Travelers staying in Morristown for business or pleasure soon could find themselves in accommodations a little homier than a hotel room and a lot more private than a relative’s couch.

An ordinance unanimously endorsed by the planning board on Thursday would allow property owners to offer “extended stay” guest rooms that provide lodgings for a longer period than the one-month limit currently allowed in Morristown’s hotels.

According to town Planner Phil Abramson, the ordinance is consistent with the board’s larger policy goals of supporting downtown Morristown and will encourage long-term visitors to spend money at local businesses.

The Morristown planning board meets to discuss a proposed extended stay ordinance and the JCP&L substation overhaul. Left to right: Town Planner Phil Abramson, board member Marisa Sweeney, administrative officer James Campbell, Mayor Tim Dougherty, Board Attorney John Miller, board chair Joseph Stanley, board members Joseph Kane, councilman Chris Russo, board members Martha Ballard, Frank Crippen, and Don Ginsberg. Photo by Michael Lovito

“We have a great downtown, great culture, great parks,” Abramson said. “Adding some visitors in here that need to go and use the restaurants, that need to shop in our shops, only strengthens what we already have.”

The hypothetical extended stay units differ from hotel rooms in that they may include cooking facilities, and differ from dwelling units in that they can only be leased for a maximum of 180 days.

Any building with extended stay units would have to include an equal number of dwelling units, and the total combined number of these units must equal at least 100. Half of all extended stay units in a given property must be furnished and must include one or two bedrooms. Housekeeping and laundry services must also be provided, and all extended stay units must be at least 650 square feet.

Planning board members Joe Kane and Chris Russo listen intently to town Planner Abramson answer Russo’s questions about extended stay ordinance. Photo by Michael Lovito

In response to a question posed by Chris Russo, town council liaison to the board, Abramson clarified there would not be a minimum lease length for extended stay units. But he did say it would be unlikely for these kinds of units to house residents for fewer than weeks at a time.

“They don’t have a doorman or a front desk where it’s like checking you in with your credit card,” Abramson said of the AVE extended stay communities in Florham Park and Clifton, which he visited while conducting research that informed the ordinance. “These are lease agreement-type places. So, they’re not really built for high turnover from what I’ve seen.”

In addition to boosting retail profits and attracting corporate investment, Abramson said extended stay units also could encourage companies to stop purchasing and renting condos and houses for employee use, ensuring that residential units “are there for those for whom they’re intended.”

Board member Don Ginsberg questions town Planner Phil Abramson about the extended stay ordinance. Councilman Chris Russo, and planning board members Martha Ballard and Frank Crippen look on. Photo by Michael Lovito

“What I think this might do is allow the housing market to function that much better,” Abramson said, while answering a question from board member Don Ginsberg about how the new ordinance “fit in” with existing ordinances. “A corporation will buy a condo or rent something because there’s no suitable alternative for that. This creates that alternative.”

The proposed ordinance would only apply to the Morristown Green Overlay District and Transit Overlay District. Responding to board member Frank Crippen, Abramson said he doesn’t think a large number of apartments will “flip” to extended stay units; the ordinance primarily is intended to enable new construction, he said.

“This is a small town, I kind of can count off the top of my head the apartment buildings that are in these zoning districts that would qualify,” Abramson said. “We’re not in an economy really where residential multi-family owners are changing their business models.”

The extended stay ordinance was introduced at Wednesday’s council meeting, and referred to the planning board for its recommendations. The measure likely will face a final vote from the governing body on May 14, 2024.

‘A GREAT PROCESS FOR THE PLANNING BOARD’

The only other business addressed at the meeting was final approval of Jersey Central Power & Light’s plans to upgrade an electrical substation on Ridgedale Avenue.

After months of back and forth between the planning board and the utility, the plan was approved unanimously without further debate.

The vote was so anticlimactic that the two JCP&L representatives who attended the meeting left before its conclusion, much to the disappointment of Mayor Tim Dougherty, who wanted to thank them for working with the planning board instead of working around it.

“I’m sorry that JCP&L ran out so quickly because that was a great process for the planning board,” Dougherty said. “They could’ve gone to the [state Board of Public Utilities] and said ‘bye, planning board.’ Everything could’ve been overwritten by the BPU. However, as a utility in our town, they listened to us.”

At its next meeting, on May 23, 2024, the planning board is scheduled to hear more testimony about the Green Crossing condo building proposed for Market Street.