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FIRST REPORT: MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP TO WELCOME "HOUSE SHULS" WITH OPEN ARMS


Manchester's Township Council is poised tonight to introduce an Ordinance which will clarify that the road is paved for "house shuls" without any requirements for zoning permits, FAA News has learned.




The Council is set to introduce Ordinance 23-08 which will clean up and redesign a number of the Township's zoning ordinances to make them more reader friendly.


Tucked deeply away in this Ordinance is a section which will also pave the way for house shuls and clarify that no zoning permits are required for house shuls.


Currently, a change of use (such as from a residential use to a non-residential use) requires a zoning permit.


The new Ordinance will amend the current definition of "religious and charitable institutions," and create a new definition of "place of assembly."


The existing definition of "institutions, fraternal, benevolent, religious and/or charitable" states:


Organizations and associations and their buildings which are not operated for profit and which meet for social purposes or some other common interest for pleasure such as assemblage for religious worship and instruction, pursuit of literature, science or politics, brotherhoods, orders and/or societies which promulgate good fellowship and acts of kindness and which perform a social service in providing care and living accommodations for their own members or special groups in society, such as homes for the aged and orphanages.


The new Ordinance will amend this definition to say:


Organizations and associations and their buildings which are not operated for profit and which perform a social service in providing care and living accommodations for their own members or special groups in society, such as homes for the aged and orphanages.


The new definition of Place of Assembly will be as follows:


Any building devoted to the gathering together of persons for a common reason, such as legislative, religious, civic, educational, recreational, or social purposes and that is used as the regular site for traditional services, meetings and/or gatherings of an organized body or community... Exempted are incidental, temporary, or sporadic meetings attended by a small number of persons such that the character of the zone district in which it is located is not compromised for occupants of properties in that area.


This new Ordinance codifies that holding small, sporadic prayer gatherings in homes does not constitute a "change of use," and therefore no zoning permit would be required for such a shul.


Manchester's zoning ordinances require 1 parking space per 4 seats in a Place of Assembly. Likewise, "house shuls" would specifically be exempt from this requirement.


Tonight is the introduction of the Ordinance. A public hearing and final reading of the Ordinance is scheduled for May 8, after the Planning Board has a chance to review the proposed ordinance.


The Township Council meeting will take place at Town Hall, 1 Colonial Drive, begining at 6pm.


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2 comments:

Getzel Kleinman said...

Unlike Jackson's ordinance, this ordinance will actually serve only its intended purpose of providing local shuls and nothing else.

In Manchester, there won't be any need to declare the house shul to be a shul, because there won't be any requirement for any permits. This ordinance will therefore serve to safely provide local shuls.

In contrast, Jackson's shul ordinance, while designed to provide local shuls, will lead to residential houses turning into property tax exemptions as the house shuls there will require Planning Board approval and once that's obtained, property tax exemptions will follow.

Anonymous said...

Or using it by developers to get better zoning