MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

July 16, 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 8, 2009.  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 12, 2009 and made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.

 

ROLL CALL:

Present:  Bolo, Cohen, Rusak, Dietz, Richter, Kelly                   Absent: Abate, Max, Sheasby

Also Present:  Attorney Michael Sullivan

 

NEW MEMBER:

Doctor Bolo welcomed Victor Kelly to the board.

 

REVIEW OF MINUTES:     Mark Cohen made a motion to approve the minutes from the June 4th meeting. Chris Richter provided the second.  The minutes were approved by voice vote.

 

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:

STUART & JUDITH KRISTIANSEN                        Appl. #08-547

 

Mark Cohen made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval; seconded by Pat Rusak and approved by a 5-0 roll call of eligible voters.

           

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

            STEVEN AND PAULA HARDEK                 121 Laurel Hill Road

            Bl. 53, Lot 43                                                   Appl. #09-556

            Improved Lot Coverage, Front Yard                RAA Zone

 

Marjorie Roller, an architect in the state of NJ, located at 9 Brookview Road in Boonton Township, NJ, presented the application for the Hardek’s.  Ms. Roller stated the applicant would be adding a second story to a dated ranch and doing an expansion of the foyer with a new covered porch. A photo of the front of the house (exhibit A-1) and a photo page with 4 photos (exhibit A-2) of the house from different angles, dated July 16th, were presented to the board. Lastly she presented exhibit A-3, an artist rendering of the house which included a smaller version of the site plan already submitted. 

Michael Sullivan question Ms. Roller about the Impervious Coverage calculations. They are currently 21.7%, the ordinance states they should be 20% and they will be reduced to 20.88%. The applicant is only adding the new porch on the ground level. She said they would be removing some of the pavers and there by reducing the Impervious Coverage slightly.  A hardship has been created for the applicant since they are stuck with a house footprint outside of the building envelope due to the corner lot. As a result they will be working with the homes original footprint.  The plans they have submitted will be improving and updating the home. The new house will now be in character with the rest of the neighborhood of two family homes.  

Chris Richter asked if the house would be going from a one story to a two ½ story dwelling. He asked Ms. Roller how she did the calculations.  She said they were adding a second story over 2/3rds of the first floor of the house. Chris Richter stated that under the town’s building code this house is a 1 ½ story home. In Mountain Lakes a half story is created when the second story is 40 to 80% of the first story. Ms. Roller calculated the size of the second floor to be 65% of the first floor. Mary Dietz agreed with Mr. Richter. Peter Bolo asked if the second story would also be brick.  The applicant said it would match the existing brick. 

Peter Bolo asked if the existing front set back of 42.9 was not changing. Michael Sullivan clarified with Marjorie Roller that the front yard setback was actual increasing.  The actual variance requested increased it to 57.13 for the new construction. Mark Cohen asked for confirmation that the height of the house would be 31 ft. The chart on the site plan sheet Z-3 clarified the height of the house begin taken from average grade plane. The highest point is on the garage side of the house.  Ms. Roller submitted a surveyors map (exhibit A-4) prepared by, Thomas Yeager of 63 Columbia Street in Wharton, NJ.  It was prepared on May 14, 2009 and showed the elevation worksheet she used for her height calculations.

Peter Bolo asked if the applicant would you like to mention anything about the lot’s vegetation and how it effected the new construction and the neighbors.  The applicant stated the front of the house had little vegetation, the side had more than the front and the back was heavily wooded. 

Peter Bolo asked if there were any questions from the public. There were none. He then asked if there were any comments. George Jackson of 131 Laurel Hill Road stated that he was here as a neighbor not a council member. He was in favor of the application.  He stated the house was smaller that the other houses on the street and the improvements would add value to the house and the neighborhood.  He thought the plan was well done especially since they were dealing with a lot of pre-conditions. Sharon Wendler, of 116 Laurel Hill Road, concurred with Mr. Jackson.  She felt the view would be better for her house.

Peter Bolo asked if there were questions or comments from the board. Mary Dietz questioned the lot coverage. She stated members of the community are always adding additional pavers around their houses without taking into considering their particular lot coverage.  Since the applicant was so close was there is any reason they did not remove more pavers to be in compliance. The applicant stated all the paver work had been done before they moved in 6 years ago.  The walls along the driveway are all retaining walls. They are part of the impervious lot coverage and would not be removed.

 Mark Cohen asked if they were sure the house can hold the weight of a second story.  The house is a masonry built house with a brick face so it would support the weight.  The board did not have to be concerned with the first story coming down in any way.  Chris Richter asked if all the 1st floor walls were staying. The applicant stated that they were. Chris Richter thought the improvements made sense. The approval is based on the house staying as is and a second story being added. Pat Rusak felt the Front Yard Setback is a hardship and they were just adding a second floor. She supported the application.

Mark Cohen move to approve the application as submitted.  A second was provided by Chris Richter. The vote was 6-0.

                       

Carried to July 2, 2009:

                        ROBERT L. KLINGENBURG            123 Lake Drive

                        Bl.101, Lot 1                                        Appl. #09-549

                        Interpretation, Appeal                           RA zone

 

The board acknowledged the receipt of a letter requesting their application be removed from the agenda. The Klingenburg’s withdrawal was accepted.

 

 

TOBIA AND LISA IPPOLITO           15 Crestview Road

Bl.45, Lot 1                                          Appl. #09-554

Front Yard                                           RA Zone

 

The board acknowledged the receipt of a letter requesting their application be withdrawn. The Ippolito’s withdrawal was accepted.

 

Other Matters / Public Comment:

Peter Bolo asked if there were any other matters to discuss.  The Ordinance Committee was mentioned. Mary Dietz wanted to make sure that the new wall ordinance includes piers.  Doug McWilliams will try to get the ordinance changes together for next council meeting which will be held on July 28th

Due to a lack of applicants the August 6th meeting will be cancelled. Mary Dietz will not be present at the September 3rd meeting.

Mark Cohen made a motion to adjourn the meeting, a second was provided by Mary Dietz.

 

The meeting was adjourned at    8:10 p.m.  

                                                                                                            Respectfully submitted,

           

           

             

                                                                                                Cynthia Shaw, Secretary