PLANNING BOARD MEETING

 

FEBRUARY 16, 2006

BOROUGH OF WANAQUE

 

REGULAR MEETING

 

Meeting called to order by Chairman Gilbert Foulon with a salute to the flag.

 

ROLL CALL:

John DiMeglio                                               William Rucci

Chairman Gilbert Foulon                               David Slater

Mayor Thomas Balunis                                 Eugene Verba

Joseph Graceffo                                             Ed O’Connell

Kevin Platt                                                     John Shutte

 

PRESENT:  Attorney Steven Veltri and Engineer Michael Cristaldi

 

MEMBERS ABSENT: Member Ed O’Connell

 

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, 2006 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 December 15, 2005 and the Reorganization & Regular Meeting of January 19, 2006 Meetings.

 

MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member Slater, seconded by Member Rucci, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon abstained on December 2005 Meeting and yes on January 2006, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo abstained on December 2005 Meeting and yes on January 2006, Platt, Rucci yes on December 2005 Meeting and abstained on January 2006, Slater, Verba abstained on December 2005 Meeting and yes on January 2006, Shutte abstained on December 2005 Meeting and yes on January 2006.

 

COMMUNICATIONS/REPORTS: No questions asked.

 

APPLICATION STATUS REPORT: Eng. Cristaldi said the only application material he has is the Candle Factory Application.

 

Chairman Foulon announced to the audience if anyone was here tonight because of the Candle Factory Application and said the application is not complete and will not be heard tonight. There will be a Completeness Review Meeting next Thursday, February 23rd by Committee and will probably be deemed complete at the next

 

meeting of March 16, 2006 for a Public Hearing at the April 20th Meeting.

 

Attorney George Hanley of Weiner Lesniak LLP 629 Parsippany Road, Parsippany, N.J. came forward on behalf of “Wanaque Associates, L.L.C.” (Valley View at Wanaque). Atty. Hanley apologized to the Board for the pre-mature notice that went out and will wait to hear about the Completeness Review Meeting.

 

NEW BUSINESS APPLICATION: “Spirit of the Law Legal Clinic”, 551 Ringwood Ave., Block 231 Lot 12. Owner and Director is Sandra Ramos of “Strengthen Out Sisters, P.O. Box U Hewitt. N.J.

Ms. Lena Lamontagne came forward. Ms. Lamontagne said the space was formerly  occupied by “Skylands Clean”. The new business will be a legal clinic that provides legal services to low income families and its all volunteered based and primarily deal with family court matters, custody, divorce and immigration issues. The attorney who will be working there will be coming in two or three times a month in the evening, so there shouldn’t be a parking issue. Fire, Health, and Water inspections are in compliance. The Plumbing Inspector and the Building Inspector have not submitted their reports as of now.

 

MOTION TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO ALL SATISFACTORY REPORTS FROM THE BUILDING AND PLUMBING INSPECTORS: made by Member Graceffo, seconded by Member DiMeglio, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo, Platt, Rucci, Slater, Verba and Shutte.

 

NEW BUSINESS APPLICATION “Priceless Possessions Etc.” (Collectible Store), 1097 Ringwood Ave., Block 437 Lot 5. Owner of building is Eugene Fox and Tenant is Carol Cooper.

Carol Cooper, 25 Hickory Place, Chatham, N.J. came forward. Ms. Cooper explained she would be selling collectibles both in the store and inter-net related on E-Bay. Basically it will be sports collectibles, household things, anything collectible or desirable, vintage toys, pottery etc. and possibly consignment items. All inspections are in compliance and approved.

 

MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member Rucci, seconded by Member Graceffo, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo, Platt, Rucci, Slater, Verba and Shutte.

 

Application #01-06 Aleksandar Milic, 121 Meadowbrook Ave., Block 224 Lots 3 & 3.01, Wanaque, N.J. Major Subdivision to create separate lots for the two existing Single Family Homes. Authorized Agent is Richard P. Saunders, Esq.

Attorney Richard P. Saunders came forward on behalf of the applicant. A revised plan had been submitted with a date of January 31, 2006. Also present was William J. Darmstatter, P.E. At last month’s meeting the application was deemed a Major Subdivision instead of a Minor Subdivision. Basically there is one lot that has two single family dwellings and is a rather large lot and all the applicant is seeking is to divide the lot into two parcels with one house on each of the lots. No variances are required for this application and both lots exceed the minimal lot requirements. The division line between the two properties is drawn so that there are no setback variances required. The only reason this application is classified a Major Subdivision is because they need to extend the water main on Meadowbrook Avenue from its present location and extend it up Meadowbrook Avenue and provide individual water services for both lots. The ultimate goal is that one of the houses is rather in rundown condition and in the future the applicant would like to demolish the house and build another house on the same footprint. The applicant would be moving into the new house once that is complete and the other house would be rented out.

Mr. Aleksander Milic and Eng. William Darmstatter were sworn in by Attorney Veltri. Eng. Darmstatter described the location where the two houses are situated. Eng. Darmstatter said he is a licensed N.J. P.E. and Land Surveyor. He has been a licensed surveyor since 1979 and as an engineer since 1984 and regularly gives testimony throughout Northern New Jersey. Eng. Darmstatter went on to say that presently the lot is 57,000+ sq. ft. and has two single- family dwellings on it. The subdivision line was constructed to make sure that both of the dwellings would meet all the zoning requirements. The lot on the left of Lot 3 would have 24,863 sq. ft. and Lot 3.01 on the right would have 32,561 sq. ft. and all the other zoning setbacks and requirements are all met and no variances or waivers are requested. The Water Department has required the applicant to extend the water main of both dwellings and presently the dwellings are serviced by one single service.  The water main would be extended approximately by 200 feet as shown on the revised plan with a new hydrant and then the existing service for 121 Meadowbrook Ave. would be connected to the new line and a new water service line would be connected to 119 Meadowbrook Ave. Atty. Saunders asked Eng. Darmstatter if he had a chance to review Eng. Cristaldi’s report dated January 19, 2006 and said he did and agreed with Eng. Cristaldi’s report and will comply with all the conditions. Member Verba asked about the sanitary sewer lines and Eng. Darmstatter said both sanitary sewers exist.

