Zoning Board of Adjustment - Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting

1 CITY OF UNION CITY HUDSON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT : TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDED REGULAR MEETING : : PROCEEDINGS __________________: City Hall 3715 Palisade Avenue Union City, New Jersey Thursday, June 13, 2019 Commencing at 6:09 p.m. M E M B E R S P R E S E N T: MARGARITA GUTIERREZ DAVID W. PRESSEY ROSIO PENA, Alternate No. 1 GERALDINE PEREZ, Alternate No. 2 RAYMOND CETINICH, Alternate No. 3 MINDRY WATLEY, Alternate No. 4 JOSEPH D. BONACCI, Chairman M E M B E R S A B S E N T: LIBERO MAROTTA JOHN MEDINA MIGUEL ORTIZ VICTOR M. GRULLON, Vice Chairman A L S O P R E S E N T: CARLOS VALLEJO, Secretary to the Board TOMAS R. PANEQUE, ESQ., Board Attorney DAVID SPATZ, Consultant Community Housing and Planning Associates  2 A P P E A R A N C E S: BIANCA P. PEREIRAS, ESQ., Attorney for Applicant, 1117 Summer Ave., LLC BIANCA P. PEREIRAS, ESQ., Attorney for Applicant, Daisy Valenciano  3 I N D E X PAGE CALL TO ORDER 6 SALUTE TO FLAG 6 ROLL CALL 7 APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES 9 RESOLUTIONS 11 HEARINGS 1117 Summer Ave., LLC 20 Maria E. Montalvo 14 1015 West Street, LLC 16 Daisy Valenciano 50 Union City Funding LLC 18 ADJOURNMENT 79  4 I N D E X 1117 Summer Ave., LLC - 1117-19 Summit Avenue WITNESS PAGE Orestes Valella 22 Michael F. Kauker 28  5 I N D E X Daisy Valenciano - 538 36th Street WITNESS PAGE Michael F. Kauker 51 SWORN PUBLIC Larry Price 63 E X H I B I T S NO. DOCUMENT PAGE O-1 Summary, 200 Foot Study, 538 36th Street 69  6 1 THE SECRETARY: May I have your attention, 2 please? 3 Please take notice that on Thursday, June 4 13, 2019, at six p.m., a Regular Meeting is 5 scheduled for the City of Union City Zoning Board 6 of Adjustment, to be held in Municipal Chamber, 7 located on the Second Floor, 3715 Palisade 8 Avenue, Union City, New Jersey. 9 Notice of this meeting has been provided as 10 follow: 11 Notice of this meeting setting forth the 12 time, location, the agenda, to the extent known, 13 was forwarded to The Jersey Journal, The Record, 14 and The Hudson Reporter, has been posted on the 15 bulletin board in City Hall, and has been made 16 available to the public in the Office of 17 Municipal Clerk. 18 Can everybody rise to salute the flag, 19 please? 20 21 (Whereupon, the Pledge of Allegiance was 22 said by all.) 23 24 THE SECRETARY: Thank you. 25  7 1 ROLL CALL: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: Roll call -- roll call for 4 tonight’s meeting. 5 Joseph Bonacci? 6 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Here. 7 THE SECRETARY: Victor Grullon? 8 Absent. 9 Libero Marotta? 10 Absent. 11 Margarita Gutierrez? 12 MS. GUTIERREZ: Here. 13 THE SECRETARY: Miguel Ortiz. 14 Absent. 15 David Pressey? 16 MR. PRESSEY: Here. 17 THE SECRETARY: John Medina. 18 Absent. 19 Rosio Pena? 20 MS. PENA: Here. 21 THE SECRETARY: Geraldine Perez? 22 MS. PEREZ: Here. 23 THE SECRETARY: Raymond Cetinich? 24 MR. CETINICH: Here. 25 THE SECRETARY: Mindry Watley?  8 1 MS. WATLEY: Here. 2 THE SECRETARY: Let the record indicate 3 there are seven present. 4 We have a full quorum for tonight’s 5 meeting. 6 * * * 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  9 1 ADOPTION OF MINUTES: 2 3 ( 1) Regular Meeting held on May 9, 2019 4 5 THE SECRETARY: Approval of previous 6 meeting minutes for May 9, 2019. 7 Can I have a motion? 8 Motion by Margarita Gutierrez. 9 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: I second. 10 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by Mr. Bonacci. 11 Roll call on the motion. 12 Mr. Bonacci? 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 14 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Gutierrez? 15 MS. GUTIERREZ: Yes. 16 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Pressey? 17 MR. PRESSEY: Yes. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Pena? 19 MS. PENA: Yes. 20 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Perez? 21 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 22 THE SECRETARY: Ms. (sic) Cetinich? 23 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Cetinich? 25 Mrs. Watley?  10 1 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 2 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 3 Motion carries. 