BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING
BOROUGH OF WANAQUE
MINUTES
March 7, 2007
As transcribed:
1 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
BOROUGH OF
WANAQUE
2
________________________
3 IN THE MATTER OF: : TRANSCRIPT
CASE#:
19-06
4 SMSA Limited Partnership: PROCEEDINGS
d/b/a
Verizon Wireless :
Block 999,
6 ________________________
7
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
8
9
Commencing at 8:25 p.m.
10
B O A R D M E M B E R
S P R E S E N T:
11
JACK DUNNING, Chairman
12 WILLIAM GRYGUS, Vice-Chairman
FRANK COVELLI
13 PETER HOFFMAN
ED
LEONARD
14 ART KONING
ERIC WILLSE
15 MICHAEL O'HANLON
16 GERRI MAROTTA, Board Secretary
WILLIAM GREGOR, Board Engineer
17
A P P E A R A N C E S:
18
RALPH FAASSE, ESQ.
19 Attorney for the Board
20
HIERING, DUPIGNAC, STANZIONE & DUNN, ESQ.
BY: LYNNE DUNN, ESQ.
21 Attorney for the Applicant
22 IRIS LaROSA, C.S.R, RPR
23
PRECISION REPORTING SERVICE
24 Certified Shorthand Reporters
25
(908)
685-2227
PRECISION REPORTING
SERVICE
(908)
685-2227
2
1
I N D E X
2
3 WITNESS DIRECT CROSS
REDIRECT RECROSS
4
Frank Colasurdo 67
5 William Masters 29
6
7 PUBLIC SPEAKERS PAGE
8 David DaSilva............................25/47
9
10
11
12
E X H I B I
T S
13
14 NUMBER DESCRIPTION PAGE
15
A-7 Site plan Sheet Z-1
through Z-6 28
16
A-8 Photo board 36
17
A-9 Photo board 38
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
3
1 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: We're ready
for 19-06 New
2 York SMSA Limited Partnership, d/b/a Verizon Wireless,
4 use variances.
5 MS. DUNN: Good evening.
6 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: Good evening.
7 MS. DUNN: As you probably suspect I'm not
8 Warren Stilwell.
9 MR. FAASSE: It was hard to
tell.
10 MS. DUNN: My name is Lynne Dunn. I'm with
11 the firm of Hiering, Dupignac, Stanzione & Dunn. I'm
12 pinch hitting for Mr. Stilwell this
evening. And I
13 would like to re-call Mr. Frank Colasurdo who is the
14 architect who has previously testified on
this matter.
15 MR. FAASSE: Counsel, can we
have the full
16 spelling of your name
and everything?
17 MS. DUNN: Certainly.
18 MR. FAASSE: If we can have a
card.
19 MS. DUNN: L-y-n-n-e D-u-n-n.
20 MR. FAASE: That was the easy
one, the Lynne
21 with an "e" was the hard one.
Thank you.
22 MR. WILLSE: Could you just swing it to
that
23 side? Because there's more people in the audience
on
24 this side this way they can see it, and I
can test my
25 vision.
4
1 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: I think that's the
2 bride's side, that's the groom's side.
3 MR. FAASSE: You are re-calling
this
4 gentleman?
5 MS. DUNN: Frank Colasurdo.
6 MR. FAASSE: He was previously
sworn, wasn't
7 he?
8 MS. DUNN: Yes.
9 MR. FAASSE: Sir, you understand
your oath
10 continues when it was previously
administered, which I
11 believe it was January?
12 THE WITNESS: Yes.
13 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: If you'd like to
14 lift that microphone.
15 MR. FAASSE: Oh, we need your
name again for
16 the record.
17 F R A N K C O L A S U R D O, having been
previously
18 sworn testified as follows:
19 MR. COLASURDO: Good
evening. I guess
20 tonight I'm here to explain some of the
revisions to
21 the site plans that were sent in a little
while ago.
22 Mr. Gregor has
also supplied a report based on those
23 revisions, and I
concur with that report, what was
24 written. Up on my easel I have Sheet Z-3. I have
25 Sheet Z-3, which was last dated January
30th, '07.
5
1 This sheet depicts some of the revisions to
the site
2 plans. The first and probably the most major
revision
3 is this sheet is reflecting the resent lot
line
4 adjustment that
was adopted by your counsel.
5 The second revision you should
be aware of
6 is the circulation patterns or the traffic
patterns,
7 essentially reversed from what we first proposed.
