MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

December 8, 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, Cohen, Abate, Richter, Rusak, Dietz and Willke

Absent: Gallo

Also Present:  Attorney Michael Sullivan

 

REVIEW OF MINUTES:  Pat Rusak made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 3rd meeting with corrections. Chris Richter provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote by all members.

 

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:

ANDREW GITTLE & ELIZABETH BOROW Appl. #11-602

 

Mark Cohen made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval with corrections; Pia Abate seconded the motion.  The resolution was passed by a vote of 5 to 0 with members Bolo, Richter, Cohen, Max, and Abate voting in favor.

 

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

   Carried Application:

LOREN ISENBURG & GARY PERLER          1 Hillcrest Road

Blk. 95, Lot 36                                                  Appl. #11-605

Side                                                                  R-A zone

 

The Board Secretary received a request to carry the Isenburg/Perler application until January 5, 2012. Chris Richter made a motion to carry the application and Tim Willke provided the second.  The motion was carried by a voice vote of all members present.

 

   New Application

ALPESH AMIN & KIRTIDA RANA               29 Crystal Road

Blk. 31, Lot 20                                                  Appl. #11-604

ILC, Front Setback, Shoreline                             R-AA zone

 

Alpesh Amin and Kirtida Rana, owners of 29 Crystal Road will soon be moving into their new home. Richard Nelson, a licensed Architect in the state of New Jersey presented the application. The house is in R-AA zone. Exhibit A-1 was a colorized version of the site plan already submitted. Mr. Nelson explained the shoreline meanders so the new addition will not block the view of the lake for the neighbors. Although the deck in back does not block anyone’s view it will be located outside the shoreline setback.  The current front door is hard to find. The applicant will need a front yard variance for the new covered walkway to the front door. They would not need the variance if the town had not taken the 5 ft. along the front of the property in 1962 for a sewer easement.

Pia Abate asked Mr. Nelson if he could explain the shoreline rule.  Richard Nelson said you need to draw a line connecting the back of neighbor’s homes. The rear of the applicant’s home cannot bust the line created. They will be removing some of the lot coverage to take into account the foot print of the new addition. The applicant will be using the existing first floor and adding a second story to the home. Exhibit A-2 was the front elevation colorized. Mr. Nelson said he had created a 1 ½ story look for the house.  The new second floor will be 40% of the first floor.  Exhibit A-3 was the 1st floor plan colorized. Richard Nelson reviewed the ILC; the total square footage will remain 6170 sq ft. The proposed additions are 1170 sq ft. They will be removing the screened in porch, the front entry, the rear patio and steps as well as the front walkways for a total of 1170 sq. ft. Exhibit A-4 was a colorized version of the second floor elevation already submitted. Mary Dietz questioned the ceiling height in garage, it seemed low.  Richard Nelson confirmed the height was low at 6.8 ft.  Exhibit A-5 was the rear elevation colorized and Exhibit A-6 was the side elevations colorized. Nr. Nelson pointed out the front elevation was well below the maximum height of 35 ft. The house sits down from the road making it appear even smaller.

Mary Dietz said she was having trouble with how he calculated the ILC.  To explain the calculation variations Mr. Nelson presented Exhibit A-7 the original survey dated 10-18-11 prepared by Richard Hudson. He also presented Exhibit A-8, a photo of the rear of the house showing the existing concrete patio.  The new addition will go over the concrete area. Mary Dietz asked if they were keeping the existing front walkway. Mr. Nelson said they would be reworking the front walk and would be willing to prepare an as-built survey to confirm the front walkway would be reduced in size.  Pia Abate confirmed the new deck busts the shoreline setback but not the rear setback. Mark Cohen also asked for the clarification of the calculations done by Richard Hudson verses Mr. Nelson’s. Richard Nelson reviewed the differences. He agreed to an as-build survey to confirm the ILC of 26.89%.

Chris Richter asked the applicant what he could do to stay within the 40 ft front yard setback.  Mr. Nelson explained they would have to remove the front covered walkway.  Mr. Richter confirmed if they removed the covered veranda they would comply.  He then asked about the lake side setback, why did the deck have to encroach into the lakeside setback why not relocate it. Rick Nelson said they could move it but it would not be near the kitchen plus this location aesthetically looked better. Mr. Richter said it looks like 6 ft of the deck goes into the setback. Rick Nelson said he would reconfigure the deck so it complied and would be within the setback however, they would still be need a variance due to the second story addition.

There was no one present from the public.

Doctor Bolo asked if there were any comments from the Board. Chris Richter thought they did a great job architecturally. He was glad to see they were removing part of the deck but would like to see the front setback at 40 ft. Arthur Max thought the front worked, he liked how it was drawn.  Mary Dietz was concerned about the numbers for ILC; they don’t seem to match up. She liked the deck reworked and thinks the front veranda works and is an appropriate solution. Pia Abate was glad to see the shoreline view being maintained.  Mark Cohen was also concerned with the ILC numbers not adding up. Pat Rusak liked the front walkway since the street was irregular she was fine with the variance.  Tim Willke was also concerned with the ILC numbers not adding up.

A motion was made by Mary Dietz to accept the application as presented along with the ILC verification and the elimination of the wood deck in the shoreline set back. Pat Rusak provided the second.  The Board voted 6 to 1 to approve the application with members Bolo, Cohen, Dietz, Max, Rusak and Abate voting in favor.  Chris Richter voted against the application.

