$300K sewer connection fee may lead to law change BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer "The only purpose of this is to try to promote the revitalization of certain portions of the town." - Robert Bergen Councilman KEYPORT - A Laundromat owner charged a $300,000 water and sewer connection fee has inspired the borough to alter the law. Two weeks ago, the businessman's attorney, Bernd E. Hefele, Hopatcong, complained that his client's sewer-connection fee was excessive. Furthermore, his client's building, a former dress shop, already has an existing water connection. On Nov. 21, borough officials responded by proposing to amend the local law that determines connection fees, capping it at $13,500. However, the amended law will only apply to commercial buildings experiencing a change in use, as was the case with the Laundromat. It will not apply to new commercial structures or any kind of industrial building. The fee for a newly built residential unit will remain the same at $4,500. According to Councilman Robert Bergen, the altered law would be retroactive for the Laundromat owner. "The only purpose of this is to try to promote the revitalization of certain portions of the town," Bergen said on Monday. Although the new fee is capped at three times an equivalent dwelling unit, or EDU, the actual fee may be lower for some new businesses, Bergen said. "It may be less," Bergen said, adding the full amount of $13,500 is "only when the change in use is more intense than three residential units." The intensity of use will be determined by using a manual published by the state's department of Environmental Protection, (DEP) Bergen said. Mayor John Merla said the amended law would allow a business owner up to six months to pay the connection fee. In the meantime, a certificate of occupancy (CO) would be issued, allowing the property owner to operate the business. Other local businesses have also fallen prey to high water and sewer connection fees lately, including a restaurant on West Front Street which was charged $89,000. According to Bergen, the proposed amendment would also be retroactive for this establishment. A public hearing regarding the proposal will be held on Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. at borough hall.