Board of Adjustment/Zoning Board

FORT LEE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT April 11, 2023 Present: H. Liapes, D. Conway, H. Joh, S. Tropea, L. Pacheco, J. Luppino, E. Hong, D. Sugarman Absent: J. Nitti Also Present: J. Mariniello, Jr., Esq., D. Juzmeski, Neglia Eng. Chairman Sugarman called the meeting to order at 7:36 p.m. NOTICE OF MEETING: The Chairman states: Let the minutes reflect that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner: On November 29, 2022 this Body, by Resolution, adopted a Schedule of Regular Public Meetings for 2023. 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 Web Site and 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 Web Site and filed with the Borough Clerk. Chairman Sugarman stated Mr. Luppino is a voting member tonight in Mr. Nitti’s absence. Approval of Minutes It was moved by Mr. Conway, seconded by Mr. Liapes and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to approve the minutes of the meeting of March 28, 2023. Memorializations Docket #1-23, Brian Swatek & Alyssa Brignola, 1164 Fifteenth Street, Block 1055, Lot 6, Addition to Single Family Dwelling Chairman Sugarman stated this memorialization is carried to the meeting of April 25, 2023. Page 2-ZBA Minutes-April 11, 2023 Docket #5-23, 1531 Eleventh, LLC, 1531 Eleventh Street, Block 3752, Lot 13, Two Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Tropea, seconded by Mr. Luppino and approved on a vote of 6-0 by members Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to construct a Two Unit Dwelling. Docket #6-23, Dervo Developers II, LLC, 2185 Jones Road, Block 5451, Lot 4, Amended Subdivision Approval It was moved by Mr. Conway, seconded by Mr. Pacheco and approved on a vote of 6-0 by members Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to grant the applicant Amended Subdivision approval. Docket #7-23, 820 Kingsland Associates, LLC, 820 Kingsland Lane, Block 155, Lot 3, Two Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Tropea, seconded by Mr. Conway and approved on a vote of 6-0 by members Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to construct a Two Unit Dwelling. Acceptance/Completeness Docket #11-23, Hemant & Sangita Prajapati, 502 Brinkerhoff Avenue, Block 10514, Lot 12, Amended Building Height to Single Family Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Joh, seconded by Mr. Liapes and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to deem the application complete. Mr. Hermoso will call the Board Secretary for a hearing date. Docket #12-23, The Gyro Project, 2151 Lemoine Avenue, Block 5952, Lot 11, Signage approval It was moved by Mr. Conway, seconded by Mr. Tropea and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to deem the application complete. Mr. Macri will call the Board Secretary for a hearing date. Docket #13-23, Rock Solid Built, LLC, 410 Catherine Street, Block 4053, Lot 5, Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan – Three Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Tropea, seconded by Mr. Liapes and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to deem the application complete. Mr. Macri will call the Board Secretary for a hearing date. Page 3-ZBA Minutes-April 11, 2023 Public Hearings Docket #18-21, 2130 Center Avenue, LLC, 2130 Center Avenue, Block 5952, Lot 1, Preliminary & Final Major Major Site Plan – 24 Unit Residential Building Over Parking (continued from the public hearing of October 11, 2022) Chairman Sugarman stated this application is carried to the meeting of May 9, 2023. The applicant will re-notice. Docket #31-32, Gerald & Jillian Calabrese, 262 Harmon Avenue, Block 2356, Lot 4, Pool & Rear Yard Landscape Mr. Macri stated the applicant did some renovations and they are now seeking approval for the pool and landscaping. Mark Martins, Engineer, 55 Walnut Street, Norwood was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. Mr. Martins stated the lot is 75’ x 170’ wide, totaling 13,300 square feet. The applicant desires to install a pool in his backyard. Exhibit A1 – colorized site plan. From the back of the house to the rear, the property drops off 8 feet. A wall will be installed at a maximum of 6.8 feet. Their existing driveway is 25 feet. This is an existing non-conforming condition. The variance is for the fill. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. 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. It was moved by Mr. Tropea, seconded by Mr. Luppino and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Conway, Joh, Tropea, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval for a Pool & Rear Yard Landscaping. Docket #38-22, Y&K Realty Inc. & ZYST, LLC, 2205 & 2195 Route 4 East, Block 5552, Lots 7 & 8, Bifurcated Application – Use Variance (continued from the public hearing of January 17, 2023) Mr. Sinisi stated we’d like to clean up some housekeeping matters. We have provided the Board with architectural elevations as requested at the last meeting. The notice states this is a bi- furcated application for use variance relief. The development consultant is here tonight and will discuss what this self-storage facility entails. Mr. Skolnick, Esquire entered his appearance. He is representing Sapthagiri, LLC, 2167 Route 4 East, Fort Lee, NJ. Mr. Sinisi stated I received a letter from his predecessor stating they do not object to this Page 4-ZBA Minutes-April 11, 2023 application. Bruce Meisel, 263 Center