Zoning Board of Adjustment

1 1 CITY OF UNION CITY HUDSON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY 2 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 3 : REGULAR MEETING : TRANSCRIPT OF 4 : --------------------: PROCEEDINGS 5 6 Union City High School Media Center 7 2500 Kennedy Boulevard Union City, New Jersey 8 Thursday, February 10, 2022 9 Commencing at 6:17 p.m. 10 11 M E M B E R S P R E S E N T: 12 VICTOR M. GRULLON, Chairperson MARGARITA GUTIERREZ, Vice Chairperson 13 MIGUEL ORTIZ GEORGE GARCIA 14 ROSIO PENA, Alternate #1 GERALDINE PEREZ, Alternate #2 15 RAYMOND CETINICH, Alternate #3 MINDRY WATLEY, Alternate #4 16 17 M E M B E R S A B S E N T: 18 LIBERO MAROTTA JOHN MEDINA 19 A L S O P R E S E N T: 20 TOMAS PANEQUE, ESQ. 21 Board Counsel 22 CARLOS VALLEJO, Board Secretary 23 DAVID SPATZ, PP, Consulting City Planner 24 SUSAN BISCHOFF, CCR, RPR 25 449 Columbia Blvd., Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075 201-933-8220 SBischoffccr@yahoo.com  2 1 A P P E A R A N C E S: 2 M.S. GOODMAN, ESQ. Attorney for Applicant, Oz Holdings, LLC 3 BIANCA PEREIRAS, ESQ. 4 Attorney for Applicant, Tower Management Service, LP 5 BIANCA PEREIRAS, ESQ. 6 Attorney for Applicant, 1210 Bergenline Avenue, LLC 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  3 1 I N D E X 2 PAGE 3 CALL TO ORDER 5 4 SALUTE TO FLAG 5 5 ROLL CALL 5 6 ADOPTION OF MINUTES 7 7 HEARINGS OZ HOLDINGS, LLC 8 8 SSA DEVELOPMENT II, LLC 22 TOWER MANAGEMENT SERVICE, LP 24 9 1210 BERGENLINE AVENUE, LLC 28 10 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS 40/42 11 ADJOURNMENT 44 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  4 1 I N D E X 2 1210 BERGENLINE AVENUE, LLC 1210 Bergenline Avenue 3 4 WITNESS PAGE 5 Manny Pereiras 30 6 7 8 E X H I B I T S 9 10 NO. DOCUMENT PAGE 11 NO EXHIBITS MARKED 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  5 1 MR. VALLEJO: May I have your attention, 2 please? 3 Please take notice that on Thursday, 4 February 10, 2022, at 6 p.m., regular meeting 5 scheduled for the Union City Zoning Board of 6 Adjustment, to be heard in the Union City High 7 School, located at 2500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, 8 Union City, New Jersey. 9 Adequate notice of this meeting has been 10 provided as follows: 11 Notice of this meeting setting forth the 12 time, date, location, to the agenda, to the extent 13 know, was forwarded to The Jersey Journal, The 14 Record, and The Hudson Reporter, and has been 15 posted on the bulletin board in City Hall and has 16 been made available to the public in the Office of 17 the Municipal Clerk. 18 Can everybody kindly rise to salute the 19 flag, please? 20 21 (The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.) 22 23 ROLL CALL: 24 25 MR. VALLEJO: Roll call for tonight's  6 1 meeting. Mr. Grullon. 2 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Here. 3 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Marotta is absent. 4 Ms. Gutierrez. 5 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Here. 6 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Ortiz is absent. Mr. 7 Garcia. 8 MR. GARCIA: Here. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Pena. 10 MS. PENA: Here. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Perez. 12 MS. PEREZ: Here. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Cetinich. 14 MR. CETINICH: Here. 15 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Watley. 16 MS. WATLEY: Here. 17 MR. VALLEJO: Let the record indicate we 18 have seven present, we have a full quorum for 19 tonight's meeting. 20 21 22 23 24 25  7 1 ADOPTION OF MINUTES: 2 Regular Meeting Held on January 13, 2022. 3 4 MR. VALLEJO: Approval of previous 5 meeting minutes from January 13, 2022. Can I have 6 a motion? 7 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Motion. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Grullon. 9 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Second. 10 MR. VALLEJO: Second by Ms. Gutierrez. 11 Roll call on the motion. Mr. Grullon. 12 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 14 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes. 15 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 16 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 17 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Pena. 18 MS. PENA: Yes. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Watley. 20 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 21 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 22 carries. 23 24 25  8 1 Oz Holdings, LLC - 2 4313-4315 Bergenline Avenue: 3 4 MR. VALLEJO: Moving to the first item 5 in tonight's agenda is an extension, Oz Holdings, 6 LLC, 4313-4315 Bergenline Avenue. Mr. Goodman, 7 please. 8 MR. GOODMAN: Good evening. My name is 9 Michael Goodman, I'm an attorney at Goodman and 10 Associates, PC, Hackensack, New Jersey. 11 I am here to request an extension, and 12 it's a brief extension, of a permit on Lot 45 for 13 the construction of a three-family house, which 14 was approved many years ago. It was then appealed 15 by Larry Price, which is a name you may know, and 16 went up to the Hudson County Superior Court. It 17 was then appealed further by Mr. Price. The 18 zoning board had granted approval way back when, I 19 believe it was 2017, looks like February 16, 2017, 20 a subdivision and a site plan approval. 