RYAN NAMED PLANNING BOARD CHAIR; DUMPSTER ISSUE DELAYED AGAIN

Former Mayor Jerry Ryan was appointed chair of the Maplewood Planning Board on Tuesday night at the board's annual reorganization meeting. He replaces Tom Carlson, who served as chair for the past eight years.

Ryan, who left the Township Committee last year after losing a re-election bid, has served on the board for more than 20 years and in a previous stint as chair.

"Thank you for this opportunity," he told the board after the unanimous approval.

In other issues, the board again delayed approval of a request by JMF Properties for a multi-dumpster structure to be placed in the parking lot next to the former Maplewood Village post office project. 

The board had spent the past two meetings reviewing the request from JMF Properties, which is building the three-story, 20-apartment, five-shop structure on the site. It will include a 120-seat restaurant to be run by Maplewood residents Tom and Jennifer Carlin who operate a similar eatery in Gladstone.

See more background HERE.

The board said JMF had asked for a month's delay just hours before Tuesday's meeting. Mayor Vic Deluca said there were "ongoing discussions" about possible changes to the request. 

See a clip from the meeting below:


 
The next board meeting is set for Feb. 14.