Board of Adjustment/Zoning Board

FORT LEE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT April 26, 2022 Present: J. Nitti, S. Conway, H. Joh, S. Tropea, E. Hong, D. Sugarman Absent: H. Liapes, L. Pacheco, J. Luppino Also Present: J. Bonica, Esq., D. Juzmeski, Neglia Eng. Chairman Sugarman called the meeting to order at 7:30 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 November 23, 2021 this Body, by Resolution, adopted a Schedule of Regular Public Meetings for 2022. 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. Approval of Minutes It was moved by Mr. Conway, seconded by Ms. Hong, and passed on a vote of 6-0 by members Nitti, Conway, Joh, Tropea, Hong and Sugarman to approve the minutes of the meeting of April 12, 2022. Memorializations Docket #9-22, 1079 Palisade Avenue, LLC, 1025 Anderson Avenue, Block 355, Lot 12, Two Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Tropea, seconded by Mr. Conway, and approved on a vote of 4-0 by members Nitti, Conway, Tropea and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to construct a Two Unit Dwelling. Page 2-ZBA Minutes-April 26, 2022 Docket #11-22, Kin Wai Ng & Chow Yue Chiu, 289 Slocum Way, Block 3952,Lot 7, Two Family Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Joh, seconded by Mr. Nitti and approved on a vote of 5-0 by members Nitti, Conway, Joh, Tropea and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to construct a Two Family Dwelling. Acceptance/Completeness Docket # 11-22, 432 Stillwell, LLC, 432 Stillwell Avenue, Block 2854, Lot 3, Two Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Conway, seconded by Mr. Nitti and approved on a vote of 6-0 by members Nitti, Conway, Joh, Tropea, Hong and Sugarman to deem the application complete. Public Hearings: Docket #5-22, Seung Yang & Chan Park, 1303 Palisade Avenue, Block 1955, Lot 8, Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan – Mixed Use – Commercial Offices & Residential Chairman Sugarman stated this application is carried to a future date. Docket #32-21, Bhairavi Pandya, 256 Forest Road, Block 1953, Lot 1, Single Family Dwelling Mr. Cereste stated this application is for a single family home. They propose to demolish the existing home and build a colonial home. A D4 variance is required and C1 variances. Mr. Sean McClellan, Engineer, 101 West Street, Hillsdale was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. Exhibit A1-Site Plan dated July 21, 2020, Revised February 2, 2021 prepared by Lantelme, Kurens & Associates, PC Mr. McClellan stated the property is in the R2 zone, it is a corner lot. The surrounding area is all the R2 zone. We are seeking approval for a height of 30’75”. The D variance is for FAR - .926 proposed, .75 required. There is a three car garage. Two parking spaces are required, we are providing 3 ½ spaces. Underground seepage pits are proposed. Landscaping shows green giants and arborvitae to be planted. Two walls are proposed – 7 feet off the corner of the house and a 4 foot wall on the property line. Mr. Juzmeski’s report dated April 12, 2022 was reviewed. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Juzmeski asked will the property wall obstruct the visibility? Page 3-ZBA Minutes-April 26, 2022 Mr. McClellan stated the wall will be in the site triangle. We will cut it down. Mr. Juzmeski asked where will the trash be located? Mr. McClellan stated in the garage. Mr. Juzmeski asked can we decrease the size of the paver driveway and plant additional landscaping? Mr. Cereste stated we can provide a median in the driveway in the center and do a planting there. Mr. McClellan stated we can comply with the rest of the comments in Mr. Juzmeski’s report. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Mr. Marios Lachanaris, Architect, 1610 Center Avenue, Fort Lee was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. A2-Architectural plan dated October 28, 2021 prepared by Marios Lachanaris, R.A. Mr. Lachanaris stated we are proposing to demolish the existing house and replace it with a center hall colonial. There will be a three car garage. Page 2.05, the layout of the basement was shown. A recreation room, play area, no bedrooms, utility room and full bathroom with shower and closet. Page 3.05, first floor – foyer, stair to the second floor and stair to the basement, a living room, bathroom, bedroom, dining room, kitchen with breakfast area and family room. The bedroom is for guests. Off the kitchen is a patio. Page 3.06 shows the second floor – there is a master bedroom with ensuite bathroom, bedroom #2, bedroom #3 with a shared bathroom, laundry closet and bedroom #3 with it’s own bathroom and closet. The total area is 4,632 square feet. The house will be finished with brick. The elevations were shown on the easel. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Nitti asked if any trees were being taken down. Mr. Lachanaris stated no. Chairman Sugarman stated there is a 3 car garage and 3 ½ parking spaces. What is a half space? Mr. Juzmeski stated this is how it’s calculated. Chairman Sugarman stated this is a 5,000 square foot lot with a house that is 4,632 square feet. What type of landscaping will there be? Mr. Lachanaris stated there will be 6 azaleas on the left side along Forest road and one new Maple tree, dwarf bush in the corner and also another one in the other corner. Along the front Page 4-ZBA Minutes-April 26, 2022 there are 27 azaleas and 13 Japanese plants and arborvitae. The grass area is about half of the property, totaling 2,000 square feet. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Juzmeski stated the dwarf burning bush needs to be changed. Mr. Lachanaris stated we will comply. