Zoning Board of Adjustment

MINUTES BOROUGH OF MADISON ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Special Meeting, Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 7:30 P.M., Hartley Dodge Memorial, 50 Kings Road, Madison, New Jersey 1. CALL TO ORDER BY THE CHAIRPERSON 2. ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOTICE (STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE) A special meeting of the Borough of Madison Zoning Board of Adjustment was held on Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 7:30 pm in Room #140 of the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building, located at Kings Road, Madison, NJ. Joseph Santoro, Chairperson opened the meeting and requested the reading of the public meeting notice as follows: “Let the minutes reflect that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner: On May 10, 2013, a special meeting was agreed upon by the applicant and Board, a copy of the scheduled meeting notice was posted at the bulletin board at the main entrance of the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building, was sent to the Madison Eagle and the Daily Record and filed with the Borough Clerk, all in accordance with the “Open Public Meetings Act.” PRESENT: Joseph Santoro, Toni DeRosa, Ronald Poeter, Diane Driscoll, Timothy Blair, Mike Lami, Carl Hess, and Kyle Wickman EXCUSED: Susan Niculescu ALSO PRESENT: Vincent K. Loughlin, attorney Susan G. Blickstein, Planner, Frank Russo, P.E. Engineering 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 5. CASE NO. Z13-025 39 Green Village Road, LLC Block: 3001, Lot: 23 39 Green Village Road Applicant requesting preliminary and final site plan approval with necessary (C) and (D) variances to permit modified site improvements on property in the R-5 (Multifamily Residential) Zone and limited expansion of multifamily building and that is nonconforming due to floor area ratio and other requirements. Vincent K. Loughlin, substitute attorney for the Zoning Board, stated that a copy of a letter was received from the Morris County Planning Board and will become part of this application. Brian Burns, Burns and Schaefer, Attorneys for the applicant was present. He began by describing the building and its location. It has 23 apartments, built in 1920’s and needs refurbishing and upgrades to both the building and the grounds, an elevator is needed. Brett W. Skapinetz, Engineer was sworn in and gave his credentials which were accepted by the Board. ZBA Special Meeting – 6-27-13 Page 1 A – 1 Colored version of the aerial map, dated 3-27-13, 2007 NJDEP Aerial Map A – 2 Survey prepared by DBK Consulting A – 3 Colored rendering Site/Landscaping Plan, rev. 5-9-13 Mr. Skapinetz began by describing the map and the areas surrounding the applicants’ site. He moved onto A-2 which contained the existing conditions on the site. He stated there are 19 parking spaces. He continued by describing the parking lot and its present circulation. He stated there are several means to access the building. Mr. Skapinetz also reviewed the variances which are being requested. He discussed the entrance-ways to the site and the turning options. With the proposed plan, the parking plan will improve the access and circulation of the parking area. Part of the upgrade to this building is the installation of signage, a pathway and new ramp system is also planned for handicapped access to the building. A new elevator will be installed with access off of the parking area and will be in the interior of the building. At this point in time, there is no formal drainage system, water runs off to the street. The applicant will modify the collection system and three drywells will be installed on the site. Collection of water will also be aided by new curbing which will be part of the parking areas upgrade. Mr. Santoro had a concern regarding the collapsing walls on the site. Mr. Skapinetz explained that a new wall will be installed in front of the existing wall and a portion of the existing wall will be removed. Gas and electric services will be the same that presently exists. Lighting around the site is primitive. The applicant plans to remove the existing lighting, and two area light fixtures 15 feet high will be added in the rear parking area. They will be located in a centrally located location on poles. Building and wall mounted fixtures will be installed in a few different locations. The courtyard area will also have three foot high down lights to the sidewalk area. A discussion continued regarding the lighting which will be close to the residential property line. Evergreens will be installed in the rear along the top of the wall for screening purposes. A – 4 Red-lined version of the original Site Plan showing light fixtures A trash enclosure measuring 9x15 feet will be located in the rear, landscaping will surround it. Emergency vehicles can enter into the rear driveway. A new generator will be installed in a sound proof enclosure in the rear, and also AC units on the ground in the rear. New landscaping will be