MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD
OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES
July 23, 2009
Chair Sandy Batty read the Open Public Meeting Advertisement Notice: Adequate notice of this meeting was given to the Citizen and the Daily Record, 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:
Members Present: Nachshen, Holmberg, Shaw, Batty, Nix, Selver (7:40), Bailey, Gormally (7:40-9:30)
Absent: Kane
Also Present: Attorney Peter Henry
REVIEW OF MINUTES: Peter Holmberg made a motion to adopt the minutes of the June 25, 2009 meeting with corrections. Stephen Shaw seconded the motion; they were approved by voice vote.
MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:
KLINGENBURG Appl. 09-237
Peter Henry, the Planning Board Attorney, informed the board he was replacing the last clause of item 16 on the resolution so that the applicant could potentially sell both lots. However, the new buyers would have to build homes like those presented by Mr. Nelson, the Architect. Stephen Shaw made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval with the change made by Mr. Henry; Peter Holmberg seconded the motion. The resolution was carried by a 4-0 roll call vote of all eligible voters.
Highlands’ Element – A discussion of the draft Highland’s Plan Element must be discussed at a public hearing before the deadline of September 1, 2009. Sandy Batty explained that if the Borough decides to “opt in” the Highlands Plan they will have an opportunity to review the element again. Peter Henry added there was not a lot you can change in the plan. You can only make changes to the plans that are actual facts about your town. You can not change the policy the Highlands Council has set. This is a draft and should not be adopted without discussion. The board has to vote whether or not we would like to participate.
Paul Selver asked if someone could explain what the reasons to “opt in” or not were. Stephen Shaw stated the Borough’s Highlands Committee was created by the council. They are charged with developing a recommendation on the highlands and affordable housing and using any grant money that might be available. The committee is reviewing the plan and needed to make their recommendation to the council before September 8th. The council will ultimately decide if the town will “opt in” or not.
Sandy Batty also stated the Planning Board could not change the Highland Council policies. The roll of the Planning Board should be to review the plan to determine if we can live with the policies in the report. She felt the board should look at the Summary of the Highlands Process provided to them by the planners, Kimball & Kimball. Susan Kimball is working on the housing element of the plan. Build out projections for the Borough is 5 houses plus 3 more for job growth, for a total of 8. She is presenting this information to the town’s Highlands Committee on Monday, August 10th. The projected numbers for housing do not reflect the Fusee property currently under construction. Peter Henry pointed out; if the Borough “opts in” to the Highlands Plan it will lower the housing obligation required. The negative is the Borough will loose control over what they do. It is unclear if the state Highlands Council will allow you to develop your redevelopment area the way you want to.
Mrs. Batty stated the board should look at whether the Borough can live with this plan. Stephen Shaw felt that recommendation should come from the Borough Highlands Committee not from the Planning Board. Mr. Henry reminded everyone the Master Plan was a Planning Board document and the Highlands report is based on the Master Plan. He felt it could get sticky if the governing body chose to adopt it and the Planning Board did not want to.
Sandy Batty referred to the Kimball’s memorandum for direction. She suggested the board could give a note to the planner to eliminate the parts of the plan that did not apply to the Borough. Peter Henry reminded the board they needed to take a vote to accept the draft. Charlie Gormally questioned if that meant we were “opting in”. The attorney stated it depends on which agency you talk to. If you do it leaves your options open, the December dead line is really a COAH deadline. You cannot separate the Highlands and COAH but each committee is doing their own thing. Mr. Shaw said Susan Kimball, the planner, said the Borough could create their own affordable housing plan and still meet their state constitutional obligation. However, if you do your own plan you are not protected from a builders remedy suit.
The board then reviewed the items listed in the memorandum from the planners, Kimball & Kimball. Item 1 on page 15 pertains to New Multi-family Residential Development of 6 units per acre. The approved Fusee project has only 5.5 houses per acre. The planners and many members of the board questioned the likelihood of this presenting a problem for the Borough at a later date. Peter Henry pointed out that the Fusee project was approved before the Element was published. The site work is already started. Stephen Shaw reminded the board the Borough is in the planning area of the Highlands. The Fusee project has 8 units that apply toward the COAH obligation on affordable housing, 6 units on round 2 and 2 units on round 3.
Item 2 on page 20 refers to the section of the Highland Plan Element on Redevelopment Planning. The Kimball’s took out any references to the development of agricultural land. But the Midvale Market and Route 46 redevelopment dovetails into our Master Plan nicely. Peter Henry thought there was no downside to identifying a redevelopment area. If you leave it out you may not be allowed to develop it later. Sandy Batty asked what constitutes the actual Midvale area. Which lot and block numbers would apply. Should it include the Post Office and the Library? All of these buildings are privately owned. Jim Bailey thought we should include as much as possible. Charlie Gormally mentioned if we identify these areas as potential redevelopment projects it could cloud the individual property owners’ rights and make it hard for people to sell at a later date. Mr. Henry asked if we could list the area as something we may consider at a later date. Stephen Shaw suggested we leave the area blank. Corey Nachshen mentioned a meeting on the fair share plan that the Kimball’s will be present. We could have the committee make a presentation to the Planning Board. At some point we need to make a decision whether or not to “opt in”.
Stephen Shaw questioned accepting the element with statements that we see as having potential problems. Mrs. Batty suggested the board go with no redevelopment area.
Item #3 on page 44 of the element refers to Transportation. The Highlands Council listed 9 potential transportation areas that could be improved. Most on the list did not apply to the Borough. #1 referred to the railway infrastructure. The board would like to see higher frequency of trains but felt that was not something in their control. Item 6, pedestrian safety, item 7, sidewalks/lighting and item 9, roadway infrastructure improvements should remain on the list. Item #4 of the memorandum pertained to Land Preservation. Currently no additional open space is being purchased by the Borough.