4 * * * 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  11 1 RESOLUTIONS: 2 3 ( 1) Mapal Zahan, LLC, 514 14 th Street, Block 72, 4 Lot 22. Legalization of existing rear 5 residential unit. 6 ( 2) S&R Realty Group, LLC, 146-148 49th Street, 7 Block 286, Lot 5 & 6. Applicant proposes the 8 construction of two new three family houses. 9 ( 3) David Nazar, 1003 Bergenline Avenue, Block 10 47, Lot 21. Legalize second floor residential 11 unit, mixed use. 12 ( 4) 116 36th Street, LLC, 116 36th Street, Block 13 217, Lot 16 & 17. Convert existing warehouse to 14 five residential apartments, two one bedroom and 15 three two bedroom with nine parking spaces. 16 ( 5) Eduardo Ochoa, 1719 Summit Avenue, Block 17 94, Lot 28. Legalization of existing ground 18 floor apartment to create a mixed use building 19 containing one commercial unit and two 20 residential units. 21 ( 6) 2000 West Street, LLC, 2000 West Street aka 22 526 Monastery Place, Block 109, Lot 26. 23 Applicant seeks amended site plan and variance 24 approval obtained in accordance with the attached 25 resolution in two phases. And proposed  12 1 children’s daycare in existing office/residential 2 building. 3 4 THE SECRETARY: Adoption of Resolutions. 5 We have six Resolution on tonight’s agenda. 6 Resolution number 1. 7 Mapal Zahan, LLC, 514 14th Street. 8 Resolution number 2. 9 S and R Realty Group, LLC, 146-148 49th 10 Street. 11 Resolution number 3. 12 David Nazar, 1003 Bergenline Avenue. 13 Resolution number 4. 14 116 36th Street, LLC, 116 36th Street. 15 Resolution number 5. 16 Eduardo Ochoa, 1719 Summit Avenue. 17 Resolution number 6. 18 2000 West Street, LLC, 2000 West Street 19 a/k/a 526 Monastery Place. 20 Can I have a motion to memorialize these 21 Resolutions? 22 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Motion. 23 THE SECRETARY: Motion by Mr. Bonacci. 24 MS. GUTIERREZ: Second. 25 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by Ms. Gutierrez.  13 1 Roll call on the motion -- motion. 2 Mr. Bonacci? 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 4 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Gutierrez? 5 MS. GUTIERREZ: Yes. 6 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Pressey? 7 MR. PRESSEY: Yes. 8 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Pena? 9 MS. PENA: Yes. 10 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Perez? 11 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 12 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Cetinich? 13 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 14 THE SECRETARY: Mrs. Watley? 15 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 16 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 17 Motion carries. 18 * * * 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  14 1 Maria E. Montalvo - 523 48th Street: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: Hearings and applications. 4 We are going to change a little bit 5 tonight’s order of the agenda. 6 We are going first to Maria Montalvo, 523 7 48th Street. 8 Mr. Paneque? 9 MR. PANEQUE: Yes. 10 Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the 11 Board, with respect to this application, this 12 afternoon, the Office of Adolfo Lopez sent in a 13 letter indicating that due to circumstances out 14 of their control, they were requesting that this 15 matter be carried till the next hearing. 16 Letter came in this afternoon and doesn’t 17 really specify what the circumstances are. 18 However, it does appear that something happened 19 and they’re requesting that the matter be 20 carried. 21 So, Mr. Chairman, it’s -- it’s your choice 22 if -- 23 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. I’ll make a 24 motion to carry to the next meeting which is July 25 -- is it the 11th, Carlos?  15 1 THE SECRETARY: Yes, Mr. Bonacci. 2 Motion by Mr. Bonacci to adjourn this 3 application to July 11. 4 Any second on the motion? 5 Seconded by Ms. Gutierrez. 6 Roll call on the motion. 7 Mr. Bonacci? 8 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Gutierrez? 10 MS. GUTIERREZ: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Pressey? 12 MR. PRESSEY: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Pena? 14 MS. PENA: Yes. 15 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Perez? 16 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 17 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Cetinich? 