Meeting called to order by Chairman Gilbert Foulon with a
salute to the flag.
ROLL CALL:
Chairman Gilbert Foulon David
Slater
Joseph Graceffo Thomas
Balunis
Mayor Warren Hagstrom William
Rucci
Tony Brindisi
PRESENT:
Attorney Steven Veltri and Engineer Michael Cristaldi
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Eugene Verba
READING:
Open Public Meeting Announcement
This is a Regular Meeting of the Wanaque Borough Planning
Board and adequate notice has been given and it has been duly advertised by the
placement of a notice in the Trends and the Herald News, mailed on January 21,
2005 and a notice thereof has been posted on the bulletin board in the
Municipal Building in the Borough of Wanaque and a copy thereof has been on
file with the Borough Clerk.
MINUTES: from the January 20, 2005 Reorganization
and Regular Meeting.
MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member DiMeglio, seconded by Member Graceffo, voting yes
were Members DiMeglio, Graceffo, Brindisi, Platt, Slater, Balunis. Chairman
Foulon and Mayor Hagstrom abstained.
COMMUNICATIONS/REPORTS: No questions asked.
APPLICATION STATUS REPORT: Eng. Cristaldi said no new applications have
been received.
NEW BUSINESS APPLICATION: “M & L Automotive” (Auto Repair), 918 Ringwood Ave., Block 309 Lot 22, Haskell, N.J. Owner of building is John J. Vas II and owner of business is Michael Landry.
Mr. Vas and Mr. Landry came forward. The applicants were at the December Meeting
and had to take care of the sewer and water issues. Mr. Vas told the Board he has an agreement with the Water
Department and the Wanaque Borough Sewer Authority. This agreement says that
Mr. Vas has until April 1st to install the sewer and water main. The
water bill has been set up and the sewer bill has also been set up
and the proper payments have been made. Chairman Foulon
wanted to know exactly what is going on there since he wasn’t present at the
December Meeting. Mr. Vas
told Chairman Foulon he owns Patriot Landscaping and
there are two buildings on the property and he is renting the back garage to
Mr. Landry for his auto repair business. Chairman Foulon wanted Mr. Vas to know
that the premises are the most god awful looking place on Ringwood Avenue. Mr.
Vas responded by saying that it’s getting better and Chairman Foulon said
that’s what he was told eight months ago and its not getting better. Chairman Foulon went on to say there’s
trucks all over and garbage in the back, concrete laying all around and it’s
just a mess. Chairman Foulon said he’s very reluctant to approve anything else
for this property. Chairman Foulon asked Atty. Veltri if two businesses were
allowed on one property. Atty. Veltri wanted to know what was there previously
and was told an auto parts store and repair. The New Business Application
granted to Mr. Vas was for a landscaping company and Mr. Vas is saying that he
retained the original use of the automotive repair because in the future he was
planning on having a repair shop for more equipment. The building in front is
used for the landscaping business and the building in the back will be used for
automotive repair. Mr. Vas said the only issues from the December 2004 Meeting
were Water and Sewer and he has resolved those two issues. Chairman Foulon said
this application would have to be researched to see if two uses are allowed on
the property. Member Brindisi said this issue of two uses wasn’t brought up at
the December Meeting, and Member DiMeglio said the Board would be depriving Mr.
Landry of his livelihood. Mr. Vas said he also told the Building Inspector he
wasn’t going to do much until the Ringwood Avenue Project is complete because
right now he has half a curb. Atty. Veltri explained that the Chairman asked if
two uses are permitted on the site, and the reason Atty. Veltri asked him about
the prior use is Atty. Veltri doesn’t see anything in the zone that allows two
separate uses, nor does he see anything that prohibits it. However, if there
were previously uses on that property, that would be a non-conforming condition
regardless that would be permitted. Atty. Veltri said the thing that bothers
him about the ordinance is, it does permit accessory uses on site, and what was
said before, and it seems to be an accessory type of use. Atty. Veltri went on
to say, that Mr. Vas’s uses are certainly not accessory being a landscaping and
Mr. Landry doing something completely different and that would make it two
separate uses on site. However, this application is here for a Business
Application only, and what Atty. Veltri would suggest so that the Board doesn’t
hold up the applicant, that the Board act on the application as submitted
tonight with a condition, that in the event the Building Inspector or Atty.
Veltri looking at the prior records believe that he needs a variance for the
separate business, he would have to come back for that variance.
