FEBRUARY 19, 2004
BOROUGH OF WANAQUE
REGULAR MEETING
| John DiMeglio | Tony Brindisi |
| Gilbert Foulon | Kevin Platt |
| Joseph Graceffo | David Slater |
| Mayor Warren Hagstrom | Thomas Balunis |
Chairman Foulon showed Atty. Veltri a new Planning Board Procedure that Chairman Foulon would like to see put into effect. After Atty. Veltri read the procedure and said that there’s a problem because the Board does not have a “Completeness Committee” and there is that 45-day timetable for the administrative officer, who is Jeff Brusco, to deem the application complete. Chairman Foulon said what the Board use to do was to deem an application complete at a meeting and set up a public hearing for the next meeting. Atty. Veltri said the administrative officer can send the application to the Board for review but he is responsible for the timetable and in some towns its the Borough Clerk. Atty. Veltri added, if the Planning Board wants to form a “Completeness Committee” then what happens at some boards is that they meet twice a month and would use one of the meetings for the completeness; or you can just form a committee and if an application comes in, Jeff or someone in the town may call the committee together for an opportunity to review it and then put the comments in writing. Chairman Foulon said, what’s different about what he wants is, he wants the applicant at a meeting so the Board can tell the applicant that the application is not complete and here’s why. Atty. Veltri responded and said the only problem he can see is timing because the Board only meets once a month and for whatever reason the applicant doesn’t get to the Board within that 45 day window, technically they can take the position its been deemed complete statutorily and the Board has to rule on it as a Board. The only way Atty. Veltri ever saw it work with a whole board that looks at an application, is when they meet twice a month. Atty. Veltri explained, that once the applicant turns in an application, the 45 days starts running. Chairman Foulon asked Atty. Veltri, suppose the application is not complete. Atty. Veltri said, then you have to send a writing back out to the applicant within that timeframe and then it starts to run again. Atty. Veltri also said, that if an application comes in to the administrative officer (Jeff Brusco) the 45 days start to tick and if no action is taken by anyone and the application just sits there for 60 days, he can say its complete and now the timeframe for the Board to grant or deny the application begins. Atty. Veltri does not want to see the Board get into a timeframe problem with an applicant that has 95% of the stuff in but the Board wants something else and its not strong enough to constitute a denial. Atty. Veltri also said, he has no problem with the applications coming into the Board and the second an application comes in to Jeff and Gerri, it has to be put on the agenda for the very next meeting and the Board cannot afford to have a meeting without a quorum. Atty. Veltri said November is usually a tough month because of the convention and that could be another problem month. Atty. Veltri said he has no problem doing it, as long as Jeff and Gerri understand that when the applications come in they have to be put on the Board’s Agenda and the applicant has to be at the meeting for a completeness hearing. Atty. Veltri added, for whatever reason there’s no Board meeting, then Jeff and Gerri would have to be responsible to kick out a letter saying its been deemed incomplete and it has to be rescheduled for the next meeting. Chairman Foulon said more than likely that letter would come from Eng. Cristaldi. Atty. Veltri said that’s got to happen without Board involvement because if it doesn’t happen automatically they could run into a problem. The Board Secretary explained to Atty. Veltri the process that happens when the Building Inspector deems an application complete and asked Atty. Veltri how would the applicant get a completeness review from the Board and what would they have to bring with them to that kind of meeting. Atty. Veltri said that once Jeff says there’s twenty (20) site plans, the check is in order and the application’s been filled out, and looks as though there’s a box on the plans to show the Board where the variances are, once this happens, then the applicant should be put on the Planning Board’s Agenda for a “Board Completeness Review”. Atty. Veltri went on to say, what you can’t let happen is, you can’t let the applicant bring in 8 copies when 20 copies where requested, they don’t even have an architect’s seal on the plans and there’s no box on the plans to even show the Board where the variances are. Atty. Veltri said, once the 20 copies come in and the checks with the application, it has to be put on the Agenda for a “Completeness Hearing” only. The Board Secretary asked if Eng. Cristaldi would have to get some of the information before the completeness hearing? Eng. Cristaldi