18 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 19 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Watley? 20 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 21 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 22 Motion carries. 23 * * * 24 25  16 1 1015 West Street, LLC - 601 11th Street: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: We are going now to 1015 4 West Street, LLC, 601 11th Street. 5 Mr. Paneque, please? 6 MR. PANEQUE: Thank you, Mr. Vallejo. 7 Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the 8 Board, on this application, we also received 9 today a letter from Mr. Alonso’s office 10 indicating that an emergency had arisen, in which 11 Mr. Alonso had to attend, and therefore, he could 12 not be here this evening. 13 He was requesting that the matter be 14 carried to the next available meeting. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Nobody wants to work 16 today? 17 I’ll make a motion to carry this -- 18 THE SECRETARY: Motion to carry by Mr. 19 Bonacci. 20 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- to July. 21 THE SECRETARY: For July 11, 2019. 22 Any second the motion? 23 Second by Ms. Gutierrez. 24 Roll call on the motion to adjourn this 25 application for July 11, 2019.  17 1 Mr. Bonacci? 2 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Gutierrez? 4 MS. GUTIERREZ: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Pressey? 6 MR. PRESSEY: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Pena? 8 MS. PENA: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Perez? 10 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Cetinich? 12 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Mrs. Watley? 14 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 15 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 16 Motion carries. 17 * * * 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  18 1 Union City Funding, LLC - 530 28th Street: 2 3 MR. PANEQUE: Just as a point of 4 clarification, Mr. Vallejo, and so that we can 5 clear up the cases that are not going to be here 6 this evening, and for the Board’s edification, 7 hearing noted as number 5, that being for 530 28 th 8 Street. 9 The attorney, Mr. Selevan, was here last 10 month and was told that he had to republish, as 11 there was some deficiencies with his notice. 12 The matter was carried to this evening. 13 However, we have had no indication that Mr. 14 Selevan has actually published, or given notice 15 to all property owners within the 200 foot 16 radius. 17 As such, this application, for purposes of 18 tonight’s hearing, is being taken off the 19 calendar. 20 THE SECRETARY: Thank you, -- 21 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, we’re going to make 22 -- 23 THE SECRETARY: -- Mr. Paneque. 24 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- a motion to withdraw 25 it?  19 1 MR. PANEQUE: There’s no motion at this 2 time. We just don’t know. We’re just taking it 3 off the calendar until we hear back from Mr. 4 Selevan. 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 6 THE SECRETARY: All right. 7 MR. PANEQUE: Thank you, Mr. Vallejo. 8 THE SECRETARY: Thank you, Mr. Paneque. 9 * * * 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  20 1 1117 Summer Ave., LLC - 1117-19 Summit Avenue: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: We are going to -- back to 4 the agenda. 5 1117 Summer Avenue, LLC, 1117-19 Summit 6 Avenue. 7 Ms. Pereiras, please? 8 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 9 proceedings.) 10 MR. PANEQUE: For the record, I’ve been 11 provided by Ms. Pereiras with the following 12 documentation: 13 I have a certification as to publication 14 and service, indicating that notice of tonight’s 15 hearing for Thursday, June 13, was provided to 16 all property owners within the 200 foot radius of 17 the property in question. Said property being 18 1117 Summit Avenue, Union City, New Jersey. 19 I’ve also been provided with an Affidavit 20 of Publication from The Jersey Journal, which was 21 published on June 1st, 2019. Said notice 22 indicates that with respect to the property at 23 1117 Summit Avenue, notice is given of tonight’s 24 hearing on June 13 for the location of 3715 25 Palisade Avenue, Union City, and with respect to  21 1 the property in question. 