21 The subdivision deed is before your 22 Chairman and Secretary for execution today. It 23 will be filed immediately. And I should explain 24 to the board the delay in timing from the date of 25 the order that was finally signed, and was not  9 1 appealed, by Judge Turula in the Superior Court. 2 We hit a pandemic, all of us are aware 3 of that pandemic and, please God, we're heading 4 out from that pandemic. I think we all say 5 prayers for that. Unfortunately, it affected 6 business, it affected the ability to find the 7 purchaser for the property, and to move ahead with 8 the construction. We have found a purchaser for 9 the property, the first one failed, the second one 10 has finally approved and is prepared to move 11 forward quickly. However, the extension date of 12 the permit with respect to getting into the ground 13 is March 20th. And I have been requested to ask 14 this board for an extension, not a substantial 15 extension, several months, to get the plans in 16 order, to hire the right contractor -- and this is 17 by the purchaser, not by my client. And we're 18 here before this board to request that brief 19 extension. 20 I do not believe that the extension will 21 be necessary more than a period of three or 22 four months from its terminal date. And I'm 23 asking this board to consider the suffering in 24 the years of -- forget the cost, just the 25 suffering in going through an appeal, then back up  10 1 to the appellate division, arguments, back down to 2 Judge Turula to issue the order. It was hard, 3 that plus the pandemic. 4 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Goodman, I'm sorry to 5 interrupt you. Let the record indicate that Mr. 6 Ortiz joined the meeting at 6:22. 7 MR. GOODMAN: And I guess that's 8 basically it, okay. The timing could not have 9 been worse, but thank God, it looks like things 10 are getting better, construction is moving ahead. 11 The purchaser is very anxious to move quickly. 12 And I am simply asking this board to grant a brief 13 form of extension beyond the March 20th date, so 14 that way you get through the spring, you get the 15 plans done, and work can begin immediately. 16 If there are any questions that I can 17 answer, I'm here to answer on behalf of my client. 18 But that is our presentation and that is the 19 request being made of this board. 20 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Thank you, Mr. 21 Goodman. Mr. Goodman, if I may ask, you are 22 requesting for a subdivision of the site plan? 23 Are there two requests? Are you requesting to 24 subdivide -- 25 MR. GOODMAN: I want to apologize, part  11 1 of it is I have a hearing issue and I've been 2 trying to put in the right battery, if you could 3 give me just a moment? Hate to tell you, that's 4 age. 5 6 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 7 proceedings.) 8 9 MR. GOODMAN: Yes, sir. 10 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: What I'm looking 11 here is we had two items, we have the subdivision 12 and the site plan. 13 MR. GOODMAN: That is correct. 14 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Okay. With the 15 subdivision, you don't need approval? 16 MR. GOODMAN: I do not, I do not. That 17 is why the subdivision deed is before the Chairman 18 and the Secretary for execution this evening. 19 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: And this board is 20 okay with that. For the extension, this is a five 21 year old application. 22 MR. GOODMAN: It is. 23 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: I understand 24 everything that went through, but since recently 25 the City adopted a new ordinance to have only  12 1 two-family houses. 2 MR. GOODMAN: I am aware of that and I 3 have discussed that with the purchaser. The 4 purchaser is very anxious to build a three-family 5 house. And I should explain to you that on 6 Lincoln Street, which is why we got the original 7 resolution, every single piece of property on that 8 side of Lincoln Street and most of the properties, 9 with the exception of one or two commercial 10 properties, all are three-family houses. That was 11 in fact why this board was gracious enough to 12 grant us that approval. And that's why the 13 appellate division moved and acted and Judge 14 Turula acted in our favor. 15 So, yes, it's long and I do understand 16 that. But I do wish to state that in fact this 17 three-family has all been approved, there were 18 certain changes that were made at the specific 19 request of the board when -- and I was before the 20 board, okay, so I'm testifying myself that that 21 is, in fact, what occurred. And the board 22 expressly approved the three-family house, but it 23 was for that reason, okay. It didn't work -- you 24 know, it's right on the corner with Bergenline 25 Avenue, okay. But every single property going  13 1 down the block is all three-family. We are not 2 asking for a long extension. 3 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: I am very familiar 4 with the neighborhood and I know there are a lot 5 of three-family houses there. But now we have a 6 new ordinance and any construction, any new 7 construction, any extension for something that is 8 not built, this board is not inclined to grant any 9 of these applications. 10 For that, I would just make a motion to 11 deny the extension. And I will suggest that you 12 go to your client to try to come back with a 13 revised plan for a two-family house that fits in 14 the neighborhood. 