MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES
January 6, 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 7, 2010. Said resolution was mailed to The Citizen and The Morris County Daily Record and by filing the same with the Borough Clerk on January 11, 2010 and was made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Bolo, Dietz, Max, Abate, Rusak, Richter and Gallo
Absent: Cohen and Willke
Also Present: Attorney Michael Sullivan
REORGANIZATION:
Election of Chair – Pia Abate
made a motion to appoint Peter Bolo Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and
Arthur Max provided the second. The motion was approved by a 7 to 0 vote.
Election of Vice Chair– Pia Abate made a motion to appoint Chris Richter
Vice Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Arthur Max provided the
second. The motion was approved by all members voting in favor 7 to 0.
Appointment of the Board Attorney, Michael Sullivan, Appointment of Secretary, Cynthia Shaw,
Designation of Official Newspapers, The Citizen and The Daily Record, and Determination of the regular Meeting Dates as follows:
February 3, 2011 August 4, 2011
March 3, 2011 September 1, 2011
April 7, 2011 October 6, 2011
May 5, 2011 November 3, 2011
June 2, 2011 December 1, 2011
July 7, 2011 January 5, 2012
Chris Richter made a motion to adopt the resolution naming the Attorney, Board Secretary, newspaper designations and meeting dates for the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the 2011 calendar year. A second was provided Pat Rusak. The resolutions were approved by a voice vote of all members.
Re-adoption of the By-Laws- Chris Richter made a motion to accept the Zoning Board of Adjustment By-Laws. A second was provided by Pat Rusak. The resolution was adopted by voice vote of all members.
REVIEW OF MINUTES: Arthur Max made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 14th 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 Applications:
AUDREY LANE 31 Melrose Road
Bl. 65, Lot 4 Appl. #11-583
Side Yard RA zone
Audrey Lane of 31 Melrose Rd and Keith Bednar of Bednar Landscaping located at 501 Division Street, Boonton were sworn in. Michael Sullivan explained the changes in requests for variances. After the revised site plan was submitted from the Omland Engineer the southerly side yard setback request was determined to be 15’ 7”. Due to an existing non-conformity the applicant also required an additional variance because the ILC was 28% based on the revised site plan. Peter Bolo explained he was concerned about the conflicting information in the packet. Mr. Sullivan understood his concerns but felt the application could proceed.
Keith Bednar explained the work that he did to the old patio. The existing patio was 605 sq ft. and they added 150 sq ft to it. The foundation of the fireplace and the old patio were there they added the wing walls flanking the fireplace. The existing patio originally went to the edge of the current left wing wall. The new patio and fireplace are a total of 755 sq ft, the existing patio was18 ft across and 15 ft wide. Keith Bednar told the Board a driveway used to go to the back of the right side of the house and was removed by the applicant. Audrey Lane said it went all the way around the house to the back to behind the Kitchen. Arthur Max inquired of Keith Bednar, This was not his 1st project in Mountain Lakes how come he did not come to the board? He responded that the job originally was small adding 4ft to the patio and then they replaced the fireplace. Later the benches along the fireplace were added to the project. In addition he felt the free standing walls were allowed since they were less than 30” in height. Peter Bolo explained to Mr. Bednar that the new ordinance for 30” free standing walls in the setback only applied to the front yard not the side yard.
Pia Abate asked if there was a rule dictating how high a chimney could be. The old fireplace chimney was 3ft tall and is now 6ft. Michael Sullivan said this was an expansion of a non-conforming use and an accessory structure could be up to 20 ft in height. Pat Rusak asked if there was any buffering between the applicant and the neighbor. Audrey Lane said they had added trees and bushes between themselves and the neighbor. Chris Richter asked if the applicant had a survey done when they purchase the property. Mrs. Lane thought they were required to have one for closing on their property.
The Board asked the secretary to find the original files from the old resolutions (2002 & 2003) so the chair could review them. The 2003 resolution stated the ILC was reduced to 25% but did not reference what was originally requested. The Board was looking to see if the old site plans showed the old driveway. They showed the front circular drive but did not show the driveway to the right of the house. Chris Richter said he understood that the applicant had removed the driveway on the right side which was a good thing but the Board had no way of knowing the amount of coverage that was removed. The applicant confirmed the driveway to the right had been built around the new addition.
The chair asked if there were any questions from the public, there were none. He then asked if there were any comments. Lori Roland-Plonski, of 25 Melrose Road, said she lived next door to the applicant and confirmed that the house did at one time have a large driveway to the right. They had lived next door since May 18, 2007 and the Lanes have removed the driveway on the right side and had worked real hard to improve the yard.