MOTION TO APPROVE PER THE ATTORNEY’S RECOMMENDATION:
made by Member Graceffo, seconded by Member Brindisi, voting yes were Chairman
Foulon, Graceffo, Mayor Hagstrom, Brindisi, Platt, Slater, Balunis and
Rucci. Member DiMeglio abstained.
NEW BUSINESS APPLICATION: “Redum Customs LLC” (Auto Parts & Accessories), 1116 Ringwood Ave., Block 438 Lot 3.02, Haskell, N.J. Owner of building is Abeth Realty Co., Inc., P.O.Box 333, Tenafly, N.J. Owner of business is Wade Knarr, 50 Rhinesmith Ave., Wanaque, N.J.
Wade Knarr came forward. The business is taking over the former “Pool Time” space. Mr. Knarr said all he would be doing at this location is selling auto parts. Chairman Foulon said all inspections are in compliance.
MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member Slater, seconded
by Member Graceffo, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon,
Graceffo, Mayor Hagstrom, Brindisi, Platt, Slater, Balunis and Rucci.
“CROSS ACCEPTANCE DISCUSSION” BY TOM CARROLL, BOROUGH ADMINISTRATOR:
Mr. Carroll came forward with Mike Kauker Jr. who is a partner with his father Mike Kauker Sr. who is the Borough Planner. Mr. Carroll said he also invited the County Planning Director who hasn’t arrived yet. Mr. Carroll explained that back in September or October he came before the Board with a map showing certain recommendations that are to be made with regards to the State Planning Map. (All Members have a copy of the map). The State Planning Map is and the Cross Acceptance Process becomes the blueprint for the State Development and Redevelopment Plan. This has to do with the Town Center, Highlands, and what areas are designated as environmentally sensitive known as PA 5, areas that are developable namely PA 1 which are the red areas on the map. There are certain areas that the Borough has indicated that they would like changed. The first of which is the area on the Boulevard known as the Wanaque Manor Tract that was recently purchased through Open Space and other monies. Mr. Carroll said they would like to take this out of the developmental area and put it into PA 5. Another area they want to make clear is the area that Pulte is in is PA 1 and does not get changed. The Mountain Lakes Estates Area and Lakeside Manor Area are in PA 5, which is environmentally sensitive. Mountain Lakes Estates & Lakeside Manor have in fact loss all of their DEP Permits; they have allowed them to expire. In order for them to resurrect any part of that development, they must go back to DEP for at a minimum a Water Main Extension Permit; even though they put the infrastructure in of the water mains, none of the houses or the condos were hooked in, therefore, they have to go back for a new permit. This property is also in the Highlands and Phase 2 of that project has no permits and there is a very slim chance if Phase 2 can be resurrected by the developer. The area with the main concern on the map has to do with the area off of Union Avenue with the #2 on the map. This area is the Specht/Maas Tract, which is the area behind the college that currently is in Planning Area 1, which is developable. Its an area that the Borough fought for very hard in 2000/2001 to keep as Planning Area 1; it was Planning Area 2 and the State making the changes with the Horse Farm in Bloomingdale wanted this area to become Planning Area 5. They
made the Horse Farm Planning Area 5 and kept the line at the Wanaque border and everything from the Wanaque border east was in Planning Area 1 and now they have a proposal to make it Planning Area 5. There is a Redevelopment Plan for Union Avenue and the ultimate goal is some type of office complex, office campus, hotel conference center, something that is going to compliment the use I 287 Interchange yet not put a significant number of cars on Ringwood Ave.
County Planning Director Neil Muller explained to Mr. Carroll that this is a proposal from the state and we now make a request that no we don’t want those changes. The next phase becomes a negotiation phase between the Borough and the County and then the County and State, and the Cross Acceptance are done through the County. The map should reflect what we look for in Wanaque as far as zoning and for the most part it is what we want for the future and there isn’t much area left that’s going to see development in town with the Highlands Act and there’s very little land left other than what’s on Union Avenue. Union Avenue properties are not in the Highlands the line goes down Doty Road to the Bloomingdale border, down the Bloomingdale border and then goes out Union Avenue. The area between Doty Road and Union Avenue that Mr. Carroll originally thought was in is not. Basically that’s
where the Borough is with the County process and have asked for these changes and looking to get the map to the point where they want it to be.
