historic Trust Grant insertions.

The two Historic Trust Grant insertions are ~$384K and $228K, totaling $612,314.

Those funds appear especially relevant when you consider the Littell-Lord agenda items.

Capital Balance Cancellation

Resolution 2026-236 cancels $132,713.55 in funded unexpended improvement authorization balances from Ordinance 09-2020, Various Capital Improvements.

The resolution says the projects are complete and the funds are no longer needed.

Residents may want to ask where that money is going.

So even if we take the Rec Department and Terrace II items off the top, the agenda is still a monstrosity of ‘the summer is here, people aren’t paying attention, let’s boilerplate and cram it all in now before campaigning starts so they forget before they vote’ governing.

There’s land use, historic preservation, police equipment, police recruit pay, flood mitigation, capital spending, animal control, energy planning, traffic control and developer obligations.

Source Document

Also Read:

The Fine Print: How the ‘Terrace II’ Contract Sets Up a School-Exempt PILOT (Berkeley Heights)

With Little Warning, Berkeley Heights Council Moves to Dissolve Volunteer Recreation