15 MR. GOODMAN: I must state that I 16 believe that that would be wrong on the part of 17 the board. I am aware of what you are saying. I 18 do not know the exact date that was changed. I do 19 not -- I do know that this board did approve it, 20 that I am not asking for an extension more than a 21 period of three or four months, okay. This is not 22 a long extension by any means, okay. It's simply 23 to get the permits and to move ahead. 24 Can that be done before March 20th? 25 Probably, okay. Would it be a courtesy on the  14 1 part of this board to grant the new buyer the 2 right to purchase and my client to at least 3 benefit from the years of suffering that he went 4 through and costs -- the pandemic obviously is not 5 his fault, okay. That is why I believe that we 6 are not asking for a long extension, we've asked 7 for a short extension, okay. And I'm speaking 8 also on behalf of the purchaser, okay. There 9 should be no reason to change, okay, that approval 10 and not to grant a brief extension. 11 I understand the new ordinance, but this 12 is not -- this should not affect this plan. And I 13 am asking this board, okay, to grant that brief 14 extension, whether it be three months or four 15 months, so this can be built properly and done 16 properly. 17 THE JUDGE: We're here to protect the 18 residents and we're here to protect the residents 19 and the neighborhood. And you have to consider 20 that five years ago, when we approved the 21 application, I was part of this board. And the 22 condition that we have in the area now, with 23 parking and overcrowded area is not the same as 24 five years ago when we approved. 25 And for that same reason, the City went  15 1 over and revisited the City ordinance and changed 2 the ordinance to allow only two-family houses, if 3 they're going to be newly constructed, in the 4 area. 5 MR. GOODMAN: I understand what you're 6 saying. Let's look at the facts, the factual 7 situation. We're talking about one, right, one 8 additional house, okay, on the block. One 9 additional unit, excuse me, on the block, not 10 house. That's it. One, okay, on a 25-by-100 lot, 11 I believe, okay, one out of 30, 40, 50, or more 12 three-family -- you know, houses on that block 13 that have lived peacefully. 14 I respectfully ask, I respectfully ask 15 you to consider and ask this board to please 16 consider that we are talking about one unit. We 17 are talking about hurting an applicant who has 18 lost thousands of dollars through these crazy 19 appeals and the pandemic, okay. And we're talking 20 about one unit. 21 It isn't fair to my client. And I say 22 this, gentlemen and ladies, I say this very 23 respectfully. I was the attorney for my board in 24 Bergen County for many, many years. I know how 25 difficult this is, but if you are talking about  16 1 one additional family, it isn't going to overcrowd 2 the neighborhood anymore than it's been. It isn't 3 going to change things more than it's been. 4 And I am not asking you to grant a 5 year's extension, two years' extension, or 6 whatever, that would be improper. This is a brief 7 extension to benefit the applicant, okay. Who is 8 a land owner in this area, in Union City. He's 9 owned those premises for many, many years. And 10 thank God on Bergenline Avenue, the stores are 11 thriving and doing well, okay. 12 Okay. I'm not sure what more I can say, 13 other than to say that this is minimal, it's not 14 something that affects the zone plan, it's not 15 affect -- it's not -- it's minor in its terms. So 16 I respectfully disagree. 17 I know you need to uphold the board, but 18 the word zoning board really means that, okay. 19 I'm not really asking to you do anything now in 20 granting that variance in the face of a new 21 two-family zone. I'm going back to where it was 22 three-family and granted, okay. I believe it is 23 unfair to my client, unfair to the purchaser, 24 okay, for this board to deny a brief extension, 25 whether that's two months, three months, anything  17 1 that would be helpful to enable this to be built 2 rather than just putting a shovel in the ground 3 and saying, okay, we've done that. That's not 4 really what a zoning board should be doing in my 5 opinion. 6 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Mr. Goodman, 7 respectfully, we're seeing this as an opportunity 8 for your client to comply and come up with an 9 application that fits the current ordinance of the 10 City, that are two-family houses in that area. 11 And as you said, your client may be an investor 12 for the City -- in the City of Union City, but 13 we're not looking for that. We're looking to 14 protect the neighborhood and protect the residents 15 of Union City. The houses that are there now, 16 three-family houses, they've been there for quite 17 a long time, there's nothing we can do about 18 those. But if we allow one three-family to be 19 built now, tomorrow there's going to be another 20 application asking for another three-family and 21 another three-family. And then what will be the 22 point of us having ordinance in the City? 23 It's a good opportunity for you to go 24 back to your client and tell him that the 25 application may be granted as a two-family house,  18 1 not as a three-family. And with that -- 2 MR. GOODMAN: With the exception -- 3 THE JUDGE: -- again, I make the motion 4 to deny -- 5 MR. GOODMAN: With the exception of the 6 fact that that's why you're here as a zoning 7 board. This is minimal, number one. 8 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: It's not minimal, 9 its 33 percent, 33 percent increase. 