The following article was written by Randy Bergmann, a former editor at the Asbury Park Press and now independent journalist, originally published on his Facebook Page and republished with permission. Randy Bergmann has no affiliation to Shore News Network.
JACKSON, NJ – It’s no secret that Jackson Mayor Michael Reina cares far more for his developer friends, particularly Vito Cardinale, developer of Adventure Crossing, than for the residents who elected him and those who had the good sense not to.
The latest example is the decision to utilize a loophole in the township noise ordinance that allows construction work on commercial projects to proceed 24/7 as long as it doesn’t violate the maximum decibel levels under the ordinance.
When a resident complained at the last Township Council meeting about work on the Adventure Crossing site beginning earlier than permitted under the ordinance – 7 a.m. unless there are exemptions — Township Attorney Greg McGuckin was asked to provide clarification of the law. Initially, he said he wasn’t certain about the specifics (and didn’t offer to look it up). Later, when pressed, he said contractors on commercial properties could work on the site at any time if they didn’t exceed the allowable decibel levels.
That came as news to me – stunning news. And it apparently came as news to Mayor Reina as well. Until last week, contractors often showed up early, around 6 a.m., but since then they have begun cranking up the machinery at 3 and 4 in the morning. Apparently, Reina gave them the green light to interrupt people’s sleep in the adjacent residential neighborhoods.
Were the construction workers exceeding the allowable decibel levels? Hard to say. The township’s code enforcement official told a resident that the town doesn’t have a decibel meter. (You can order one on Amazon for around 20 bucks.) A police spokesman told another resident that there was no one in the township trained to measure decibel levels.
Jackson noise ordinance https://ecode360.com/15766925
Allowing work to continue at Adventure Crossing in the middle of the night is an absolute disgrace. Not only is the noise from earth-moving equipment at 3 or 4 a.m. a problem, the vibrations from it send tremors throughout people’s homes and the portable lights arrayed at various points on the site are bright enough to light Yankee Stadium. Try to imagine Reina or Cardinale allowing that in their backyards.
Reina should immediately instruct Cardinale to stop construction work at the site before 7 a.m. Then, the Township Council at its next meeting (Tuesday, March 8th) should take steps to amend the ordinance to prohibit construction work anywhere within close proximity to residential neighborhoods before 7 a.m., regardless of decibel levels.
If the noise ordinance exemption is allowed to stand, it will set a dangerous quality-of-life precedent for every other approved or proposed development with a commercial or multi-use component – many of which abut residential neighborhoods. That should give township residents plenty of incentive to turn out at the March 8 meeting to protest this disgraceful ordinance.
If you can’t make the meeting but want to express your disgust, call Reina at 732-928-1256 or his hotline number at 732-928-1200, ext. 1376, and/or Township Administrator Terence Wall at 908-461-3400 (That’s his cell; good luck trying to get a callback from him at work.)