BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

MINUTES

JULY 7, 2004

REGULAR MEETING

Salute to Flag:

This is a Regular Meeting of the Wanaque Board of Adjustment and adequate notice has been duly advertised by the mailing of a notice to the Suburban Trends and the Herald & News on the 8^th day of January 2004 and a notice thereof has been posted on the bulletin board in the Municipal Building and a copy thereof is on file with the Borough Clerk.

ROLL CALL: Chairman Jack Dunning, Members Frank Covelli Don Ludwig, Chris Demetriou, John Shutte, Lee Smith, Attorney Ralph Faasse and Engineer William Gregor

MEMBERS ABSENT: Bruce Grygus, Peter Hoffman and Ted Roberto.

APPLICATION #09-03 Wanaque Manor Associates, Portion of Properties along Jefferson St. & Boulevard, Block 457 Lot 1 & Block 479 Lots 1 & 2, is being carried to the September 1, 2004 Meeting.

APPLICATION #08-04 Donald J. Sheehan & Angelique Biggs, 4 Maple Ave., Block 308Lot 6, Use & Bulk Variances:

A letter was received from the applicants asking to be carried to the August 4^th Meeting because they are waiting for a revised set of plans

MOTION TO CARRY APPLICATION TO THE AUGUST 4, 2004 MEETING: made by Member Ludwig, seconded by Member Demetriou, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Members Covelli, Ludwig, Demetriou, Shutte and Smith.

APPLICATION #09-04 John F. Hulahan, 51 Rhinesmith Ave., Block 242 Lot 13, Bulk Variance:

Correspondence was received by Eng. Gregor and Mr. Hulahan indicated he wished to be carried to the August 4^th Meeting:

Mr. Hulahan came into the meeting at 8:20 P.M. Mr. Hulahan said he would like to be carried to the August 4^th Meeting. Chairman Dunning told Mr. Hulahan the plans must be in ten days before the meeting and Eng. Gregor should see the plans at least two weeks before the meeting.

MOTION TO CARRY APPLICATION TO THE AUGUST 4, 2004 MEETING: made by Member Ludwig, seconded by Member Demetriou, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Members Covelli, Ludwig, Demetriou, Shutte and Smith.

Atty. Faasse stated to the public, that the Board has two applications on tonight that involve Use Variances. Use Variances need five (5) affirmative votes and obviously it’s easier to get five votes out of a seven-member board than it is five out of five or five out of six. Atty. Faasse explained to Mr. & Mrs. Tokarz the Board is anticipating another member coming tonight and that would give the Board seven (7) qualifying members. Atty. Faasse also explained to Eng. Boswell who is representing Ms. Montanye, even if the Board obtains the seventh member, one of the members sitting on the dais is not qualified because he didn’t hear the tape from last month’s meeting, therefore, the best Ms. Montanye will have is six (6) votes.

APPLICATION #15-03 David Brett, 11 Mullen Ave., Block 239 Lot 1, Bulk Variance:

Mr. Brett was not present. The Board put this application on the table until later in the meeting.

APPLICATION #06-04 “Catlas Construction, LLC” K. Douglas Smith, 17 Makemoney Ave., Block 403 Lot 86, Bulk Variance:

Atty. Stephen Mainardi, 1044 Rt. 23, Wayne, N.J. came forward on behalf of his client. Atty. Mainardi handed out copies of two deeds. Atty. Mainardi explained that the current owner owns Lot 86 and Lot 89 on the Tax Map. The town approached the owner of these lots in 1982 and the town acquired Lot 89 and swapped to the owner Lot 94 which is the property that involves the other application, which is #07-04 also by “Catlas Construction, LLC”.

Eng. William Darmstatter, 202 Black Oak Ridge Rd., Wayne, N.J. came forward and was sworn in by Atty. Faasse. Eng. Darmstatter is a graduate of the N.J. Institute of Technology, has a Professional Engineer’s License and Professional Land Surveyor’s License, and has been practicing in the State of N.J. for more than 20 years and is the owner of his own company for more than 12 years.

