PRIORITIES

SCHOR FOR VERONA

Addressing Overdevelopment In Verona

By being proactive, our goal is to protect the community from overdevelopment over the next decade. When building outpaces existing infrastructure and services, it puts a strain on township resources and degrades local quality of life.

When Verona takes a proactive approach, we can attain our achievable goals. We need to grow our budgetary resources to sustain our wonderful community.

Increased development causes community impacts and financial strains on the following: · Severe Traffic and Congestion · Overcrowded Schools & Budget Cuts within our School District · Aging Infrastructure including our Roads, Recreational Fields, Community Pool and Public Buildings · Burden on our Stormwater Systems & Sewers · Reduction & Strain on Emergency Services & Response Times for the Community Including our Fire Department and Rescue Squad · Water Utility Maintenance While Ensuring Affordable Usage Fees · Potential Parking Issues for Residents and Small Businesses · Loss of Town Identity: Historic or Charming Places Replaced with Out-of-scale Buildings · Negatively Impacts Green Spaces Along with Public Walking Spaces · Increased Flooding Threat from Stormwater Due to Reduced Tree Census and More Impervious Coverage

What can we proactively do to slow down over development in Verona and stem economic strains on our community and infrastructure? As your Councilman, I am committed to a proactive approach: · Preserve Undeveloped Space through Purchases with our Open Space Trust Fund · Encourage Negotiations with Developers to Reduce Both Unit and Bedroom Counts in Developments · Continue to Support New Recreational or Community Service Program Fees on a Sliding Scale to Provide Additional Revenue, Program Affordability, While Reducing the Need for Taxpayer Dollars · Establish a Task Force Within the Township Council or Administration to Review all Costs / Increase Revenues for all Departments for the 2027 Budget Cycle · Maintain High Standards for Stormwater Management that Reduce Impervious Coverage and Building Size · Reduce the Potential Scope of New Development by Proactively Planning Now for the 2035 State-mandated Affordable Housing Round · Identify Potential Developable Sites Along with Making Open Space Purchases to Remove Properties From our Vacant Land Inventory, Inevitably Reducing our Affordable Housing Obligation · Maintain the Current Lot Coverage Allowances in our 6 Single Family Home Zones Without Further Expansion · Finalize Revisions of our Zoning Code to Allow Only Smart Development that Meets Community Needs - Including Targeting Development for Peripheral Commercial Zones which Reduces Impact on Traffic and Parking · Empower the Planning and Zoning Boards to Reject Potentially Problematic Developments · Continuing Verona’s Prohibition on Accessory Dwelling Units that add to Neighborhood Density and Create Stormwater and Parking Problems · Increase Revenues within Verona’s Operating Budget and Encourage Administration to Potentially Secure Additional Shared Service Agreements by Working with Other Local Municipal Governments · Advocating with Members of our State Legislature to Make Changes to Statutes that will Protect Small Towns like Verona

Downtown

But, supporting our first responders and providing a secure Verona that allows all residents and guests to live safely takes more than facilities. This requires commitments to: · Invest in law enforcement technology to identify stolen cars and promote safe vehicle operation while also practicing discretion for the betterment of the community. · Create a budget that adds patrol officers in response to increasing population, traffic, and call volume. Use additional officers to create a dedicated traffic unit to address street safety. · Support police, fire, EMS, and emergency management departments in developing a long-term planning strategy that anticipates (rather than responds reactively) to community needs. · Work with the streetscape firm to enhance pedestrian safety on Bloomfield Avenue. · Promote the organizational health of our volunteer fire and emergency medical services, who not only serve the community with honor and professionalism, but also prevent millions of dollars in spending on career departments. · Continue to fund police training on de-escalation and negotiations techniques · Pursue all available grant opportunities to upgrade outdated emergency services equipment · Promote first responder wellbeing and resiliency programs to support individual members as well as the organizational health of each service · Ensure first responders have access to safe, modern, and functional apparatus that allow them to best serve the community

But unless we prevent overdevelopment, our services will remain strained. How does overdevelopment affect Fire/EMS services and response times? · More residents, businesses, and traffic naturally lead to a higher frequency of 911 calls and emergencies, stretching existing staffing, both fire and ambulance fleets beyond capacity.

Recreation

How do we promote a healthy and active Verona community? As your councilman... my vision is to: · Expand our recreational programming for all age groups, including music, the arts, alternative activities and additional support services for special needs adults and children. · Use or rent the Community Pool parking lot for events or activities throughout the year. (Drive-In Movie Nights, Car Shows, Carnivals, etc.) · Work with the County to prioritize what is best for Verona's recreational and school district programs to ensure we are given priority over nonresidential programming. · Analyze and suggest revenue generation ideas at the Community Center, Annex Building and our field facilities to enhance current or new programming within our community. · Continue to advocate and improve Verona's Playground Summer Program for all residents, while keeping it affordable. · Provide administration, support and tools to uphold the sliding scale program fee structure and help improve program quality, while also keeping activities affordable for senior and youth programs. · Review & implement the Inclusive Healthy Communities Assessment & Report along with the Verona Age-Friendly Needs Assessment Study · Continue to raise revenue, control costs, and improve the financial stability for the Verona Community Pool.

Serving Those Who Serve Verona - EMS/FIRE/VPD

I am committed to addressing the critical need for a public safety building that has been affecting our community for decades. We must:

· Finalize concept plans for modern public safety facilities that replace critically poor police, fire, and EMS infrastructure

· Construct cost-conscious public safety facilities that meet current and future (50-75 year) needs and insulate the Township from higher future construction costs.

What does a healthy downtown Verona look like? As your councilman my vision is to: · Create sufficient parking for residents and visitors. Ensure a healthy mix of retail and service providers for all our residents. · Beautify our Downtown. · Maintain our local town charm and building facades. · Ensure pedestrian safety. · Preserve historical monuments like our 9/11 Memorial. · Maintain excellent parks, activities and services for the entertainment of residents and visitors.

How do we create a business-friendly environment that attracts merchants and service providers who meet the needs of our community? As your councilman my vision is to: · Support a variety of existing and new local businesses with incentives when applicable. · Work closely with the Verona Chamber of Commerce to identify creative retail and business opportunities. · Actively listen to diverse resident feedback and engage with residents to determine what our community needs. · Support the Bloomfield Avenue Streetscape Project. · Continue to update our Zoning Code to attract new businesses to Verona and make it easier for Small Businesses to thrive as township partners. · Ensure quality First Responder coverage. · Actively engage in business development using industry contacts in food service and supermarket space. · Recommend structure changes within Town Administration to support business development while maintaining a net-neutral budget. · Reduce the amount of traffic congestion and invest in traffic safety equipment to make it easier for pedestrians while shopping. · Encourage & engage in more public art that reflects the local identity of our Downtown community. · Negotiate to lessen the number of residential units and bedroom counts being built by developers. · Encourage and pass more parking permits at the Lakeside lot until a final decision on Emergency Services Building can be determined.