10 MR. GOODMAN: I'm sorry, we're talking 11 about 30, 40 units there on this block, maybe 12 more, okay. And I haven't counted them and this 13 is one unit. 14 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: We're talking 15 about the particular application. Your 16 application is for three units when two units is 17 permitted. That's a 33 percent increase. 18 MR. GOODMAN: And in addition, I should 19 state to you and your attorney will advise you if 20 I'm misstating the law. This granting of this one 21 extra unit, okay, is not precedential, okay. And 22 if a new application came before you, you would 23 need to consider that as a zoning board in any 24 respect, in any manner. And you would listen to 25 your counsel advising you, as I advised members of  19 1 the zoning board that I represented. But that's 2 not what's going on here. What's going on here is 3 a last gasp request. I don't want to lose this 4 deal, I don't want to lose this transaction for a 5 client. And I am telling you this is de minimus. 6 There is no reason whatsoever, in my opinion, 7 okay, for you to deny this. 8 Yes, I'm an attorney for the applicant, 9 but there -- you're incorrect in stating that if 10 the same application came before you today for a 11 three-family house and you determined that it is 12 against the zone plan and should not be granted, 13 this granting -- this granting of an extension, 14 it's not granting a three-family house. This 15 granting of a brief extension is certainly not 16 precedential at all. 17 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: That's your point 18 of view. My point view is if I grant the 19 extension, I'm allowing to construct a 20 three-family house when it's something that's not 21 permitted by the new ordinance. And, again, I 22 make a motion to deny the extension. 23 MR. VALLEJO: Before we vote on the 24 motion, Mr. Paneque, please? 25 MR. PANEQUE: Thank you. There were, at  20 1 the time of application was originally approved, 2 different members of the board that have been 3 substituted in and out. As such, we've had a 4 certification signed by each of the members that 5 were not there, that they have read the minutes of 6 the meeting on January 12, 2017, as well as the 7 February 16, 2017, board meetings where this 8 application was approved. 9 This certification has been signed by 10 board member Rosio Pena, board member Mindry 11 Watley, board member Geraldine Perez, board member 12 George Garcia and board member Raymond Cetinich, 13 who are all here tonight. Having signed that 14 certification, they are allowed to vote on 15 tonight's motion. 16 MR. VALLEJO: We have a motion to deny 17 the application by Mr. Grullon. 18 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: I'll 19 second. 20 MR. VALLEJO: Second by Ms. Gutierrez. 21 Roll call on the motion to deny the 22 extension. Roll call. Mr Grullon. 23 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes to deny. 24 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 25 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes to  21 1 deny. 2 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 3 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 4 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Ortiz. 5 MR. ORTIZ: Yes to deny. 6 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Pena. 7 MS. PENA: Yes. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Perez. 9 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 10 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Cetinich. 11 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 12 MR. VALLEJO: Seven in favor, motion 13 carries. We are going on -- 14 MR. PANEQUE: Before we proceed, Mr. 15 Goodman, if I may? We have your original 16 subdivision deed, I don't want you having to wait 17 for the whole meeting. 18 MR. VALLEJO: We'll take a two minute 19 break, off the record. 20 MR. PANEQUE: Off the record, yes. 21 22 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 23 proceedings.) 24 25  22 1 SSA Development II, LLC - 2 202 Bergenline Avenue: 3 4 MR. VALLEJO: We're going to move to 5 Item 2, SSA Development II, LLC, 202 Bergenline 6 Avenue. We received the revised plans on 7 February 2nd, that was too late, at least have to 8 be 10 days before the hearing date. And that's 9 why, Mr. Paneque, please. 10 MR. PANEQUE: Based on the fact that the 11 plans were not received within the ten day window 12 allowed by statute, this application cannot 13 proceed and be heard today. Has Mr. Alonso been 14 notified of this, Carlos? 15 MR. VALLEJO: Yes, we sent it, also the 16 agenda with the information. 17 MR. PANEQUE: The matter will be carried 18 to the March 10th meeting. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Can I have a motion, 20 please. 21 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: I'll make a 22 motion. 23 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Ms. Gutierrez. 24 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Second. 25 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Grullon to  23 1 carry this matter to March 10, 2022. Roll call on 2 the motion. Mr. Grullon. 