Town passes peace and order measures Fireworks permits, anti-littering among newly tweaked laws BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer HOLMDEL - - It's officially illegal to go to the bathroom in Holmdel where people can see you. That law was among several "Peace and Good Order" ordinances passed by the township last week. Littering and the unregulated use of fireworks were also on the agenda for new ordinances. On Sept. 6, members of the Township Committee voted unanimously to amend the existing Peace and Good Order ordinance to more clearly define the meaning of public urination and defecation. The change will now allow township police officers to issue violations to those who perform such acts within plain sight, or a "location where the prohibited conduct may reasonably be expected to be viewed or could be viewed by others," according to the ordinance. Previously, township police issued tickets for disorderly conduct, said Township Attorney Duane Davison. The attorney added that only the state police could write a ticket for the specific act of public urination and/or defecation. So why does any of this matter? "The charm of the ordinance is the town gets all the money," Davison explained, noting state issued tickets would be paid to the state, not to Holmdel. Only one resident spoke during the public hearing on the matter, also held Sept. 6. Jenni Blumenthal inquired about the reason behind the ordinance, jokingly commenting that the issue was akin to a type of littering. "It's the ultimate littering, I guess," Davison said. "As far as I know, this was a big problem at the Arts Centers," Blumenthal said. The resident inquired if the law would apply to the PNC Arts Center. Mayor Serena DiMaso responded that although the Arts Center is located on state land, the ordinance would also apply there. "Good idea," Blumenthal said. She added, "We need some money from those folks." Former Planning Board Chairman Ralph Blumenthal spoke up during the pubic hearing regarding the amended anti-littering ordinance. Mr. Blumenthal questioned the definition of trash as defined by the ordinance. The law describes litter as "any unused or unconsumed substance or waste material which has been discarded whether made of aluminum, glass, plastic, rubber, combination thereof, including but not limited to any bottle, jar or can, any can top, cap or detachable tab of any bottle jar or can, any unlighted cigarette, cigar, match or any flaming or glowing material or any garbage trash refuse, debris rubbish, grass clippings or other lawn or garden waste, newspapers, magazines, glass metal, plastic, or paper containers or other packaging or construction material." The law does not apply to waste from mining, logging, sawmilling, farming or manufacturing, "An unlighted cigarette," Blumenthal said. "Why does it have to be only unlit? What I see far more often is people chucking still-lit cigarettes out." The mayor responded that the new law would apply to both lit and unlit cigarettes. In addition, Davison explained the law would now make it illegal to dispose large amounts of trash in trash bins unless one owns or rents the bin. This has been an ongoing problem in the township, Davison said. Also included in the ordinance is a new clause that disallows dumping in any pond, lake, stream or other body of water. As for changing the ordinance that outlaws fireworks, this idea came about because of the township's upcoming 150th anniversary, Davison explained. Currently, the law only allows the township to display fireworks on July 4th of each year. The new ordinance changes this rule, fireworks permits to be issued any day of the year. "I'm just wondering why we would amend an ordinance to a permit process for a one-time event," Committeeman Larry Fink said. Davison replied that, "someone emailed me and said, can we do a resolution? We can do a resolution but a resolution does not override an ordinance." He added, "What are the chances someone's going to come out on the day of the 150th anniversary and say you can't do fireworks?" The committee discussed the idea then decided to tweak the language of the law to allow only township-sponsored events the privilege of applying for a fireworks display permit.