Eng. Darmstatter said this property is an existing 75 X 100 lot. Eng. Darmstatter went over the variances needed that are on his plans and all members have copies.

The lot is substandard in area, where 10,000 is required and the lot is7,500 sq. ft.

the lot width required is 80’ and the lot is 75’, lot depth required is 120’ and 100’ exists. The proposed dwelling does comply with the front yard setback and rear yard setback, only the side yard setbacks are being requested. The adjoining property is owned by the Borough and is 50 X 100 ft. lot with a 15’ wide sanitary sewer easement running down the middle of it and there are no structures on it.

The property does lie approximately one half within the 100-year storm. Eng. Darmstatter has made an application to the State of N.J. for a Stream Encroachment Application. This requires the applicant to raise the living space of at least one foot above the 100-year flood levels. The garage is permitted to be down at

the lower level and has flood openings that would allow for the free passage of floodwater should that stream ever have a 100 year storm they would then connect the roof drains into what they have devised as storm water leach fields.

Eng. Darmstatter said they do not have the “Stream Encroachment Permit” but has spoken to the Engineer at the State about a month ago and he was reviewing the plans. Atty. Mainardi asked Eng. Darmstatter if he was aware that its necessary to obtain a variance in order to construct in a flood plain in the Borough and Eng. Darmstatter said yes he knew that. Atty. Mainardi also asked Eng. Darmstatter if he reviewed the criterion that the Board is to consider in granting variances specifically those set-forth in the Borough Ordinance 74A-13D and Eng. Darmstatter said yes. Atty. Mainardi went through the criterion with Eng. Darmstatter one by one.

Chairman Dunning wanted to know how the overflow pipe is maintained which is shown off the leach field. Eng. Darmstatter said the maintenance of the line is self- service and would be the responsibility of the homeowner. Chairman Dunning asked Eng. Darmstatter if he would consider that area to have a very high water table and Eng. Darmstatter said yes.

Member Covelli asked Eng. Gregor if the Borough has an ordinance that states there should be no runoff onto other homeowner’s property? Eng. Gregor said your suppose to maintain the water on your property and if you do have to pipe it, you pipe it to the existing drainage system.

Eng. Darmstatter told the Board he could enlarge the leach field and it’s not a difficult thing to do and he would have to know how much larger the Board would like it.

Member Ludwig stated he had a problem with the floor being very close to the ground. The rear elevation is 230 and finished floor is 232 ½ and if you take the floor joists you’re now within 2 feet of the soil line. Member Ludwig wanted to know how someone is going to maintain this area and most people are going to close this off after they buy the house because they’re not going to want raccoons etc. living underneath the house. Eng. Darmstatter said if the Board feels that the floor should be raised another foot, they wouldn’t have a problem with that.

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

Lee Smith, 29 Roseland Avenue, Block 403 Lot 25 came forward: Mr. Smith wanted the Board to know that this application would be a definite improvement to the community in that particular area. The two lots have become an illegal dumping ground and causes havoc and is a thoroughfare for the youth in the area, and it would be a major improvement to have a house on that piece of property.

Lee Moody, son of Margaret Moody of 32 Roseland Avenue came forward: Mr. Moody stated that it is his mother’s wishes and intent to see the property developed with something on it. Mr. Moody agreed with Mr. Smith, that this property has become a dumping ground over the years and has become a place for the kids to associate and vandalize the property. On one occasion, Mr. Moody said, he and his wife stopped some kids from setting a fire in the trail that goes through the property and runs along side of 11 Makemoney Avenue.

Gary Struble, 106 West First Street, Clifton, N.J. son of the owner of the application property: Mr. Struble would like the Board to consider the approval of this application because he thinks it would be in the best interest of the neighborhood. Mr. Struble said in 1989, the request to his father came for the exchange of the property for Lot 89 to be swapped. One of the reasons for it was for safe passage for the children to get to Makemoney Avenue and with the understanding that in future years the lot could be developed.