Chris Richter asked where the additional asphalt driveway in the front yard went. Audrey Lane said the asphalt accessed the area under the roof porch which is a garage that fits her car. Arthur Max asked the applicant where they could remove ILC to try to reduce the coverage. Mrs. Lane said they would be willing to remove some of the lot coverage. Keith Bednar said they could remove 100 sq ft from the slate walkway and the remaining 50 sq ft from the driveway. Peter Bolo felt the Board could leave it to the applicant to come up with the 150 sq ft that would be removed.
Chris Richter made a motion that the engineer’s plan be revised to show the removal of 150 sq ft of coverage and reduce the ILC calculation. Mary Dietz provided the second. The Board voted 6 to 1 to approve the application with members Bolo, Richter, Dietz, Max, Rusak and Abate voting in favor. Chris Gallo voted against the application.
MAUREEN COLLETON 5 Crane Road
Bk. 100 Lot 70 Appl. #11-584
Side Yard RA zone
Maureen Colleton of 5 Crane Road was sworn in. Ms. Colleton would like to add a generator to her property. She has been told by her electrical contractor she has to put the unit 5 ft off the house due to regulations. Once the unit is installed she will be 5 ft short of the required set back. The electrician told her this was the only place he could install it.
Exhibit A-1 was a set of specification for the generator. Mary Dietz commented that it was a nice compact gas fired unit but she felt that is could be located elsewhere. Ms. Colleton had asked her contractor if the unit be installed under the solarium but he told her the unit could not be located inside in the house. Chris Richter said he has installed generators and he thought you could find another location in the front yard and screen it with landscaping. Maureen Colleton said she lived alone and when she lost her power she lost her telephone, alarm and heating. She felt the generator was a necessity. Mary Dietz confirmed the applicant had a new house that was built right to the property line, she did not consider that a hardship. Pia Abate agreed it could be put to the right of the front door in the front yard with landscaping. Chris Richter confirmed the air conditioning units were next to the chimney. He then asked how far the neighbor’s bamboo screening went, it did not follow the property line and there are other plants along the line. Maureen Colleton said she selected the unit with a low decibel reading of 67 which she understood to be a quite reading. Mr. Richter said that was higher than the allowed noise standard for at night which is 65 db.
Mr. Bolo asked if there were any questions or comments from the public. Gary Goldsmith of 12 York Road, is a contractor, he told the Board that there were guidelines for natural gas and electrical lines. For a gas line you need to be 5 ft from a window or opening to the house and 3 ft from an electrical source.
Mr. Richter told the Board that generators needed to be tested monthly. Ms. Colleton said she had put in a new gas heating system last year with an electric starter. She travels a lot but luckily was home the day her pipes froze and she lost electricity for 5 days. Mary Dietz appreciated her needs but the Board needed to have a better understanding why the unit couldn’t go elsewhere. Chris Richter thought the applicant needed to look at other opportunities for its location. Chris Gallo said he would like to see it placed next to the air conditioning units and he was concerned about the noise. Pia Abate was concerned about the noise and was having trouble approving the unit in the setback. Pat Rusak was concerned about the noise. Peter Bolo said he could not approve the unit in the setback.
Mrs. Colleton requested the application be carry to the next meeting so she could bring her electrician. Mary Dietz made a motion to carry application to February 3rd and Chris Gallo seconded the motion. The motion was approved by voice vote.
KATHY & PETER DYDENSBORG 195 Boulevard
Bl. 56, Lot 17 Appl. 11-585
Front Yard Exception R-AA zone
Kathy Dydensborg and Peter Dydensborg of 195 Boulevard, Gary Goldsmith of 12 Yorke Road and Daniel Clark a licensed Architect were sworn in. Mr Clark showed the Board Exhibit A-1, a colorized version of sheet V-1, a site plan already submitted. Mr. Clark explained there would be no changes in ILC and the majority of the house was one story. The original part of the house is 2 stories. The front of the house faces west and sits back about 170 ft from the public sidewalk. Exhibit A-2 was an aerial photo of the house that showed a buffer in the front of the house. Exhibit A-3 was series of 11 photos showing the front of the house. Even in the winter time the house was hard to see from the road. The current roof pitch is 6 on 12 and appears to be squashed.
Exhibit A-4 was a colorized version of the second floor already submitted. The only change made to the second floor layout was the access to the attic. The stair case was only 2’ft 5” and they were widening the stair by 1’1” to make that attic more accessible. Exhibit A- 5 was a colorized version of the attic plan. The existing attic would be completely removed. A new roof would be installed with a 2’ 9” higher ridge and the slope will now be increased to a 10/12 pitch.
