New Ordinances Clear Path For New Businesses

New ordinances approved by the Westwood Council Tuesday create new permitted uses needed for businesses planning to open in the borough.

The "individualized instructional sports training facility" use was added to the Light Manufacturing District off Old Hook Road and the Limited Business District on Kinderkamack Road near Emerson. Just Hits, a business owned by former Major Leaguer Mike Just, will offer baseball and softball training. Just said he hopes to open his new location in early November.

A new use for "personal care services such as hair and beauty salons" in the same Limited Business District also means that the developer applying to build a new strip mall on the site of the defunct Chevy dealership on Kinderkamack Road will need to ask the Westwood Zoning Board for one fewer variance. The developer previously said he has plans for a hair salon and a 7-Eleven for the site, if approved.

HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley will be allowed to put up temporary signs for 120 days, thanks to another new ordinance. Signs larger than 32 square feet will have to be attached to the building, under the law.

Some existing local features are also now allowed under new ordinances. Window paintings, like the ones at Sugarflake Bakery, are now legal, with certain restrictions. The paintings are allowed four times each year for a maximum of 45 days each. Paintings will need to be removed within seven days of the holiday. No more than 50 percent of the window can be covered.

The ordinances were recommended by the Westwood Planning Board, which completed a review of the borough's Master Plan last year. Master plans are used to determine what kinds of uses are permitted in different areas of towns.

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