MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD

OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

December 16, 2010

Chair Sandy Batty read the Open Public Meeting Advertisement Notice adopted at the annual meeting on January 28, 2010:  Adequate notice of this meeting was given to the Citizen and the Daily Record, posted with the Borough Clerk and on the Bulletin Board and made available to all those requesting individual notice and paying the required fee.

ROLL CALL:

Members Present: Batty, Bravo, Zamierowski, Bailey, Nachshen, Kane,

Holmberg (8:10), Jackson, and Lewis

Absent: Selver

Also Present: Attorney Peter Henry and Engineer Bill Ryden

REVIEW OF MINUTES:  Blair Bravo made a motion to adopt the minutes of the November 18^th meeting.  Martin Kane provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote of all eligible voters. Barry Lewis abstained.

RESOLUTIONS: none

PUBLIC HEARING:

            Michael Kraft                                       150 Laurel Hill Road

            Bl. 55 Lot 24                                        App. # 10-243

            Minor Subdivision                                 Zone – AA

            Building Envelope/Steep Slopes

            Height

The Kraft application was being continued from the November 18, 2010 meeting. George Jackson and Barry Lewis had listened to the tape of the November 18^th meeting so they would be eligible to vote on the application.

Marc Walker, the applicants Engineer, said they would be answering the Board’s questions about the FAR calculations from the last meeting.  Mr. Vincent J. Cioffi, a licensed Architect in the state of New Jersey, would be explaining how he computed the FAR. The Architect had sent a summary letter to Mr. Ryden explaining how he did the calculations. Bill Ryden told the Board he had a chance to review the calculations but still had questions. Mr. Cioffi explained the hatched areas on the floor plan (Z1-4 already submitted) were the areas that were included in the FAR. In the basement the un-hatched areas were the crawl spaces. In the Attic area only the space over 5 ft in head room was included in the FAR. The Garage was less than 500 sq ft therefore it did not count in the calculation. He went on to explain he had used Mr. Walker’s site area calculations to come up with the percentage of FAR. 

Sandy Batty asked if there were any questions from the Board, there were none.

Mr. Ryden asked how Mr. Cioffi made the calculations.  Mr. Cioffi said he measured the walls to the outside dimensions in the field with 100 ft tape measure.  The areas were then calculated on the computer. Mr. Ryden then asked if there were any volume spaces, no there were not with the exception of the stairwell which he counted twice. He then asked, were any of the porches enclosed, no they were not with the exception of the side porch but the Architect included that in the calculations.

Bill Ryden was satisfied with the FAR calculations done by Mr. Cioffi.

George Jackson asked if the second floor over the Garage counted in the FAR.  Mr. Cioffi said the attic was 160 sq ft. but it was an attic area that was not useable.  The ceiling height varies from 2.5 ft to 7 ft. Mr. Jackson asked if the Basement was a walkout.  Michael Kraft said yes it was but nobody would want to live down there.

Jim Bailey asked if the back porch and the 2 areas to the side were included in the calculations. Mr. Kraft said the areas were open porches without roofs, they did not count.

Sandy Batty asked if there were any other questions from the public, but no one was present. 

George Jackson asked about the 2 gazebos and the fountain on the property, could the structures be kept?  Peter Henry explained you would need additional variances that had not been requested by the applicant. Mr. Jackson asked if the Board could require them to stay, no they could not. Barry Lewis asked if they could be moved, no they could not. Sandy Batty asked if the applicant was planning to remove the fountain. The applicant would like to keep it but they would need an additional variance. She then asked if any part of the gazebo could be kept, most likely not. Mr. Cioffi suggested someone could take formal measurements and photos for reconstruction of the gazebos at a later date. Bill Ryden explained if the applicant kept the fountain they could be over on the allowable coverage.  Mark Walker said they could remove additional walkways but would need an additional variance for the rear setback.  The fountain is functioning and old but not original to the property. Barry Lewis was concerned about the newly created lot and how the fountain would affect the new lot owner. Corey Nachshen asked the applicant if they really wanted to keep the fountain. Mr. Kraft said they did not want to ask for an additional variance and if possible would move the fountain elsewhere on the property.

Jim Bailey asked about the conditions in the letter from Morris County.  Bill Ryden said the county letter had the same conditions as his own letter.  George Jackson questioned the Boulevard right of way; he thought it was Martins Lane.  Bill Ryden explained it was part of the county Boulevard.

Jim Bailey asked the list of requested variances be repeated. The applicant was asking for a Minor Subdivision with the following variances: two for Building Boxes due to steep slopes (one on each lot), one for a front and one for a side yard variance due to the pre-existing conditions pertaining to the existing Garage and one for building height on remaining Lot 24. Additionally the conditions listed in Bill Ryden’s letter and the county letter would be included in the resolution. Although the new lot 24.01 currently would require a well, which is covered by the ordinance, we would need to include in the resolution the requirement to abandon a well when the public water supply became available.

Blair Bravo made a motion to accept the application with the conditions listed above and Barry Lewis provided the second. The application was approved by a vote of 8 to 0 with Board members Batty, Bravo, Lewis, Jackson, Nachshen, Bailey, Kane and Zamierowski voted in favor.

MASTER PLAN

The Board reviewed the final versions of Chapter 5 – Circulation Plan, Chapter 6 – Conservation Plan and Chapter 8 – Recreation Plan all were passed with minor changes.

Chapter 7 – Community Facilities and Utilities was not adopted due to the significant changes needed to be made to the element. Those changes will be made and presented at our next meeting during committee reports.  If the content of the chapter was approved we will have a public meeting in February to adopt the element.

Sandy Batty opened the discussion to the public, no one was present.

Peter Henry had the motion prepared. He read into the record the motion to adopt chapters 5, 6 and 8 with the minor changes discussed. Chapter 7 was not ready for adoption at this meeting and would be held. A motion to accept the resolution as presented was made by Peter Holmberg and seconded by Martin Kane.  The Board voted 9 to 0 in favor of adopting the presented resolution. Those Board members voting in favor were Batty, Bravo, Lewis, Jackson, Holmberg, Nachshen, Bailey, Kane and Zamierowski.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Other Business

George Jackson questioned the Borough’s position during the current COAH situation. Was the town under COAH’s second round rulings or were they on their own? The Borough did not opt in to the Highlands and the state was dismantling COAH therefore the town had not entered the third round of rulings. Peter Henry stated the Borough was back under the second round of rulings but was unsure what that actually meant due to the potential dismantling of COAH. The new housing law is up for vote on Monday, December 20, 2010.

Peter Holmberg made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The Board adjourned at10:40   PM.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                    Cynthia Shaw, Secretary