Board of Adjustment/Zoning Board

FORT LEE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT January 9, 2024 Present: H. Liapes, J. Nitti, D. Conway, H. Joh, L. Pacheco, J. Luppino, E. Hong, D. Sugarman Absent: D. Conway, S. Tropea Also Present: J. Mariniello, Jr., Esq., D. Juzmeski, Neglia Eng. Chairman Sugarman called the meeting to order at 7:32 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: All members of this Body have been advised in writing at least 48 hours prior to this meeting of the time, place, and proposed Agenda of this meeting. A written notice of the time, place, and proposed Agenda was posted on the bulletin board of Municipal Building, 309 Main Street, Fort Lee, New Jersey. On the same date, a copy of said written notice was mailed to the Record, Jersey Journal, Time Warner Cable and Fort Lee Online. A copy was filed with the Borough Clerk and, on the same date, copies were mailed to all persons who have requested copies of such notices and have prepaid the fee fixed for the year 2024. Mr. Luppino and Mr. Nitti were sworn in by Mr. Mariniello. Chairman Sugarman turned the meeting over to Mr. Mariniello. Election of the following Officers of the Board: ∙ Chairman ∙ Vice-Chairman ∙ Secretary of the Board A motion was made by Mr. Liapes to appoint Doug Sugarman as Chairman for the year 2024. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pacheco and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman. Mr. Mariniello turned the meeting back to Chairman Sugarman. A motion was made by Chairman Sugarman, seconded by Mr. Luppino and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to elect Mr. Liapes as Vice-Chairman of the Board. A motion was made by Chairman Sugarman, seconded by Mr. Liapes and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to elect Mr. Nitti as Secretary to the Board. Resolution for Professional Appointments 2023 ∙ Board Attorney Joseph Mariniello, Esq./Hartmann Doherty Rose Berman & Bulbulia, LLC ∙ Conflict Board Attorney Diane Testa, Esq.,/Testa & DeCarlo ∙ Planner Neglia Engineering Associates ∙ Board Engineer (Site) Neglia Engineering Associates ∙ Board Engineer (Traffic) Neglia Engineering Associates Page 2-ZBA Minutes-January 9, 2024 All members present voted to approve the resolution for the Board of Adjustment professional services and award contracts to: Joseph Mariniello, Esq., Hartmann Doherty Rose Berman & Bulbulia, LLC, Board Attorey, Conflict Board Attorney; Diane Testa, Esq., Testa & DeCarlo, Neglia Engineering Associates, Board Planner; Neglia Engineering Associates, Site Engineer; Neglia Engineering Associates, Traffic Engineer. A motion was made by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Mr. Pacheco and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to appoint the Board of Adjustment professionals. Appointments to the Zoning Board ∙ Recording Secretaries ∙ Court Reporter It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Ms. Hong and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to appoint Linda Garofalo, Christen Trentacosti and Barbara Klein as Recording Secretaries for the year 2024. It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Ms. Hong and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to appoint Beth Calderone, Calderone & Assoc. as Court Reporter for the year 2024. It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Mr. Liapes and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to appoint Chairman Sugarman as the Liason Representative to the Planning Board. Official Publications of the Zoning Board of Adjustment – The Record, The Jersey Journal, Star Ledger and Spectrum. All members voted in favor to designate The Record, The Jersey Journal, The Star Ledger and Spectrum as the Official Publications of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Approval of Minutes It was moved by Mr. Liapes, seconded by Ms. Hong and passed on a vote of 6-0 by members Liapes, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to approve the minutes of the meeting of December 19, 2023. Arrangement of member’s seating for voting process and voting order. Following review by the Board the seating will be the same as 2023. All members were in favor. Rules of the Board of Adjustment including Remote Public Meetings. Motion to adopt. It was moved by Mr. Luppino, seconded by Mr. Pacheco and affirmed by an all-in-favor vote to adopt the Rules of the Board of Adjustment for the year 2024. Page 3-ZBA Minutes-January 9, 2024 2023 Annual Report of the Zoning Board of Adjustment – Review and Adoption It was moved by Mr. Liapes, seconded by Mr. Hong and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to