Board of Adjustment/Zoning Board

FORT LEE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT July 27, 2021 Present: H. Liapes, J. Nitti, H. Joh, D. Conway, L. Pacheco, E. Hong, D. Sugarman Absent: S. Tropea Also Present: J. Mariniello, Jr., Esq., P. Grygiel, Phillips, Preiss, Grygiel, D. Juzmeski, Neglia Eng. Chairman Sugarman called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. NOTICE OF MEETING: Chairman Sugarman stated: Let the minutes reflect that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner: On December 8, 2020 this Body, by Resolution, adopted a Schedule of Regular Public Meetings for 2021. The time, date, and location of said schedule was posted on the Bulletin Board at 309 Main Street. A copy of said schedule was mailed to the RECORD, JERSEY JOURNAL, STAR LEDGER, SPECTRUM, posted on the Borough’s Website and was filed with the Borough Clerk. A written notice of the time, place and proposed Agenda was posted on the Bulletin Board at 309 Main Street and mailed to the RECORD, JERSEY JOURNAL, STAR LEDGER, SPECTRUM, posted on the Borough’s Website and was filed with the Borough Clerk. On April 19, 2021, an updated notice with the Zoom Information was posted at 309 Main Street and mailed to the RECORD, JERSEY JOURNAL, STAR LEDGER, SPECTRUM, posted on the Borough Web Site and filed with the Borough Clerk. Copies have been mailed to all persons who have prepaid the $35.00 fee fixed for the year 2021 to cover the cost of mailing. Approval of Minutes It was moved by Mr. Liapes, seconded by Mr. Nitti and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Conway, Pacheco, Hong and Sugarman to approve the minutes of the meeting of July 13, 2021. Memorializations Docket #13-21, 1424 Fourteenth LLC, 1424 Fourteenth Street, Block 2251, Lot 11, Two- Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Conway, seconded by Mr. Pacheco and approved on a vote of 6-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Conway, Pacheco and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to construct a Two-Unit Dwelling Page 2-ZBA Minutes-July 27, 2021 Docket #14-21, V & R Investors, LLC, 1514 Eleventh Street, Block 3753, Lot 1, Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan – Three-Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Liapes, seconded by Mr. Nitti and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Conway, Pacheco, Hong and Sugarman to grant the applicant Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan approval. Docket #19-21, J & V Developers, LLC, 427 North Avenue, Block 3851, Lot 20, Two-Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Liapes, seconded by Mr. Conway and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Conway, Pacheco, Hong and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to construct a Two-Unit Dwelling. Acceptance/Completeness Docket #22-21, Stepan Karageozian, 463 Catherine Street, Block 3654, Lot 7, Minor Subdivision – Two (2), Two-Unit Dwellings It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Mr. Liapes and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Conway, Pacheco, Hong and Sugarman to deem the application complete. Mr. Macri will call the Board secretary for a hearing date. Docket #23-21 Monica Cisneros, 451 Brinkerhoff Avenue, Block 1054, Lot 18, Two-Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Mr. Cinway and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Conway, Pacheco, Hong and Sugarman to deem the application complete. Mr. Macri will call the Board secretary for a hearing date. Chairman Sugarman stated Mr. Pacheco and Ms. Hong are voting members tonight. Chairman Sugarman introduced Paul Grygiel who is now the Board’s Planner. He welcomed him. Public Hearing Docket #11-21, 2450 Lemoine Realty, LLC, 187 Washington Avenue, Block 7151, Lot 1, Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan – Conversion of Second Floor to Two (2) Residential Units Mr. Sekas stated this application was before this Board and approved in 2007. Lot 2, formerly Block 7101, Lots 18 & 19 received approval from the Zoning Board on December 18, 2007, for renovation of the existing mixed-use building for five residential units and ground floor Page 3-ZBA Minutes-July 27, 2021 commercial space. A variance was granted for 6 parking spaces where 26 were required under the ordinance. The outside will not change. A C2 parking variance and a D1 use and design waivers are required. Vassilios Cocoros, Architect, 467 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman Exhibit A1- Architectural plans dated December 30, 2020, revised March 16, 2021. Sheet A1 shows the elevation, key map and tax map. Sheet A2 floor plans – Currently there is a two-story building occupied by a locksmith business on the ground floor and vacant