MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD

OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

July 28, 2011

Vice Chair James Bailey 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: DeVenezia, Dagger, Gormally, Zamierowski, Lewis, Holmberg (7:40 pm), and Bailey

Absent: Batty, Kane, Nachshen and Selver

Also Present: Attorney Peter Henry

Also Absent: Engineer Bill Ryden

REVIEW OF MINUTES: Nick DeVenezia made a motion to adopt the minutes of the June 23^rd meeting. Charles Gormally provided the second; the minutes were approved by voice vote of all eligible voters.

RESOLUTIONS:

EDWARD LOH                                              Appl. # 11-244

Jim Bailey had listened to the recording of Loh application and questioned why the letter from the Morris County Planning Board concerning the drainage on the property was not considered when hearing the soil moving application. The letter referenced was part of the original subdivision application. Peter Henry explained that the concerns brought up in the county letter would be handled in the construction department. The Secretary confirmed that Bill Ryden had a copy of the letter in question. Charles Gormally made a motion to adopt the resolution of approval; Tom Dagger provided the second.  The resolution was carried by a vote of 3 to 0 with members Gormally, Dagger and DeVenezia voting in favor.

PUBLIC HEARING: none

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Master Plan

Nick DeVenezia, Barry Lewis, Jim Bailey and Cindy Shaw met with Susan Kimball, the Borough Planner, to review the status of the Master Plan. Jim Bailey gave a synopsis of the meeting. He confirmed the Board could not change anything in the chapters that were already adopted without holding another public hearing.

Chapter 3 – Land Use Plan

Susan Kimball looked at the Land Use chapter briefly and recommended the element be more general and less specific. She thought we should remove any references to particular lots of land. The subcommittee also discussed the options available to the Borough concerning Rt. 46 East. The Board could recommend relaxing some of the requirements in the area to encourage development.  The Land Use chapter was turned over to the planner. She will be working on the element in August and will send us her comments as soon as she has them complete.

Other Chapters

Susan Kimball recommended we not make any changes to Chapter 4, Housing Element and Fair Share Plan. The current status of COAH is still not settled. The committee still needs to work on Chapter 1, Community Characteristics, incorporating the census data.  For Chapter 11, Relationship to Other Plans, the committee needs to get the land use information from the surrounding towns.  The Board Administrator will work on getting copies of their Land Use chapters for the committee. Chapter 12, Summary of Major Findings and Recommendations, will be done by the committee at the end of the process. After the Board gives Susan all the chapters she will review the Master Plan as a whole. It was felt this was a more cost effective way to accomplish the professional review of the plan.

Route 46 East Corridor

Nick DeVenezia told the Board that Susan suggested an overlay zone for Rt. 46 East. Barry Lewis explained the entire area is in the B zone and the Board could build in some flexibility in that area such as a FAR reduction or shared parking incentives.  Susan Kimball felt Mountain Lakes could not establish a redevelopment zone along the Route 46 corridor because we did not meet the redevelopment requirements.

Peter Henry gave a brief summary of redevelopment law to the Board. He explained a blighted area could be taken under Eminent Domain.  But redevelopment was a heavy handed approach that allowed for the condemnation of private property by a municipality. He said a municipality could assemble several smaller properties then sell the bundled properties to another interest for a profit. This is very different from Eminent Domain, when property is taken for the public good such as a school or municipal building. In many cases, redevelopment in this manor has led to law suits. 

Both Susan Kimball and Peter Henry provided the Board with legal information pertaining to Redevelopment. Chapter 40A:12A-5 of the New Jersey State Statues lists the criteria for redevelopment. Current court cases support the rights of the property owner. Nick DeVenezia explained to the Board that the vacant buildings on Rt. 46 were not empty long enough to be selected for redevelopment. Peter Henry explained when taking personal property from citizens a municipality would have to have all types of expert testimony, engineers, economists, etc. to support why they have taken the property for redevelopment. A lot of time these studies and reports may or may not in the end support the towns purchasing of the land.

Other Business

The Board discussed the possibility of Susan Kimball retiring shortly.

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

Jim Bailey made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The Board adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                    Cynthia Shaw, Secretary