MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

March 4, 2010

 

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 7, 2010.  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 11, 2010 and made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.

 

ROLL CALL:

Present: Cohen, Abate, Rusak, Gallo, Bolo, Dietz

Absent: Max, Richter

Also Present:  Attorney Michael Sullivan

 

REVIEW OF MINUTES:  Mark Cohen made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 4th meeting. Pat Rusak provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote of all members.

 

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:

MARK & LAURA MATTIA                                                   Appl. #09-563

 

Pia Abate made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval; Pat Rusak seconded the motion. The resolution was passed by a vote of 5 to 0 by members Bolo, Cohen, Rusak, Abate and Gallo voting in favor.

           

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

DAVID AND FRAN WIEN                                                    35 Laurelwood Drive

Bl. 17, Lot 19                                                                           Appl. #10-566

ILC, Front Yard Setback                                                         R-1 Zone

 

A request was made by the applicant to carry their application to the April 1st meeting. Mark Cohen made a motion to carry the application and Mary Dietz provided the second. The letter to carry the application was approved by a voice vote with all members voting in favor.

 

DUANE AND WENDY KOTSEN                                         151 Lookout Road

Bl. 42, Lot 1                                                                             Appl. #10-564

FAR, Front Yard Setback, Height

Major Soil Moving                                                                   RAA Zone

 

A request was made by the applicant to carry their application to the April 1st meeting. Mary Dietz made a motion to carry the application and Pia Abate provided the second. The letter to carry the application was approved by a voice vote with all members voting in favor.

 

JAMES AND SHELLY TSANG                                             13 Laurel Hill Road

Bl. 47, Lot 14                                                                           Appl. #10-565

FAR, Side Yard Setback                                                          R-A Zone

Stephen Bias, a license Architect, located at 344 Route 46 West in Denville, NJ and Shelly Tsang, the homeowner were sworn in.  Mrs. Tsang explained the needs of her large family.  The house is split level with a layout that does not work for them. 

Mr. Bias said the applicant was looking for a Side Yard variance and FAR. Sheet A-1 was a copy of the site plan already submitted.  The house and shed are currently is in the Side Yard Setback, therefore they have a pre-existing non- conforming condition. Sheet A-2 was a copy of the first and second floor plan. The lowest level of the split is at grade level and is usually a garage area. In this home it consists of a laundry area, the house mechanicals and a play area.  This level has a ceiling height of 6” 11”. The next ½ story is the main level consisting of the Living Room, an enlarged Dining Room, the renovated Kitchen and the new Family Room. If you go up a half story to the next level you will find two existing Bedrooms and an existing Bath. The second floor was reconfigured and enlarged to include a Master Bedroom Suite, two additional bedrooms, a Hall Bath plus the new Laundry Room. The expanded area on the second floor will be above the new Family Room.  Sheet A-3 showed the front elevation of the house.  They would be adding a new covered porch to the front entry.

Mr. Bias explained how he calculated the FAR for the house. Because there were several levels (4) to the home, he calculated the FAR as if there were two. The renovated house is over the required FAR by 163 sq. ft. They included the lower level in the FAR calculations since the ceiling height was 6’ 11”.  The attic area is not in the calculation for the FAR because the ceiling height is below the required height to be included.

