MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES
August 7, 2014
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 16, 2014. Said resolution was mailed to The Citizen and The Morris County Daily Record and by filing the same with the Borough Clerk on January 23, 2014 and was made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.
Start: 7:30 pm
ROLL CALL:
Present: Richter, Bolo (7:34), Max, Dietz, Murphy and Vecchione (7:32)
Absent: McConnell, Sheikh, Tolud
Also Present: Attorney Michael Sullivan
REVIEW OF MINUTES: Mary Dietz made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 10th meeting. Stephen Vecchione provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote by all members.
MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:
DAVID & JULIE SHEPHERD Appl. #13-637
James Murphy made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval; Chris Richter seconded the motion. The resolution was passed by a vote of 5 to 0 with members Richter, Bolo, Dietz, Murphy and Vecchione voting to approve the resolution.
BILL & MELISSA ALBERGO Appl. #14-638
Mary Dietz made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval; Stephen Vecchione seconded the motion. The resolution was passed by a vote of 5 to 0 with members Richter, Bolo, Dietz, Murphy and Vecchione voting to approve the resolution.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
JOHN & ANDREA FALCO 280 Morris Avenue
Blk. 104, Lot 1 Appl. #14-639
FAR, Front Setback, Height R-A Zone
Seth Leeb, a licensed Architect in the state of NJ and John Falco, of 280 Morris Avenue, would be presenting the application. Chris Richter, asked about item #5 on the check list. Mr. Leeb explained the location of easements, right-of-ways and zone boundaries on the site plan were not applicable to this application.
Mr. Leeb said the Falco family moved to Mountain Lakes one year ago and wished to renovate their home to make it more usable. He presented exhibit A-1 a photo board consisting of 10 photos of the house from various angles. Exhibit A-2, a colorized version of the site plan dated 7/17/14, was also introduced. The home at 280 Morris is a Hapgood and can be found on the contributing dwelling list so they are applying under Ordinance 08-12. The home has several existing non-conforming bulk requirements. They include the height and stories on both the front and sides of the home in addition to the average front setback. The lot has a stream and wetlands on it and it slopes down toward the back property line. They plan to move the driveway away from the stream to the other side of the house and put the new garages there. Mr. Leeb referred to drawing V-4, the elevations of the house, already submitted. The slope of the property creates a situation where both the third floor and the basement count toward FAR. The two sides of the house are 4 stories high. He introduced sheet V-5, the front elevation, and pointed out the existing home had 3 stories where 2 ˝ stories are allowed. The height exceeded the allowed 35 ft in the front and it did not meet the average front setback so they need several variances for the front of the house. In the front of the house they were changing the enclosed porch to an open covered porch. Mr. Leeb felt this would make the home more like it was originally built however they did not have any historic photos as evidence.
Michael Sullivan questioned if they needed the variance for the stories since that was not changing. Mr. Leeb said the building envelope size was increasing because of the footprint of the additions so the existing height calculation changed slightly. He referenced the height calculations done by Dykstra Walker found on the site plan exhibit, the height increases .7 of a foot with the additions. The property levels off a bit in the back creating an area for the addition. Mr. Leeb presented sheet V-1 the basement plan. Currently the Falco’s have a one car attached garage that is not accessible from the house and an open covered storage area. They plan to knock down covered storage area and garage and replace with a 2 car garage and enclosed storage area with the 1st floor addition on top. There will be a 4.5 ft change in elevation around the 1st floor of the existing home. There is 6.5 feet of perimeter causing the basement to be counted as a story.
Mr. Leeb concluded he wanted to create more functionality in the home for the owners. They wanted to house 2 cars in the garage and add a mud and laundry room in the basement area. They were willing to eliminate the 1st floor bedroom/den area to create a new family room and connect the rear of the house to the backyard. Lastly they wished to restore the historic character of the house. The stream presents a problem for them. If the application is approved they will file for DEP approval. Under the historic preservation ordinance the FAR is adjusted to 21%. Their existing FAR is 26.8% and 29.3% is proposed. If the basement did not count they would not need an FAR variance. If they were to put garages anywhere else the stream would create a need for additional variances. They are not making changes to the second or third floor. On the 1st floor they are creating a new powder room and redoing the steps to the basement. The existing staircase to the rest of the house will stay as is. They are enlarging and renovating the kitchen and adding the family room. The patio and stairs to the left of the house are non-conforming so they will be removed and replaced with just stairs. The property is heavily wooded and you can’t see the addition from Morris Avenue. There is Borough land behind and to the left of the property.