installed along the entire perimeter of the parking lot and also on the drive aisles. A few trees will be removed that are distressed. Twenty-five trees will be planted on the site along with 80 shrubs. Mr. Burns reviewed a copy of Frank Russo’s report. The applicant responded to the items of concern in Mr. Russo’s report. Mr. Burns reviewed the items number by number. Mr. Burns asked if Number 15 be discussed and the Bonding issue not be required. Mr. Russo gave his remarks. Mr. Loughlin gave his remarks. The Board all agreed that Bonding not be required. There were no questions from the public. The next witness was Peter James, Architect. Mr. James was sworn in and his qualifications were accepted by the Board. The following exhibits were marked: A – 5 Sheet A-4 Photos taken at the site ZBA Special Meeting – 6-27-13 Page 2 A – 6 Drawing Sheet A-1 A – 7 Drawing Sheet A-3 A – 8 Drawing Sheet A-5 A – 9 Drawing of proposed elevator, 2 photos A – 10 Exterior lighting location, blowup of another photo Mr. James began by describing the building using Exhibit A – 5. As it exists, the building’s exterior is comprised of brick. Gutters and leaders will be repaired, all new replacement windows will be installed. Some of the openings on the ground floor will be blocked with brick. Seven apartments on each of three floors is planned, and the two lower apartments will be removed, totaling 21 apartments. The existing fire escapes on the building will be repaired and repainted. The floor area of the existing apartments will remain the same. The floor plans were discussed. Twenty-one storage units will be installed in the basement and will replace the two apartments. A bicycle rack is planned for the basement. The roof is flat and a front portion of the roof is slate. Five dumbwaiters presently exist on the roof. There are also air conditioning units on the roof. A-8 was discussed, this exhibit showed the site lines of the rooftop from different views surrounding the property. A-9 was reviewed. This exhibit shows the proposed elevator location. The top of the elevator shaft will align with the roof parapet. This will be a custom built elevator. A break was taken by the Board at 9:20. They returned at 9:30 pm. Mr. Burns began by re-explaining the lighting in the rear of the building. The next witness was Paul A. Phillips, Planning and Real Estate Consultant. He gave his credentials and was accepted by the Board. He did a review of a handout entitled “Design Exceptions”. He also did a review of the uses for this building dating back to the 1920’s. He continued discussing the variances that are being sought. He discussed the height of the building. He stated that the applicant did attempt to buy property from two surrounding neighbors: ie: Madison Board of Education and Drew University, without any success. He believes the benefits of granting relief from these variances outweigh the detriments. He believes that this development will provide housing for couples and seniors in the area. Mark Yeager, 355 Springfield Avenue, Summit, NJ was sworn in and advised that the parking space distribution is based upon the number of bedrooms. A tenant will received one designated space for every bedroom in their unit up to two spaces. A general discussion took place regarding the parking and numbering of spaces. Ms. Blickstein brought up the issue of satellite dishes. She is requesting a limit to one residential sized dish on the roof. The next discussion was Ms. Blickstein’s memo. She had no problem with the applicants response except the response to her issue with the landscaping. Mr. Phillips verbally addressed this issue. She also questioned a certain area in the parking lot which has no shrubs. Mr. Sapinetz addressed this issue. Mr. Blair questioned the usage of the generator. Mr. James and Mr. Yeager responded to this question. There being no further questions from the Board and no public input, the Board began their deliberation. ZBA Special Meeting – 6-27-13 Page 3 Conditions that have been agreed upon,(1) ramp to be expanded near the back sidewalk, (2) verify zero light spillage on the residential property line,(3) add notes that no bonding is required, (4) driveway to be expanded to 15 feet, (5) parking spaces numbered and allocated to tenants only, (6) one dish only, residential sized, on the roof of the bldg. (7) additional tree planted opposite handicap spaces, (8) all work at property subject to review of the Board Engineer. The Board now began their deliberation. The consensus of the Board to accept the application with all conditions that were agreed upon by the Board and the applicant. A motion to approve the application as presented was made by Mr. Lami and seconded by Mr. Poeter. A roll call vote was requested and recorded as follows: AYES: Joseph Santoro, Toni DeRosa, Ronald Poeter, Diane Driscoll, Timothy Blair, Mike Lami, Carl Hess, and Kyle Wickman 6. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 pm. Respectfully submitted, Lorraine Sola Recording Secretary ZBA Special Meeting – 6-27-13 Page 4