Deptford council adopted one ordinance and introduced two more for later votes during its meeting on May 19.
The adopted ordinance designates houses of worship such as churches and other religious buildings as institutional districts that will be considered part of the township’s unified development ordinance.
“The ordinance was made strictly to add houses of worship into the institutional districts, which were removed by accident,” explained Township Manager Thomas Newman Jr. “This was a correction to make sure it’s listed in the institutional zoning district.”
Some areas of Deptford characterized as institutional zoning districts include Tanyard Road, where Rowan College of South Jersey’s Gloucester Campus is located; Fox Run Road, location of the township high school; and College Boulevard, home to Oak Valley Elementary School.
The ordinance vote was unanimous; only Councilman Wayne Love was absent. A public hearing was scheduled but did not draw spearkers.
The ordinances scheduled for a later vote include one to designate the intersection of Griscom Drive and Andy Snyder Boulevard as a stop sign location; the other would require a firefighter to inspect a food truck or food cart the day they go into service.
This latter expands on an existing measure that has the same purpose and is the result of food truck explosions that led to severe injuries and were linked to rupturing propane tanks. Deptford hosts an annual food truck festival every summer.
“There’s a state law now because they (the fire department) have to inspect them now since propane tanks exploded,” said Mayor Paul Medany. “That changed like two or three years ago. So now, when you pull a food truck up, you have to have a fire inspector there to make sure the propane tanks are safe.”
The council will vote on the two ordinances at its meeting on Monday at 6 p.m., after a public hearing for each measure.