 

RANDY BENDER                                           19 East Shore Road

Blk. 23, Lot 17                                                  Appl. #606

FAR, Front, ILC                                                R-AA zone

 

Randy Bender, of 19 East Shore Road, was the applicant. Her Architect, Thomas Chauvette, licensed in the sate of New Jersey presented the application. Ms. Bender had let her resolution of approval dated July 5, 2007 laps. The applicant has made minor changes to the previously submitted application. They are now keeping the existing kitchen no longer pushing out the back of the house. Now they will be removing the kitchen roof and reconstructing it, adding a cathedral ceiling.  They will be adding a new second floor and a covered porch with a deck above. The deck will now be only 10 ft wide and they will be putting a roof over the front porch. The variances requested are front setback, FAR, and ILC. The lot is only 13,440 sq ft in the R-AA zone. They are a small lot in a large lot zone the neighbors’ homes are larger than this one.  The ILC will now be 24.28% which is a reduction of a non-conforming situation. They are accomplishing this by removing a flagstone patio. The FAR will be greater going from 18.03% to 23.45% because of the cathedral ceiling in the kitchen. The unique shape of the lot creates the need for the front yard setback.

Chris Richter confirmed the need for the front yard variance was for the covered porch. Tom Chauvette said they were making the platform larger. Chris Richer asked the Architect what was different from last application when the ILC request was for 22.81%. He responded last time the applicant was going to remove part of the driveway. The shed was to be relocated last time and they will still be relocating it. The old deck would remain and they will be adding a deck around the back of the house.

Dr. Bolo asked if there were any additional questions from the Board. Mary Dietz asked if they considered not doing a full second floor but rather a story and a half. Thomas Chauvette explained the house was already was a story and a half and they did not think the house would look appealing with a shed roof out the back. Peter Bolo asked what changes they were making to the house. Thomas Chauvette said the home currently has a foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom on the 1st floor. They were just relocating the walls and the rooms would stay the same.  The second floor now has 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. They will be adding a bath and bedroom creating a Master Suite. The kitchen is just a roof change adding 168 addition sq ft for the cathedral ceiling. They are adding 561 sq ft on the second floor.

There was no one present from the public.

Doctor Bolo asked for comments from Board. Chris Richter understood the house was small and why they were enlarging it. The deck is currently three feet from the lake but is a preexisting condition.  He requested it be moved back within the lake front setback. The applicant said they were going to leave the deck as is. Mary Dietz thought the increased FAR was excessive. She thought they could come up with something else on the second floor. Mark Cohen was ok with the application as presented.  Pat Rusak thought the house looked out of balance and did not like the FAR increase. The Architect said the house was 2984 sq ft but with the cathedral ceiling included it was 3152 sq ft. Pia Abate was not considering the cathedral ceiling when making her decision. Arthur Max thought it was not too big a house for Mountain Lakes but was large for the lot. Chris Richter said from a planning perspective he thought it worked. A motion was made by Chris Richter to accept the application as presented with the condition the shed be moved as planned. Mark Cohen provided the second. The Board voted 5 – 2 to approve the application presented with the addition of the shed condition. Members Bolo, Richter, Cohen, Max and Abate voted in favor.  Rusak and Dietz voted against the application.

 

RICHARD NELSON                                       37 Lakewood Drive

Blk. 14, Lot 1.01                                                Appl. #11-603

2 Side Setback, ILC, Shoreline                          R-1 zone

 

Richard Nelson, of 37 Lakewood Drive, presented the application for his own home. He was here in 2005 for shoreline, side yard setbacks and ILC variance. His resolution dated July 5, 2005 had expired so he was here tonight asking for the same approvals as last time. He has a one story cottage. Mr. Nelson presented Exhibit A-1 a colorized rendering of site plan. Exhibit A-2 was photo of the house. He has a long narrow lot with side yard setbacks that do not add up to 30 ft as required. The front and shoreline setbacks have changed since the last time he was before the Board due to his neighbors doing work on their homes. Exhibit A-3 was a colorized version of the 1st floor plan already submitted. Exhibit A-4 was the second floor layout and Exhibit A-5 was the front elevation. Mr. Nelson started some of the work on the home once receiving his approval in 2005. He has redone the foundation while residing in the house. He has removed some of the coverage replaced the windows and siding. Right now he would like to make the deck smaller than previously requested and repave the driveway but he can’t do that without renewing the variance. Mr. Nelson had a new survey done which changed the lot size, it is now larger. His driveway really needs to be repaved but rather than doing that he would prefer to remove the existing driveway and install the new driveway in the new location.  The deck will be smaller by 5 ft. Mary Dietz clarified Mr. Nelson was asking for variances he would need in the future. Yes, he will do the house renovations later. Mr. Nelson reviewed the floor plans with the Board, when done the house would be 2800 sq ft.

Dr. Bolo asked if there were any comments from the public. George Jackson, of 131 Laurel Hill Rd, commented the house looked like a four story home when viewed from the side. Chris Richter said the house was a 2 story house with an attic. The windows installed in the attic for ventilation were deceiving. Arthur Max confirmed the side yard line was going from 12 ft to 8 ft is that due to the angle of the property. Mary Dietz asked if Mr. Nelson could move the front entry into the front yard setback and comply. He replied he wanted to keep the foundation straight and square.

A motion was made by Pia Abate to accept the application presented. A second was provided by Mary Dietz.  The application was approve as presented by a vote of 7 – 0 with Board members Bolo, Richter, Cohen, Dietz, Max, Rusak and Abate voting in favor.

             

Other Matters / Public Comment:

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

Peter Bolo read a resolution signed by the Board thanking Tim Willke for his service.

Mark Cohen made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Chris Richter provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 pm.  

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                Respectfully submitted,

           

 

                                                                                                            Cynthia Shaw, Secretary