8 Talking to Mr. Gregor
we felt that reversing the
9 patterns and creating a one-way exit only
at the
10 existing curb cut next to the recycling
center made
11 more sense.
I've added some parking calculations as
12 requested.
As you know we are proposing to remove some
13 parking spaces to install this facility,
but we are
14 also providing new
parking spaces to replace them.
We
15 do need some variances with respect to
those parking
16 spaces. One of those is, we have a 24-foot dimension
17 between, or as an aisleway where 25 feet is required.
18 Also, we are proposing a 10 by 19 parking
space is the
19 size, and 10 by 20 is required, so, a foot
on width and
20 depth.
21 I want to flip to Sheet Z-4 of
site plans,
22 again, this is last dated in the lower
left-hand corner
23 January 30th, '07. This is another sheet that has
24 received some revisions. Most important on the sheet
25 is the light detail that we're asked to
provide. It's
6
1 in the lower middle of
the page. And, basically, what
2 that light is a bucket that you sink in the
ground.
3 Has a light fixture in it. In this case I would
4 propose a 150-watt bulb. If that's not bright enough
5 we can always adjust it, but it is a light
fixture. It
6 sits inside a bucket that's below grade and
it's got a
7 gimble inside
that you can focus the beam or the light
8 directly at the flag. And that's the changes that were
9 made.
10 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: Counselor, how many
11 parking spaces are you proposing at 10 by
19, is it
12 just those seven that
were numbered?
13 THE WITNESS: That's correct.
14 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: I'm sorry?
15 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Engineering count.
16 THE WITNESS: Architect.
17 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: Bill, in the
18 conversations I know there was one thing
that I had
19 brought up at last meeting before when they
were in.
20 Was any consideration at all, since your
one way, angle
21 the parking so that you could minimize that
24-foot
22 aisle?
23 THE WITNESS: We discussed that, me and Mr.
24 Gregor. We didn't feel it was a good idea because of
25 how much you have to stretch out that
parking. For the
7
1 one foot difference I didn't think it was a
terrible --
2 MR. FAASSE: You just indicated
you and Mr.
3 Gregor. You were
indicating Mr. Gregor's report, that
4 was the March 6th, 2007 report.
5 THE WITNESS: That's correct.
6 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: The parking
7 calculations, Bill, were driven solely by
the Golden
8 Agers?
9 MR. GREGOR: That's correct.
10 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: We're not putting any
11 parking calculations in
for them.
12 MR. GREGOR: No. You do need one parking
13 space for use by them. And they have excess parking
14 spaces for the Golden Agers. So I
didn't even mention
15 anything specifically about that since they
did have
16 more than adequate
parking for both uses. I might
17 point out at this time there are two
variances which
18 did not make it into my report
which are listed.
19 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: On the
parking.
20 MR. GREGOR: On the drawings. And they are
21 the aisle width which is 24 feet where 25
is required,
22 and the parking space size which is 10 by
19 versus 10
23 by 24. That was omitted from my report. I do
24 apologize for that. I guess I got so wrapped up in
25 trying to get everything else in there that
I missed
8
1 those two.
2 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Is there any -- I
3 notice the proposed new grass island, which
is across
4 from the tower site. Is there any other landscaping
5 improvements?
6 THE WITNESS: Yes, there is. We are
7 proposing some landscape trees or shrubs
around the
8 existing compound. You can see that a little bit more
9 clearly on sheet Z-4. We're proposing nine new
10 Spruce, 8-feet high at time of planting.
11 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: I'm sorry.
He's
12 flipping a page. I can't hear you.
13 THE WITNESS: We are proposing nine new
14 Norway Spruce at 8 feet at time of planting,
and ten
15
16 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: That's around the --
17 THE WITNESS: The proposed compound.
18 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Nothing else on the
19 property?
20 THE WITNESS: That's correct.
21 MR. GREGOR: You're adding a grass island
22 where there was pavement before?
23 THE WITNESS: That's correct.
24 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Is there any repair
25 to any of the -- I don't remember exactly
the
9
1 condition. Is there any repair to any of the curbing
2 or anything in that
area?
3 THE WITNESS: In the area of the new
4 compound?
5 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Just in general on
6 the site.
7 THE WITNESS: Not that I noticed. I pretty
8 much concentrated on the area of my
improvements.