3 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes. 4 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 5 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes. 6 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 7 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Ortiz. 9 MR. ORTIZ: Yes. 10 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Pena. 11 MS. PENA: Yes. 12 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Cetinich. 13 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Watley. 15 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 16 MR. VALLEJO: Seven in favor, motion 17 carries. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  24 1 Tower Management Service, LP - 2 500 Central Avenue: 3 4 MR. VALLEJO: We're moving to Item 5 Number 3, Tower Management Service, LP, 500 6 Central Avenue. Ms. Pereiras, please. 7 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you, Mr. Vallejo. 8 Good evening, counsel, chairman, members of the 9 board, may it please the board, Bianca Pereiras on 10 behalf of the applicant. This is for property 11 located at 500 Central Avenue, also known as Block 12 22, Lot 1.01. 13 This application came before the board 14 back in January of 2020, at which time the board 15 proved the application. The resolution 16 memorializing that decision was in issued in 17 February of 2020. This is in particular to the 18 parking lot that is next to the Lenox building 19 that we all know on Fifth and Central Avenue. 20 The application allowed the applicant to 21 maximize the space to allow for an additional 17 22 parking spots. This is a great application 23 because we all know how difficult parking is in 24 town, and we'd love to get as much parking as we 25 can. Unfortunately, this was issued a few months  25 1 before the pandemic hit us and my client was 2 unable to secure the crew and unable to secure 3 permits in a timely fashion. 4 As such, we respectfully come before the 5 board today, the client is ready to move forward, 6 submit for permits, and get working on this 7 application as soon as possible, if the board is 8 so kind to give us the extension. 9 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: And, Ms. Pereiras, 10 the request is to increase the parking count of 11 the area? 12 MS. PEREIRAS: Yes. The application 13 will allow us to restripe the parking lot and 14 provide 17 additional spots. 15 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: And that's 16 something that's going to be beneficial for the 17 residents? 18 MS. PEREIRAS: Absolutely. 19 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: And that's 20 something that, even though it's an extension, 21 it's not going to be any detriment for the area? 22 MS. PEREIRAS: Not at all. 23 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: With that, I make 24 a motion to grant the extension -- I'm sorry, are 25 we looking to put a specific amount of time?  26 1 MS. PEREIRAS: If we could have one 2 year, my client is very eager, I believe we can 3 submit for permits in the spring, but one year 4 should suffice. 5 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Okay. I make a 6 motion to grant a one year extension. 7 MR. VALLEJO: Motion to grant extension 8 by Mr. Grullon. 9 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: I'll second 10 it. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Ms. Gutierrez. 12 Roll call on the motion. Mr. Grullon. 13 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 15 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes. 16 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 17 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 18 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Pena. 19 MS. PENA: Yes. 20 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Ortiz. 21 MR. ORTIZ: Yes. 22 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Perez. 23 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 24 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Cetinich. 25 MR. CETINICH: Yes.  27 1 MR. VALLEJO: Seven in favor, motion 2 carries. 3 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you all very much. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  28 1 1210 Bergenline Avenue, LLC - 2 1210 Bergenline Avenue: 3 4 MR. VALLEJO: We're moving on to a 5 continuation of 1210 Bergenline Avenue, LLC. Ms. 6 Pereiras. 7 MS. PENA: I need to recuse myself. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Rosio Pena is recusing 9 from this application, thank you. 10 MR. PANEQUE: Let the record reflect the 11 following: 12 I've been provided by Ms. Pereiras with 13 a certification as to publication and service, 14 indicating that notice of tonight's hearing was 15 with respect to 1210 Bergenline Avenue was given 16 to all property owners within the 200-foot radius, 17 as well as sent for publication in the local 18 newspaper. 19 I've also been provided with a copy of 20 the notice that was sent to all property owners. 21 Said notice indicates that on tonight's date, 22 February 10th, at 6 p.m., a hearing will be heard 23 here at this location at the Union City High 24 School with respect to the property of 1210 25 Bergenline Avenue, where the applicant seeks  29 1 certain variances. 2 I've also been provided with an 3 affidavit from The Jersey Journal indicating that 4 the notice was published in The Jersey Journal on 5 January 23, 2022. Said notice indicates that the 6 hearing will take place tonight, February 10th, at 7 this location, with respect to the property at 8 1210 Bergenline Avenue. 