MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD
OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES
January 28, 2010
Chair Sandy Batty read the Open Public Meeting Advertisement Notice: Adequate notice of this meeting was given to the Citizen and the Daily Record, posted with the Borough Clerk and the Bulletin Board, and made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.
ROLL CALL:
Members Present: Nachshen, Batty, Nix, Selver (7:35pm), Bailey, Kane, Lewis, Zamierowski and Jackson
Absent: Bravo, Holmberg
Also Present: Attorney Peter Henry, Engineer Bill Ryden
REORGANIZATION:
Election of Chair – Barry
Lewis made a motion to appoint Sandy Batty Chair of the Planning Board; Martin Kane
provided the second. The motion was approved by voice vote.
Election of Vice Chair – Barry Lewis made a motion to appoint Joan Nix
Vice Chair of the Planning Board; Jim Bailey provided the second. The motion
was approved by voice vote.
Appointment of the Board Attorney – Barry Lewis made a motion to appoint Peter Henry of Dillon, Bitar, and Luther the Planning Board Attorney and Paul Selver provided the second. The motion was approved by a 9 to 0 roll call vote.
Appointment of Secretary – Barry Lewis made a motion to appoint Cynthia Shaw the Planning Board Secretary and Cory Nachshen provided the second. The motion was approved by a 9 to 0 roll call vote.
Appointment of Board Engineer – George Jackson made a motion to appoint Bill Ryden of Anderson and Denzler Assoc., Inc. the Planning Board Engineer and Barry Lewis provided the second. The motion was approved by a 9 to 0 roll call vote.
Appointment of Board Planner – Barry Lewis made a motion to appoint Duggan and Susan Kimball of Kimball and Kimball the Planning Board Planners and John Zamierowski provided the second. The motion was approved by a 9 to 0 roll call vote.
Designation of Official Newspapers – Barry Lewis made a motion to designate The Citizen and The Daily Record the official newspapers, Jim Bailey provided the second. The motion was approved by a 9 to 0 roll call vote.
Determination of Meeting Dates - Joan Nix made a motion to accept the determined meeting dates for the Planning Board, John Zamierowski provided the second. A voice vote approved the following dates.
February 25, 2010 August 26, 2010
March 25, 2010 September 23, 2010
April 22, 2010 October 28, 2010
May 27, 2010 November 18, 2010
June 24, 2010 December 16, 2010
July 22, 2010 January 27, 2011
Re-adoption of the Policies, Procedures and Customs – The Board reviewed the document and the Secretary will incorporate the changes that were made. The resolution will be presented for approval at the next meeting.
REVIEW OF MINUTES: Barry Lewis made a motion to adopt the minutes of the November 19, 2009 meeting with corrections. Corey Nachshen seconded the motion; the minutes were approved by voice vote of 5 to 0 with 4 abstentions.
MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:
CIGCO, LLC Appl. 09-240
George Jackson asked that the Board change the wording in the presented resolution pertaining to well abandonment. He felt a well should not be allowed for sprinkling the lawn once the home is hooked up to the Borough water supply. Peter Henry thought wells used for sprinkling was part of the discussion during the hearing of the application. Martin Kane thought the resolution was written correctly, Jim Bailey did not. Corey Nachshen thought if there was no Borough ordinance stopping you from using a well for irrigation the homeowner would follow the state rules since you apply directly to the state for a well permit. Barry Lewis felt the homeowner would have to follow the ordinance to abandon the well. Barry Lewis made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval with the words “if permitted” added to the resolution; Corey Nachshen seconded the motion. The resolution was carried by a vote of 5 to 0 with members Batty, Lewis, Nachshen, Selver and Bailey voting in favor.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
GIM Mountain Lakes Investors LLC 49 Bloomfield Avenue
BK. 118.04 Lot 2 Appl. 09-238
Minor Subdivision OL-2
Sandy Batty, Chair of the Planning Board, recused herself. She is a resident of Pine Edge which is within 200 feet of the applicant’s property. Vice Chair Joan Nix resumed the subdivision hearing that was started on November 19th. Charles Applebaum, a licensed attorney in the state of NJ, represented the applicant. At the end of the hearing on the 19th it was determined that a landscape plan for the application was needed.
William Hamilton, of Omland Engineering, a licensed planner and landscape architect was sworn in to present the proposed landscape plan. Exhibit A-2 was a colorized version of the landscape plan, dated 1/4/10, already submitted. Mr. Hamilton explained some vegetation on the property had been removed and they had developed a plan that would provide some buffering for the residence behind the property. They would be adding Norway Spruce, 6 to7 feet in height, which tend to grow fast and are tolerant of salt and deer. They added juniper as well as two varieties of grasses for interest. The grasses would provide screening 3 seasons of the year. Nothing that already exists in the area will be removed they will just be adding new plantings. Paul Selver asked if the applicant had images of the plant material. William Hamilton had information on the two proposed grasses. Exhibit A-3 was four pages of information on the grasses to be planted. Jim Bailey mentioned that as the evergreen mature will they loose their screening ability. Mr. Hamilton explained the grasses grow quickly and reach their full height of 4 feet and 9 feet in just 2 years and this would provided lower screening. George Jackson asked if the plantings presented would be similar to the type of plants that would be put in when an actual building is built, yes they would and none of the plants proposed were invasive. Bill Ryden felt the landscape plan was adequate and would provide screening immediately. When the site plan application was filed the Board could adjust that landscape plan based on how the current planting works out. Joan Nix asked why the plan hugged the road. Mr. Hamilton explained it was because of the shade created by the existing plants. Corey Nachshen asked if there would be maintenance of the plantings, yes there will.