9 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: Question:
Your newly
10 created parking slot one, cars backing out,
is that a
11 line-of-sight problem with the way you have
the trees
12 around the enclosure since that would be
one way coming
13 in?
14 THE WITNESS:
That's correct. It's one way
15 coming in. You know, I guess it really depends on the
16 driver. I mean, what I can do is I can relocate that
17 parking lot number one to the other side of
the
18
proposed parking lot number seven, parking stall number
19 seven, and we can just kind of crosshatch
number one
20 and say no parking.
21 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: We'll leave that for the
22 repair person's truck?
23 THE WITNESS: Yes.
24 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: There you go, one
25 personnel only.
10
1 MR. GREGOR: Or you can indicate that as
2 reserved spot for servicing the facility
since there
3 are additional parking spaces.
4 THE WITNESS: There you go.
5 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Now, at the north
6 side of the property, I know you said
previously you
7 testified that basically the improvements
have been
8 pretty much close at hand to the -- to your
landscaping
9 improvements or any kind of site
improvements to the
10 compound area. Is there anything proposed at the north
11 side of the property?
12 THE WITNESS: By the --
13 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: For example, it's
14 marked on here as a gravel area that I
don't know if
15 you want to call it the rear exit or the
unofficial
16 rear exit of the property that goes onto,
and I can't
17 think of the name of it.
18 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS:
19 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: No.
20 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: By the recycling area?
21 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: No, the other street
22 comming
by the bridge. That's Colfax.
23 BOARD MEMBER HOFFMAN: That might be
24 Colfax.
25 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Okay.
Everybody
11
1 knows what I'm talking about.
2 MR. FAASSE: But I don't know if
the
3 engineer does, that's the problem.
4 THE WITNESS: The north side of the
5 property.
6 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Follow your exit
7 arrows and instead of going to the left to
Villa, count
8 three arrows back and you'll see where
there's a cut
9 and it says "gravel."
10 THE WITNESS: Yes, I see that.
11 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: That's a
12 deteriorated area of the parking lot?
13 THE WITNESS: Yeah.
14 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Is that considered
15 an official exit, Bill? Because we're changing the
16 flow of the parking lot. Are we recognizing it as an
17 exit?
Are we leaving it as an official exit?
Are we
18 closing it?
19 MR. GREGOR: I'm not following you. Try
20 that one more time.
21 BOARD MEMBER KONING: There's a dirt road
22 that comes out through
that property.
23 THE WITNESS: I think I can help, him, Mr.
24 Gregor. Right here to the rear of the property
there's
25 somewhat of a semi unpaved gravel road.
12
1 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Grove.
2 THE WITNESS: I believe that's used for the
3 power line company
to maintain their lines back there.
4 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: It's Grove.
5 THE WITNESS: There's only about four feet
6 of that gravel that is actually on our
property, on the
7 subject property. So beyond that we would be improving
8 someone else's property.
9 MR. GREGOR: What was your question?
10 MR. FAASSE: Is it an exit?
11 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Well, I'm not
12 talking about improving
someone else's property. The
13 way the property
is delineated on Z-3, at that
14 delineation there
is a deteriated area there. Is that
15 considered an exit to the property?
16 THE WITNESS: No, that's not considered an
17 exit.
18 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: That's just an
19 access because of power lines?
20 THE WITNESS: I believe that's just a
21 gravel, a gravel access road for maintenance
of those
22 power lines that are back there. If you were to drive
23 into that gravel road and go about 15 feet
you'd fall
24 down a cliff. It's all wooded behind there.
25 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: No.
13
1 THE WITNESS: Yeah, it is.
2 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: We're not talking
3 about the same spot.
4 BOARD MEMBER KONING: The brook is right
5 behind that.
6 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Where the bridge is,
7 as you said, but what I'm saying is, it
goes beyond
8 Mullen or Grove.
9 BOARD MEMBER KONING: East Grove.
10 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: But it's not a street?
11 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: No, but
according to
12 this it's pieces that are on his property.
13 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: The north path?
14 THE WITNESS: Do you want us to repave that
15 up to the property
line?
16 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Yeah.
I'd like to
17 see that cleaned up somehow.
18 THE WITNESS: I think we can do that.
19 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: I think that would
20
be a good thing. Bill, don't you
think?
21 MR. GREGOR: It would certainly be an
22 improvement.
23 BOARD MEMBER HOFFMAN: Cleaned up as a road
24 or cleaned up as landscaping?
