MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
OF THE PLANNING BOARD OF THE BOROUGH OF
Chairman Mike Lightner read the Open Public Meeting Advertisement Notice: Adequate notice of this meeting was given to the Citizen and the Daily Record, was 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:
Board Members Present:
Nix, Selver (arr.
Also Present: Attorney Peter Henry, Engineer William Ryden
REVIEW OF MINUTES: The modified minutes of the January 25 meeting were approved by voice vote.
MEMORIZLIZING RESOLUTIONS:
DEERING / CARTER Appl. #07-228
The motion to approve the resolution for the minor subdivision was made by Steve Shaw, seconded by Barbara Palmer and carried by 6 - 0 roll call of eligible voters.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
All applicants and witnesses were sworn in by Attorney Henry.
BILL & ELLEN GASCOIGNE Bl.20, Lot 84
Major soil moving permit RA zone
Engineer Henry Huelsebusch
testified that he prepared the plans, last revised
Rob Pitcher asked when they
planned to schedule construction. Ellen
Gascoigne said they are mindful of the schools, so construction workers will be
informed of the school schedule, where they should park, etc. Pitcher suggested that the schedule be
changed to begin at
Steve Shaw asked for clarification
about the height of the wall, referring to the detail on page 3. Huelsebusch explained that the wall will be
three feet high along the driveway, increasing to 8 feet on the northwest
corner of the turnaround. Joan Nix asked
if the frontyard exception would not apply to the wall along Bellvale and she
speculated that a variance might be required.
It was noted that a variance has not been applied for or noticed, so it
is not an issue for this Board. In
response to Sandy Batty’s question, Bill Ryden noted that this retaining wall
is not an unusual height; he also withdrew his previous recommendation for the
overflow system. Ryden asked that
Ryden & Henry pointed out that
this soil moving permit would be valid only for the specific plan submitted
here. If that plan changes, they may
have to return for a different approval.
Rob Pitcher moved to accept the plan with Ryden’s change in the overflow
pipe and the suggested change in the time plan for the morning. Gascoigne said that she told the contractor
they could not be moving trucks during school time, therefore operations will
be allowed from
CHRISTINA & WAYNE KOCH Bl. 45 Lot 86
Major soil moving permit RA zone
Wayne and Christina
presented the application; their engineer was not able to attend. The landscape plan was entered as Exhibit A1
to show the proposed landscaping and wrought iron fence surrounding the
pool. They propose two walls, maintaining
the existing grade of the property. The
application states that 408 cubic yards of soil would be imported; Koch thought
there would not be any additional soil, based on the engineer’s statement. The Board noted that they need to know the
source of the soil and how it will be delivered. The Board recommended carrying the
application to the April 26 meeting to allow the applicant to provide the
necessary information. Ryden wants to
see the details of the ILC calculations including the proposed pool.
DANIEL FERRANTE Bl. 99, Lots 1 & 6
2 Esplanade, 248 Morris Appl. #07-231
Major subdivision RA zone
Attorney Roy Kurnos,
representing the Ferrantes, described the proposed subdivision; the total area
of the two properties is 2.45 acres.
Each proposed lot exceeds the minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet for
the RA zone. Kurnos pointed out that the
Borough prefers preservation of the Hapgood homes and this plan preserves the
two stucco homes. The four variances
requested all deal with the minimum building envelope requirements. The waivers requested are for the EIS because
the addition of two more homes will not change the impact to the environment
and they do not feel the EIS is required.
Marc Walker testified that the property does not create a requirement
for any off site improvements. There
would be no environmental impact; it is outside the prime aquifer area and
there is no dedicated parkland. The
disturbance will impact less than one acre. Rob Pitcher said that this property drains to
an area of existing problems from runoff.
Barbara Palmer noted
that the Esplanade was listed as being within the prime aquifer area. Lightner pointed out that this is one reason
we need the EIS. Board members agreed
that they would like to see an EIS and stormwater calculations. Ryden pointed out that the RSIS does not
trigger stormwater calculations.
Ryden referred to
his 3/22 letter; this application is not creating any new roadways and has
minimal disturbance. Steve Shaw agreed
with Ryden; this project would not have significant environmental impact. Sandy Batty agreed that many of the EIS
requirements are beyond what we need to know but she would like more information
on the aquifer and surface water management; she would like to know how the
water would flow off the properties.
Mike Lightner stated
that he would not consider a waiver if the issue is “fuzzy”; we would also like
to have a modified EIS including the surface water management (letter E on the
EIS). Lightner polled the Board, agreeing that the EIS should be provided at
least 10 days prior to the next meeting.
Peter Henry
recommended that there should be a formal vote on the three requested waivers. The EIS could be abbreviated, the soil water
management could be combined in the EIS.
The landscape plan should be provided.
Rob Pitcher made the
motion to require Henry’s recommendation, seconded by Steve Shaw and carried by
8-0 roll call vote. No additional notice
is required.
Carried to
TONY DIMARCO Bl. 97, Lot 7
Major soil moving permit RA zone
REPORTS:
Sandy Batty reported that the Mountain Lakes Highlands Committee has been meeting. We have reviewed the plan. We expect that the comment period has been extended to May 11 and we will provide some comments.
Barbara Palmer represented the Planning Board at the All Boards Meeting in January. Barbara noted that all committees and chairpersons should be appointed.
Mike Lightner said that the Site Plan Review Committee consists of himself, Rob Pitcher and Armen Melikian.
The Master Plan Committee will be Mike, Barbara, Roberta Spray (if willing), Joan Nix and Armen Melikian.
Steve suggested that the mayor might want to chair the Ordinance Committee.
The Board agreed that the Traffic Committee could be suspended.
Mike Lightner agreed to be the Procedures Committee.
Barbara Palmer asked whether water allocation is an issue for considering subdivisions. Is this something we should be concerned about? Should we declare a moratorium on subdivisions?
Peter Henry questioned whether we had the power to do that.
Bill Ryden said, if you have insufficient capacity, the DEP will not allow you to connect to the water system.
We should let Kurnos know that there may be an issue with water capacity for the proposed subdivision.
The meeting was adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
Marge Jackson, Secretary