9 I've also been provided with the 10 certified mail receipts with a postmark stamp date 11 of January 31, 2022. 12 And I've been provided finally with a 13 copy of the list of all property owners within the 14 200-foot radius of Block 61.02, Lot 21, also known 15 as 1210 Bergenline Avenue. Said list was 16 promulgated by the tax assessor's office on 17 January 26, 2022. 18 Based on the documentation that has been 19 provided by Ms. Pereiras, this board has 20 jurisdiction and could proceed to hear the matter. 21 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you, Counsel. 22 Again, Bianca Pereiras on behalf of the applicant, 23 1210 Bergenline Avenue, LLC, for property at 1210 24 Bergenline Avenue, also known as Block 61.02, Lot 25 21. The application is in a CN commercial  30 1 neighborhood. This is an existing multifamily 2 building. It came to my client's attention that 3 two of the units that were existing in the 4 structure were not recognized by the Union City 5 Building Department. As such, we are here before 6 the board this evening to legalize those two units 7 for a total of eight units on-site. 8 We have one expert to testify before the 9 board this evening and that is our architect, Mr. 10 Manny Pereiras. 11 12 M A N N Y P E R E I R A S, after having been 13 duly sworn or affirmed, did testify as follows: 14 15 MR. PEREIRAS: Manny Pereiras, 16 P-E-R-E-I-R-A-S, with Pereiras Architects 17 Ubiquitous, 1116 Summit Avenue, Union City. 18 MS. PEREIRAS: And Mr. Pereiras has been 19 recognized by this board -- 20 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: We accept your 21 qualifications. 22 MR. PEREIRAS: Thank you. 23 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 24 Mr. Pereiras, are you familiar with the 25 property at 1210 Bergenline Avenue?  31 1 MR. PEREIRAS: I am. 2 MS. PEREIRAS: Did you prepare the 3 drawings that are before the board this evening? 4 MR. PEREIRAS: They were prepared under 5 my direct supervision. 6 MS. PEREIRAS: Can you please describe 7 the project for board? 8 MR. PEREIRAS: I'd be very happy to. 9 Our project is on the northeast corner of 10 Bergenline and Tournade Lane, Tournade Lane is a 11 small alley that connects between Bergenline 12 Avenue and New York Avenue, right between 12th 13 Street and 13th Street. This is actually the 14 neighborhood where I grew up in. 15 The property in question is a masonry 16 building, all brick, very nicely constructed 17 actually, that's four stories tall. On each of 18 the three stories above, there's two apartments on 19 each side, that's not in question. What's in 20 question is the ground floor, which for some 21 reason the Union City Building Department has that 22 as commercial, it's residential as far as I could 23 remember. But that's recognized only as 24 commercial right now, so we're looking to legalize 25 that unit and we're looking to legalize the unit  32 1 in the basement. There are several modifications 2 that we're doing to the unit in the basement. And 3 I'd like to direct you to it, these drawings that 4 I'm using here are the same drawings that were 5 submitted before the board. On sheet 02, you see 6 the existing condition of the basement and the 7 proposed conditions of the basement. 8 We are actually demolishing the entire 9 floor and modifying it to make it into a safe, 10 beautiful apartment. We're changing it from being 11 a two-bedroom apartment to a one-bedroom, but 12 we're moving that one bedroom all the way to the 13 corner where we could create a large window well, 14 so the habitants can escape in case of emergency. 15 We're also providing handicapped 16 accessibility to this unit, so that someone with a 17 disability are able to use all the facilities in 18 this unit, including kitchen and bathroom. So the 19 bathroom is enlarged significantly. 20 And we're doing a significant amount of 21 work in order to make this into a safe unit, such 22 as a fire separation in the ceiling, a domestic 23 line sprinkler system in the unit, and upgrading 24 the fire alarm system, not just in this unit, but 25 in the entire building.  33 1 In the space on the ground floor, this 2 is a preexisting unit for many years. There has 3 been a family living here and we do not want to 4 displace this family and we're looking to keep 5 this unit and legalize it as is. Currently, there 6 are three bedrooms plus a den in this unit and 7 we're looking to do the same configuration and 8 simply make sure it meets all code requirements. 9 So very similar to the basement, we're 10 going to be making sure that the tenant 11 separations between the stairwell and the unit are 12 upgraded to a two-hour level, meaning they're 13 laying extra sheetrock. There will also be a 14 domestic sprinkler system in this unit as well. 15 We're going to try to do that with as little 16 interference with the inhabitants of the unit as 17 possible, so that we don't have to displace the 18 tenants. And there will be a fire separation in 19 the ceiling and the fire alarm system will be 20 upgraded as well. 21 Just as a matter of housekeeping, I'd 22 like to go over all the variances that we'll be 23 requesting. First and foremost, we have an 24 irregular lot. You can see that we have a strange 25 L-shape in our lot, that's because the garage in  34 1 the rear is part of this unit and this L-shape. 