Mr. Carroll announced that Mr. Neil Muller, the Passaic County Planning Director just arrived at the meeting. Mr. Muller told the Board that the Cross Acceptance Report they have is out of date already because the revised one is now posted on the Internet as of this evening. Mr. Muller went on to say, that the idea of a regional center is to concentrate development within an area in order to preserve outside of the area so you end up with the same amount of development but in a more concentrated place. In areas like the Highlands, that can be a very troubling idea because on the other hand you’re trying very hard to reduce impervious coverage. The idea of the regional center is to take the two existing centers that are in Bloomingdale and Wanaque, and add to it basically an area centered on downtown Pompton Lakes. What’s common about this is, all three of these towns are on County Roads, all are doing streetscapes and all are trying to revitalize in an appropriate way. You might be thinking about adding some residential by putting a second story residential on some buildings. Mr. Muller added, that the County wouldn’t be doing a streetscape project in Wanaque but the County would support Wanaque doing a streetscape project. Mr. Muller displayed the regional center map and explained different parts on the map. One of the things mentioned was the County’s promotion of a rail project and would be built between Hawthorne and Hackensack and would allow you to connect to three existing New Jersey Transit Rail Lines. It could also be extended from Hawthorne up to Pompton Lakes and potentially to Butler.
Mr. Muller said there are three phases to Cross Acceptance. The first phase is comparison phase in which the State presents a map with the State’s proposals. Then the town responds to the State proposals. Then the County collects all the information
and forwards this information to the State, which then concludes comparison. The State comes back in the second phase which is negotiation and will go through the issues where there was disagreement and then would ask why do you feel what kind of information should be viewed and there will be a discussion. Once the report is handed in by the County then the State will agree or disagree, and another report gets done to show the outcome subject to public comment and then recommendations are made by the State Planning Staff to the State Planning Commission and they have a vote on it. Then the third phase of Cross Acceptance which is adoption of the State Plan.
OPEN TO PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
Penny Anson, 20 Shady Ave., Haskell came forward. Ms. Anson mentioned that each time Tom Carroll talks about Area 4 the Specht/Maas Tract, which is only 50 acres; he talks about Area 4 being Union Ave., which Ms. Anson said is not. Ms. Anson said
the land inside circle 4 are all the lands of the Bird
Sanctuary, a 20-acre parcel owned by people out of state, a 12-acre parcel
owned by someone else and the Borough owns 80% of the vacant land in the Bird
Sanctuary. Therefore, when you look at circle 4 and say Spect/Maas Tract Union
Avenue that is not accurate because that 4 circle does not extend to Union Ave.
it extends to the 20 acre parcel of land which touches the 3 acre parcel on
Union Ave. that was clear cut by all the trees which is a DEP Violation.
Bill Kuipers, P.O. Box 49, Lake Iosco,
Bloomingdale came forward. Mr. Kuipers asked how close does the Bicoastal
property extend to Union Ave.? Mr. Carroll told Mr. Kuipers it is the area
behind the college and is all wooded. The access road to this property would be
through the Bicoastal property on Union Ave. Mr. Kuipers wanted to know if
there was a particular plan for how that property would be developed and when?
Mr. Carroll said its open for development based on the Redevelopment Ordinance,
but there are no plans for development that have been based on the
Redevelopment Plan that have come before the Planning Board.
Sandy Lawson, 28 Haskell Ave. came forward. Ms.
Lawson said, a PA 1 you have to abide by the environmental constraints and a PA
5 does not prohibit development or sewering, etc. but it does constrain it a
lot more environmentally and there are some areas particularly by Mt. Lakes
Estates and Lakeside Manor that Ms. Lawson thinks should be entirely PA 5. Ms.
Lawson also agrees that the Wanaque Manor property should also be a PA 5. Ms.
Lawson would also like to see the Specht/Maas Tract remain a PA 5. Ms. Lawson
added, that she thought it would be really nice if there were some maps for the
public to see because this is not just a presentation to the Planning Board but
also a presentation to the residents of this town.
Howard Mintz, also from Lake Iosco and President
of the Board of Directors. He too is surprised that there is no legal
requirement for public presentation of the plans here tonight, and in fact was
a little annoyed that he found out about this presentation at the last minute.
He also is concerned about the Specht/Maas Tract
that is adjacent to Lake Iosco and is wetlands and highly
sloped and thinks it is a very poor choice for development and they are going
to ask the County on Friday to keep that a PA 5.
Mr. Muller wanted everyone to know that all of the documentation
and maps are available on the County Website as well as the State Website and
they E-Mail everyone; copies of the documents are in every local library and
every municipal building.