office space on the second floor. The applicant is proposing to convert the second floor into two one-bedroom units. The left unit is proposed to consist of a bedroom and two closets at the center of the dwelling, and a kitchen, a bathroom, and linen closet at the front. The right unit is proposed to have a bedroom and closet at the rear of the dwelling. A kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, linen closet and standard closet are proposed at the center of the dwelling, and a living room at the front. These units are meant for single people. The exterior will remain the same. The parking is proposed off-site on adjoining Block 7151, Lot 2 which is not subject of this application. Lot 2 consists of a three-story residential building located on the NE corner of Lemoine Avenue and Washington Avenue consisting of commercial use on the ground floor and a parking area at the rear of the building containing 8 tandem parking spaces and 1 handicap space, total 9 parking spaces. The property is in the C2 zone. The use is commercial. There is a residential zone across the street. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Joh stated I don’t recall how we granted the prior application. Mr. Sekas stated there was a boarding house there. There are no parking issues on this property. Chairman Sugarman stated the existing parking appears to be sufficient. Chairman Sugarman asked Mr. Sekas are you willing to stipulate that you will ask your neighbor if they will enter into a parking agreement at 187 Washington Avenue if necessary? Mr. Sekas stated yes. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Chairman Sugarman stated this application is carried to the meeting of August 10, 2021. No Page 4-ZBA Minutes-July 27, 2021 further notice is necessary, time is waived for the Board to act. Docket #18-21, 2130 Center Avenue, LLC, 2130 Center Avenue, Block 5852, Lot 1, Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan – 331 Unit Residential Building Over Parking Jason Tuvel stated we are here for a D4 variance for FAR in excess of permitted and a D5 variance for excess density, and bulk variances. The property is severely undersized. We were before the Board over a year ago. The application is for 31 dwelling units. There are 56 parking spaces required but this application has closer to what is required than the prior one. Two stories have been taken away. We will comply with all the comments in the reports. Mr. Jamison VanEck, 2150 Center Avenue, Fort Lee is here representing the Regency Coop and entered his appearance. Anthony Garrett, Architect, 161 Main Street, Ridgefield Park was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. The drawing on the Board is the same as was submitted to the Board. Exhibit – A1-Photo of neighboring properties A2-Sheet A2 of 2, colorized elevations A3-A302-Building section showing the property line of the neighbor SP100 is the Architectural site plan. Stacker parking is proposed, along with 3 level carousel parking. This will all be self-parking. A301 shows how the parking operates. Chairman Sugarman stated I feel this is unacceptable for an application like this. Mr. Tuvel stated no zip car parking is required, there are no micro-units. The parking is ingress only. The cars will exit on Bridge Plaza North. The number of spaces includes visitor parking. There are one, two-and three-bedroom units. Sheet A101-shows the floor plan on the first floor. There will be two one-bedroom units, four two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit on this floor. The bedrooms are 12 x 16. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor plans are similar. There will be three studios, eight one-bedrooms, nineteen two-bedrooms and one three-bedroom. There is a lobby, trash and recycling room, (garbage shute and a private hauler will pick-up) and a utility room. Mr. Liapes asked can a pick-up truck fit under that overhang at the side entrance? Mr. Garrett stated yes. Page 5-ZBA Minutes-July 27, 2021 Exhibits-Proposed Building materials A4A-cast stone base A4B-composite panel A4C-curtain wall framing A4D-brick veneer A4E-grey tinted glass A4F-base of garage material The roof is a green roof, 4,820 square feet used for passive activity. There may be a table there and lounge chairs. No BBQ’s or grills. 