Board of Adjustment

Tenafly Board of Adjustment Regular Meeting June 6, 2022 7:30 pm MINUTES OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT STATEMENT: Chairperson Kaminsky read the Open Public Meetings Act Statement: “In accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act P.L. 1975, chapter 231, adequate notice has been made of this meeting by sending the same to The Record and The Star Ledger. Posting said notice on the public bulletin board in the lobby of the Municipal Center, posted to the Municipal Web-Site, and filing said notice with the Tenafly Municipal Clerk, all which occurred within 10 days for the calendar year of 2022. Additionally, Amended and Restated Notice of Annual Meetings of the Zoning Board of Adjustment notice has been made of this meeting by sending the same to The Record and The Star Ledger. Posting said notice on the public bulletin board in the lobby of the Municipal Center, posted to the Municipal Web-Site, and filing said notice with the Tenafly Municipal Clerk, all which occurred on December 23, 2021.” ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Brensilber, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Cytryn, Mr. Friedman, Ms. Khorozian, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Kominsky Absent: Mr. Cho, Ms. Toro Also Present: Ms. Lopez, Ms. Menon, Mr. Zenn, Mr. Hals, Mr. McClellan, Ms. Tanne, Mr. Rapaport, Mr. Hsu, Mr. Madaio, Mr. Blake, Mr. Abraham, Ms. Weiesholtz. Ms. Kangas, Mr. Lipka COMMUNICATIONS: Mr. Zenn suggested a motion to add a closed session at the end of this meeting to discuss pending litigation. A motion was made by Mr. Cytryn and seconded by Mr. Friedman to add 2 items to the agenda for this meeting (pending litigation and returning to in-person meetings). All voted in favor; none were opposed. Approval of Minutes: May 2, 2022 A motion was made by Mr. Friedman and seconded by Mr. Brensilber to approve the minutes for May 2, 2022. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Bogdan, 2 Wilkins Place (ZB-2022-10) Relocate garage and driveway and add portico. 25’ front yard setback required, 9.4’ proposed; 25% building coverage permitted, 26.2% proposed (received 2/17/22; decision by 6/17/22) Mr. Kominsky asked the Board for their opinion of the proposed resolution. Mr. Friedman agreed that the resolution complied with what was discussed at May’s meeting. With no opposition, Mr. Friedman made a motion to approve the resolution, and Mr. Brensilber seconded. In Favor Opposed Mr. Friedman Mr. Brensilber Mr. Callahan Mr. Cytryn Mr. Kominsky Ms. Khorozian Roll Call Vote: Motion approved, 6-0 NEW BUSINESS: Abraham, 15 Coppell Drive (ZB-2022-12) Installation of a generator. 15’ side yard setback required, 14.78’ proposed (received 3/30/22; decision by 7/30/22) Homeowner Mr. Abraham was sworn in by Mr. Zenn and he was asked to review his proposal. Mr. Abraham requested permission to install a generator on the side of his house to counter power outages. The proposed location would require a variance due to exceeding the impervious coverage and side yard setback on the property. Mr. Abraham displayed a photo of the side yard and showed that the generator would be placed in line with a nearby a/c compressor. Mr. Friedman asked about the distance from the end of the a/c compressor to the end of the property line, and about other possible locations on the property to install the generator. Mr. Abraham explained that the proposed location would be best as it was away from the home’s windows. Questions from the public: None Comments from the public: None Motion by Mr. Cytryn and seconded by Mr. Friedman to move to executive session. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. Mr. Cytryn felt it was a minimus request without any major revisions to the property. Mr. Friedman added that generators are actually less intrusive than a/c compressors which run more frequently. Motion by Mr. Cytryn and seconded by Mr. Friedman to approve the application as submitted.  In Favor Opposed Mr. Cytryn Mr. Friedman Mr. Brensilber Mr. Callahan Mr. Lieberman Ms. Khorozian Mr. Kominsky Roll Call Vote: Motion approved, 7-0 Tanne-Doron, 178 Tenafly Road (ZB-2022-11) Construct a new two-family house. 30% driveway front yard coverage permitted, 41.8% proposed (received 4/20/22; decision by 8/20/22) Present was attorney Mr. Madaio on behalf of homeowner Tanne-Doran to seek site plan approval. As a result of Mr. Hals’ review of the initial application, the homeowner is seeking 4 variances. The lot is proportionally narrow and long at 62’ wide and 236’ long, with a split zoning line (front at R7.5 zone, and rear at R9 zone). The house currently conforms to both zones. Requests are for a use variance for the split zoning; front yard variance due to the house being built next to existing properties which are set back from Tenafly Road (this will help provide sufficient off- street parking); front driveway yard coverage of 41.8% instead of the permitted 30%; and the two driveways being apart 2’ instead of the required 20.’ Mr. McClellan’s engineering credentials were reviewed and he was sworn in as an expert in his field. Mr. Madaio asked Mr. McClellan to bring up the most recent site plan for discussion (4/21/22) and speak about the existing conditions on the property. The property is just shy of 15,000 sq. ft., the R9 zone requires a 9,000 sq. ft. lot., and the R7.5 zone permits two-family homes while the R9 zone does not. The R9 zone is referenced in the application because it is the stricter of the two zones (the zone line runs through the center of the proposed home). Mr. McClellan explained that the proposed house is being pushed a little further back in order to allow for an extra parking spot and space for cars to be able to make a k-turn to avoid backing out onto busy Tenafly Road. Concerning the permitted front yard coverage, Mr. McClellan explained that it would be impossible to have (2) 10’ wide driveways without exceeding the permitted 30% figure, and the addition of the k-turn spaces contributed to going over the 30% figure. Concerning the driveways being too close to each other, the garages would have to be placed at the very ends of each side yard setback in order to conform to the 20’ requirement. Mr. McClellan explained how the new construction would eliminate a number of non-conforming conditions currently on this property (impervious coverage, side yard setbacks, and drainage concerns, for example). Mr. Madaio confirmed that the application as designed follows all of Mr. Hals’ recommendations, and clarified that the use variance was necessary in order to build a newer version of what currently exists on this lot. Questions from the public: None Mr. Madaio then called for project architect Mr. Rapaport. Mr. Rapaport’s credentials were reviewed and he was sworn in as an expert in his field. He displayed a colorized version of the submitted plan and explained the dimensions of the proposed house, with a focus on the space needed for the k-turn. Mr. Rapaport also explained that while moving the house further up and closer to Tenafly Road would be possible, it would pose a safety issue for cars exiting onto such a busy road. Mr. Friedman asked about the k-turn and if it could be used to park a car there. Mr. Rapaport said that it was possible to do so, but that was not the intent of his design. Questions from the public: None Town engineer Mr. Hals was sworn in by Mr. Zenn to provide further information on this application. Mr. Hals commented that the front of the existing house is uniformly set up along with the houses on either side of it, and stated that if the driveways were placed on the sides of the property, the house would be closer to conforming with the driveway separation and front yard driveway coverage requirements. Mr. Cytryn asked about the possibility of setting a precedent with regards to the average front yard setback on the block increasing if the board were to approve this application. Mr. Hals referenced a similar case application heard by the board in the past. Mr. Zenn asked about possibly reducing the size of the k-turn space, and Mr. Hals replied that doing so would make the k-turn much harder to access and not very useful. Comments from the public: Neighbor Mr. Howard Hsu was sworn in by Mr. Zenn. Mr. Hsu stated that this new construction would impact his property significantly. Mr. Madaio summed up the merits of this application and stated that the house and property as presented would be better than what is required by the current zoning laws. Motion by Mr. Cytryn and seconded by Mr. Lieberman to move to executive session. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. Mr. Brensilber felt it comes down to the (D) variance, and he wasn’t sure the application met the required criteria. He also read from Mr. Hals letter and questioned if the homeowner had met the requirements outlined in the letter. Mr. Cytryn agreed with Mr. Brensilber. Mr. Friedman stated that most of the house was in the compliant R7.5 zone, but Mr. Lieberman stated that everything in the application required a variance. There was a discussion about whether or not a house built entirely in the R7.5 zone would have avoided a need for any variances. Mr. Zenn confirmed that such a house would be compliant, and he reminded the board that they had to consider whether or not the application as written posed a substantial impairment. Mr. Kominsky felt that the homeowners met their burden, and he was more concerned with the setback