Rob Rex, P.O. Box 176, Lake Iosco came forward.
Mr. Rex wanted to know what the PA now is for the Specht/Maas Tract? Mr.
Carroll said it is currently PA 1 and its being proposed that part of it go to
PA 5, and the Borough is proposing that it remain PA 1. The State wants it to
go to PA 5. Mr. Carroll said there hasn’t been any discussion with the State
and the process now is the Borough gets the map and goes back to the County and
the County takes the Borough’s comments and forwards them to the State and the
State will come back with comments yes or no, and if the Borough doesn’t agree
with the State then the Borough will directly negotiate with the State.
Penny Anson came forward again. Ms. Anson said on
Area 4 she would really like to see it listed by Block & Lot because the
Specht/Maas Tract is about 400 ft. from her house and would like to know about
the parcel between the lands on Shady Ave., Block 421 being that the Borough
owns all of Block 421 and there is only three houses on Block 421, the wetlands
cross from Block 425 to Block 421 down to Block 400 the piece of property that
is 10 acres and owned by the people in Alaska then right onto the Specht
property and she wants to make sure that the wetlands is not in it.
Mr. Carroll told Ms. Anson that the two pieces of
property that he identified to the County is Lot 9 & Lot 11 of Block 400.
Ms. Anson said, when you look at the Tax Map that is not just those two
parcels. Mr. Carroll said he disagreed with Ms. Anson.
Grace Maiello, 26 Rhinesmith Ave. came forward.
Ms. Maiello addressed Mr. Carroll and said the last time he came before the
Board with this Cross Acceptance Map it was about 2’ X 2’ with a very large
key. Mr. Carroll said he drew on that map and it was sent down County and said
that Mr. Muller can get the map back to us.
Louis Bakula, 21 Gorge Drive came forward. Mr.
Bakula said that Mr. Carroll said the Specht/Maas Tract is behind the College.
Mr. Bakula wanted to know if Mr. Carroll was aware that the old municipal dump
is back there. Mr. Carroll said the County College is built on the old dump.
Mr. Bakula disagreed and said they tore part of it out, but it extends about ¼
mile towards Doty Road.
Bill Kuipers, P.O. Box 49, Haskell came forward
again. Mr. Kuipers wanted to know when is enough, enough. Mr. Kuipers gets
upset every time another building or house goes up or tree comes down. Mr.
Kuipers said every time trees come down it affects property values and the
night sky is not black anymore, its orange, the noise from I 287 is getting
louder and louder.
Chairman Foulon asked Mr. Kuipers when he moved here, did
he think he was the only one to move here? Chairman Foulon went on to say, its
very difficult for the
Board to tell people they cannot use their property. The
Board has tried to stop people and then the Board is taken to Court.
Jean Bakula, 21 Gorge Drive came forward. Ms.
Bakula lives in the area that centers the Bird Sanctuary and she believes it
should stay rated as PA 5. There are endangered birds, animals, plants and she
moved here because of the beauty of the woods. She thinks what the Borough is
proposing is too radical.
Chairman Foulon said he agreed with Ms. Bakula.
Chairman Foulon said to Mr. Carroll, that he believed
that the town is looking for commercial development along Union Avenue and how
far North? Mr. Carroll said to the rear of some properties on Doty Road.
Chairman Foulon then said why would we want to be going further back than the
properties on Union Ave. for development? Mr. Carroll said that’s why we having
zoning in place now and if you had someone wanting to come in and do an office
campus and you were able to get 30 acres of developmental property back there,
they would have to come in and put the infrastructure in that would allow for
that development to come out to Union Ave.
Sandy Lawson, 28 Haskell Ave. came forward again.
Ms. Lawson said in addition to those properties there are some areas back there
that have an overlay for COAH
and wanted Mr. Carroll to show her where those properties
are on the map. Mr. Carroll said those properties would be in the RD 1 & RD
2 and they would be at the end of Gorge Drive. Ms. Lawson wanted to know if
that was Pa 1 or 5 and Mr. Carroll said PA 1. Ms. Lawson wanted to know if
someone was to come in and wanted to build affordable housing how would they
get to that property; is there access to it or is it land locked? Mr. Carroll
said most of that property is land locked unless they wanted to come in and
improve Gorge Drive.