PUBLIC PORTION CLOSED:

Atty. Mainardi summed up by saying that this property being developed will be a benefit to the surrounding neighborhood. The proposed development will be addressing the issue that it is in a flood plain, the elevation of the house could be raised, and the leach field could be increased as well.

Atty. Faasse asked Atty. Mainardi if he would like to carry the application to next month in order to ask the Board exactly what they will be voting on. Atty. Mainardi doesn’t feel they need to carry the application and if the Board has something specific in mind they could make suggestions.

Atty. Faasse told Eng. Boswell that the sixth Member of the Board hasn’t shown up. Eng. Boswell then asked the Board to carry Application #23-03 Grace Montanye to the August 4^th Meeting.

MOTION TO CARRY APPLICATION #23-03 Montanye to the August 4, 2004 Meeting: made by Member Ludwig, seconded by Member Covelli, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Members Covelli, Ludwig, Demetriou and Shutte. Member Smith voted no.

Atty. Faasse addressed Mr. & Mrs. Tokarz, Application #02-04 and told them their application needs five (5) affirmative votes and the Board has only six (6) members present or they can be carried to the August 4^th Meeting.

RECESSED AT 9:45 P.M.

RECONVENED AT 10:00 P.M. All Members present as before the break.

Atty. Mainardi told the Board that during the break they discussed the size of the leach fields to handle the drainage from the property, they are willing to increase the field size by 25% to bring it up to 25’ X 25’. They will be willing to raise the house another foot which will give the crawl space a height of 28” which should be more than adequate to allow someone to get under so it can be maintained properly. Eng. Gregor asked Atty. Mainardi if the first floor elevation will be 233.5 and the garage floor elevation will remain at 229.5 and Atty. Mainardi agreed.

MOTION TO APPROVE WITH A VARIANCE FOR LOT COVERAGE OF 7500 SQ.FT. VERSUS 10,000 SQ.FT. REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE FOR A VARIANCE OF 2500 SQ.FT., A VARIANCE FOR LOT WIDTH OF 75 FT. INSTEAD OF THE MINIMUM LOT WIDTH OF 80 FT. THEREFORE THE VARIANCE WOULD BE FOR 5 FT., A VARIANCE FOR LOT DEPTH OF 100 FT. INSTEAD OF THE MINIMUM LOT DEPTH OF 120 FT. THEREFORE THE VARIANCE WOULD BE FOR 20 FT., A VARIANCE FOR SIDE YARD SETBACK OF 10 FT. INSTEAD OF THE MINIMUM SIDE YARD SETBACK OF 15 FT. THEREFORE REQUIRING A VARIANCE OF 5 FT., A VARIANCE FOR TOTAL SIDE YARD SETBACK OF 25 FT. INSTEAD OF THE MINIMUM TOTAL SIDE YARD SETBACK OF 35 FT. THEREFORE REQUIRING A 10 FT. VARIANCE, APPLICANT HAS PROPOSED AND THE BOARD WOULD MAKE IT CONDITIONAL UPON ACCEPTANCE ELEVATION OF THE HOUSE OF 233.5 FT. THEREBY RAISING THE HOUSE 28” AND IN ADDITION A LEACH FIELD WOULD INCREASE BASED UPON THE DRAWING PROVIDED TO THE BOARD BY 25 FT. FOR A LEACH FIELD OF 25 x 25 AND THE DRAINAGE PIPE BE INCLUSIVE OF A CONCRETE APRON AND BE BROUGHT BACK 3 FT. FROM ITS DRAWING AND SUCH PLANS WITH THESE REVISIONS BE PROVIDED TO THE BOARD ENGINEER AND THE BOARD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARD’S REQUIREMENTS SUBJECT TO STREAM ENCROACHMENT PERMIT BY THE DEP, AND A FLOOD PLAIN VARIANCE : made by Member Covelli, seconded by Member Shutte, voting yes were, Members Covelli, Ludwig, Demetriou, Shutte and Smith.

Chairman Dunning voted no.