Avenue, Westwood, Developer & Development Consultant. Mr. Meisel stated he is the CEO of First Westwood Realty, LLC. He developed a self-storage facility in 2016. We have 9 parking spaces, two to three are used on a daily basis. I have seen this applicant’s property on many occasions. I am also familiar with the surrounding properties. GKA is the Architect that I have worked with. The building will be stone, brick, stucco and medal around the operator’s name. Exhibit A2 – colorized rendering of conceptual elevations prepared by the Architect dated March 27, 2023. Chairman Sugarman asked are you a principal with the applicant? Mr. Meisel stated not at this time but there’s a possibility in the future. Exhibit A3 – Proposed self-storage facility prepared by GKA Architects. There are no signage details at this time. Exhibit A4 – elevation plan Mr. Mariniello stated we are not moving forward with the site plan approval tonight. This is a use variance and D6, D4 and some C variances. Mr. Sinisi stated this is correct. We will discuss the variances tonight. Mr. Mariniello stated we are hearing the site plan application later. Mr. Sinisi stated correct. Mr. Luppino asked if this applicant is granted a use variance, can they come back with a 100 foot high building? Mr. Mariniello stated they would have to come back to the Board for a height variance. Chairman Sugarman stated he spoke with Mr. Mariniello this afternoon and yes, this is for a storage unit type business. If a different business is proposed they’d have to return to the Board for approval. Mr. Luppino asked why not come to the Board for everything at one time? Mr. Sinisi stated a site plan of this magnitude is sometimes better to break down into pieces. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Juzmeski asked what will this business entail? Page 5-ZBA Minutes-April 11, 2023 Mr. Meisel stated nothing will be stored on the outside. Everything will be inside. No boats to be stored outside. No food storage. This is a storage facility. Mr. Liapes stated if the building is built, it must have an operator. Mr. Meisel stated this is correct. Mr. Conway asked if the units have electricity? Mr. Meisel stated there are no receptacles, just general lighting. No motorized bikes to be stored. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Mr. Skolnick stated you cannot speak to the items to be stored if there is no operator. Mr. Meisel stated no. Mr. Skolnick asked if Mr. Meisel worked on one self-storage facility? Mr. Meisel stated yes, I worked on one with the Architect. Mr. Skolnick asked does your conceptual design show where the trucks will go? Mr. Meisel stated no, that’s for the site plan hearing. The items come in box trucks, not large trailors. Chairman Sugarman asked are you a principal in one storage unit in Westwood? Mr. Meisel stated it is three stories, one above grade and one below grade. Paul Mutch, Civil Engineer, Stonefield Engineering, 92 Park Avenue, Rutherford was sworn in and his credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. Mr. Mutch stated these are conceptual site plans. This property is in the C5 zone. This is not a permitted use. Exhibit A5 – topographical survey is on the board, dated July 19, 2022. Exhibit A6 – Preliminary & Conceptual Site Plan dated November 2, 2022. Sheet 1-cover sheet C2-survey C3-demolition plan C4-site plan C5-grading and drainage plan C6-utility plan C7-lighting plan Page 6-ZBA Minutes-April 11, 2023 C8-sedimentary and soil erosion control plan C9-soil erosion details C10-landscaping plan C11-landscaping details plan C12-detailed construction plan C13-detailed construction plan Mr. Mutch stated the grading will not adversely affect the neighbors. Full demolition and clearing of the site is planned. Traffic and parking assessment dated November 2, 2022 was prepared. The report stated this use is a low traffic generator. The parking is sufficient. There will be less traffic. Exhibit E8 – Stormwater Management Plan dated November 2, 2022. We comply with DEP regulations. There will be a reduction in volume. Exhibit E9 – Wetlands certificated dated October 27, 2022, observation of the site. DEP does not need to be notified. Mr. Sinisi asked Mr. Mutch did you read the four review letters from the Board Engineer? Mr. Mutch stated yes, I did. Exhibit E10 – letter dated January 10, 2023 from Mr. Mutch responding to the review letters. The applicant can comply with all items. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Luppino asked if there are any variances for the conceptual building? Mr. Mutch stated yes, some D variances. Chairman Sugarman asked for questions from the public. Mr. Skolnick asked the prior witness testified that the Use and Site applications have been divided because of cost? Mr. Mutch stated yes. Mr. Skolnick stated you testified there are no stormwater issues. Mr. Mutch stated correct. The lot coverage is slightly reduced. Mr. Sinisi stated it is too late to start with our Planner’s testimony. We’d like to carry this application. Chairman Sugarman stated this application is carried to the meeting of June 13, 2023. No further notice is necessary, time is waived for the Board to act. Page 7-ZBA Minutes-April 11, 2023 ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Mr. Luppino, seconded by Mr. Liapes to adjourn the meeting at 9:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Linda Garofalo Linda Garofalo Recording Secretary