MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

September 1, 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, Richter, Cohen, Abate, Dietz, and Rusak

Absent: Willke and Gallo

Also Present: Attorney Michael Sullivan

REVIEW OF MINUTES: Mark Cohen made a motion to approve the minutes from the August 4^th meeting. Arthur Max 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.

SAINT CATHERINES CHURCH 10 North Pocono Road Blk. 19, Lot 1 Appl. # 11-600

Front Yard, Sign R-A zone

A letter was received by the Board Administrator to carry the application for the church to the October 6, 2011 meeting. Pia Abate made a motion to carry the application and Pat Rusak provided the second. The motion was approved by voice vote of all members.

STUART & JUDITH KRISTIANSEN 84 Crane Road

Blk. 6, Lot 6 Appl. # 11-599

Side Yard, Steep Slope R-A zone

Peter Korzen, a licensed Engineer in the state of NJ, from Korzen Engineering in Whippany NJ and Stuart Kristiansen, of 84 Crane Road, presented the application. The applicant was looking for a side yard variance of 15 ft where 25 ft is required as well as relief from steep slopes in the building envelope to add a free standing garage to the property. Michael Sullivan explained steep slopes in excess of 15% are not allowed in the building envelope when developing a new lot, this however is an established lot.

Peter Korzen presented sheet 3, the topographic survey of the site. He explained where the wetlands ended, where the wetlands transition line was and pointed out the steep slopes on the plan. Sheet 1 of the site plan dated July 22, 2011 showed the detached garage at the end of the driveway. The existing deck and flagstone patio behind the house would be removed. They will be installing a small deck in the back that will step down to a larger wooden deck and finally down to a patio. The applicant will need to add retaining walls. No trees are disturbed in the plan and they will be adding a dry well. There will be an overflow pipe on well that will feed into a gravel area. The proposed detached garage and patio will increase the ILC 540 sq ft.

Peter Bolo asked if the Board had any questions for the applicant and the Engineer. Chris Richter asked the applicant if they had met the DEP wetland requirements. Had they done a GP6 (general permit 6) and talked to anyone about structures in the transition area. They had not yet submitted a permit to the DEP. Mary Dietz asked if they were leaving driveway in place. Peter Korzen said it would be left in place and that he had include the walls and driveway in the ILC calculation. Arthur Max asked why the applicant needed three garages, why the new garage was separate and not part of the existing garages. Stuart Kristiansen said they looked at that option and it did not look right. If that was done the garage would be more visible to his neighbor. From a site plan point of view it is feasible to add on a third garage next to the existing two. Chris Richter pointed out if the applicant excavated the area at the back of the house the garage could be install at grade where the deck is. Peter Bolo said he was trying to understand how the C-2 variance, a benefit to the community, applied in this case.

Larry Korinda, a licensed Architect in the state of NJ, presented sheets A-2 and A-1 already submitted in the packet. A- 1 showed the various elevations of the garage. Its height would be less than 20 ft. and blend with the main house. The patio will come up against the back of the garage. He then presented Exhibit A-1, a photo board containing the site plan and three photos of the existing driveway. He then presented photo Exhibit A-2, the front of house and photo Exhibit A-3, the rear of the house. Mr. Korinda told the Board there currently was a lot of buffering for the neighbor. The garage would be built into the embankment. The back of the Decker’s house, Block 6 Lot 8.01, is 100 ft from the property line.

Mary Dietz asked Mr. Korinda why he did not add the third garage bay adjacent to the house. Mr. Korinda said he was brought in late in the process; most of the decisions were made by the Landscaper and the Engineer. Pat Rusak asked if the deck terraced, yes down to ground level. Chris Richter again asked why they did not add on to existing house. Stuart Kristiansen said they did not because of the look and they would need additional ILC to create a turn around area. The deck would have become a stage and visual unappealing.

Peter Bolo asked if there were any public questions or comments. Nancy O’Reilly, of 62 Pocono Rd., was concerned about water run off and the wetlands. All the effected property owners back up to the wetlands. Bob Decker, of 58 Pocono R., questioned the ILC calculation. Would the applicant be paving the driveway? Peter Korzen replied the existing ILC was 22.23% and the proposed would be 24.77% where 25% is allowed. Stuart Kristiansen said they would be paving the driveway. Mr. Decker asked about the GP6? Michael Sullivan explained the wetlands are under the jurisdiction of the NJDEP not the Borough. Bob Decker also mentioned there was an opening in the trees that would allow them to see the garage. Mr. Kristiansen said he would add whatever landscaping was required. Peter Bolo asked the Engineer to address the concerns Mrs. Reilly had about the run off. Peter Korzen explained there would be a new drainage system with a dry well underground. The water would recharge back into the ground.

Peter Bolo asked if there were any comments from the Board. Pia Abate said she had an issue with the C-2 variance, the detriment to the community, and their storage needs could be addressed with a shed. Mary Dietz even though there is 100 ft to the neighbor’s home the neighbor did have the right to expand later. She said the Board likes to maintain the setbacks and thought they could add something next to the house rather than add a separate garage. Arthur Max thought the house was great but did not think they had met the requirement for relief. Mark Cohen was concerned about the 15 ft. setback. Pat Rusak was also concerned about 15 ft setback especially since they already had a 2 car garage. Chris Richter said he had not heard enough to convince him that the applicant had considered other options.

Peter Bolo asked the applicant if they would like to carry the application and present another plan. Mr. Kristiansen said he did not. A motion was made by Arthur Max to deny the application and a second was provided by Mary Dietz. The application was denied by a vote of 7 to 0 with members Bolo, Richter, Cohen, Dietz, Max, Rusak, and Abate voting to deny the application.

Other Matters / Public Comment:

The Board worked on revising its current application. They discussed updating the application check list found in the Borough Ordinances. Chris Richter will bring samples of the check lists from other towns to the next meeting.

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

Pia Abate made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Arthur Max provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Cynthia Shaw, Secretary