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. David Spatz, Planner, 60 Friend Terrace, Harrington Park was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. Exhibit A3-Photo Board of Site and Surrounding Area Top left-subject property looking from Forest Road Top right-looking from Elmore Street Bottom left-to the right Bottom right-across the street Mr. Spatz stated we are in the R2 zone which permits single family dwellings. What we are proposing meets the permitted use in the zone. The proposal is similar to the newer homes in the neighborhood. The property can support the increased FAR. We are providing drainage, parking and landscaping. The existing structure is similar to the new surrounding area. We meet the height limitation. There is a conforming amount of parking. Chairman Sugarman stated this home is close to 30 feet in height. How much higher will you be than the houses in the surrounding area? Mr. Spatz stated we are 2 ½ stories, 15 feet taller. Chairman Sugarman stated you will be significantly higher than the ranch dwellings in this area. Mr. Spatz stated this is correct. Mr. Spatz stated the average height of a ranch is 15 feet, we are double that. Mr. Juzmeski stated the building will be similar in setback to the existing home. Mr. Spatz stated we are 9 feet closer to the property line in one area. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Chairman Sugarman asked if any member of the public would like to come up, be sworn and testify on the application. Page 5-ZBA Minutes-April 26, 2022 Mr. Cereste stated I listened to the comments from the Board on the application. I recommended to the client that we reduce the size of the home and carry the application to May 24, 2022. Chairman Sugarman stated this application is carried to the meeting on May 24, 2022. No further notice is necessary, time is waived for the Board to act. Docket #10-22, Jeongwon Kim, 279 Tremont Avenue, Block 2455, Lot 17, Renovation & Expansion of Single Family Mr. Cereste stated the owner lives here with her parents. This home is proposed to be demolished and a 2 ½ story colonial is proposed to be built. The property is 5,000 square feet. The parents’ bedroom will be on the first floor. Steven Koestner, Engineer, 61 Hudson Street, Hackensack was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. The topographical survey dated December 22, 2021 was shown. There is a one story masonry type structure on the property. The proposal is for a home that has the same footprint. The Engineer’s letter dated April 20, 2022 was reviewed. The setbacks are close to what currently exists. The parking requires a variance. The storm water management system will cause a reduction in drainage. There is less impervious coverage and run off. Landscaping will be provided. The plans dated January 5, 2022 and April 5, 2022 show the landscaping along the front and side of the house. No walls will be constructed. The report dated April 20, 2022 from Neglia Engineering will be complied with. A Japanese maple tree will remain and be trimmed. Mr. Juzmeski stated the Japanese maple tree will need to be removed and replaced or relocated. Chairman Sugarman stated this is a condition of approval. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Juzmeski stated the Maple trees are close to the foundation. This may also need to be replaced. Mr. Cereste stated this is not a problem. Chairman Sugarman stated this is also a condition of approval. Mr. Juzmeski asked where are the utilities? Mr. Koestner stated we will maintain what currently exists. Mr. Juzmeski stated everything should be underground except the electrical. Mr. Koestner stated we will comply with the Engineer’s report. Page 6-ZBA Minutes-April 26, 2022 Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Taeik Kim, Architect, 2029 Lemoine Avenue, Fort Lee was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. Mr. Kim stated currently there is a single family ranch built in 1951 on the property. Exhibit A6-colorized rendering. This building has been neglected and is not in good condition. The first floor is almost the same. A total of 4,100 square feet is proposed. Exhibit A7-colorized plan of basement and first floor. Currently there are two small bathrooms. We replaced this with one bathroom. First floor - there were three bedrooms, now there is one bedroom for their parents, one full bath and one half bath. Exhibit A8-colorized architectural plan – two bathrooms, one for each person, are proposed. Also, two bedrooms and open space. The attic will be used for the grandchild. Exhibit A5-rendering of the south elevation and the front. There is a roof terrace on the left side. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Juzmeski asked if there is a single stacked washer/dryer? Mr. Kim stated yes. Mr. Juzmeski asked if the condenser on the terrace is visible. Mr. Kim stated screening and a sound board are being provided. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. David Spatz, Planner, 60 Friend Terrace, Harrington Park was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. Mr. Spatz stated there are primarily single family homes in the area. We are in the R1 zone. Front yard, rear yard and parking variances are required. The front and rear yard are not projecting any further than the existing. We are closer to the side lot line but conforming. We are in character with the surrounding land uses. We have enough parking on site. No loss of on street parking. There are no D variances. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Page 7-ZBA Minutes-April 26, 2022 Chairman Sugarman asked if any member of the public would like to come up, be sworn and testify on the application. Mr. Cereste gave his closing statement. It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Ms. Hong, and passed on a vote of 6-0 by members Nitti, Conway, Joh, Tropea, Hong and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to Renovate and Expand a Single Family Dwelling. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Mr. Joh, seconded by Mr. Conway to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Linda Garofalo Linda Garofalo Recording Secretary