 

CHAIRMAN FOULON ENTERTAINED A MOTION TO DEEM THE APPLICATION COMPLETE:  made by Member Graceffo, seconded by Member Rucci, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo, Platt, Rucci, Slater, Verba and Shutte.

 

OPEN TO PUBLIC HEARING: made by Mayor Balunis, seconded by Member Platt, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo, Platt, Rucci, Slater, Verba  and Shutte.

 

Louis Bakula 21 Gorge Drive, Haskell came forward. Mr. Bakula would like to know why the Board votes on things first and then asks questions later. Chairman Foulon asked Mr. Bakula, “such as”.  Mr. Bakula replied, “The Board already confirmed the vote”. Chairman Foulon asked Mr. Bakula, “what vote”? Mr. Bakula answered by saying, “this application” (meaning the Major Subdivision). Chairman Foulon said the Board did not and only deemed the application complete; then the Board took a vote to open it to Public Hearing and then the Board will vote on whether to approve the application or not. As of right now, Chairman Foulon said, the application has not been approved nor has it been denied. Mr. Bakula answered by saying, “from when he’s been at the meetings, it seems that the Board always votes on things first and then asks the public”. Chairman Foulon said, “It appears that Mr. Bakula is not paying attention to what’s going on at the meeting because that is not the case at all”. Mr. Bakula said, “That seems to be the trend”. Chairman Foulon said, “that is not the case and the Board can show Mr. Bakula minutes of every meeting Chairman Foulon has attended and that is not the case”. Chairman Foulon thanked Mr. Bakula for his comments.

 

CHAIRMAN FOULON ENTERTAINED A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING: made by Mayor Balunis, seconded by Member Shutte, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo, Platt, Rucci, Slater, Verba and Shutte.

 

CHAIRMAN FOULON ENTERTAINED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SUBDIVISION: made by Member Rucci, seconded by Member Graceffo, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo, Platt, Rucci, Slater, Verba and Shutte.

 

OPEN TO PUBLIC DISCUSSION: 

 

Bob Ferdon, 34 Fredericks Street came forward. Mr. Ferdon asked Mayor Balunis if he agreed with the way Chairman Foulon treated Mr. Bakula and he should have allowed the Board Attorney to explain what was going on. It was quite clear that the man did not understand the procedure; instead, the Mayor sat there and let the Chairman abuse the man. Mayor Balunis said he didn’t think Chairman Foulon abused Mr. Bakula but he was contradicting what he said. Mr. Ferdon said Chairman Foulon was clearly abusive and he wanted to be abusive and Mr. Ferdon said the Mayor should act on it.

Grace Maiello, 26 Rhinesmith Ave. came forward. Ms. Maiello wanted an explanation for Bulk Variance. Atty. Veltri explained that the Board deals basically with two variances; one would be “Use or Density” and the other is “Bulk”. When your talking about “Bulk” your talking about side yard setbacks, front yard

 

setbacks, rear yard setbacks and area. In other words the structure doesn’t conform to the size of the lot. A “Use” would be, if you wanted to put a commercial building in a residential zone, then that is generally heard by the Board of Adjustment.

 

Chris Wheeler, 52 Fourth Ave. came forward. Mr. Wheeler wanted to know about the “Candle Factory” property with regard to what direction the sewer line is going. Mr. Wheeler said, right now it’s going to be at the end of his property.  Eng. Cristaldi said he thinks they extended the sanitary sewer line from Fourth Ave. when they reconstructed the road and he believes their going to have a pump that pumps it down the street because they don’t have enough pitch gravity wise. Eng. Cristaldi said if anything happened to the pump, it would be back on the “Candle Factory” property.

Chairman Foulon mentioned, the schedule appears now that there will be a Public Hearing at the April Planning Board Meeting and there will be people there to answer questions.

 

Jackie Gutschmidt, 53 Fourth Ave. came forward. Ms. Gutschmidt wanted to know if it would be feasible if the sewer went down towards Ringwood Ave. as oppose to it coming towards their homes? Chairman Foulon said the Board really shouldn’t answer that now. Chairman Foulon suggested that Ms. Gutschmidt come to the meeting in April when the applicant is here with their engineers. Ms. Gutschmidt wanted to know when were they going to start knocking down the “Candle Factory”. Mayor Balunis answered and said he didn’t know when they were going to start.

 

PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Closed

 

VOUCHERS: submitted by Richard A. Alaimo Engineering for Invoice #018883 Project #PO495-0001-000 for Administrative Meetings for Engineering Period Ending 12/31/2005 for a total of $185.00.

 

MOTION TO APPROVE: made by Member DiMeglio, seconded by Member Graceffo, voting yes were Members DiMeglio, Chairman Foulon, Mayor Balunis, Graceffo, Platt, Rucci, Slater, Verba and Shutte.

 

MOTION TO ADJOURN AT 8:57 P.M.: made by Member Slater, seconded by Member DiMeglio, carried by a voice vote.

 

    ________________________

Gerri Marotta

Planning Board Secretary