Board of Adjustment

Approved Minutes 02/05/2024 Tenafly Board of Adjustment Regular Meeting January 8, 2024 7:30 pm MINUTES OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT STATEMENT: Chairperson Kominsky 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 2024. 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 20, 2023.” ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Brensilber, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Friedman, Mr. Lieberman, Ms. Toro, Ms. Farkas, Mr. Kominsky Absent: Mr. Cho, Mr. Cytryn Also Present: Mr. Menon, Mr. Zenn, Mr. Hals, Mr. Bitar, Mr. Lapinig, Mrs. Lapinig, Mr. Nayman, Mr. Werner, Ms. Peterson REORGANIZATION: SWEARING IN OF NEW AND RE-APPOINTED MEMBERS: Mr. Friedman was sworn in by Mr. Zenn as a re-appointed Board Member. Mr. Lieberman was sworn in by Mr. Zenn as a re-appointed Board Member. Ms. Toro was sworn in by Mr. Zenn as a re-appointed 1st Alternate Board Member. Ms. Farkas was sworn in by Mr. Zenn as the new 2nd Alternate Board Member. APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS FOR 2024: CHAIR: Motion by Mr. Callahan, seconded by Ms. Toro to nominate Mr. Kominsky as Chairperson. A voice vote carried the motion. All were in favor, none were opposed. VICE CHAIR: Motion by Mr. Friedman, seconded by Ms. Toro to nominate Mr. Cytryn as Vice Chair. A voice vote carried the motion. All were in favor, none were opposed. 2nd VICE CHAIR: Motion by Mr. Lieberman, seconded by Ms. Toro to nominate Mr. Friedman as 2nd Vice Chair. A voice vote carried the motion. All were in favor, none were opposed. BOARD SECRETARY: Motion by Mr. Friedman, seconded by Mr. Lieberman to nominate Ms. Peterson as Board Secretary. A voice vote carried the motion. All were in favor, none were opposed. Mr. Kominsky stated the appointments of Board Attorney and Board Engineer will be held at the February 5th meeting to allow the Mayor and Council time to receive a RFQ response from each Professional. A motion was made by Mr. Friedman and seconded by Ms. Toro to hold off on the appointments of the Board Attorney and Board Engineer until the February 5, 2024 meeting. A voice vote carried the motion. All were in favor: none were opposed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of December 4, 2023 A motion was made by Mr. Friedman and seconded by Mr. Lieberman to approve the minutes for December 4, 2023. A voice vote carried the motion. All were in favor; none were opposed. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Jason Hart & Christina Rosas-Guyon ZB-2023-11 Construct a rear addition to a single family dwelling. 15’ side yard required – 13.20’ proposed and existing; 30’ rear yard required – 25.58’ proposed (24.33’ existing); 20% Building Coverage permitted – 29.93 proposed (31.95% existing); 30% FAR permitted – 42.24% proposed (42.28% existing); 3,527 SF Impervious Coverage permitted – 3,824 SF proposed (4,326 SF existing). (Received 03/17/23 decision by 09/19/23) A motion was made by Mr. Friedman and seconded by Mr. Lieberman to approve the resolution. In Favor Opposed Mr. Friedman Mr. Lieberman Mr. Callahan Ms. Toro Mr. Kominsky Roll Call Vote: Motion approved, 5-0 NEW BUSINESS: Andrew & Erika Lapinig, 11Norman Place ZB-2023-12 Carried from 08/07/23 meeting – revised plans Construct a new single family dwelling with front loading garage and rear patio. 15’ minimum side yard required 10’/10’ proposed on each side. (Received 03/30/23 decision by 04/02/24) Mr. Bitar, the architect for 11 Norman Place, remained under oath from the August 7, 2023 meeting. He stated the applicant has reduced the number of variances that are being requested since the August meeting. Mr. Bitar proceeded to display architectural renderings of the proposed dwelling that were revised on 09/12/2023. They are proposing a two story, single family dwelling. The variance relief they are seeking is for side yard setback. A side yard setback of 10’ on each side is being proposed where a 15’ minimum is required. He stated they tried to keep the side yard setback as close to what is allowed as possible, but with a 50’ wide property it is difficult to meet the allowed setback. The house will have a flat roof with the mechanical equipment on the top. Mr. Bitar presented Exhibit A-2, which was a rendering of what the house will look like from the front and side. Also presented was Exhibit A-3 which was a rendering of the house from the rear. Both renderings were done in his office under his supervision. Mr. Kominsky questioned Mr. Bitar if in his opinion a house can be designed without requesting a side yard variance. Mr. Bitar stated that he believes that this is the best possible plan for this piece of property. He stated the reason for the 10’ side yard request is because the width of the property is only 50’ and the proposed house is 30’ wide. Questions from the Board for Mr. Bitar: None Questions from the Public for Mr. Bitar: None Mr. Hals was sworn