Montclair Council OKs Changes To Minimum Lot Depths For Subdivisions

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The Montclair Town Council voted to pass an ordinance that makes changes to minimum lot depths for subdivisions during their latest public meeting.

The ordinance, O-23-08, was passed on second reading during Wednesday’s council meeting (read it below). It aims to address concerns that “recent subdivisions in established neighborhoods have lot depths that are inconsistent with the lot sizes in the neighborhood.”

A public hearing was held for the new ordinance during Wednesday's meeting (watch the video below).

Montclair Councilor Peter Yacobellis offered some context about the new ordinance:

“It's important to note that the changes we enacted last night only apply to new subdivisions that would require new streets. That's it. These are extremely rare. But there are two examples in recent decades that inspired me to support this change. With no offense meant for the people who live on these new streets, I think the demolition of the Marlborough Inn to create 10 homes and a new street: Christopher Court, was a mistake. These homes are very close together with tiny yards, not keeping in character with the neighborhood. The loss of that beautiful historic structure was also a tragedy.”

“Additionally, a few years ago, a lot on Pleasant Ave. was subdivided to create eight homes and a new street: Lewis Ct. which gets pointed out to me often by constituents deriding what they call unchecked development,” he added.

Yacobellis continued:

“Given the ever-increasing popularity of Montclair with rising land and home values, we must be intentional and ensure that there is a strategy and guardrails in place to make sure development doesn't go unchecked. For me, intentionality means consciously deciding to add appropriate density where it can be accommodated at Lackawanna Plaza and at the same time, preventing subdivisions from being shoehorned into larger lots across town. The conversation will continue with the necessary evolution of the Township Master Plan in the years ahead. In the interim, and given that our real estate market remains hot; I fully support the Council continuing to exercise our fundamental land use power.”

• See Related: Subdivisions, Lot Depths Discussed At Montclair Planning Board Meeting

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