31 condensing units are proposed at the South side. The building is on a back-up generator. The parking structure would still be able to operate. There are service men available 24/7. All units have laundry facilities. Each unit will have a storage area. There are a number of variances for site area, roof coverage, minimum front yard setback, minimum rear setback, FAR, parking deficiency, driveway intersection, curb width and waivers. The variances are driven by the property size. Chairman Sugarman asked if Mr. VanEck has any questions. Mr. VanEck stated that Mr. Tuvel stated this is an insufficient lot area. The minimum lot size is 5,000 square feet. Mr. Garrett stated correct. Mr. VanEck stated this property is sized for a one-family home. Have you explored putting a one or two-family home here? Mr. Garrett stated no. Mr. VanEck asked if there is a loading zone. Mr. Garrett stated parking space 1 will be used for trash loading. Mr. VanEck asked regarding the trash and recycling, can the facility below handle this amount of trash? Mr. Garrett stated yes. Mr. VanEck asked about venting in the garage, what provisions have been made for the gases? Mr. Garrett stated no special provisions. This is an open area. Page 6-ZBA Minutes-July 27, 2021 Mr. VanEck asked were you involved with the FAR calculations? Mr. Garrett stated yes. Mr. VanEck asked did you include the garage area? Mr. Garrett stated no. Mr. VanEck stated the vestibule area? Mr. Garrett stated no. Mr. VanEck stated the upper level? Mr. Garrett stated no. Mr. VanEck asked will there be a back-up generator and where will it be located? Mr. Garrett stated yes, in the utility room. Mr. VanEck asked where is the bulkhead? Mr. Garrett stated sheet A201, the East end adjoining the Regency garage. Mr. VanEck stated A102 there are walkways, can people walk there on the roof? Mr. Garrett stated no, this is for service people. A guard rail will be there. Mr. VanEck will there be electricity on the roof for people living in the building? Mr. Garrett stated yes. Mr. VanEck what type of plants are on the roof? Mr. Garrett stated this is on the plans, the plant has a flower, there are 6 planters with shrubs also. There will be no rooftop lighting, only for safety. Mr. VanEck asked will there be lighting on the North façade of the building facing the Regency? Mr. Garrett stated this was removed, there is none. Mr. Tuvel stated access to the roof could end at 10:00 PM, this could be stipulated. Mr. VanEck stated you need greater setbacks now. Mr. Garrett stated yes. Page 7-ZBA Minutes-July 27, 2021 Mr. VanEck stated the building is closer to Center Avenue. Mr. Garrett stated yes. Mr. VanEck asked where did you get the photo from? Mr. Garrett stated we took a photo from across the street, we constructed the model of the proposal and placed it onto the site. This is an accurate depiction. The white area is screening and setback 50 feet from the property line. Mr. VanEck – stated Exhibit A2- elevations-can you point out the area below the garage? Mr. Garrett stated you are looking at the retaining wall. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Conway asked how many stackers will be in the garage? Mr. Garrett stated six. Mr. Conway asked if the garage will be sprinklered? Mr. Garrett stated yes. Mr. Conway asked how long will it take to complete this project? Mr. Garrett stated 14 months. Mr. Conway asked will there be a crane on the job? Mr. Garrett stated we anticipate a construction elevator. Mr. Conway asked if there is an area for delivery of materials? Mr. Garrett stated in the front yard. Mr. Conway asked how long will it take for the gas service to be installed? Mr. Tuvel stated we will try to get an answer for you by the next meeting. Mr. Conway asked if there is parking for the contractors. Mr. Tuvel stated we will look into this. Mr. Conway asked will there be a doorman at the main entrance? Page 8-ZBA Minutes-July 27, 2021 Mr. Tuvel stated I need to ask the client. Mr. Pacheco asked if you have specs for the parking stalls for the cars. Mr. Garrett stated 9 x 18, this is an actual area. Mr. Pacheco asked if 18 feet is enough clearance. Mr. Garrett stated I’m going to defer this to the Traffic Engineer. Mr. Conway asked if this is a coop, condo or rental? Mr. Tuvel stated a decision has not been made yet. Mr. Conway asked how many employees will be there from the Management Company? Mr. Tuvel stated I will find out for you. Mr. Juzmeski asked about maintenance for the stacker parking system. Mr. Garrett stated I will get an answer for you. Mr. Juzmeski asked if the system fails, who do they call? Mr. Garrett stated I will get an answer for you. Mr. Juzmeski asked what is the count of spaces for the loading/unloading? Mr. Garrett stated this is included in the count but will be given specific times for this activity. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Chairman Sugarman stated this application is carried to the meeting of August 24, 2021. No further notice is necessary, time is waived for the Board to act. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Mr. Joh, seconded by Mr. Liapes to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Linda Garofalo Linda Garofalo Recording Secretary