in as the Board Engineer. He clarified the applicant is only asking for side yard setback relief. The applicant meets the criteria for combined side yard. The applicant first came to the board in August with a request for six variances and has revised the plans and is now only asking for the side yard setback on each side. Questions from the Board for Mr. Hals: None Questions from the Public for Mr. Hals: None Mr. Bitar summed up by stating the existing home is in dire need of repair. A new dwelling will be a benefit for the neighborhood. They tried to alleviate the concerns the board members had at the August meeting. Comments from the Public: Mr. Nayman, of 13 Norman Place, stated he is the neighbor. He is in approval of the plans for the house, but has some concerns regarding the landscaping and the removal of trees. Mr. Bitar stated the large tree that is currently in the front yard will be removed for the placement of the new driveway. He stated in his opinion the tree does not look healthy. The homeowner will do landscaping that will offset the removal of the trees. Mr. Nayman stated that he believes that tree is a town tree. Mr. Lapinig stated the tree was planted by the town but is in the middle of his front lawn. Mr. Nayman questioned if the tree in the rear yard, which is about 60 years old will be removed and will it be replaced. Mr. Hals stated the tree will be removed and does not need to be replaced. Motion by Mr. Lieberman and seconded by Mr. Friedman to move to executive session. A voice vote carried the motion, all were in favor none were opposed. Mr. Lieberman felt this is a reasonable request. It is a very narrow lot, and feels they did the best they could with that width of the. He stated you would not want to build a house that is less than 30’ in width. Mr. Friedman agreed and stated that he believes other houses on Norman have been approved in the past with narrow lots. Motion by Mr. Friedman and seconded by Mr. Lieberman to approve the application. In Favor Opposed Mr. Friedman Mr. Lieberman Mr. Callahan Ms. Toro Ms. Farkas Mr. Kominsky Roll Call Vote: Motion approved 6-0 Diana Ladd, 39 Lindley Avenue ZB-2023-17 New in-ground pool. 45% impervious coverage permitted – 49.77% proposed; 20’ side yard required for water unit – 5’ proposed; 20’ side yard required for pool equipment - 13’ proposed. (Received 11/08/2023 Decision by 03/28/2024) Mr. Werner, of Everclear Pools and Spa, was present to speak for the applicant. He was sworn in as an expert in pool construction. He stated he helped the applicant design a pool plan for her lot which is very narrow. They are seeking variance relief for side yard setback for the pool, side yard setback for the pool equipment and impervious coverage. Mr. Zenn questioned if the lot is undersized in both lot area and lot width. Mr. Werner agreed that it is. Mr. Werner is proposing to place the steps on the outside of the pool. He explained this is being done to not encroach on the shallow end of the pool, since the pool will only be 288 SF. The equipment placement pad next to the deck was the best place they could find. The patio they are proposing is reasonable for the pool size. Mr. Kominsky asked for clarification on the placement of the pool stairs outside the pool. He questioned if there will be stairs inside the pool. Mr. Werner explained there will be stairs inside the pool. He explained that instead of the pool being a perfect rectangle the stairs will extend out so they do not interfere with the shallow end of the pool. The board had concerns with the safety of the steps being placed outside the pool as well as the placement of the pool equipment so close to the property line. Repositioning the pool in the yard was also brought up as a way to help alleviate the extent of the variances that are needed. Questions from the public: None Comments from the public: None Mr. Werner asked for the matter to be continued so he could speak with his client and revise the plans. Motion by Mr. Brensilber and seconded by Mr. Lieberman to carry the application to the February 5th meeting without notice, as long as the revised plans are received in time, or to a later date if needed. A voice vote carried the motion. All were in favor; none were opposed. CLOSED SESSION: A motion was made by Mr. Brensilber and seconded by Mr. Friedman to move into Closed Executive Session to discuss on-going litigation. Minutes of the meeting will be taken and released to the public at the time that the matter is resolved. After the closed session, the Board will reconvene to the public meeting zoom link to adjourn this public meeting. This meeting was adjourned to Closed Session at 8:54pm. ADJOURNMENT: As there was no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made by Mr. Brensilber and seconded by Mr. Lieberman to adjourn the public meeting. A voice vote carried the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Peterson Board Secretary