Chairmen Richter asked if anyone from the public wish to be heard. Jaroslav Mesicek, of
275 Morris Ave, asked what would happen to existing driveway? Seth Leeb answered they would remove the old driveway, walkway and wood platform. All of them would be replaced with grass. They are increasing the ILC but they are adding a dry well to compensate.
Chairmen Richter asked if the Board had any questions. Mary Dietz asked if the new stairs in the front yard setback were allowed; yes they were. She asked about the front door. The front door is not the original to the home and the one they are proposing is not original but they are restoring the porch to the original. Mrs. Dietz questioned whether this was in the spirit of the ordinance. Michael Sullivan reminded the Board the Zoning Officer signed off on applying under the new ordinance. Mary Dietz had a problem with the increased lot coverage. She pointed out the new garage was larger than the allowed 500 sq. ft. Seth Leeb explained they could not do a 2 car garage less than 20.6 feet wide. Mrs. Dietz said it could be done with a single garage door rather than two. Mr. Leeb answered that would not be in keeping with a typical Mountain Lakes garage. If you make the garage smaller than the additional space would go into the storage area and it would count as FAR with this design the 500 sq. ft. is exempt.
Arthur Max pointed out the driveway area around the garage was large. Seth Leeb said they added additional parking for ease of access to the homes side door which increases the ILC. The driveway is 12 ft. wide which is better for a driveway but it could be reduced to 10.5 ft. The area in front of the garage doors is 28 ft. wide. The hot tub is included in the ILC. Mr. Max pointed out the 10 ft drop in elevation from the front to rear of the property. He was concerned water would flow down the driveway into the backyard. Mr. Leeb said the drywell takes care of the water from the leaders but not the driveway. They could add a trench drain to capture the driveway run off.
Peter Bolo thought this was an excellent application. Jim Murphy noticed the dry well was at the lowest point on the property. Mr. Leeb answered it was not because the stone retaining wall elevated the area the tank would be installed. Chris Richter asked if the town inspect the hole for the dry well to make sure it will be adequate; he was concerned about groundwater filling the hole. The Board Administrator confirmed they did inspect. Mr. Murphy asked why the applicant answered N/A to last question on the Eligibility for Bulk Incentives form. Mr. Leeb said the renovation was not a side addition or side porch. He confirmed there would be no windows or screening on the covered front porch. Stephen Vecchione asked how big the new driveway was; it is 1900 sq. ft. Can you get in the existing garage, no they can’t. Could they bring in fill to change the grade of the driveway; Chris Richter answered the town does not allow that. Jim Murphy asked if the existing garage flooded. John Falco responded it does because of the gutters. Chris Richter commented it was a good design he liked moving the driveway away from the stream and the height is preexisting. There is a lot of FAR but there was not much else you can do about it. The ILC was really high and asked if they could reduce the width of the driveway from 12 ft to 11 ft. The parking space was a problem for him he thought it should be eliminated. A new ILC calculation would be needed. Mr. Leeb said the applicant was willing to do a driveway 11 ft wide and remove the parking space. Mr. Richter asked if the applicant was willing to comply with conditions 5, 7, 8 of Bill Ryden’s report; yes they would. Michael Sullivan said the resolution would also state they had applied under the historical ordinance.
Mary Dietz said she would like to see them move the garage door wall back two feet to remove some of the ILC. Seth Leeb said they could move the wall back by 2ft but the 1st floor would be to cantilever 2ft. This would reduce the FAR approximately 40 sq. ft.
The Chair asked if anyone from the public wished to comment on the application; no one did.
Arthur Max confirmed the flow of water would be left to to the engineer and owner to figure out.
Mary Dietz made the motion to approve the application with an 11 ft wide driveway and the removal of the parking space. The garage would be recessed by 2 ft reducing the ILC & FAR. A new certification for FAR and ILC would be required. The applicant would comply with conditions 5, 7 and 8 of Mr. Ryden’s review letter. The applicant could maintain the 28 ft turn around in front of the garage. She added she thought the proposed renovations were a great plan. A second was provided by Stephen Vecchione. The Board voted 6 to 0 to approve the application with the above conditions; members Richter, Bolo, Dietz, Max Murphy and Vecchione voted in favor.
Other Matters / Public Comment:
No one wished to speak during the public portion of the meeting.
The Zoning Board Administrator reminded new members to sign up with her for the required training classes.
Peter Bolo made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Arthur Max provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Shaw, Secretary