Politics & Government

24-Hour Business Ban Considered in Glen Rock

Ordinance introduced for consideration last week would prohibit new businesses from operating between midnight and 5 a.m.

The Glen Rock Council is considering legislation that would set limits on the hours of borough businesses, prohibiting 24-hour establishments from opening in town.

Under the ordinance, formally introduced by the council last Wednesday, businesses in the borough would not be allowed to operate between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.

Businesses already open into the early morning hours would be grandfathered under the ordinance, Glen Rock Mayor John van Keruen said.

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“It’s more of a looking forward kind of thing…just to be sure that 24-hour businesses can’t come in,” he said.

Van Keuren said officials have heard concerns about a potential 24-hour Walgreens opening at the location of the Herold’s Farm property on Prospect Street, which the zoning board will soon consider rezoning to an entirely commercial use. But the specific development proposal was not the impetus for the council’s consideration of the new ordinance, he told Patch.

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“It just doesn’t seem to be in keeping with the way Glen Rock proceeded in the past, and we think there ought to be a time when everything shuts down,” he said, referring to all-night commercial operations generally. “And there appeared to be no provision to accomplish that in our current ordinances.”

A public hearing and final vote on the ordinance is scheduled for the council’s next public meeting Wednesday, Jan. 29.


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