2 We have an undersized lot, our lot is 2,154 square 3 feet, that's an existing nonconformity. 4 However, because of this shape, we're 5 able to put three cars on this lot; one inside the 6 garage, one in front of it in tandem, and one more 7 spot here. You may ask why don't we put a spot in 8 between that's because that spot is access to a 9 garage that's here at the neighboring property. 10 So we can fit three parking spaces in our rear 11 yard. 12 One of the good important things about 13 this application, the planning board has recently 14 approved housing further up on Tournade Lane. 15 This -- having our entry along the rear for the 16 basement apartment activates that and actually 17 creates a continuity with the residences above 18 that are going to be created towards Bergenline 19 Avenue, which that activity helps with the area 20 making sure that it's safe, cars and people are 21 coming in and out of this place, so it doesn't 22 become an alley where notorious things could 23 happen or nefarious things. 24 The lot width is compliant at 25 feet. 25 Our depth is not compliant. This lot is only  35 1 77 feet in depth, so that's a preexisting 2 nonconformity. We also have a nonconformity for 3 parking. We're, in theory, expanding our parking. 4 Since we have two more units, we're actually 5 required three more additional spaces whereas we 6 can't create anymore spacing on this lot. But 7 keep in mind that we have the luck that we have 8 three spaces here, which is actually a lot more 9 than anything in this neighborhood does provide. 10 And we're requesting a variance for that expansion 11 of that nonconformance as well. 12 That concludes my testimony. I'm open 13 for questions. 14 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Mr. Pereiras, you 15 mentioned three parking spaces, I only see two 16 cars. 17 MR. PEREIRAS: This block here is a 18 garage, so there's a car inside that. 19 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Okay, okay. And 20 the proposed application is to do construction in 21 the basement and the ground floor? 22 MR. PEREIRAS: Correct. 23 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: By doing the 24 construction, you will bring the building up to 25 code, fire code?  36 1 MR. PEREIRAS: It's a wonderful 2 opportunity to bring a building up to fire code. 3 It really protects, not just the inhabitants of 4 this building, but all the other buildings that 5 are next to it on the block. This is a zero lot 6 line neighborhood, so by doing the upgrades that 7 would take place with this application, we're 8 really securing the buildings on that entire 9 block. 10 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: When you first 11 present this application, you had it as a 12 seven-unit and requesting to legalize one unit. 13 You got that clarification from the building 14 department? 15 MR. PEREIRAS: We got the clarification 16 from the building department. We always came 17 before this board assuming that we had to legalize 18 the basement apartment. Unfortunately, we 19 discovered that the building department does not 20 recognize the first floor either, they had that as 21 commercial. Therefore, we revised our application 22 we re-did our drawings, we submitted it to the 23 board well before ten days prior, in order so that 24 we could have the two apartments legalized and 25 recognized and brought up to code.  37 1 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Mr. Spatz, could 2 you give us some clarification, would that affect 3 the memorandum that you sent from seven to eight 4 from six to eight or seven to eight? 5 MR. SPATZ: It would not change 6 anything. We had done the review when it was 7 proposed as seven units, having the ground floor 8 as legal. When they found out that that needed to 9 be updated as well, it doesn't change any of the 10 variances, so we didn't issue a new report, just 11 simply the clarifying of the number of units. But 12 everything else, the variances, all remain exactly 13 the same. 14 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Okay. Another 15 question, Mr. Pereiras. I think I'm not sure in 16 the picture, does that building have fire escape? 17 I mean it's a four floor building. 18 MR. PEREIRAS: It has to have fire 19 escapes, I can't recall right now. I don't 20 remember seeing them, but it would have to have 21 fire escapes. The state would make sure of that. 22 MR. PANEQUE: Mr. Pereiras, I call your 23 attention to Z03. 24 MR. PEREIRAS: Thank you. 25 MR. PANEQUE: On the top, you have some  38 1 photographs. Is that the rear of the building in 2 question? 3 MR. PEREIRAS: Yes, it is. And thank 4 you for pointing that out. As you can see, there 5 is a fire escape in the rear of the building. 6 Thank you. 7 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Okay. I don't 8 have any other questions. Any members of the 9 board have any questions? Nothing from the board, 10 that concludes your testimony? 11 MS. PEREIRAS: That would. 12 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: At this point, I 13 want to open to the public, any member of the 14 public want to step forward? Hearing none, close 15 to the public. 16 Taking into consideration the applicant 17 is proposing to enhance the building by adding 18 additional security features, like the fire rated 19 walls and sprinkle the ground floor and basement, 20 I make a motion to grant this application. 