MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

January 8, 2009

 

Chair Peter Bolo called the meeting to order and announced:  Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act by adoption of the annual notice on January 3, 2008.  Said resolution was mailed to The Citizen and The Daily Record, filed with the Borough Clerk and posted on the bulletin board in the Borough Hall on January 7, 2008 and made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.

 

ROLL CALL:

Present:  Bolo, Richter, Cohen, Kane, Rusak, Max, Dietz                      Absent:  Sheasby

Also Present:  Attorney Michael Sullivan

Council Liaison – Doug McWilliams

 

REORGANIZATION: 

Chris Richter made the motion to elect Peter Bolo as Chair, seconded by David Kane and carried by 7-0 roll call vote.  David Kane made the motion to elect Chris Richter as Vice-Chair, seconded by Arthur Max and carried by 7-0 roll call vote. 

Arthur Max made the motion, seconded by David Kane and carried by 7-0 roll call vote, to approve the following:  Michael Sullivan, of the firm Stickel, Koenig and Sullivan, was appointed Counsel for the Board.  Margaret Jackson was appointed Administrative Officer/Secretary.  The Citizen and the Daily Record were designated as papers of notice for the Board.  The following dates were approved for regular meetings of the Board for 2009:       

February 5       June 4              October 1

            March  5          July 16             November 5

            April 32            August 6           December 3

            May 7              September 3     January 7, 2010

The by-laws were readopted by 7-0 roll call vote.

 

REVIEW OF MINUTES:  The minutes of the November 6 meeting were approved by voice vote.

 

 

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:

DAVE & LYNN ALBERTS    Appl. #08-545

Chris Richter made the motion to adopt the resolution of approval, seconded by Pat Rusak and carried by 5-0 roll call of eligible voters.

 

JAMES & DONNA SEIJAS   Appl. #08-546

Arthur Max made the motion to adopt the resolution of approval, seconded by Pat Rusak and carried by 3-0 roll call of eligible voters.

 

PUBLIC HEARINGS:  All applicants were sworn in by Chair Bolo.

     Carried from November 6:

STUART & JUDITH KRISTIANSEN            84 Crane Rd.

Bl. 6, Lot 6                                                       Appl. #08-547

Side, stories                                                      RA zone

Stuart Kristiansen was accompanied by Architect Seth Leeb.  They are not relying upon previous testimony so all Board members will be eligible to vote.

Leeb described the variances:  The sideyard setback will decrease slightly because the property line is not parallel to the side of the house.  The addition will extend directly back from the existing house with the closest part of the addition at 20.7’ from the property line.  The adjacent property on that side is wooded and extends to westbound Route 46.  A story variance is required on the right (north) side because there is a garage under the house on that side, the second and third floor are full stories and the third floor is a half-story.  The visual mass of the elevation has been minimized by recessing the garages and adding a pent roof between the stories.

The existing driveway from Crane Road enters the house at the basement level on the right side.  A variance is requested for the 3 ½ stories of the proposal.  The chimney on that side of the house will be eliminated and a second garage will be added.  Exhibit A1 was a colored version of the site plan.

The FAR will increase to 14.6%, within the 17% limit.  ILC will increase to 20.4%, under the 25% limit.  V-1 showed the floor plans of the proposal.  V2 showed the elevations of the four sides of the proposed house.  Exhibit A2 was a composite photo board showing the existing house and the proposed house superimposed on the property to show how it will appear.  Leeb described the knoll where the house will be located  and showed that the garage will not be visible from the street so it will appear to be 2 ½ stories.  He noted that these photos were taken recently so, when the trees have leaves, the house will be even less invisible.  He pointed out the pent roof at each level to diminish the appearance of height.  The house to the north is 73’ from the closest corner of this house.