25 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Well, I think we're
14
1 restricted from a landscaping perspective
if it's used
2 as an access.
3 BOARD MEMBER HOFFMAN: But you still have
4 access from
5 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Right.
But he's
6 testifying tonight, and I have no reason to
doubt, that
7 that's used as an access
of utility road of some sort.
8 THE WITNESS: That's the only thing I can
9 see it being used for.
10 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: The fencing on the
11 recycling area shows a double-swing gate
facing the
12 seniors' parking lot. How will vehicles access that?
13 They'd have to come through the whole lot?
14 MR. GREGOR: How would they access the
15 recycling area?
16 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: Right.
They'd have to
17 come through the whole parking lot to get
there.
18 MR. GREGOR: They'd have to come through
19 the parking lot at the midpoint, yes. At the northerly
20 parking lot
they'd have to enter from the southerly
21 exit.
My understanding is that recycling area is
22 currently not active.
23 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Or they come in
24 through the access point.
25 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: One of the questions
15
1 that I had raised is I was asked -- I had
asked some
2 months ago if by chance you had an
elevation of this
3 site versus the site where the antenna is
here next to
4 the building. Were you able to ascertain that at all?
5 THE WITNESS: Elevation.
6 BOARD MEMBER HOFFMAN: The height of this
7 pole out front.
8 MR. GRYGUS: Not the height of the pole.
9 We know what the height of the pole
is. What is the
10 ground elevation out here, as opposed to
the ground
11 elevation at the
proposed site?
12 THE WITNESS: I don't have that gentlemen,
13 I'm sorry.
14 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: Because obviously
15 what I was trying to ascertain is the need
for the
16 difference for a much taller pole at that
location as
17 opposed to this one, that's why I had asked
what the
18 actual ground elevation
was.
19 THE WITNESS: I don't recall that, I
20 apologize. I don't have the information.
21 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: Is completely
22 different.
23 BOARD MEMBER WILLSE: Refresh my
memory.
24 How tall is the pole out here now?
25 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: 110.
16
1 BOARD MEMBER WILLSE: The one
here at Town
2 Hall?
3 MS. DUNN: Outside?
4 THE WITNESS: I'm going to say it's
5 80 feet, 80, 90 feet.
6 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: It's less than a
7 hundred, I think.
8 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: There's another sketch
9 behind that. Is it marked?
10 BOARD MEMBER LEONARD: You can
lift the
11 acetate up.
12 BOARD MEMBER KONING: We have got no street
13 access on those streets. The streets aren't labeled.
14 BOARD MEMBER WILLSE: Tell you
what, looking
15 at the contours on this it doesn't look
like it's a
16 different contour.
17 THE WITNESS: I think that pole
outside is
18 actually 105.
19 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: I thought you said
20 somewhere between 105
and 110.
21 BOARD MEMBER WILLSE: There's
one contour
22 line that's
going from Town Hall out to
23 So it looks like it's
close.
24 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: This might be a
25 minor point, but I'm just trying to think
of the
17
1 consistency of the
property. And would you consider
--
2 is it part of your plan to -- you're
aligning the new
3 parking spaces,
delineating new parking spaces. You're
4 delineating arrows to mark the flow of the
site with
5 respect to traffic and parking?
6 THE WITNESS: Actually those arrows were
7 just for the Board's
benefit. Back to Sheet Z-3, what
8 we're proposing to do is to install two
signs at that
9 existing curb cut by the recycling
center. This sign
10 is going to say
"exit only."
11 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Okay.
And you would
12 on the south side put "enter
only?"
13 THE WITNESS: No, that's stating exit and
14 enter.
15 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Oh, that's a
16 two-way?
17 THE WITNESS: That's correct.
18 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: The question is, how to
19 keep it one way in here.
20 BOARD MEMBER GRYGUS: Yes. I
think you'd
21 have to have some kind of a sign on either
side of the
22 berm here facing the other way "do not enter."
23 CHAIRMAN DUNNING: From the closure that's
24 where you need some
directional signal.
25 THE WITNESS: I can work that out with Mr.
18
1 Gregor.
2 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: And your enclosure
3 the same "do not
enter" for somebody. But I
would
4 think, Bill, clearly we want just a couple
of arrows on
5 the ground indicating
traffic flow.
6 MR. GREGOR:
What I would recommend is --
7 BOARD MEMBER COVELLI: Not as many arrows