The issue of how builders maintain their sites is one of long standing. AHLOA has, in the past, taken steps to urge better enforcement and less intrusive job sites.
Recently, residents, including your Association, have again raised these matters with Borough officials. The Borough government has responded by focusing on enforcement of current laws and by promulgating new code designed to make home-building site more neighborhood friendly. For example, a new feature allows the Borough to shut down sites completely.
At the well-attended December meeting of AHLOA Trustees, a member of Borough Council discussed these changes and took many questions from the audience. Your AHLOA Board will continue to provide a public forum for airing these matters.
At present, the new ordinances are scheduled to go into effect on May 1, 2019. Go to AvalonBoro.net and scroll down to Avalon News and click on 2019 CHANGES TO AVALON CONSTRUCTION RULES.
You can help! AHLOA will provide a channel to your local officials, but we need your support. Borough resources needed for effective enforcement are limited and they cannot be aware of all situations that need attention. You can do three things:
· First, familiarize yourself with the current and upcoming laws. It takes five minutes to read these. Ordinance 782-2019 is described on the Borough website home page as noted above Existing ordinances are also found on the Borough website. Go to the Borough’s Homepage and click on Borough Code, Chapters 7 and 20.
· Second, learn how to tell officials of a possible violations. For construction matters, described in Ordinance 20, you can call, email or use the Borough online facility. To call, contact Paul Short, Code Enforcement Officer at 609-967-5922. You can also email Paul at pshort@avalonboro.org. Finally, you can use the online complaint service on the Borough website. You can file a complaint by clicking on the Code Enforcement Portal and going to the lower right-hand corner to SUBMIT A COMPLAINT. Just follow the instructions and you can receive a report on the action taken by providing your email address.
· Third, please contact us here on the AHLOA website when you notice progress and improvement through the new ordinances. Everyone enjoys a compliment. We all work harder when our constructive efforts are acknowledged. You can also provide your feedback on construction and other matters of interest in person by attending AHLOA meetings, the second Saturday every month.
AHLOA, Your Community Connection, thanks you for your help to preserve Avalon as a special place.