Dr. Bolo asked if there were any questions from the Board. Photos of the existing house, Exhibit A-1, were presented. Peter Bolo asked what the new height of the house was. He was concerned it may exceed the Borough’s height requirement; the architect did not think it did.  Mr. Sullivan suggested the plans be revised to reflect the height average on the plans.  Mary Deitz thought the chimney should be taken into consideration when figuring the Side Yard Setback.  The side yard line is 14.5 ft. to the chimney and 16.5 ft. to the house.  Mark Cohen asked how close the neighbors’ home on the easterly side was.  Stephen Bias thought it was 12 feet from the property line.  Peter Bolo asked if could they move the shed inside of the setback, they could.  Mark Cohen asked about the patio on the side of the house located within the setback.  Stephen Bias said the patio would be removed; the area would be used for the foundation for the new addition.  They could reduce the patio to a 4 foot walkway and could relocate a patio to another part of the property. Peter Bolo and Chris Gallo asked about a buffer of evergreens between the properties on the right side; there is one already.  Stephen Bias told the Board the renovation plan should solve a few drainage issues with the property. Chris Gallo asked if the applicant had looked at any other ways to get below the FAR requirement.  Mr. Bias said the 500 square foot basement area was in their calculations and that was hurting them. Peter Bolo asked if he thought that the 500 sq. ft. area constitutes a hardship, the architect thought it did. Mary Dietz was concerned with the mass of the house, especially with the type of the roof design.  Stephen Bias explained his decision to choose that type of roof design. Peter Bolo thought the house would be a smaller version of the homes in the neighborhood and considered the basement area a hardship.  Pia Abate asked if they had considered moving the driveway to the other side of the house, they did. The driveway would have been larger on the other side of the property and the current location provides access to the basement.

The Chair asked if there were any questions from the public, there were none.

Mark Cohen made a motion to approve the application with the following conditions: the removal of the paver patio, which could be replaced with a 4 ft. walkway, the shed to be moved within the setback, the plans redone to show the height of the house and the correct side yard measurements to the house and chimney. Pia Abate provided the second. The application was approved by a vote of 6 to 0 with members, Bolo, Cohen, Dietz, Rusak, Abate and Gallo voting in favor.

 

SCOT AND KATHRYN KUEHM                                         20 Glen Road

Bl. 78, Lot 54.01                                                                      Appl. #10-567

Front Yard Setback, Height                                                      R-A Zone

 

Chair Peter Bolo had to recues himself from hearing the application since he lives within 200 feet of the applicant.  A motion was made to appoint Mary Dietz as temporary chair for the application.  Chris Gallo made the motion and Mark Cohen provided the second.  The temporary appointment was approved by a voice vote.

Larry Korinda, a licensed architect in the state of New Jersey and the applicant Kathryn Kuehm were sworn in by Michael Sullivan. Mr. Korinda told the Board the applicant needed 2 variances, Front Yard Setback and Height. Exhibit A-1, drawing #3, the site plan for of house was presented. The plan was to add a railing to the top of the porte cochere.  They would be adding two small front dormers and replacing the roof of the existing dormer with a gabled roof. The front yard setback is 29.7”, an existing non-conformity, where 40 ft. is required. There will be no footprint changes made to the house.  Exhibit A-2 was a photo of the front of house. Mr. Korinda pointed out the existing porte cochere roof was flat and had to remain flat due to the windows. Currently the front dormer appears to have a flat roof from the street. Exhibit A-3 was the attic floor plan. They would be adding a Jack and Jill bathroom to the space. Exhibit A-4, drawing #2, was the proposed front elevation. The center dormer was being changed to mimic the gabled rear dormer.  The existing non-conforming ridge of the house was 38.67 feet high but the new dormer roof would be shorter by 3 ½” for a height of 38.4’.

Mary Dietz asked if there were any questions for the board. Chris Gallo asked if the railing on the porte cochere was for ascetics, it was. Could you access the roof, no you cannot.  Mark Cohen asked if the renovated dormer was higher than the height of the neighbors homes, Larry Korinda did not know. 

Mrs. Dietz asked if there were any questions from the public. Peter Bolo, 12 Glen Road, is a direct neighbor, of the applicant. He was in favor of the application. Many of the Board members thought the renovations improved the front elevation. 

Mary Dietz asked if there were any comments from the public, there were none.

Pia Abate made a motion to approve the application as presented and Mark Cohen provided the second. The application was approved by a vote of 5 to 0 with members Cohen, Dietz, Rusak, Abate and Gallo voting in favor.

 

Other Matters / Public Comment:

There were no comments from the public.

 

Mark Cohen made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Mary Dietz provided the second.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.  

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                            Respectfully submitted,

           

 

Cynthia Shaw, Secretary