spoke up and said it would depend on the size of the application. He went on to say that some of the applications he can look at and tell you whether or not the Board has everything they need. Atty. Veltri said this proposed new procedure that’s being suggested is for Major and Minor Subdivisions. Eng. Cristaldi said with regard to Minor Subdivisions, some of them are very simple and wouldn’t need a completeness hearing, but on a big application, he may want to talk to the Sewer Engineer, Bill Kelly, and the Water Department at the meeting. Atty. Veltri said obviously on a Major Subdivision, he thinks the proposed new procedure for a completeness hearing is really necessary. Also, for a Major Site Plan, Atty. Veltri also thinks its necessary, but for a guy putting a 200 ft. addition on a commercial building, its not that big a deal. Atty. Veltri added, that for a hotel or condominium site plan, it would be absolutely necessary. Chairman Foulon said, his intent was to prevent somebody coming and saying here’s my application and I want a public hearing on such and such a date. Atty. Veltri said what they have done on several occasions and they were alerted first and then the committee would meet and either himself, Mike’s office or Jill’s office would get a letter out to the applicant telling them that they had met and your not going to be heard on such and such a date until you do X, Y & Z. Eng. Cristaldi said you have more leverage that way because they know they are up against the Water Dept. & Sewer Authority and the applicant does not want to tangle with everybody. Chairman Foulon asked if the committee would set the date up for the public hearing? Eng. Cristaldi said no and Atty. Veltri said what they will do is say if it’s complete or incomplete and then it’s up to the applicant to advertise and they will have to tell Gerri when their available. Atty. Veltri asked, if you as Board Members want to be involved in the completeness stage of the application? Chairman Foulon answered and said no. Chairman Foulon said what he wants to avoid is two major applications wanting to be heard on the same night. Chairman Foulon said he wants the Board to have the leeway to tell the applicant no and that the March Meeting (as an example) already has a large application on the Agenda. Atty. Veltri said he thinks the Board should appoint a “Completeness Committee”. Atty. Veltri went on to say that the people on this type of committee are usually the Attorney, Engineer, Planner, sometimes the Borough Administrator has been involved in those meetings, and certainly a Board Member or two. Atty. Veltri went over the proposed “Planning Board Procedures” that were given to Chairman Foulon tonight by the Board Secretary.
At this point, the time stops and there’s no more 45 day limit and the applicant then has to get all the information back to the committee and once it all comes back, they have another 45 days.
Atty. Veltri told the Board Secretary when an applicant comes in and he doesn’t have 20 copies of plans, the application filled out and the checks, give it back to the applicant and tell him to come back when everything is in order, because once you take it, the 45 days start to run.
Member Balunis suggested to Atty. Veltri that the procedure be put in writing so Gerri can give it to the applicant and let them know that these are the things you have to do before the applicant proceeds. Atty. Veltri told Member Balunis he doesn’t mind the suggestion, but every attorney who does land use for people like Hovnanian and other big developers, know that this procedure is done in every municipality in the State of New Jersey. Atty. Veltri emphasized that this is basic standard procedure in every municipality. Mistakes are made sometimes, when in a rush, somebody drops something off and takes off. That can’t happen, because once we have it, then the committee has to meet. The committee shouldn’t have to count the plans or tally the money; that has to be done internally before the committee even meets. The Board Secretary asked Atty. Veltri if this meant that the Building Inspector, Jeff Brusco, tells the applicant that he doesn’t deem the application complete anymore and that the committee will and Atty. Veltri said that’s correct. Eng. Cristaldi said the application will get three (3) levels of review; Jeff will look at it first, the committee will look at it and then it will still come to the Board.
The Board Secretary was told this procedure would be done with all Site Plans and Major Subdivisions. Atty. Veltri also mentioned that it’s terrible practice for Preliminary and Final Site Plan Applications coming in at the same time. Eng. Cristaldi spoke up and said, should we tell the applicant they can’t do that and they can only submit Preliminary first and Chairman Foulon said yes. Atty. Veltri said the reason being is, the Board is too rushed and doesn’t give the Board enough input into the process.