There were no voices in favor of granting the abatement. Perhaps. if all 7 Councilpersons are present Monday coming, there will be an attempt to replace the second reading on the agenda. It will only take 4 Yea votes a simple majority to do so and also pass this ordinance.
IT IE IMPORTANT THAT AS MANY OF THE PUBLIC AS POSSIBLE BE AT THE MEETING MONDAY NIGHT. Unlike the agenda setting sessions , Public law requires that the public be given the right to speak BEFORE the vote on the second reading of an Ordinance. You will be listened too and if the vote then seems to follow preconceived lines there will be two options; The cheap one, you will know where every one of your representatives sit, ti whom the owe allegiance-the public or the political world. The other option can be expensive but the public has up to 28 days after the vote to attempt to block enactment of the ordinance. For that legal help with all its cost may be needed.
Let us hope that the Mayor does not opt to confront the concerned citizens of Plainfield.
Since once it is published on the Internet unless specifically copy written it is public property I am reproducing a picture from Plainfield Today of the Monarch under construction'
I have and I don't know if anyone else has the same forebodings' In this picture and from memory with the exception of a steel frame all the joists,beams , partitions , uprights etc are of wood as is the outer shell.In my mind there may be a potential for a great fire disaster in this building. I would be comforted if I knew what are the State and Plainfield's standards for fire prevention i n he construction of multistory residential units. Besides sprinklers and how many are there walls between units and floors? Or is there no requirement for the same. Is the developer obligated to provide fire safety information in the sales contracts? What rating will the insurance companies give on the units. That may also be a factor in the saleability of the condos.
Have all the provisions i n the construction mentioned in the sale agreement between Dornoch and UCIA been met? (Solar Panels) .
Since the Developer of Record per sales agreement was Dornoch is the new entity be it P&F Management , Or as in the Ordinance P&L Management bound by the terms of the original sales contract? Is there a legal agreement in place transferring ownership from Dornoch to one of the shell companies? That would have to have been with UCIA. If so was the city of Plainfield as a an interested third party so notified.
I am sure that all of the above was done in a legal fashion and the Council was made aware of any changes in ownership or construction obligations. However as far as the public is concerned everything was sub rosa. Since our money is involved we need to know.
It has often been mentioned by developers that wood can be used for up to four floors. After that, steel is necessary for support.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to check would be whether any space under the roof is blocked off in such a way that fire could not spread easily among the 21 top-floor condos. This has happened in townhouse developments in Central Jersey.
The town house disasters in Edison , Piscataway And I believe there were mujltiple units in Franklin Township and Bound Brook in the past decade is what bothers me. Sre rthere fire stops between floors? between individual units? if not there could be a loss of 63 residencies plus the Senior Center as a result of one fire.
ReplyDeleteThe com munity has a responsibility for the safety of its residents and should not ignore that for the economic benefit of a developer.
I should add that beauty is only skin deep and in the case of houses and other buildings the skin is the outside covering be it vinyl or stucco or brick/stone facing. None of which prevents the spread oif fire.
ReplyDeletePlainfield must revisit its building/ fire codes.
Despite my natural cynicism for all things involving the Plainfield government, I can't image that they are not being built, and inspected, according to code. Let's leave the discussion of building codes to those who actually know what they are talking about.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little creepy that the comments are Bernice talking to Doc and vice versa.
ReplyDelete3:12 PM I don't find it creepy or even collusion if I or another blogger makes a comment on another's blog. Nor do I find anything wrong with a explanatory reply via the comments.
ReplyDeleteI do have a true concern about peoples lives and safety. And I suspect that you and 3:09 PM also share those concerns. The problem arises when the public is ignorant and ignores what should be common knowledge. Building codes were designed to protect the people, if they fail to do so we should be aware and demand that they be brought up to snuff. I hope you don't find this creepy but without using this medium I would have to wite another post.
"Creepy" was a lazy word that I used to express a half formed idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat I should have said was that it's a disheartening atmosphere when the the only commentators to a post are two of the town's three main bloggers, with no evidence of involvement by the bulk of the readership. It's like a ghost town, hence "creepy".
I apologize for any offense.
5:53 No apology needed. Your intent is true, however without any comments we are aware that thew readership is so wide spread that we can hope it has an impact on those that should take heed.
ReplyDeleteI might add that our ego likes to have comments to post. Thank you.
First and foremost, go look at the building. If it is being built to code, and I am sure that it is. Yes, even here in Plfd... They have the state and national codes to follow in this case since it is new construction from the ground up, not just a renovation. The building must have sprinklers in it. If anyone has seen them work in a fire, and I have, they are most effective if the fire is in the unit or common area. You end up with more water damage than you do fire and smoke. The wood on the outside (the sheathing) is there for structural support. It helps prevent racking (side to side shift) and provides a surface to attach the exterior finishes (siding, stucco, stone, etc). The fires mentioned in your post are what help to revise the codes. You learn more each time a fire happens. The old homes in Plfd with the balloon framing are fire disasters waiting to happen. No sprinklers and just the plaster to help offer temporary protection. Even in new construction, mistakes can happen. traditions in So. Plfd had the last bldg open and people were moving in. It burned to the ground because the fire spread through the attic. There are no sprinklers in the attics because they freeze. Apparently there were no fire stops between the units in the attic and it just spread while you were watching it go. So even though it is Plfd, I trust and hope that P&F did it right. Go look at the models. Look up and see if you see the sprinkler heads. Look in the hallways and the parking area too.
ReplyDelete