Franklin discusses portable storage container permits

FRANKLIN — A letter from Franklin zoning officer Joseph Drossel to the mayor and council suggested the need for borough residents and business owners to apply for permits before bringing a Portable On-Demand Storage unit (PODS) onto their property.

The letter came as a stunner to Councilman David Fanale, who sits on the borough’s ordinance committee.

“This seems like another unnecessary opportunity to try and nickel and dime borough residents,” he said. The borough should not look to earn a profit off of a resident “just because they have a need.”

Borough Administrator Jim Kilduff said a permit fee is not intended to make a profit, but to compensate the borough for the time an employee spends in the permit process.

“If there is a fee involved, the user is paying for the administrative costs,” Mayor Paul Crowley said.

Though nothing has been written into an ordinance yet, the committee came up with a number of suggestions, such as setting a 60-day limit on the use of PODS, setting a specific location for the PODS, and setting a limit on the numbers of PODS used at once.

Councilman Joe Limon took exception to the time limit.

“Sixty days is really limited,” he said.

Another confusion the situation brought up was the reason for the ordinance. Kilduff said he believes Drossel suggested the ordinance to rectify the problem of PODS not being allowed on borough residents’ property, not to make money for the borough.

Fanale, who has been vocal in his mistrust of government in the past, begged to differ.

With the initial discussion over, the matter will go back to the ordinance committee, which will draft an ordinance to be voted on at a future meeting.