Board comments:  Mary Dietz – you did not show the height from the paving to the pitch of the roof; Leeb measured and said it is 38’, Dietz thought it was closer to 39’.  Mark Cohen asked for the distance from the stone wall to the property line.  Leeb said it is 24’; the proposed wall is 28’ from the property line.  For clarity, Richter noted that the other three sides may be three stories.  He asked if the portion of the driveway that extends over the northern property line should be cut back 2 ½ feet.  The applicant agreed.  Richter asked for a description of the proposed house from the neighbor’s view.  Leeb said that property is slightly higher.  There is a treed buffer, including pine trees, between the two properties.  Also, the neighbor’s house is set closer to the street.

No public comment.

Board comments:  Mark Cohen – wants to ensure that the comments about the vegetation be included in the resolution considering the height of the proposed addition.  Chris Richter recommended that the trees should be 6 to 8 feet tall, 10 feet on center, and should be planted throughout the 50 feet between the two structures.  2 ½ feet of driveway should be removed.  Richter noted that they could have a larger house to the rear and eliminate the story variance.  Bolo – the left side variance is deminimis; the overall aesthetic improvement is a benefit.

Chris Richter made the motion to approve the variances with the two conditions, seconded by Mary Dietz and carried by 7-0 roll call vote.  Exhibits were retained by the applicant.

 

New application:

CHRISTINE KEBAKIS                                8 Elm Rd.

Bl. 94, Lot 43.01                                            Appl. #09-548

Front, sideyard                                                RA zone

Christine Kebakis was accompanied by architect Richard Nelson.  The FAR will be 10.91% and ILC will be 19.92%, both lower than allowed.  The frontyard setback variance is requested for 36 feet.  The setback exception would be 58.9’.  The nonconforming side setback will not be exacerbated by the new construction.   A second story addition is proposed over a portion of the house and a wrap-around front porch will be added.  Exhibit A1 was a colored version of the site plan, A2 the floor plan, A3 the front elevation.  The porch was designed to improve the appearance and character of the façade.

Pat Rusak pointed out a discrepancy on the location of the air conditioning condensers.  Nelson said they are considering replacing the existing unit and it will conform.  Exhibit A4 was a photograph of that side of the house.  Board members noted a nonconforming lattice (fence) and asked the applicant if it would be removed.  Kebakis agreed.

Arthur Max complimented the design but asked if the porch could be moved back because neighboring houses are set back much farther.  Kebakis said she has a porch swing from her previous home and would like to use it here.  Peter Bolo pointed out that the two adjacent houses are a distance from this house and each faces a different street.  He didn’t believe the front setback would be a problem.  The applicant agreed that she would never screen or enclose the front porch.

Pat Rusak also said she’d like to see the porch pushed back.  Mary asked if they had considered making the other portion of the porch larger to accommodate the swing.  Peter Bolo said that he believes this plan is a vast improvement.  Arthur Max said he finds this proposal is acceptable.  Mary Dietz disagreed.

Chris Richter moved to approve the application with the condition that the front porch never be enclosed or screened, the fence be removed and replaced with landscaping, removal of the stoop on the southeasterly side and a single a/c unit placed in the existing location.  Richter said that six feet is a reasonable depth; four feet is only wide enough to walk, not to walk around a piece of furniture.  Mark Cohen seconded the motion, carried by 5-2 roll call vote (Dietz, Rusak denied.) 

 

Other Matters / Public Comment:

David Kane moved to adopt the 2008 Annual Report, seconded by Mark Cohen and approved by voice vote.

Chris Richter reported that the Joint Ordinance Committee has been meeting.  He said they may add a provision to allow the applicant to request an extension of the time before construction begins.  Mike Sullivan said that almost every municipality that has an expiration provision on variance approvals allows the applicant to request an extension upon written request to the Board.  The approving Board should have the ability to grant an extension.  The Board agreed that they would allow an extension of time but the amount of time would depend on the application.

There was additional discussion about screened porches, the number allowed per house and how much wall would be allowed.

Chris Richter will give a presentation on ordinance 14-05, describing the height/story/grade plane issue.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

 

                                                                                                            Respectfully submitted,

           

           

             

                                                                                                Marge Jackson, Secretary