MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES
August 1, 2013
Chair Chris Richter 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, 2013. Said resolution was mailed to The Citizen and The Morris County Daily Record and by filing the same with the Borough Clerk on January 7, 2013 and was made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.
Start: 7:35 pm
ROLL CALL:
Present: Richter, Albergo, Max, Rusak, Dietz and Mc Connell
Absent: Abate and Bolo
Also Present: Attorney Michael Sullivan
REVIEW OF MINUTES: Mary Dietz made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 11, 2013 meeting with a correction. Jim McConnell provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote by all members.
MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:
DOUGLAS WALLER Appl. # 13-627
William Albergo made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval; Jim McConnell seconded the motion. The resolution was passed by a vote of 5 to 0 with members Richter, Albergo, Dietz McConnell and Rusak voting to approve the resolution.
PUBLIC HEARINGS: All Applicants and professionals were sworn in by Chair Chris Richter.
Carried Application:
CAROL & BRANDON HOWARD 47 Condit Road
Blk. 51, Lot 4 Appl. #13-629
Side, Rear, ILC, FAR, Height R-AA zone
Tonight’s hearing would be a continuation of the hearing started on July 11, 2013. The applicant and both Architects previously sworn in would be continuing the presentation. The applicant understood they were asking for a D variance which required 5 affirmative votes and wanted to proceed with only 6 Board members present. As discussed at the last meeting the Howard’s had made changes to their application based on feedback from the Board. The applicant submitted the following revised documents:
Exhibit A-10 was a revised site plan dated August 1, 2013
Exhibit A-11 was a revised 1st floor plan dated August 1, 2013
Exhibit A-12 was a revised front & rear elevation dated August 1, 2013
Exhibit A-13 was page 2 of application revised
Exhibit A-14 was a revised ILC calculation
Exhibit A-15 was a revised FAR calculation
Exhibit A-16 was 6 pages (11” x 17”) consisting of the site plan, floor plan & elevations
Kim Hurley started this evening’s presentation. She said the applicant took into consideration everything the Board had to say and made adjustments to their renovation plans. They had eliminated the need for an ILC variance by pulling up walk by carriage house, removing the 3rd garage bay, pulling the back wall of kitchen in 1 ft., the family room in 2 ft., removed the sports court and reducing the size of the existing patio off the family room. Mary Dietz asked how much they had reduced the patio on the right. K. Hurley said it was previously 16” x 22” and now it would be 13” x 22”. The new ILC will be 23.8% which is below the allowed 24% eliminating the need for an ILC variance. The height variance for main house would still be needed but they had eliminated the need for a height variance for the garage. They realigned the staircase out the back of the carriage house eliminating the need for a side setback variance but would still need a rear setback variance. Michael Sullivan confirmed the applicant’s revisions reduced the number of variance needed.
Kim Hurley continued, she explained the reduction in FAR request from 19.75% to 17.28% where 16% was allowed. By removing the third bay and changing the gambrel roof to a gable roof they reduced the size of the garage plus the attic space above the bays was now less than 40% of the area below. They pulled in kitchen and flattened the ceiling plus pulled in family room 2 ft. They removed the covering over the patio on the right of the house and still do not exceed 500 sq ft of covered porch area allowed.
With the realignment of the rear steps behind the carriage house the rear setback requested would be 10 ft. The generator along side the carriage house would not be located there anymore they will be moving it next to house behind the breakfast area. The pad for the unit will now be 11 sq ft.
The Chair asked if the Board had any questions or comments. William Albergo asked what the height of the carriage house was; it was about 22 ft tall.
No one was present from the public.
Mary Dietz made a motion to approve the application based on the new set of plans submitted for a rear yard setback, FAR and Height variance, the relocation of the generator and all the normal conditions required by the Board. A second was provided by William Albergo. The application was approved by a vote of 6 to 0 with members Richter, Albergo, Dietz, Max, McConnell and Rusak voting to approve the application.
New Applications:
DOUGLAS BROWN AND HELEN LIU 104 Lake Drive
Blk. 102, Lot 54 App. # 13-630
Side, ILC, FAR R-A Zone
Alex Gotthelf, a licensed Architect in the state of NJ, and Helen Liu and Douglas Brown of 104 Lake Drive would be presenting the application. Michael Sullivan asked the applicant if they understand we only have 6 members present this evening not 7. They needed 5 positive votes for a FAR approval. The applicant understood and wanted to proceed.
Chairmen Richter stated the applicant requested a waiver from the check list requirement for the topography of the property be included on the site plan. Mr. Gotthelf said they submitted photos of site with the application instead of the topographic information since the areas were flat where their additions would be. A motion was made by Arthur Max and a second was provided by Chris Richter. The waiver was granted by voice vote of all members present.
Douglas Brown explained his family had recently moved here because of Lake Drive School, their daughter has been a student there for 2 years. Alex Gotthelf explained the modest home was built between 1950and 1960. He was retained by the applicant to address some relatively small changes to the house. The overhanging created by the second floor was not a true covered front porch. They wish to add stone to the front facade, the kitchen has a horrible circulation pattern, they wanted to add a mud room to get from the garage into the house and it currently has a screened in porch they would like to make a 4 season room with a lantern at the top of the ceiling. They wish to reconfigure the basement to create a playroom and workshop with more natural light and egress to the outside. This egress would also make it easier to move things in and out of the basement. Part of the house already sits within the side setback creating a preexisting non-conforming condition. The new side yard setback will be 16.2 ft where 25 ft is required. Only a coping of 8” off the ground will be seen which supports the intent of the ordinance to keep space between the houses.
The ILC is 33.2%, over the allowed 25% and they will be reducing it to 32%. The changes to the home are really small but the sun porch really pushes them over the allowable FAR. Currently they are at 15.77% where 17% is allowed and the changes to the home bring the FAR up to 18.03%. Chris Richter confirmed a new foundation would be installed to support the kitchen bump out and the applicant would be moving sunroom footprint and making it smaller. He asked the applicant about removing or eliminating the paved area behind the garage to help reduce the ILC. The applicant agreed to remove 150 sq ft of pavement which would bring down the ILC to 31%
The Chair asked if the Board had any questions. Mary Dietz asked the Architect to explain the basement exit. Alex Gotthelf said the well would be a total of 3 ft deep with an 8” coping around the opening to keep out the water. The top of the 42 “egress window to the bottom of the window well would be 7 ft in total. The window is not a code requirement. Douglas Brown said this would be another way to get out off the basement if there was a fire. This is especially important to them since our daughter, who is more visual, would be playing in the basement. It also would provide light in the hallway into the workshop. Mary Dietz confirmed it was an emergency exit for the playroom.
No one from the public was present to comment on the application.
William Albergo made a motion to approve the variances for FAR, ILC and Side seback with the condition 150 sq ft of asphalt be removed to reduce the ILC to 31% and a new site plan and revised ILC coverage calculation be submitted to the Board Administrator. Jim McConnell provided the second. The application was approved by a vote of 6 to 0 with members Richter, Albergo, Dietz, Max, McConnell and Rusak voting to approve the application.
Other Matters / Public Comment:
No one from the public was present.
The Chair read a thank you letter from a previous applicant, Walter Aertker. The Board asked the Administrator to not allow the submission of any plans smaller than 11” x 17” because they were hard to read.
We still need one new alternate.
Mary Dietz made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Jim McConnell provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Shaw, Secretary