Cherry Hill became the latest municipality to support the proposed “Green Amendment” to the state’s constitution.
“Council and I are also pleased to support the proposed green amendment to the New Jersey constitution, which will provide our residents additional constitutional rights to clean water, air and a healthy environment,” Mayor David Fleisher said during a council meeting on Aug. 19.
This support on the municipal level will encourage the state legislature to take action on the pending legislation regarding the amendment, which will then put the proposed amendment on the ballot to be decided by New Jersey voters.
In response to the news, several members of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, as well as other local and statewide organizations focused on ecological health like the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, came out to express their gratitude for the support.
“Thank you for passing resolutions for the green amendment,” said Steven Elliot, who works as water use specialist for Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. “It’s an important step, and you’re taking on a leadership role. It’s really about starting a conversation and placing the values of pure air, clean water and healthy environments at the same level as our right of free speech.”
Councilwoman Sangeeta Doshi commented on her own appreciation for the township’s support of the proposed green amendment.
“It’s about clean energy and clean air, and I think everybody wants clean air for their children and families,” she said.
In other news, the council made a move to approve on first reading a township zoning ordinance to establish a new residential inclusionary mixed use overlay zone.
This would allow for an amendment to the existing zoning ordinance to create a new zone at 2100 to 2110 Route 38, which will allow for mixed use development including a minimum of 20% affordable housing units to meet the township’s obligations.
Another decision from the meeting involved an ordinance amendment that will modify fees associated with certain required documents, as well as amending certain licensing provisions associated with massage parlors and other massage providers.
During the public comment period, township resident Susan Wolf raised concerns about zoning violations in her neighborhood, alleging that some of the houses in her area were being rented out as multiple apartments despite being zoned as single family residences.
“People are buying them to rent them out … One became an Airbnb, which I didn’t even know was allowed, and then they changed to the apartments, four apartments within one house … I’m really concerned … it seems to me like it’s happening more and more,” she said.
Wolf also raised concerns about the use of pesticides around the community, specifically around the health and environmental impacts associated with the sprays, as well as speeding in the area.
Fleisher thanked Wolf for bringing her concerns to the council, promising to look into them and giving reassurances that the police would address the issue of speeding and that the zoning violations would be investigated through the proper channels.
Remote callers during the meeting expressed concern over the removal of trees in the township and asking about when they would be replaced, thanked the council for holding the National Night Out at Cherry Hill High School East and called in to relay their gratitude for the public works department’s removal of overgrown foliage.
The next township council meeting will be held on Sept. 8 in the N. John Amato Council Chambers and via Zoom.
