MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

May 5, 2011

 

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 6, 2011.  Said resolution was mailed to The Citizen and The Morris County Daily Record and by filing the same with the Borough Clerk on January 10, 2011 and was made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.

 

 ROLL CALL:

Present: Bolo, Max, Abate, Willke, Dietz and Richter

Absent: Cohen, Rusak and Gallo

Also Present:  Attorney Michael Sullivan

 

REVIEW OF MINUTES: Arthur Max made a motion to approve the minutes from the April 7th meeting. Mary Dietz provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote by all members.

 

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS: none

 

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

 

New Application:

            MARK THOMSON & HELEN APPLEBY      129 Kenilworth Rd

            Bl. 76, Lot 19.02                                                App. #11-591   

            Side Yard                                                         R-A Zone

 

Mark Thomson, of 129 Kenilworth Rd, was sworn in along with Larry Korinda a licensed Architect in the state of New Jersey. Larry Korinda explained the applicant was looking for a left side yard variance of 19.8 ft which would continue the existing non-conforming side setback of 19.8 ft. The new deck would be replacing a deck consisting of two levels and would wrap around the house. The old deck had deteriorated and needed replacement. The applicant would also be adding a deck extension that would be two steps down from the replaced deck area. The property has Borough land behind it which creates a good screen. The side yard also has rhododendrons and evergreens to create privacy. The additional outdoor living space would create a feeling of an expanded 1st floor. Mahogany will be used to build the deck and would include the required 3 ft railings. Exhibit A-1 was a photo board consisting of 2 photos showing the existing deck and the property foliage.

Mark Thomson told the Board his deck currently does not get any sun and expanding the deck will create a sunny area for his family to enjoy. The Dining Room is very small so the deck expansion would give them additional space to entertain guests. Mary Deitz said she visited the home and found the deck to be really hidden from the road because of all the landscaping.

Peter Bolo asked if there were any questions from the public, no one was present.

A motion was made by Mary Dietz to accept the application as presented and the deck addition should not exceed the non-conforming condition already present.  A second was provided by Pia Abate.  The Board voted 6 – 0 to approve the application with Bolo, Max, Abate, Richter, Dietz, and Willke voting in favor.

ANTHONY & ELIZABETH FESTA                78 Laurel Hill Road

            Bl. 56, Lot 56.01                                                Appl. #11-592

            Side, ILC, Fence                                               R-AA Zone     

 

Anthony and Elizabeth Festa of 78 Laurel Hill Road were sworn in. Anthony Festa presented Exhibit A-1 which was 13 photos of his backyard. The 1st variance they were requesting was a side yard setback of 17.7 ft where 25 ft is required and 20.7 ft currently exists. They plan to replace the walkway that goes to the back of the house. The current walkway is falling apart and conflicts with the air conditioning units.

The 2nd variance requested was for improved lot coverage to enlarge an existing patio. Currently the lot coverage is 23% where 20 % is allowed. The applicant was proposing a new ILC of 24.3%. Anthony Festa said they were adding on to the 140 sq ft of existing patio, the total new patio space would now be 361 sq ft.  He said the new patio would only go out to the first existing step. It was determined that the surveyor had not drawn the patio correctly. Peter Bolo requested the applicant drew the proper location of the patio on the survey. Exhibit A-2 was a copy of the survey showing where the patio would be built. The approximate size of the new patio would be 15’ x 24” or an addition of 200 sq ft. Due to the reduction in patio size the application was then amended so the ILC would now be 24.1%.

The applicant’s third variance was for the replacement of an existing fence. The fence was there when they moved in and is located along the back of the property were it drops off into a town lot.  The fence is white in color and not very sturdy. They would like to replace the fence with something sturdier and black in color.  

Mary Dietz thought the applicant could expand the stone retaining wall and use landscaping to replace the fence. Peter Bolo explained the Borough did not allow fences on the property line and the fence would have to be removed because of non-compliance. Chris Richter asked if there was an old resolution on for the property that would allow the fence. The Zoning Board Administrator could not find any resolutions. He then suggested they put the fence inside the setbacks creating a play area. Anthony Festa said they were concerned about safety since the property drops of drastically creating a play area would not solve their problem.

Peter Bolo asked the applicant if they would like to withdraw the fence variance. He suggested adding to the resolution a timeline for the applicant to remove the fence. The applicant said they would like to carry the application for the fence to the next meeting. They would like to have time to explore other options that might be available to them.

Chris Richter made a motion to approve the ILC coverage of 24.1% for the expansion of the existing patio an additional 200 sq ft and a side yard setback of 17.7 ft. for the walkway. A condition of the resolution would be 120 days to remove the fence. Tim Willke provided the second. The application for ILC and the side yard variance was approved by a vote of 6 -0 with members Bolo, Richter, Dietz, Max Abate and Willke voting in favor.  The third variance for the fence was carried to the June 2nd meeting to allow the applicant time to explore additional options for its replacement. Pia Abate made the motion to carry the application and Mary Dietz provided the second. The carry was approved by a vote of 6 -0 with members Bolo, Richter, Dietz, Max Abate and Willke voting in favor.

 

Other Matters / Public Comment:

 

Peter Bolo asked if there were any comments from the public, there was no one present.

 

The Board discussed the formation of the new Historic Preservation Ordinance Committee, a meeting schedule for the group has yet to be set.

 

Arthur Max asked the Board if they thought they should require a professional site plan with each application. Council liaison George Jackson felt we should keep simple applications affordable for the community and did not think we should have such a requirement. The Board discussed having an application review committee and the need for a new fee structure.

Chris Richter and the Board Secretary will work on reviewing the current fee structure and handling the review of new applications.

 

Tim Willke made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Arthur Max provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.  

                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                Respectfully submitted,

           

 

                                                                                    Cynthia Shaw, Secretary