MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

March 1, 2012

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 5, 2012.  Said resolution was mailed to The Citizen and The Morris County Daily Record and by filing the same with the Borough Clerk on January 9, 2012 and was made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.

ROLL CALL:

Present: Bolo, Max, Abate, Richter, Cohen and Rusak

Absent: Gallo and Dietz

Also Present:  Attorney Michael Sullivan

REVIEW OF MINUTES: Peter Bolo made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 2^nd meeting.  Arthur Max provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote by all members.

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:

ROBERT HOROWITZ & NANCY POLETTI             Appl. #12-609

Peter Bolo made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval; Pia Abate seconded the motion.  The resolution was passed by a vote of 4 to 0 with members Richter, Bolo, Max and Abate voting to approve the application.

PUBLIC HEARINGS: All Applicants and professionals were sworn in by Chair Chris Richter.

Requests to Carry:

JEFFERY SCHMITT                                        12 Craven Road

Blk. 118, Lot 4.06                                              Appl. #12-607

FAR, ILC, Side Setback                                                R-A zone

Jeffery Schmitt requested his application be carried until May 3, 2012. Peter Bolo made a motion to carry the application and Pat Rusak provided the second.  The motion was carried by a voice vote of all members present.

PT ONE, LLC                                                  Old Peartree Rd

Blk. 4, Lot 2.01                                                 Appl. #12-610

            USE, ILC, Front Setback                                   B zone

PT ONE, LLC requested their application be carried until April 5, 2012. Pat Rusak made a motion to carry the application and Arthur Max provided the second.  The motion was carried by a voice vote of all members present.

Carried Application:

THOMAS IZAGUIRRE                                              81 Crane Road

Blk. 115, Lot 18                                                           Appl. #12-608

FAR, Side, & ILC                                                        R-A zone

Thomas Izaguirre, of 81 Crane Road, was back this evening to continue his application. Based on the Board’s comments at the previous meeting he had met with his Architect and adjusted his plans to address their concerns.  The applicant had scaled back the proposed 1^st floor addition by 27%. They eliminated the mud room and eating area and were now pushing the new addition out the back. On the second floor the roof line over the master bath and closet were brought down. They also reduced the wall height in the attic space above the new second floor addition. There would be no changes made to the third floor.

Michael Sullivan reviewed the variances requested.  The FAR had been reduced from 19% to 18.2% where 17% was allowed. The original request was an ILC of 29.2% were 25% was allowed. The new plans called for an ILC of 25.1%.  The front setback on the Pocono Rd side will not change and remains at 25.8 ft. The side yard setback will remain at 2.7 ft. for the existing garage because the latest plan has the new construction tucked in behind the garage continuing the house setback of 12.9 ft.

Pia Abate asked what happened to the patio. The Izaguirre’s eliminated the patio and would only have stairs down to grade. He will install a deck later so he did not increase the ILC. Peter Bolo confirmed the second floor would go straight up over the existing 1^st floor. The applicant said it would with the exterior finished with stucco just like the house was now. The third floor would have 8ft of new attic space only accessible by a scuttle hole. Chris Richter asked the applicant if he could remove some of the asphalt from his driveway to reduce the ILC by .1% thereby removing the need for the ILC variance. The applicant agreed to do so.

Mr. Richter asked if there were any questions from the public, there were none.

Peter Bolo said he thought the new plan was excellent and would benefit to community by upgrading & modernizing the historic home. The overage was small and would not look overly large for the property. He went on to say he appreciated the applicant’s compromises. Mark Cohen agreed with Peter Bolo.

The Board asked the applicant to submit a new ILC calculation to show the agreed upon reduction to 25%. Mr. Bolo made a motion to approve the application with the changes presented tonight.  A second was provided by Mark Cohen.  The Board voted to approve the application 6 to 0 with members Richter, Bolo, Cohen Abate, Max and Rusak voting in favor.

New Applications:

TOM & JEAN RYAN                                                  43 Pollard Road

Blk. 104, Lot 63                                                 Appl. #12-611

ILC and FAR                                                                R-A zone

Larry Korinda, a licensed Architect in the state of NJ, and Jean Ryan of 43 Pollard Road, would be presenting the application. In June of 2004 the Board had granted variances for FAR and ILC.  The applicant was still seeking the same 2 variances. The ILC request would be the same and the FAR would be reduced. The applicant would only be doing a one story addition as apposed to the two story addition requested previously. The 3.4% reduction in ILC resulted from the removal of walkways and patios.  The building footprint would remain the same. The FAR calculation decreased 1.6% since the last submitted application because the applicant eliminated of the second floor addition. The new FAR increase will now be 21.4% rather than 22.3% where 17% is allowed. Exhibit A-1, already submitted, showed the addition going out the back of the house meeting all the required setbacks. This application request was for a .9% increase in FAR. The basement level consisted of a non functioning garage and a new area under the new family room construction. In the future they would like to finish that area as a game room.  Exhibit A-2, already submitted, showed the extended kitchen area as well as the new breakfast area and family room. The door leads out to the deck. Exhibit A-3, already submitted, were the elevations of the house. The new addition incorporated the Hapgood details of the existing house. The existing enclosed front porch would be opened up.

Peter Bolo asked what the front porch was currently used for. Jean Ryan said it was an unheated space used to get into the house. This area would now be open. The new addition out the back could not be seen from the road.  Pat Rusak told the Board historic photos of the house showed it turned sideways on the lot with open sleeping porches.

The Board asked if there were any questions from the public, there were none.

The chair asked if the Board had any comments. Mark Cohen confirmed the original variances had expired. Chris Richter said this was a good application.  Pia Abate said she had no problems approving what was presented. Peter Bolo thought it was a great improvement to an older home.

 Mr. Bolo made a motion to approve the application as presented.  A second was provided Arthur Max.  The Board voted to approve the application 6 to 0 with members Richter, Bolo, Cohen, Abate, Max and Rusak voting in favor.

Other Matters / Public Comment:

There were no members of the public present.

Chris Richter made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Pia Abate provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm. 

                                                                                                Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                                            Cynthia Shaw, Secretary