issue. He added that because the property is already being used as a two-family, it would be a substantial impairment not to allow it. Ms. Khorozian felt that the application seemed to ask too much. Mr. Cytryn felt the application suffered from incrementalism, and he didn’t understand its benefits to the town. Mr. Kominsky asked about the detriment of building a two-family house on this property. Mr. Callahan felt that backing out onto Tenafly Road was not really an issue. Mr. Madaio was then allowed to speak as the board agreed to open up the executive session. He stated that he preferred a chance to carry the application and bring it into better compliance, so that a revised two-family build would not be eliminated as a future option. Mr. Zenn clarified that the board should vote as a whole as opposed to piecemeal, and his belief was that a revised plan would reduce the variance relief requested. Motion by Mr. Cytryn and seconded by Mr. Friedman to carry the application to the July 11th meeting without further notice to the public. In Favor Opposed Mr. Cytryn Mr. Friedman Mr. Brensilber Mr. Callahan Mr. Lieberman Ms. Khorozian Mr. Kominsky Roll Call Vote: Motion approved, 5-2 Boaman, 52 Burlington Road (ZB-2022-09) Addition and renovation to an existing single-family. 30% FAR permitted, 34.23% proposed (received 3/10/22; decision by 8/11/22) Present was architect Chris Blake on behalf of the homeowners. Mr. Blake’s credentials were reviewed and he was sworn in as an expert in his field. Mr. Blake explained the renovations and additions to the current home mainly consisting of sinking the garage and creating living space above it, and requested a variance to the FAR. The lot is smaller than most others on the block, and the proposed house would fit in well, even with the increased living spaces. Mr. Friedman asked about the motivation behind the proposed changes. Mr. Blake stated that the homeowners were not comfortable with the garage rising up so steeply once construction began. Questions from the public: None Mr. Blake summed up the benefits of this application and stated that the house as designed fits in with the topography of the block, and it would have a flatter and more accessible driveway. Town engineer Mr. Hals was sworn in by Mr. Zenn to provide further information on this application. Mr. Hals clarified that the homeowners were seeking two variances (FAR and building height), and stated that the revised driveway location was proper for this property’s elevation. Comments from the public: None Motion by Mr. Brensilber and seconded by Mr. Lieberman to move to executive session. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. Mr. Brensilber felt that both variances should be granted. Mr. Friedman agreed and believed the revised plan made better use of the space above the garage. Motion by Mr. Brensilber and seconded by Mr. Friedman to approve the application as submitted. In Favor Opposed Mr. Brensilber Mr. Friedman Mr. Callahan Mr. Lieberman Mr. Cytryn Ms. Khorozian Mr. Kominsky Roll Call Vote: Motion approved, 7-0 Next, the board discussed the decision to continue to hold remote meetings while still in public session. The mayor called Mr. Kominsky to ask why the board was still holding remote meetings instead of meeting in person. Mr. Kominsky asked the board for their opinions, and he stated he would prefer to be in person, but would side with the board’s decision. A hybrid option was discussed, but that would prove to be difficult. Mr. Kominsky stated that a short board has never occurred during these remote meetings, but Mr. Callahan felt that face-to-face meetings would be best. Mr. Cytryn asked about the poor ventilation and excess heat in the facility, but Mr. Kominsky stated they did not have the authority to make any changes. Ms. Khorozian liked the convenience of remaining remote and felt that a remote option would not stop a citizen from having a fair hearing. Mr. Brensilber felt that the remote option works. Mr. Kominsky stated that having more members to vote helps homeowners looking for a variance. Mr. Friedman suggested meeting virtually at least during the summer months, and Mr. Lieberman stated he could go either way with the decision. A motion was made by Mr. Callahan and seconded by Mr. Kominsky to return back to in-person meetings. A voice vote of 5-2 denied this motion, so meetings will remain virtual until further notice. A motion was made by Mr. Kominsky to move to closed session. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by Mr. Brensilber and seconded by Mr. Cytryn to adjourn the meeting. A voice vote carried the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 10:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marisol Lopez Board Secretary