Joan Nix asked if the temporary lighting was still there, it had been removed. George Jackson asked who owned the road and who maintained it. Charles Applebaum stated the common owner of the property owned and would maintain the road. Joan Nix questioned the calculation of the lot frontage. She wanted to know how the engineer handled the curve on the one side of the lot frontage. Bill Ryden explained he had checked the calculation and it is correct, you always measure the curve on the midpoint. Jim Bailey asked when the plan would be implemented; it would be done at the proper planting time. John Zamierowski noticed a bare spot in the aerial photo; the applicant would be doing plant there.
Joan Nix asked if there were any questions from the public. Lois Smith, 19 Lockley Court, asked about the temporary plantings for the open house. The applicant would be leaving them where they are currently located. Nelson Bennett, 8 Littlewood Court, asked why the applicant ended the planting at the property line between Lot 1 and 2. William Hamilton stated they were told to end the project there. Nadia Yanovski, of 10 Littlewood Court, asked why there were no plants behind their home in the plan, they overlooked the parking lot. Joan Nix explained her property; Lot 1 was not behind the parcel the Board was concerned with at this meeting. Peter Henry also explained even though the applicant owned Lot 1 and they had cleared the dead and overgrown vegetation along the back property line it was not part of the application. Alex Yanovski, also of 10 Littlewood Court, said they could see traffic on Cherry Hill Road. Terry McInerney, 12 Littlewood Court, asked if the applicant was planning on landscaping the center of the property, they would be when they come before the Board with a site plan. George Jackson asked the applicant since they own all the land couldn’t they landscape all the property. Charles Applebaum stated they were only responsible for this lot at this time.
Joan Nix asked if there were any comments from the public. Jim Hyson, of 2 Littlewood Court, stated he supported the application and the landscape plan submitted however he would like to see it to continue to the end of the property. He was concerned about the 100 foot buffer that would apply when the applicant did do the site plan as well as the driveway that goes through the property. Jules Santisci, of 4 Littlewood Court, felt the submitted plan was a step in the right direction but it does not take care of all the problems. In particular units 8 and 10 do not get any of the new buffer protection. Nelson Bennett, of 8 Littlewood Court, thanked the board for listening to their concerns and stated that none of the residents present did not like the plan submitted but could the builder consider continuing the screening around the driveway. Lois Smith, of 19 Lockley Court, thought the landscape design was good but she was concerned concern about the species selected. Tom Manning, of 15 Lockley Court, asked if the driveway could be one way to control the lights from the headlights shining into the townhouse complex.
Charles Applebaum said the applicant would like to respond to the comments made by the community. Principle Sam Morelle, owner of the property, stated they would take the comments made under advisement. We are looking to get ready for the future but we can’t build the building right now. We did remove the under brush and everything would grow back. The cleaning out of the brush area would help the mature trees grow. The applicant’s intent was to build a quality product.
Joan Nix asked if there were any Board discussion. Martin Kane stated the brush removal had upset the neighbors but it did not have anything to do with the application. The Board can see how this area grows back and can take the results into consideration when they apply for a site plan in the future. George Jackson told the applicant the Board wanted to work with the applicant, we want the ratable. Barry Lewis commended the residents for coming with their concerns and he would like to thank the applicant for including a landscape plan. Mr. Lewis then made a motion to approve the application with the landscape plan presented tonight. The owner must have the planting completed by June 30th and maintained it in the future. The applicant and Board would address the parking when they come in with their site plan in the future. There would be no removal of significant trees if the applicant decided to put in walking trails in the wooded area. Access easements would remain for both lots. The Board was not addressing the 100 foot buffer at this time. And the applicant would have to comply with the COAH scarce resource order. A second was provided by George Jackson. The application was approved by a vote of 5-2 with members Lewis, Jackson, Nachshen, Selver and Kane voting in favor. Members Nix and Bailey voted against the application.
Robert Klingenburg 123 Lake Drive
Bk. 101, Lot 48 App. 09-237
Minor Subdivision R-A Zone
The Planning Board Secretary received a letter requesting a 90 day extension for the Klingenburg application. The applicant is coming up on his 190 days to perfect the subdivision and would like to extend the time due to various delays experienced by the applicant’s counsel. Barry Lewis made motion to grant the extension, George Jackson provided the second. The extension was approved by voice vote.
OTHER BUSINESS:
There is a bill proposed that would modify the principle governing decisions under the MLUL’s “time of decision rule”. The legislation provides that development regulations in effect on the date an application for development is submitted for review will govern the review of that application for development and any decisions made in regard to that application for development.
George Jackson mentioned the Council is doing a study to join the Zoning and Planning Boards. Barry Lewis told the Board that this is something that is done when a town does not have enough people to serve on the board.
There is also a new Senate bill to dismantle COAH. Under the bill all towns will self govern their COAH obligations. Corey Nachshen said the Borough’s COAH committee has been having a discussion on the subject. The work that they are doing with the planners, Kimball and Kimball, will still work for The Borough even if we do our own plan.
George Jackson made a motion to adjourn the meeting; a second was provided by Barry Lewis. The meeting was adjourned at 10:40PM.
Respectfully submitted
Cynthia Shaw, Secretary