21 MR. VALLEJO: Motion on the table to 22 grant the application by Mr. Grullon. Any second 23 on the motion? 24 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: I'll second 25 it.  39 1 MR. VALLEJO: Second by Ms. Gutierrez. 2 Roll call on the motion. Mr. Grullon. 3 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes. 4 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 5 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes. 6 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 7 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Ortiz. 9 MR. ORTIZ: Yes. 10 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Perez. 11 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 12 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Cetinich. 13 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Watley. 15 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 16 MR. VALLEJO: Seven in favor, motion 17 carries. 18 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you all very much. 19 MR. PEREIRAS: Thank you. 20 MS. PEREIRAS: See you next month. 21 22 23 24 25  40 1 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS: 2 (1.) 9799 Ventures I, LLC. 1219 3 Bergenline Avenue. Block 60.02. Lot 21. 4 Applicant proposes a new mixed use building (4 5 residential and commercial). Approved 6 7 MR. VALLEJO: We're moving to 8 resolutions now. Resolution 9799 Ventures I, LLC, 9 1219 Bergenline Avenue. Can I have a motion to 10 adopt this resolution? 11 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Motion. 12 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Second. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Grullon, 14 second by Ms. Gutierrez. Roll call on the motion. 15 Mr. Grullon. 16 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes. 17 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 18 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 20 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 21 MR. VALLEJO: Let record indicate that 22 Ms. Pena joined the meeting. We have the roll 23 call on the motion to memorialize this resolution, 24 9799 Ventures 1, LLC, 1219 Bergenline Avenue, 25 motion by Mr. Grullon, seconded by Ms. Gutierrez.  41 1 Mr. Grullon. 2 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes. 3 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 4 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes. 5 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 6 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 7 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Ortiz. 8 MR. ORTIZ: Yes. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Pena. 10 MS. PENA: Yes. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Watley. 12 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Six in favor, motion 14 carries. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  42 1 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS: 2 (2.) 613 39th Street, LLC. 611 39th 3 Street. Block 261. Lot 58, 64. Applicant is 4 requesting a one year extension. The resolution 5 was memorialized on March 12, 2020. Denied 6 7 MR. VALLEJO: Resolution Number 2, 613 8 39th Street, LLC, that's 611 39th Street. Can I 9 have a motion to memorialize this resolution? 10 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes, motion. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Grullon. 12 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Second to 13 deny. 14 MR. VALLEJO: To adopt the resolution? 15 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: I'm sorry, 16 yes. 17 MR. VALLEJO: Any second. 18 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Second. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Second by Mr. Ortiz. He 20 raised a hand. Roll call on the motion. Mr. 21 Grullon. 22 CHAIRPERSON GRULLON: Yes. 23 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Gutierrez. 24 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Yes. 25 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia.  43 1 MR. GARCIA: Yes. 2 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Ortiz. 3 MR. ORTIZ: Yes. 4 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Pena. 5 MS. PENA: Yes. 6 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Watley. 7 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Six in favor, motion 9 carries. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  44 1 ADJOURNMENT: 2 3 MR. VALLEJO: There being no other 4 applications tonight, can I have a motion to close 5 tonight's meeting. Motion by? 6 MR. GARCIA: Mr. Garcia. 7 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Garcia. 8 VICE CHAIRPERSON GUTIERREZ: Second. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Ms. Gutierrez. 10 All in favor? 11 12 (All Board Members indicate in the 13 affirmative.) 14 15 MR. VALLEJO: The ayes have it. Thank 16 you. Let the record show the meeting has ended, 17 thank you, motion carries. Good night, everyone. 18 19 (Whereupon the meeting was adjourned at 20 7:02 p.m.) 21 22 23 24 25  45 1 C E R T I F I C A T E 2 3 4 5 6 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a 7 true and accurate transcript of the testimony and 8 proceedings as taken stenographically by me at the 9 time, place, and on the date hereinbefore set 10 forth. 11 12 13 14 SUSAN BISCHOFF, CCR, RPR LICENSE NO. 30XI00233700 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25