September 2007

On Monday, August 27, 2007 a momentous occasion occurred at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Dumont Planning Board. After years of conversation, debate, and research, the Planning Board finally adopted its Master Plan Reexamination Report – an extremely important first step in protecting Dumont. I commend the members of the Planning Board and the Mayor’s Master Plan Advisory Committee, as well as the professionals who assisted in this matter, for their tenacity, resiliency, and ultimately, their dedication to the Borough of Dumont.

The Master Plan Reexamination Report will advance to the Mayor and Council where it will be discussed, further debated, and eventually enacted. However, I must stress that though we have taken a step in the right direction we must remain committed to ensuring that we as community are protected from developers. We can do that by active participation in the Planning and Zoning Board of Adjustment process and by constantly reviewing and updating the ordinances that set forth the structural character of Dumont. Over the last two years, I have attempted to reinvigorate this process. I commend all of those who serve to protect and facilitate, particularly the members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, who under the leadership of former Chairman Jim McGloin endured hour upon hour of hearings related to proposed cell phone towers.

This is not a perfect process and it is often cumbersome and bureaucratic however incremental change is better then no change. We will never be able to stop development however we can control and be smart about it. Dumont as a community must remain steadfast and ever aware of changes in the housing market and the needs of the construction industry and cannot afford to fail to update its ordinances and codes to meet those market conditions.

Mayor Matthew P. McHale

MESSAGE ARCHIVE

August 2007 January 2007