Michael Sullivan stated the normal front yard setback is 40 ft. but the applicant was requesting a front yard exception to modify an existing non-conforming condition where the setback of 151.79’ was the average of the 2 neighboring houses. Exhibit A-6 was sheet V-4 already submitted showing the elevations of the house. The edge of the roof stays the same but the peek of the roof does change by 2’9” due to the raising of the roof. The proposed new bedroom needed to add an egress window. The chimneys would now look in proportions.
Arthur Max stated that the neighbor’s roof lines were higher than the applicants so this renovation would bring their roof in line with the neighbors. Pat Rusak asked if this was Hapgood’s house, yes it was. She then asked if the chimney’s were changing. It was not the applicants plan to change them but they may have to add one ft. to them. They would not know this until they actually do the construction.
There was no one present from the public.
Chris Gallo made a motion to approve the application as presented. Arthur Max provided the second. And the Board voted 7 to 0 to approve the application with members Bolo, Richter, Dietz, Max, Rusak, Gallo and Abate voting in favor.
CYNTHIA GALLAGHER & SHAUN MANCHAND 179 Lake Drive
Bl. 101, Lot 74 Appl. 11-586
Side Yard R-A zone
Arthur Max recused himself since he lives within 200 ft of the property. Cynthia Gallagher and Shaun Manchand of 179 Lake Drive were sworn in. They have a non-conforming side yard situation; their lot is very public and has no private yard. The property has a 2005 resolution previously granting a side yard setback of 24 ft. Since submitting their application they had a new survey (Exhibit A-1) of the property done and a new ILC calculation (Exhibit A-2). The new ILC is 19.5% and the new side yard setback is 9’1”. They experience a lot of water run off from Fernwood Road onto their property. We were adding a retaining wall to control the run off. They will be planting Norway spruce, boxwood and yews in the planter bed.
Mary Dietz asked the applicant if they were aware they were going into their side yard setback, they were not. Pia Abate asked why they needed two walls. If they had only one wall they would have had a wall over 30” tall. They chose to go with two small walls. Exhibit A-3 and A-4 were colored photos already submitted of the patio before and after the work was done.
Exhibit- 5 was a photo of the drainage working being done.
Chris Gallo asked if there was an existing vegetative buffer between their property and their neighbors, the applicant responded there was a lot of vegetation. Exhibit A-6 and A- 7 were color photos of the buffer area. The Zoning Officer had issued a stopped work order on Dec 6th and they stopped working on the patio. The old patio was 10’ x 23’6” and the new patio is 14’ 9” x 30’. Mr. Manchand said their home was on a very busy street now but they had moved from Manhattan. They were unaware of the ordinances process.
Dr. Bolo asked if there were any questions or comments from the public. Arthur Max, of 390 Morris Ave., told the Board he was concerned that the applicant was changing the water flow and they could be diverting it from their property to his. Could the Board require the applicant install a dry well. Shaun Manchand said the town installed new curbing which has helped but not eliminated the water flow. Chris Richter explained to the applicants that they were adding impervious coverage to their property. Mary Dietz suggested they add dry well in the front yard to the right of the walkway. She suggested a trench drain to address the water run off from the house. The drain could be sent to a 500 gallon seepage pit. Chris Gallo asked if the fire pit had a chimney, it did not. The Borough currently has no ordinance covering fire pits.
Chris Richter made a motion to approve the application subject to installation of seepage pit in front yard with the addition of the trench drain and one roof leader on the corner of the house that would be connected to the seepage pit. Mary Dietz provided the second with the Board voting to approve the application 6 to 0. Board members Bolo, Richter, Dietz, Rusak, Abate and Gallo voted in favor.
Other Matters / Public Comment:
The 2010 Annual Report was presented to the Board for their approval. Peter Bolo made two corrections to the report. A motion was made by Chris Gallo to accept with the report with the corrections and a second was provided by Pia Abate. The report was adopted by a voice vote of all the Board members present.
The Board has received a lot of Applications after home improvement projects have begun. The Board felt we needed to do a better job of educating the public. It was the Board’s recommendation that all homeowners speak about the Zoning Department before they did work on their home. Maybe the subject matter could be covered in the Mayors monthly letter. The Secretary informed the Board was currently working on an updated version of the “Resident’s Guide to Mountain Lakes”. The guide provided and overview of the town Ordinances, services and resources.
There is also an old handout from the Zoning Office that is a current source of information for many contractors and landscapers doing work in the Borough. The Board requested the secretary send the Flyer to board members to review.
Pat Rusak made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Mary Dietz provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Shaw, Secretary