Penny Anson came forward again. Ms. Anson asked, the property that the
Borough owns in the Bird Sanctuary, that’s approved for COAH? Mr. Carroll said
yes. Ms. Anson said that attaches to the Specht tract, correct? Mr. Carroll
said yes. Ms. Anson said if a developer has purchased or willing to purchase,
and if that happens, then the developer no longer needs Mr. Fisher who owns 12
acres, and if the developing goes through doesn’t this give the Borough another
access to develop all the vacant land the Borough owns up in the Bird
Sanctuary? Mr. Carroll said its possible but an engineer would have to look at
it.
MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC DISCUSSION: made by Member
Slater, seconded by Mayor Hagstrom, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman
Foulon, Graceffo, Mayor Hagstrom, Brindisi, Platt, Slater, Balunis and Rucci.
Member Graceffo wanted to say that, as he looks at this whole
proposal there’s got to be a balance between what’s economically feasible to
the community and supporting the community versus what we want to do
maintaining Green Acres etc., Member Graceffo said by making it a PA 1 because
it gives you the opportunity to determine what kind of development goes in
there and if you lock it out now, you’ll get no one to come in and develop.
Member Graceffo said he could understand the sensitivity with
the people who live in an area that has been beautiful
and you want to maintain that beauty, but you also need some economical
balancing.
RESOLUTION: On Application #19-04 Eric & Danielle Uhlhorn & Charles Gormly, 8 Mullen Ave., Wanaque, N.J. Block 238 Lot 3, Minor Subdivision: Approved by an 8-0 Vote.
MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member Brindisi, seconded by Member Balunis,
voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Graceffo, Mayor Hagstrom,
Brindisi, Platt, Slater, Balunis and Rucci.
RESOLUTION: On Application #18-04 John De Diminicantanio, 66 Greenwood Ave., Block 445 Lot 74, Haskell, N.J., Minor Subdivision: Approved by a 7-0 Vote.
MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member DiMeglio, seconded by Member Graceffo, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Graceffo, Mayor Hagstrom, Brindisi, Platt, Slater, Balunis and Rucci.
Atty.
Veltri announced that the subdivision deeds on Application #12-04 Antonio &
Mary Ann Brindisi/McGrady was forwarded to the Board Secretary and Atty. Veltri
and Eng. Cristaldi has copies. The deeds were fine with Atty. Veltri and Eng.
Cristaldi and can be signed tonight by Chairman Foulon and Board Secretary,
Gerri Marotta so that the applicant can perfect the subdivision.
Atty.
Veltri also said there is a site plan that can be signed by the Chairman and Board
Secretary on the “Stop & Shop” Application.
VOUCHERS: submitted by Atty. Veltri for
Resolution on Application #19-04 Uhlhorn/Gormly Application for $325.00,
Resolution on Application #18-04 Dediminicantanio for $325.00, Review of
Subdivision Deed for Brindisi/McGrady
for $50.00, Litwornia Associates, Inc. for Ringwood & Doty Signal
Modification for $5,668.67, Mountain Ave. Townhouse Project $2,050.50, Green
Park Village $4,898.25, Richard A. Alaimo Invoice #009267 Project
#PO495-01-57-000 Sassafras Properties, LLC for $3,147.00, Invoice #009268
Project #PO495-0158-000 De Diminicantanio for $574.00, Invoice #009269 Project
#PO495-0163-000 Grauso for $574.00, Invoice #009270 Project #PO495-0164-000
Stop & Shop for $3,201.00, Invoice #009271 Project #PO495-0165-000 Uhlhorn
& Gormly for $54.00, for a Grand Total of $20,867.42.
MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member
Slater, seconded by Member Graceffo, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman
Foulon, Graceffo, Mayor Hagstrom, Platt, Slater, Balunis and Rucci. Member
Brindisi abstained.
Attorney
Veltri announced there was one item for Executive Session that involves a
pending possible litigation.
Chairman
Foulon announced to the public to leave the room while the Board goes into
Executive Session to discuss pending litigation and the results of this
discussion may or may not be made public in the future.
The
Board went into close session at 9:37 P.M.
MOTION TO CLOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 10:20 P.M.: made by Member DiMeglio,
seconded by Member Graceffo, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon,
Graceffo, Hagstrom, Brindisi, Platt, Slater, Balunis and Rucci.
Chairman
Foulon announced that no action was taken at the Executive Session.
MOTION TO ADJOURN AT 10:21 P.M.: made by Member Slater, seconded by Member Brindisi,
carried by a voice vote.
_____________________________
Gerri
Marotta
Secretary
to Planning Board