MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD

OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

June 23, 2011

Chair Sandy Batty read the Open Public Meeting Advertisement Notice adopted at the annual meeting on January 27, 2011:  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, Kane, DeVenezia, Dagger, Gormally, Nachshen

Absent: Zamierowski, Lewis, Holmberg, Selver, and Bailey

Also Present: Attorney Peter Henry (left 8:15 pm); Engineer Bill Ryden (left 8:15 pm)

REVIEW OF MINUTES: Martin Kane made a motion to adopt the minutes of the May 26^th meeting.  Corey Nachshen provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote of all eligible voters.

RESOLUTIONS: none

PUBLIC HEARING:

            EDWARD LOH                                              217 Boulevard

            Blk. 55, Lot 24.02                                            Appl. # 11-244

            Soil Moving                                                      Zone – R-AA

Edward Loh, of 11 Valley View Road Great Neck, NY, and Marc Walker a licensed Engineer in the state of NJ, were sworn in. Mr. Walker explained that the property owner had been before the Board for a minor subdivision 6 months ago. Since that time the subdivision has been perfected. The plan presented was very similar to the subdivision maps that were presented at the time of the subdivision. The applicant was here for a soil moving permit and would be moving 2002 cubic yards of dirt. The majority of the site is on a hill.  To control the disturbance of the property they will be using a garage under design to pick up the house but will still need to excavate to get the driveway in and to create a backyard. About 230 truck loads would be required to move the soil. The applicant will make every attempt to use the dirt within the Borough, but if it cannot be used in town it will be removed by way of the Boulevard to Route 46. Mr. Walker said they had designed a site plan with dry wells to reduce the water run off on the site.

Sandy Batty asked if there were any questions from the Board. Corey Nachshen asked if they would be moving all the soil in one shot.  Marc Walker said they would be moving the soil all at once.  Mr. Nachshen replied that it would take two weeks to move all the dirt and was concerned about the traffic situation on the Boulevard. Marc Walker said the applicant was willing to coordinate with Mr. Ryden.  Sandy Batty said she was concerned about the height of retaining walls. Mr. Walker said they were mostly 3 ft high but they were 4 ft in the building envelope where they were allowed. She also asked about the tree retention plan.  Mr. Walker said the applicant would coordinate with the Borough Manager on the tree plan.  Sandy Batty asked, after the grading was done what would it look like around the trees. Marc Walker said the grading around the trees would not change. Mr. Ryden said there were no trees in the right of way that would be affected by this plan.

Corey Nachshen asked where the water from the driveway trench drain would go. Part of the water from driveway would go into the trench drain to the drywells the balance from the lower half of the driveway run off would go into the parking area below.  Mr. Walker said they were meeting all the storm water management requirements. Nick DeVenezia asked what storm infiltration Mr. Walker had designed for.  He was concerned about run off to the parking area might freeze during the winter creating a safety hazard.  Marc Walker said the design was for a 2 year run off and they were not changing the current drainage pattern. Charlie Gormally said there was a drainage problem on Lake Drive would the water from the driveway travel down to this area. Mr. Walker replied the water would flow from the driveway go through the parking lot entrance to the Boulevard. He said the water drains from all the houses along the Boulevard onto the street.

Nick DeVenezia thought the truck traffic that would be created would require a cop.  Mr. Walker said the trucks would be loaded and come down the driveway forward, turning around in an area at the top of the property. He did not think a Police Officer was needed.

Sandy Batty expressed her concern about the steep hill created at the property line when they put in the backyard. She thought there would be a lot of run off from the property above. Marc Walker explained they had split the water run off; it would travel to the left and right of the house. Lastly Marc Walker explained how he had placed the driveway all the way to the right of the property and had it cross the front of the property to maintain the 15 % slope for the driveway.

Nick DeVenezia asked who would watch the erosion during construction. Bill Ryden said the town would have jurisdiction over this concern. The drainage would be reviewed again by the construction department and that approval would be in connection with the house plan. If the applicant changed the house plan in any way they would have to come back to the Board.

Sandy Batty asked if there were any questions and comments from the public, there were none.

Charles Gormally made a motion to approve the application as long as the conditions in the Engineers letter are met. A second was provided by Corey Nachshen.  The application was approved by a vote of 6 to 0 with Batty, Kane, Gormally, Nachshen, DeVenezia and Dagger voting in favor.

Marc Walker asked the Board if the applicant could proceed with their construction permit while waiting for the resolution. Peter Henry said the request was not the purview of this Board.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Master Plan

Chapter 3 – Land Use Plan

Route 46 East Corridor – The Board discussed how they could encourage the redevelopment of this section of Mountain Lakes. Mr. Gormally asked if there were any plans to rezone this area. On Route 46 there are properties that are residential that could rezoned to commercial. Sandy Batty said the Board would have look at the development requirements in Zone B. She mentioned there currently was a lot of vacant property on that section of Rt. 46. She thought it would be great if the Board could come up with a development plan before the properties were resold. The economy is down right now and we work on something to put in place before the building boom comes back.

Sandy Batty told the Board that all the chapters we have completed have been sent to the Planner. We are trying to set up a meeting with her for later in July. Sandy said Jim Bailey would be talking to the Planner on the phone and then the group could meet with her for some brainstorming.

Sandy Batty had visited a meeting in Denville where they were adopting a Well Head Protection Ordinance. She then explained how this type of ordinance worked and that it only pertain to public wells.  She mentioned this to the Board because Denville has two of our wells in their town.

Corey Nachshen told the Board that the ERI (Environmental Resource Inventory) was almost done. One of the requirements was to create a document for the Planning Board to adopt. He will make a presentation at the July Planning Board meeting.

Other Business

There was no additional business and no one present from the public.

Sandy Batty made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The Board adjourned at 9 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                    Cynthia Shaw, Secretary