The Manville Land Use Board held its monthly meeting on May 7th, and with no applications or formal action items on the agenda, the session was brief.

The Board first approved the minutes from its April 9th regular meeting. A separate vote was taken on the minutes from the April 23rd special meeting, with all members present voting yes except Matthew Brown, Brandon Agans, and Ron Skirkanish, who abstained.

Chairman Jim Powers then turned the discussion over to Dayna Camacho and Land Use Attorney Matthew Flynn for a review of proposed changes to the Borough's Use and Occupancy of Space standards.

Attorney Flynn focused on one key issue: while municipalities may regulate certain aspects of new construction, such as minimum bedroom sizes, they cannot set limits on how many people may occupy a bedroom.

Attorney Flynn explained that occupancy limits are governed by state construction code, not municipal zoning. He offered a simple example: a family living in a three bedroom home cannot be told their children may not share a room.

"You can't say they can't share a bedroom," he said, noting that such restrictions are not an acceptable use of zoning authority.

He also confirmed that the rule applies equally to owner occupied and rental properties, when asked the question by Ms. Camacho.

Attorney Flynn recommended that he take the document for review and that he would "red line" comments so it can be forwarded to the Borough Council for introduction.

Once introduced, it would return to the Land Use Board. He also advised that the Borough Attorney review the draft which Ms. Camacho confirmed she would handle.

With no further comments from Board members, Chairman Powers adjourned the meeting. The entire meeting lasted less than ten minutes.