2 I’ve also been provided with the certified 3 mail receipts with a postmark date of June 3 rd, 4 2019, as well as a list of all property owners 5 within the 200 foot radius. Said list was 6 provided by the Tax Assessor’s Office on May 31 st, 7 2019. 8 And I’ve also been provided with the 9 certified mail envelopes that have come back to 10 date, as well as the green cards. 11 Based on the documents that have been 12 provided by Ms. Pereiras, this Board has 13 jurisdiction to proceed and hear this matter. 14 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you, counsel. 15 Good evening, counsel. 16 Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members of the 17 Board. 18 May it please the Board, Bianca Pereiras, 19 on behalf of the applicants, 1117 Summer Avenue, 20 LLC. This is for property located at 1117-1119 21 Summit Avenue. 22 What we have here is an existing mixed use 23 building, with commercial on the ground floor and 24 residential. 25 You’ve seen this application on this agenda  22 1 a few times, because we were trying to figure out 2 exactly how many units were legal. 3 We received a legal verification form from 4 the Building Department, which advised us that of 5 the residential units, there were 12 that were 6 legal. And so, the application before the Board 7 this evening is to legalize two apartments. That 8 will be one in the basement and one in the rear 9 of the first floor behind the commercial space. 10 We have two experts to testify before the 11 Board this evening, and I’d like to begin the 12 presentation with our architect, Mr. Orestes 13 Valella. 14 MS. DILLON: Please raise your right hand. 15 Do you affirm the testimony you’re about to 16 give this Board is the whole truth? 17 MR. VALELLA: I do. 18 MS. DILLON: Please state your name for the 19 record. 20 MR. VALELLA: Yes. My name is Orestes 21 Valella, V-A-L-E-L-L-A. 22 MS. DILLON: Thank you. 23 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Mr. Valella has 24 testified before this Board many times. We 25 accept his qualifications.  23 1 MR. VALELLA: Thank you. 2 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you. 3 Mr. Valella, are you familiar with the 4 property at 1117-1119 Summit Avenue? 5 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 6 MS. PEREIRAS: And did you prepare the 7 drawings that are before the Board this evening? 8 MR. VALELLA: My office, yes. 9 MS. PEREIRAS: Fantastic. 10 And would you kindly describe the project 11 for the Board? 12 MR. VALELLA: Sure, be happy to. 13 Basically, this is an existing building on 14 the corner with commercial on the ground floor 15 and residential above. We have two dwelling 16 units that are not legal, or are existing, but -- 17 and that is one dwelling unit in the basement and 18 one in the rear of the ground floor. Above that, 19 it’s all residential. It’s all existing, with no 20 work being proposed. 21 Frankly, the best place to start is not on 22 the first page, but on the second page, which 23 shows the existing conditions, as they exist 24 today. 25 The ground floor has three -- the ground  24 1 floor has three commercial stores facing 12 th 2 Street and Summit Avenue; commercial number one, 3 which is about a thousand square feet; number 4 two, which is 413; and number three, which is 5 651. These are neighborhood type retail services 6 establishments. 7 In the rear of that is commercial unit 8 number four, which faces 12 th Street and what we 9 call apartment number 13, which is one of the two 10 apartments in question. That is an existing two 11 bedroom apartment. It is 645 square feet and has 12 access from 12th Street. 13 On the second floor are apartment -- 14 apartments and there are six of those here. 15 And then, on the third floor, there are six 16 other dwelling units and they comprise the 17 currently acknowledged 12 dwelling units in the 18 building. And those are all existing, and I can 19 only imagine how long they’ve been there. This 20 is -- you know, a building that’s been there for 21 awhile. 22 In the basement is apartment -- what we 23 call apartment number 14, which is the second 24 dwelling unit that is in question here. And that 25 is an existing one, two, three, four bedroom  25 1 apartment. 