MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

OF THE PLANNING BOARD OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

May 24, 2007

 

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, Melikian, Dunn, Batty, Webb, Davis, Shaw, Palmer,    Lightner              Absent:  Pitcher       

Also Present:  Attorney Peter Henry

 

REVIEW OF MINUTES:  The amended minutes of the May 10 meeting were approved by voice vote. 

 

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:      

      WEBER HOMES                    Resolution

Steve Shaw thanked Attorney Henry for responding with the draft quickly.  Henry said that Kurnos had no comments.  Frank Dunn asked about the term flats; Henry said that was the term referenced.  Barbara Palmer asked about page 4, adequate parking space; Who determines that?  Palmer said that there are adequate parking spaces in total, but the townhouse spaces are not really accessible by the other residents.  Is that a problem?  Peter Henry said that the testimony stated that they exceeded the minimum, that is what is on the record.  Armen Melikian referred to the previous resolution.  Attorney Henry said this is not an amended resolution, it is a resolution of the action you took on May 10.  Steve Shaw made the motion to adopt the resolution, seconded by Gary Webb and approved by 7-0 roll call of eligible voters.

 

CHRISTINA & WAYNE KOCH       Appl. #07-230

Steve Shaw asked about page 7, #11, is that in effect?  Attorney Henry said it is to be determined in the future, depending upon what COAH is requiring at the time.  Henry said he routinely adds this to any construction projects.  Joan Nix questioned pg. 3, item 7; she thought that the dry wells would cover more than the net coverage; the net runoff should be less than previous conditions.  Atorney Henry said that’s where they started, but this covers more than the rear; the dry wells will be located so that drainage will be toward the rear of the property; the dry wells will capture drainage from the street side of the house.  The motion for approval of the resolution was made by Gary Webb, seconded by Steve Shaw and carried by 8-0 roll call vote

 

TONY DIMARCO                              Appl. #07-232

The motion to approve the resolution for the soil moving was made by Steve Shaw, seconded by Gary Webb and carried by 8 - 0 roll call of eligible voters.

 

 

PUBLIC HEARINGS: 

All applicants and witnesses were sworn in by Attorney Henry.

 

MOUNTAIN LAKES BOARD of EDUCATION      Appl. #07-233

Major Soil Moving                                                        RA zone

The Superintendent of Schools, John Kazmark, described the project to install an artificial turf field over the existing football and lacrosse field.  Approximately 2450 cubic yards of soil needs to be removed before installing the turf.   They have plans to move the soil to another site on school property.  The path removal would be from the field behind Wildwood School, right onto Glen Road, left and south on the Boulevard to Route 46.  They hope to complete the soil removal prior to the beginning of this year’s summer recreation program.  Peter Henry asked if the removal route has been reviewed by the Police Department.  Kazmark said yes, Chief Tovo has approved and initialed the plan. 

Vincent Yoos, of FieldTurf Tarkett, was qualified as the construction and project manager; he is a professional engineer in NJ, MD, & PA.  He has done approximately 60 of these fields in the past year.  Yoos  testified that he estimated soil removal would require approximately 150 truckloads from five trucks and, weather permitting, the soil removal project would take approximately four days; replacement material would be stone.  We would excavate all the topsoil off the site, build a curb along the perimeter, dump the stone, spread and compact it, ending with the finishing stone.  There will be a perimeter drain surrounding the field, a 2’ by 3’ trench.  There will be roll-out piping angled from the center of the field.  The drainage layout was marked as Exhibit A1.  This drainage will tie into the existing drainage system around the field.  There will be geotextile fabric on top of the stone that allows percolation.  Yoos estimated that the discharge leaving the field will be the same as today but will be a slower discharge because it is a longer run than the existing system.  There is a 30% to 40% void within the stone.  There will be 6” of stone (1800 cu. yds.)  Yoos estimated that it would take approximately two days to prepare the base and three days to haul in the stone.  The base of the field will be ready within 2 to 3 weeks.  Sandy Batty asked if there are soil erosion measures planned.  Yoos said the contractor will be responsible to maintain the cleanliness of the roads and parking lot.

Barbara Palmer asked how the surface is cleaned after it is installed.  Yoos said that experience has shown that it is not a problem.  There is no cleaning solution used regularly unless there is an unusual spill upon the surface.  After the stone layer, there is a sand mix and a grass fiber, with rubber pellets that make the grass fiber stand up.  There is a machine that “grooms” the grass fiber.  The track will be protected and will be functional after the project is complete.  Kazmark said that this FieldTurf company was chosen because of their success with fields at Rutgers and Giants Stadium.

 

From the Public:  Andrew Charwat, 38 Wilcox Drive, expressed concern about runoff onto his property.  Yoos said that this project will improve the drainage.  Our system catches the water, it is channeled and is more controlled than the current system.

Board Comments:  Barbara Palmer asked about the quality of the water runoff.  What does it pick up on its way to the stream?  Yoos – it is cleaner because the sand filters it.  Kazmark added that this field will not need to be fertilized and will not be limed.  The existing irrigation system will be removed.  Kazmark noted the cost and ecological benefits of that.

There were no other questions.  Steve Shaw commended the volunteer effort to fund this project.  Shaw made the motion to approve the soil removal permit as applied, seconded by Gary Webb and carried by 9-0 roll call vote.

The applicant retained the exhibits.

 

Carried to June 28:

DANIEL FERRANTE             Bl. 99, Lots 1 & 6

2 Esplanade, 248 Morris                      Appl. #07-231

Major subdivision                                 RA zone

 

REPORTS: 

Joan Nix noted that she no longer serves on the Historic Preservation Commission.  She reported that the HPC has sought advice from someone with expertise on preservation laws.  They provided information from the Borough and Michele Donato commented.  The most important suggestions were revisions to the Historic Element of the Master Plan and the Conservation Plan.

Steve Shaw noted that some of these documents are more than six months old and this is the first he has seen  them.  He believes that we should rely upon our own professionals and he speculated that the Council will be surprised that they have not been aware of this process.  Mike Lightner recommended that this be forwarded to both the Ordinance Committee and the Master Plan Committee.

 

Peter Henry suggested that this could be part of the Master Plan Reexamination Process.  He said that both the public and the governing body need to be informed and involved in the process.  The Historic Preservation Element of the Master Plan needs to be examined with this effort in mind.  Peter Henry estimated that the Reexamination is due by October, 2008.  Paul Selver suggested that we need to define what is significant.  Joan Nix pointed out that there are factual statements in the Master Plan that need to be updated.  Gary Webb said that there may be major Master Plan revisions, depending upon what we decide to do regarding the Highlands.  Sandy Batty noted that, if we decide that we want to ‘opt in’ on the Highlands, there may be grants available.

Mike Lightner said that he doesn’t believe it would be efficient for us to make major changes in the Master Plan at this time.  The Master Plan Committee should invite feedback from Council and other sources.  Sandy Batty suggested that we get more local committees involved so we don’t repeat the problems encountered with historic preservation efforts in the early 90’s.

Louise Davis suggested that the Planning Board Chair send a letter to the HPC recommending that this be handled during our process of review of the Master Plan.  Gary will send this correspondence to Council. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

                                                                                    Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

                                                                                    Marge Jackson, Secretary