The Township Committee on Wednesday will discuss a proposal to ban any further 24-hour retail outlets along Springfield Avenue, according to Mayor Vic De Luca.

He said the TC meeting, which has been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday because of the primary election, will consider a limit requiring any Springfield Avenue business to close by 2 a.m. Currently, two businesses - the Maplewood Diner and the Quik Check - are open 24 hours.

De Luca said a change would likely allow those businesses to remain 24 hours, but bar any new ones. The change follows the recent proposal to place a 7-11 store on the avenue, which was rejected by the Planning Board because of a request for a larger building to be built at that Springfield Avenue and Tuscan Road location. That decision has resulted in a lawsuit against the planning board by the 7-11 operators. 

De Luca said the 24-hour ban resulted from discussions with residents who brought up the idea, not as a direct result of the 7-11 decision. "Residents came to us and asked," De Luca said. "There was a long discussion about the 24-hour idea."

De Luca said the closing time would likely be 2 a.m., but the earliest opening hour had yet to be decided. He said if the TC agreed to put the ordinance in place on Wednesday, it would be written up for review at the following meeting two weeks later.