adopt the 2023 Annual Report of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Memorializations Docket #44-22, Kate Fazzini, 1655 Maple Street, Block 3558, Lot 9, Enclosed Deck for Single Family Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Pacheco, seconded by Mr. Liapes and approved on a vote of 5-0 by members Liapes, Joh, Pacheco, Hong and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to build an Enclosed Deck for a Single Family Dwelling. Docket #25-33, 1550 Bergen Boulevard, LLC, 1550 Bergen Boulevard, Block 3454, Lot 10, Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan – Thirty (3) Unit, Multi-Family Building It was moved by Ms. Hong, seconded by Mr. Liapes and approved on a vote of 6-0 by members Liapes, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to grant the applicant Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan approval. Docket #28-33, 2088 Lemoine Avenue, 2088 Lemoine Avenue a/k/a State Route 67. Block 5351. Lot 5, Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan approval. It was moved by Mr. Joh, seconded by Mr. Liapes and approved on a vote of 4-0 by members Liapes, Joh, Luppino and Sugarman to grant the applicant Preliminary & Final Major Site Plan approval. Docket #33-23, Qi Guo, 2039 Marguerite Street, Block 4451, Lot 6, Two Unit Dwelling It was moved by Mr. Pacheco, seconded by Mr. Luppino and approved on a vote of 5-0 by members Liapes, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino and Sugarman to grant the applicant approval to construct a Two Unit Dwelling. Acceptance/Completenesss Docket #1-24, Dr. Robert M. Monahan, 1067 Palisade Avenue, Block 853, Lot 8, Removal of Stipulation Requiring Owner’s Occupancy of the Residential Unit of a Chiropractic Office and Residence It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Mr. Pacheco and approved on a vote of 6-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Paheco, Luppino and Hong to deem the application complete. Mr. Macri will call the Board secretary for a hearing date. Chairman Sugarman recused himself. Docket #2-24, 114 E. Homestead, LLC, 2145 Linwood Avenue, Block 5153, Lot 15, Two Unit Dwelling Page 4-ZBA Minutes-January 9, 2024 It was moved by Mr. Nitti, seconded by Mr. Liapes and approved on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to deem the application complete. Mr. Macri will call the Board secretary for a hearing date. Public Hearings Docket #34-23, Bridgeway Homes, LLC, 1041 Palisade Avenue, Block 555, Lot 8, Minor Subdivision & Three (3) Single Family Dwellings (continued from the public hearing of December 12, 2023) Chairman Sugarman stated this application is carried to the meeting of January 16, 2024. No further notice is necessary, time is waived for the Board to act. Docket #35-23, 1639 Center Avenue, LLC, 1639 Center Avenue, Block 4151, Lot 31, Change of Use of First Floor Commercial Building Mr. Song, representing the applicant, stated we are here seeking a variance to change the use of this property to commercial retail. No construction is planned. Hojoon Chung, Architect, 21 Grand Avenue, 604B, Palisades Park, was sworn in and is credentials accepted by Chairman Sugarman. Mr. Chung stated the building is on Center Avenue. There are 4 parking spaces. The use is an art studio and gallery. There is a lobby, staircase, art gallery, pantry and bathroom. The second floor is for business use. The property is vacant now, it used to be operated by ReMax. There are no changes proposed to the building. Mr. Juzmeski stated the parking requirement is 8 spaces. The 4 parking spaces were approved in a 2013 Resolution. Mr. Chung sated on the north side of the building there is municipal parking. 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 A1-Photo Board of Site and Surrounding Area Top left-subject property Top right-to the right, north Bottom left-to the left, south, municipal lot Bottom right-across the street The property is in the R5 zone. A use variance and bulk variances are required. 8 spaces are required, 4 spaces are proposed. We are consistent with zoning. No expansion is needed. Bulk variances are pre-existing. We are adjacent to a municipal parking lot. There is nothing substantially negative. Page 5-ZBA Minutes-January 9, 2024 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. Luppino, seconded by Mr. Liapes and passed on a vote of 7-0 by members Liapes, Nitti, Joh, Pacheco, Luppino, Hong and Sugarman to grant the applicant Change of Use approval. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Mr. Joh, seconded by Mr. Nitti to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Linda Garofalo Linda Garofalo Recording Secretary