Chairman Dunning asked Mr. & Mrs. Tokarz, Application #02-04 what they wanted to do tonight and Mr. Tokarz said he wants to change his application to just a garage and driveway and cancel the addition. Atty. Faasse advised the Tokarz’s that there is not a full Board here tonight and it would be better for them to come back next month. Eng. Gregor told the applicants they would have to show parking for four vehicles, which is noted in his report, size of the Water and Sewer Mains need to be added to the drawing, a Storm Water Management Plan needs to be provided. Atty. Faasse told the applicants to bring Eng. Gregor’s report to their professionals.

MOTION TO CARRY APPLICATION TO AUGUST 4, 2004 MEETING: made by Member Ludwig, seconded by Member Demetriou, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Members Covelli, Ludwig, Demetriou, Shutte and Smith.

Chairman Dunning directed the Secretary to send a letter to David Brett, Application #15-03 and ask Mr. Brett for some correspondence and if the Board does not hear from him by next month, the application will be dismissed.

MOTION TO CARRY APPLICATION TO THE AUGUST 4^TH MEETING: made by Member Ludwig, seconded by Member Covelli, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Members Covelli, Ludwig, Demetriou, Shutte and Smith.

APPLICATION #07-04 “Catlas Construction, LLC” K. Douglas Smith, 20 Makemoney Ave., Block 402 Lot 94, Bulk Variance:

Atty. Stephen Mainardi, 1044 Rt. 23, Wayne, N.J. came forward again and is representing the same applicant as before on Application #06-04.

Engineer William Darmstatter, 202 Black Oak Ridge Rd., Wayne, N.J. came forward again and was sworn in by Atty. Faasse. Eng. Darmstatter testified earlier on Application #06-04 for the applicant, K. Douglas Smith.

Eng. Darmstatter testified he is familiar with this site and personally visited it. Eng. Darmstatter stated the variances required are a little bit less than the other application and proceeded to go over these variances that are listed on the plan submitted. (All Members have copies of this plan.) Eng. Darmstatter also stated that this property has a sanitary sewer easement running through it that is 15 feet wide and because of this easement the house was located on the property accordingly. Eng. Darmstatter added that he is proposing site drainage for this property with a leach field and is designed similar to the previous application (#06-04) and is 20 X 25. This property has a slightly smaller building and smaller driveway area, therefore, on a 100 year storm its 50% over design, on a 25 year storm its approximately 80% over design and on a 10 year storm its 100% over design and with this property they’re over 50% design. The existing grade of the property is 230 and they’re proposing 233 which is one 1 ½ foot above the flood hazard level and 2 ½ feet above the 100 year storm levels and this would provide a 24” crawl space. The property is similar to the one across the street where a portion of the property lies within the 100-year flood plain and a small portion does not. The average grade of this property is 230 and is relatively flat. The 100-year storm level is 230.5, therefore, during a 100-year storm there would be about a ½ foot of water. Eng. Darmstatter said there is a “Stream Encroachment Permit” down at the state pending right now. Eng. Gregor asked Eng. Darmstatter if there is anything different on this property in his testimony than he had on the previous property. Eng. Darmstatter said no, and the property lies on the edge of a flood plain and the 100-year flood level in Makemoney Avenue where the stream crossing is, is about a foot deep and emergency vehicles can cross that if they had to.

Chairman Dunning asked how close are the footings going to be to the existing sanitary sewer line that runs through the property. Eng. Darmstatter said the footings will be several feet away and this is shown on first sheet, left hand side near the top, there is a cross Section AA showing the grade of the garage floor, footing, and the invert of the sanitation sewer.

Chairman Dunning also asked about the proposed deck shown on the rear of the dwelling and wanted to know if it was a first floor level deck and Eng. Darmstatter said it was.

Member Covelli asked if there were any restrictions on how close they can get to the easement on this property. Eng. Darmstatter said the building would be 2 ½ feet outside the easement.

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

Gary Seavey, 22 Makemoney Ave., came forward and was sworn in by Atty. Faasse.