Jim Bailey asked if we “opt in” would the Borough have to go before some committee somewhere else before they could do anything. Corey Nachshen thought it would become another permitting agency. Stephen Shaw thought the Highlands Council may have to review your submission with them before you can proceed with any project. Sandy Batty thought it would be similar to the county planning board.
Peter Henry thought it might be best to put together a general statement to go along with the Borough’s draft acceptance rather than comment about each section at this time. He then read a motion that he suggested to the board. Stephen Shaw made a motion to accept the statement. Paul Selver seconded the motion to accept the statement which was approved by a voice vote. (Statement attached)
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Master Plan Committee – Joan Nix and Jim Bailey are the Planning Board’s Master Plan committee and are reviewing the plan for the board. The Master Plan is a Planning Board document and the committee was looking for the board’s input. Once the final changes are made by the review committee they will submit them to the town planners. This preliminary review will make sure the Borough changes what they want to change in the current plan as well as help control the cost of the planners review.
Chapters 2, The Statement of Objectives, Principles, Assumptions and Policies Underlying the Master Plan and Chapter 5, The Circulation Plan were reviewed by the Planning Board. The suggested changes will be brought back to the committee. Chapter 9, The Recycling Plan was drafted by Joan Best who also worked on the new recycling ordinance. She assumed the new recycling ordinance would be passed and the language in the chapter is based on its passage. The board felt confident that no changes were necessary. Chapter 8, The Recreation Plan was held for our next meeting.
Ordinance Committee – No report was made.
OTHER MATTERS & PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Chairman, Sandy Batty mentioned an email that had been circulation about the Ferrante property at The Esplanade. It concerned Mayor Stephen Shaw participating in the vote for the subdivision of the original property. Stephen Shaw explained he had been contracted by Dan Ferrante to build new home on the site. He mentioned responding to the author of the email. Sandy Batty said she had been forwarded the email but did not see his response. He then read the following email response he sent to the resident. “Apparently, some people are attempting to politicize my recent building work in town claiming I have a conflict of interest. This is not the case. To set the record straight, following is an outline of my recent activity in town.
Last year a resident, who knew I had no new home construction work, asked if I was interested in doing some bath remodeling work on their home. I do not typically do remodeling work and was reluctant at first to take on that type of small job and to do work in town. After checking with the building department and despite my own decision long ago not to do work in town, I contracted to do the job because I had to start to do something to generate some revenue. The homeowner was apparently very happy with our work and recommended us to a few other people. This led to three other jobs, two of which are in Mountain Lakes.
Shortly after I started the first remodeling job, Dr. Ferrante ran into me at town hall one day and asked if I was interested in building a house on his property at the Esplanade. After initially saying no, I eventually entered into a contract with Dr. Ferrante to build a house on his lot. I do not own the property and Dr. Ferrante is the one who supplied the preliminary plans and has pulled the permit for the home (the permit is reviewed and issued by another building department and all of the inspections will also be done by that agency to avoid a conflict). I am the registered agent (builder) listed on the permit because in NJ unless you are actually building the home yourself, a licensed builder who can provide a new home warranty must build a new home.
It is true that I sat on the Planning Board that approved this minor subdivision. The application was heard and unanimously approved over two years ago. At that time, I never had any contact with Dr. Ferrante outside of the Planning Board hearings and was never approached or had any interest in building on the property. At the time I was building in NY State and my next project was to be in Jefferson Township. Shortly after the approval, Dr. Ferrante did all of the work necessary to perfect the subdivision. I had no knowledge or input in that process. At the point in time that Dr. Ferrante asked me to build a home for him on one of the lots, the two lots had been created and in existence for two years. It is not a question of if a home will ever be built on the lots but when. I know all of my activity on the lot will be looked at under a microscope and that is ok with me. I am going to do my best to make sure the final product is a something that Dr. Ferrante and I can be proud of and will fit into the community.
Given other options, it would not be my preference to work in town. Like many small businesses, I am working to survive and provide for my family during this extraordinary economic period. This is not a project that has a great deal of financial incentive. I do however; have four other families that depend on me to live. They have been on unemployment since December. By building this home, I am able to bring some of them back to work.
All to often, people do not get involved in town government because they do not want to have to deal with petty politics. One thing that has always set Mountain Lakes apart from other communities is the positive non political environment that we work in. The fact that some people are trying to turn my work into a "scandal" is offensive. I have worked tirelessly as a volunteer for our community, I will let the people of Mountain Lakes judge my actions. I hope my volunteer efforts do not preclude me from trying to make a living.”
Sandy Batty stated sometimes it is the appearance of the situation not the actual situation that creates the problem. She asked if Peter Henry had any comments on the subject. The Planning Board attorney, Mr. Henry saw no conflict of interest. The application was heard long before and currently the board has no action with Mr. Ferrante. Peter Holmberg mentioned how the economic times were a factor. Knowing Stephen Shaw’s personality and his dedication to the town made the comments uncalled for. Joan Nix mentioned the Centennial Committee’s potential project to renovate the Esplanade project. Mr. Shaw explained the Esplanade project was not an improvement to the property the house was being built. Jim Bailey felt that emails were not the answer those who are concerned should come to the board or council. Joan Nix asked if the inspections were done by Boonton Township. Mr. Shaw explained that all those who sit on governing bodies can not have inspections done by the town’s inspectors and they have to go through another town to get them.
A motion was made by Corey Nachshen to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Stephen Shaw.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Shaw, Secretary