Township Could Regulate Temporary Storage Units

Temporary storage units--including so-called portable on-demand storage containers, also known as PODS--could be regulated in Lower Saucon Township.

At township council's Sept. 5 meeting, members discussed the fact that the traditional definition of a "shed" has expanded in some instances to include the boxy units.

Council was told that some residents have obtained township shed permits only to turn around and drop PODS on their properties, while others have successfully circumvented the permitting process by claiming that their POD units aren't sheds.

“We’re seeing more and more of the PODS essentially…and they’re not regulated,” planner Judy Stern-Goldstein told council. “We’re proposing that we actually do an ordinance amendment to include things like that.”

As things stand, the only way for officials to regulate PODS is as traditional sheds, which Stern-Goldstein said would be "onerous" under the existing ordinance.

Amending the ordinance would give officials more control over units that are currently sprouting across the local landscape, solicitor Linc Treadwell said.

“It’s about defining what a shed is,” he stated.

Council members in attendance seemed receptive to that idea, although specifics for amending the current shed ordinance were not discussed.

Council members Ron Horiszny and Priscilla deLeon were absent.