Board of Adjustment

Minutes approved: 10-07-2019 TENAFLY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING 7:30 P.M. September 9, 2019 MINUTES ROLL CALL Present: Mr. Brensilber, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Cho, Mr. Cytryn, Mr. Friedman, Ms. Gilbert, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Kominsky. Absent: Mr. Steinhagen, Ms. Gilbert. Also present: Mr. Zenn, Council liaison Menon OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT STATEMENT Chair Kominsky read the Open Public Meetings Act Statement: “In compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act P.L. 1975, chapter 231, the notice requirements have been satisfied. Notice for this meeting date was published in the Record on December 27, 2018, posted on the bulletin board in the lobby of the Municipal Center and posted to the municipal web site.” COMMUNICATIONS NJ Planner May/June 2019. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Mr. Friedman second by Mr. Cytryn to approve the minutes of August 5, 2019. All members who were present at that meeting voted in favor, the minutes were approved. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Approved: Singh, 69 Windsor Rd – 603/30 Side yard setback 8.64ft and 12.3ft, combined side yard 20.94 proposed (26’ required) ZB2019-13. Motion by Mr. Lieberman second by Mr. Cho to memorialize the resolution. Members Lieberman and Cho voted in favor, the resolution was memorialized. Carried from August 5: Alvator, 142 Windsor Rd – 606/14 Impervious coverage. ZB2019-08. ** Request to carry this application to the September 9 meeting. Mr. Alvator was not present, motion by Mr. Brensilber second by Mr. Cytryn to dismiss the application without prejudice. On a roll call vote members Brensilber, Cytryn, Lieberman, Friedman, Cho, Callahan and Kominsky were in favor. The application was dismissed without prejudice. NEW BUSINESS Rubin, 56 N Lyle Ave – 304/26 Side yard (17.5ft) for pool. ZB2019-17. (Rec’d 8/28/19 decision by 12/26/19.) -1- Minutes approved: 10-07-2019 Letter received from applicant’s Attorney requesting the application be carried to October 7th with no further notice required. All members were in favor the application was carried to the October meeting. Rawat, 7 Standish Ct – 606/9 Front yard (20.5ft) & rear yard (9.5ft) setbacks. ZB2019-15. (Rec’d 8/28/19 decision by 12/26/19.) Present was the homeowner Deepak Rawat and his architect Uri Rapaport. Mr. Rawat was sworn in, and explained they had moved from Englewood and they want to expand the garage and make it more functional and include adding entry to the garage from the kitchen; at this time the car does not fit into the garage, they have a child with special needs and access from the car directly into the house would be easier. Uri Rapaport the architect, gave his business address, was sworn in accepted as an expert in his field. Mr. Rapaport said this house is unique, it is an existing house with a small garage, they propose making the garage wider and longer to fit the car. Variances are required for front yard setback and rear yard setback, the front yard is Standish Court which requires a 25ft setback, the addition for the garage will bring the setback to 20.50ft, and the rear yard is opposite Ivy Lane and requires a 30ft setback, which currently is 12ft, they propose 9.5ft. Offered into evidence: A-1: was a photo showing the front of the house and a colorized key map. A-2: the existing site plan and a proposed site plan showing the garage expansion. In response to questions from the board Mr. Rapaport said the previous owners made interior changes and the entire garage space was not able to fit a car, so they parked in the driveway, there was no access from the garage into the house. There followed discussion among the board members on the size of the existing garage space and where the door would be. Mr. Rapaport said the goal is to be able to put one car into the garage and gain access from the garage to the house via the garage. Eric Brambani, 18 Standish Court asked if they were going to add a level to the garage extension. Mr. Rawat said no. There were no further questions from the public or board members. Eric Brambani, 18 Standish Court was sworn in. Mr. Brambani wondered if they would lose a window once the garage is extended, and spoke in favor of the application. Diane Clark, Englewood Cliffs was sworn in and spoke in favor of the application. Chris Blake, 6 Standish Court was sworn in and spoke in favor of the application. There were no further comments from the public. Motion by Mr. Brensilber second by Mr. Lieberman to go into executive session. All members on a voice vote were in favor. Mr. Lieberman said he did not feel the request was unreasonable and one car will be off the street. Mr. Brensilber agreed and said he was in favor. Mr. Cytryn said this was reasonable, the garage would be safer and useable, there would be no impact on the neighborhood. -2- Minutes approved: 10-07-2019 Motion by Mr. Cytryn second by Mr. Cho to approve the application. Roll call vote: In favor: Mr. Cytryn, Mr. Cho, Mr. Brensilber, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Friedman, Mr. Kominsky. Opposed: None. Front yard and rear yard setback variances granted 7-0. Ostrowski, 388 Knickerbocker Rd – 305/35 Front yard (9.8ft), impervious coverage 4622SF. ZB2019-16. (Rec’d 8/29/19 decision by 12/27/19.) Waldemar and Kharleen Ostrowski the owners of 388 Knickerbocker Road, and their architect Chris Blake were sworn in. Mr. Blake said the house is a small Cape Cod on the corner of Knickerbocker Road and Bradford Court, there is a one car garage and the house is ‘L’ shaped, the existing front yard on Bradford Court is 9.6ft where 25ft is required; they are going to fill in the attic which involves adding a level due to the existing roof line which is like a knee wall. The impervious coverage allowed is 4299SF, they are proposing 4622SF which is for the addition of a deck in the rear; the driveway will be changed to allow access from Bradford Court which he feels will be safer and more convenient. Mr. Blake said he feels this would be a nice improvement in the neighborhood, no FR variance is required and the house is pre- existing non-conforming front yard. In response to questions from the board, Mr. Blake said the deck is putting the impervious coverage over, the garage doors face Bradford Court, the owners felt it was more economical to keep as much of the driveway and house as they can. Mr. Ostrowski said they would like to keep as much of the driveway as they can as he has two sons who will soon be driving. There were no questions or comments from the public. There followed discussion by the board on the need for such a large driveway. Mr. Blake asked if the board could vote on each separately on each variance. Motion by Mr. Lieberman second by Mr. Friedman to go into executive session. Mr. Friedman he had no problem with the setback, but felt the impervious was excessive and it did not need to be as big. Mr. Lieberman said he had no problem, and felt they should keep it as it makes turning cars around easier. Mr. Kominsky said he did not have a problem with either variance. Mr. Cho was in favor of both variances. Mr. Cytryn said Knickerbocker can be unsafe, he has an L shaped driveway exiting on to Engle, he felt it was safer to not use Knickerbocker Road. Motion by Mr. Friedman second by Mr. Cytryn to approve the front yard setback variance. -3- Minutes approved: 10-07-2019 Roll call vote: In favor: Mr. Friedman, Mr. Cytryn, Mr. Brensilber, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Cho, Mr. Kominsky. Opposed: None. Front yard setback of 9.8ft approved 7-0. Motion by Mr. Cho second by Mr. Lieberman to approve the impervious coverage. Roll call vote: In favor: Mr. Cho, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Kominsky. Opposed: Mr. Brensilber, Mr. Cytryn, Mr. Friedman. Impervious coverage of 4622SF approved 4-3. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Mr. Brensilber second by Mr. Lieberman to adjourn the meeting. All members on a voice vote were in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:50PM. Respectfully submitted, Lindsay Graham Board Secretary -4-