2 Now, I have no wishes whatsoever with 3 apartment number 13, which is the one on the 4 ground floor in the rear. And so, we’re 5 presenting that as is. I didn’t see any reasons 6 to modify that. 7 I had some deep concerns about apartment 8 number 14. And I expressed those to our client, 9 and on the first page, you will see what we’re 10 proposing, but I thought the four bedrooms of the 11 apart -- the bedrooms did not have windows. I 12 just didn’t think that was -- that was adequate. 13 And so, what we’re proposing for that one is on 14 the first page. 15 Sorry to make you go back and forth, but -- 16 So, we’re proposing -- and we’ve had -- you 17 know, my concerns were deep enough that we went 18 to the Building Department and reviewed this with 19 them. The last thing I wanted to do is obtain an 20 approval from you and still have insurmountable 21 difficulties with life safety at the Building 22 Department. So, we went back and forth with them 23 to come to a proposal that not only would, 24 hopefully, satisfy you, but ultimately satisfy 25 life safety at the Building Department.  26 1 So, this new layout represents the common 2 thinking of the Building Department and us. And 3 it is for a one bedroom apartment. The -- the 4 bedroom faces the courtyard -- the courtyard, 5 let’s call it, in the rear. It’s about a 13 foot 6 area, where we have a window so that we can get 7 the life safety -- the firemen’s access window. 8 And the apartment itself has a good 9 entrance from that same rear yard, with a couple 10 steps leading down. You have a kitchen, a dining 11 area, a living room, and a storage room. 12 The apartment is very big. It’s 1,320 13 square feet and has a ceiling height of seven 14 feet, but we’ve eliminated all the bedrooms that 15 I -- I just could not support, and we’ve come to 16 the one bedroom proposal. 17 So, basically, that is about it in a 18 nutshell. The building is existing. We are not 19 expanding it, we’re not making it any bigger or 20 any smaller. The 12 apartments on the second and 21 third floor are satisfying a need. They’re 22 there. They’ve been working well for decades. 23 The retail, which is a neighborhood in 24 nature, is there. It’s functioning. It serves a 25 purpose.  27 1 The apartment in the basement, I thought 2 was faulty from a life safety standpoint. I’ve 3 proposed to you a remedy that would satisfy my 4 conscience and the Building Department. 5 And the one on the -- the 13th, which is in 6 the rear of the ground floor, I think is fine. I 7 don't see anything questionable about it and 8 that, I’ll go into a little bit more detail. I 9 don't know if I explained it fully. 10 That is an existing two bedroom, has 645 11 square feet, has an eight foot ceiling height, 12 kitchen, living area, bedroom, bedroom, windows. 13 It’s all kosher. 14 And that’s about it. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Thank you. 16 You have other testimony, too? 17 MS. PEREIRAS: We do. We have a planner. 18 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 19 MS. PEREIRAS: Mr. Kauker? 20 MS. DILLON: Mr. Valella, you -- you can 21 hang onto it and -- 22 MR. VALELLA: Oh, okay. 23 MS. DILLON: -- Mr. Kauker can go in front 24 of this mic. 25 MR. VALELLA: Okay.  28 1 MS. DILLON: Thank you. 2 Mr. Kauker, please raise your right hand. 3 Do you affirm the testimony you’re about to 4 give this Board is the whole truth? 5 MR. KAUKER: I do. 6 MS. DILLON: Please state your name for the 7 record. 8 MR. KAUKER: I’m Michael F. Kauker. That’s 9 spelled K-A-U-K-E-R. 10 MS. DILLON: Thank you. 11 MS. PEREIRAS: Mr. Kauker has also -- 12 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 13 MS. PEREIRAS: -- testified in the past. 14 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Thank you. 15 We accept your -- 16 MR. KAUKER: Thank you. 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- qualifications. 18 MR. KAUKER: Good evening. 19 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Thanks for being here. 20 MS. GUTIERREZ: Good evening. 21 MS. PEREIRAS: Mr. Kauker, are you familiar 22 with the property in question? 23 MR. KAUKER: Yes, I am. 24 MS. PEREIRAS: And have you had an 25 opportunity to visit the site, and also review  29 1 the drawings prepared by the architect? 2 MR. KAUKER: I have. 3 MS. PEREIRAS: And would you kindly 4 describe the project, from a planning 5 perspective? 6 MR. KAUKER: This application, from a legal 7 zoning point of view, represents the request to 8 expand what is called a prior nonconforming use, 9 which relates to the historic commercial mixed 10 use, residential use of the property. 