By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE – Municipal officials have placed restrictions on house parties that could attract a multitude of guests to any single residence in Millstone Township.
On Oct. 19, the Township Committee voted 5-0 to adopt an ordinance that requires a special permit to be acquired from the municipality for certain private and public parties.
According to the ordinance, any individual who or entity that wishes to host a private or public party that will be attended by more than 150 people, including the residents of a home, employees, agents, entertainers, DJs, caterers and servers, must obtain a special permit from the township.
Officials said having more than 150 attendees at an event is the point at which the vehicles of party guests can create problems in the area surrounding the location of the event.
No permit will be issued for any site that has outstanding enforcement actions for ordinance violations or building code and subcode violations, according to the ordinance.
The committee also adopted an ordinance that gives the township’s emergency management coordinator, Monmouth County’s emergency management coordinator and the township administrator the power to be involved in emergency parking prohibitions.
According to that ordinance, parking is prohibited on streets and sections of streets where temporary emergency notification signs have been posted after an emergency is declared by one of the three referenced officials or the New Jersey State Police and a resolution is passed by the Township Committee.
Previously, only the state police had the power to declare an emergency parking prohibition.
Two large house parties prompted complaints from residents during the summer.
At the July 20 meeting of the governing body, officials said two parties that were believed to have attracted dozens, if not hundreds, of guests each occurred on July 17: one at a home on Clarksburg Road, near Cottrell Drive and Mountain View Court, and one at a home on Beechwood Lane, off Disbrow Hill Road.
A large party at the Beechwood Lane home also occurred on July 16, according to officials.
Residents expressed their objections to those parties during the July 20 meeting. They discussed issues including guests’ vehicles clogging streets, littering, noise, the guests’ attire, public urination and the general behavior of the guests.
A large house party at the same Clarksburg Road home occurred in June 2014 and resulted in the arrest of a resident of the home and a resident of Burlington City. Those individuals were charged with the unlicensed sale of alcoholic beverages. In municipal court, the Burlington City man pleaded guilty and was fined $2,158, while the summons issued to the resident of the home was dismissed.
At the Oct. 19 meeting, Township Attorney Robert Munoz said the July 17 party at the Clarksburg Road home will be the subject of a contempt hearing in November and he said a complaint has been filed against the Beechwood Lane party.
According to Munoz, there is evidence to suggest the two parties are linked.
“Through information we have received, both from the state police (and from what) we developed through our own investigation, and also through the response to our request to the judge, we think we have developed a link between the two (parties),” he said.
According to another township ordinance already in place, the charging of any fee or contribution for the use of a private swimming pool and its adjacent areas is prohibited in Millstone.