Mr. Seavey’s concern is that this lot is a primary drainage path and not only for the back of his lot but from the Dupont Ave. side also. There is frequent flooding in this area and this particular lot within the last 5 years has been 98% covered with water and not a little water but a lot of water. The sewer covers in the back of this lot have had four to six inches of water flowing over the top. Mr. Seavey brought a couple of pictures to show the Board he had taken from the back of his side deck which looks onto this property. These pictures showed a great deal of water on Makemoney Ave. and these pictures were taken this past winter which was not a bad winter, but these pictures depict a normal condition on Makemoney Ave. The house directly behind Mr. Seavey floods when these water conditions are present, and the house directly on the opposite side have had water damage with water flowing through the house. Mr. Seavey believes that if there is any restriction in this area such as a house, it’s going to further restrict the water flow. Eng. Gregor added, that this lot is entirely within the 100-year flood plain. The pictures submitted by Mr. Seavey were marked Seavey 1 & Seavey 2. Atty. Faasse asked Mr. Seavey if anyone ever approached him to purchase this property and Mr. Seavey said he was asked if he was interested in purchasing this property and said he would possibly be interested and that was approximately six months ago. Mr. Seavey’s main concern is flooding problems.

Diana Gagliano, 23 Dupont Ave. came forward: Ms. Gagliano said there’s a stream on Dupont Ave. that comes through. When anything happens by that stream and by Mr. Seavey’s vacant lot, the town accesses there if there’s any type of problem. If there is going to be a building there how will the town access anything and in the meantime this water is going in 6,000 different directions.

Lee Smith, 29 Roseland Ave. came forward: Mr. Smith said this Board on a regular basis hears applications for variances from people who wish to develop their property. Mr. Smith said, all this Board would be creating is really another hardship and to approve construction of this again creates a hardship for someone else who would be moving in.

Gary Struble, 106 West First St., Clifton, N.J. came forward: Mr. Struble once again said, he requests that the Board consider the applicant in the building of a home on this property. Mr. Struble said he can understand the Seavey’s concerns and the other concerns, but, if you look at this on an ownership issue, it’s very nice

that the owner pays the taxes and someone maintains it and Mr. Seavey has maintained it and it looks very nice. Mr. Struble’s mother did approach Mr. Seavey about a year ago in regard to the sale of the property. Mr. Struble said it’s nice to have the use of someone’s property and don’t have to pay taxes on it. Mr. Struble said is it fair on the person who owns the property and therefore wants to sell the property. His parents have reached a point in their life and wish to sell the property.

CLOSE TO PUBLIC:

Atty. Mainardi summed up by saying, this is an undersized lot that was traded to the Struble’s by the town and is similar in size to other lots that adjoin it and already has structures on them. Its in the same flood plain as the houses surrounding it and this particular piece of property has the advantage that its being designed so as to not impede the flood waters and to retain the drainage on site, whereas the other houses that surround it were not designed in that fashion and do impede the flood waters and do contribute to the drainage runoff in the area. To say now that this property cannot be developed because of a problem that the area has contributed to, and the applicant is not, is very unfair.

MOTION TO DENY THE APPLICATION: made by Member Ludwig, seconded by Member Covelli, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Members Covelli, Ludwig and Demetriou. Member Shutte voted no.

OPEN TO PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None/Closed

RESOLUTIONS: None

VOUCHERS: submitted by Eng. William Gregor for Services Rendered for Application #05-04 Raoul for $110.00, Application #15-03 Brett for $110.00, Application #08-04 Sheehan for $336.00, Application #09-04 Hulahan for $165.00, for a Grand Total of $721.00.

MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member Shutte, seconded by Member Ludwig, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Members Covelli, Ludwig, Demetriou, Shutte and Smith.

MINUTES: from Meeting of June 2, 2004.

MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member Ludwig, seconded by Member Covelli, voting yes were Chairman Dunning, Covelli, Ludwig, Shutte and Smith. Member Demetriou abstained.

ENGINEER’S REPORT: No new applications to report.

DISCUSSION: None

MOTION TO ADJOURN AT 10:56 P.M.: carried by a voice vote.

_____________________________

Gerri Marotta

Secretary to Board of Adjustment