Excessive vans and trucks cause concerns

By Neil Schulman

West Long Branch — Several quality of life concerns, from an excess of trucks and vans on residential streets, to bamboo intruding onto neighbor’s lawns, were discussed at the June 20 Borough Council meeting.

Councilman John Penta presented a slideshow of numerous places in the borough where commercial trucks or vans were parked on the street, or on residential properties.

One house had three large vans in the driveway in front, and another truck visible in the back. A house visible from Frank Antonides has vans that several at the meeting said were an eyesore.

The borough has received numerous complaints about properties on West Campbell Avenue. Mayor Janet Tucci said she has received calls about the vehicles on that street.

Penta said when he’s been out, “probably half a dozen neighbors approached me” to voice their unhappiness with how things look.

“I think this is affecting everybody’s ratables,” Penta said.

The borough’s ordinances about this, however, are “ambiguous,” and hard to enforce.

The borough is going to try to craft a new ordinance. Councilman Christopher Neyhart said its goal would be “trying to find something that’s not going to hurt anybody, but at the same time [prevents a property] loading up half a dozen commercial vehicles.”

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In another quality of life issue, the borough has gotten calls from a resident who complained that their neighbor’s bamboo has grown into their yard.

Borough Attorney Greg Baxter said he wasn’t sure any regulations in the borough dealt with bamboo.

“We’d almost have to have a separate ordinance just on that.”

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The borough has applied for a grant to get sidewalks on Throckmorton Avenue. While it is a side road, it is used a lot by people going to Frank Antonides, Betty McElmon and Shore Regional schools.

“I can tell you two teachers off the top of my head who have had accidents at that corner” by Shore Regional, said Councilwoman Susan Juliano.