11 The two units which need to be legalized 12 essentially fall into the category of a D-2 use 13 variance. And in that context, we have to 14 provide both positive and negative criteria 15 proofs in support of our request before you 16 tonight. 17 In order to prove the positive criteria, we 18 must essentially establish that the site itself, 19 and the building, is particularly suited to 20 accommodate the proposed two additional units. 21 And it certainly is reasonably obvious that the 22 longstanding history and character of this use 23 being a multi-family residential, which is indeed 24 allowed in this CN and neighborhood commercial 25 zone, although in a mixed use, where you have  30 1 commercial on the first floor, residences are not 2 allowed on the first floor, supposed to be on the 3 second floor. So, that’s another dimension to 4 our variance request. 5 I believe that the site is particularly 6 suited. The property size is 5,010 square feet, 7 which is double the size of the required minimum 8 of 2500 square feet. 9 The influences of surrounding land uses are 10 essentially compatible with the uses, additional 11 apartments that we propose. 12 The provisional of additional housing 13 opportunities which serves one of the purposes of 14 the Master Plan, the -- essentially, the addition 15 of the two new units will not in any way change 16 the character of the building, or its current 17 size. It will remain as is. 18 The -- there are a provision of 14 -- 15 19 residential units on a property is certainly 20 consistent with what has been there for many 21 years. 22 From point of view of the negative 23 criteria, I would submit the following comments: 24 Essentially, we need to show that there 25 will be no substantial detriment to the public  31 1 good. In that context, as I had mentioned, there 2 are no physical changes to the building, other 3 than the modification to the four bedroom unit to 4 a one bedroom unit, so that it is thoroughly 5 consistent with the City’s Code. 6 The project itself obviously will not 7 create a significant increase in traffic on the 8 roads. And in that context, we essentially are 9 able then to provide the additional two housing 10 units which certainly serve a need within the 11 City. 12 The last proof that we need to propose 13 before you is that there would be no substantial 14 impairment to the intent and purpose of the zone 15 plan or Zoning Ordinance. 16 In the context of the fact that one of the 17 permitted uses are apartments, and obviously 18 upper floors only in a low rise, mid-rise 19 apartment building, that has one or more 20 permitted nonresidential uses on the ground 21 floor. 22 Obviously, in -- for the two units that 23 we’re proposing, we deviate slightly from that. 24 But nonetheless, apartment units are essentially 25 permitted in this CN neighborhood commercial  32 1 zone. 2 The last variance that we need to talk 3 about is fact that these two additional units 4 will provide no parking, as is the building has 5 been in that state for many years. 6 And I would respectfully observe that that 7 variance can be subsumed into the D-2 variance. 8 That concludes my comments. 9 I’ll certainly be happy to answer any 10 questions you may have. 11 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: I’m going to ask Mr. 12 Vallejo (sic) first, and then, Mr. Kauker then -- 13 MR. KAUKER: Fine. 14 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- maybe we’ll -- 15 MR. KAUKER: Sure. 16 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- have something for 17 you. Okay? 18 Okay. So, the ground floor, which is what 19 you started explaining -- 20 MR. VALELLA: Um hum. 21 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- three commercial 22 stores. 23 MR. VALELLA: Four. 24 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Four. And on that same 25 level is where the two bedroom apartment is going  33 1 to be that you said was apartment number 13? 2 MR. VALELLA: Yes, sir. 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 4 And then, the basement -- 5 MR. VALELLA: Um hum. 6 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- is where apartment 14 7 is proposed. 8 MR. VALELLA: That’s where it currently is, 9 but proposing to modify it, yes. 10 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 11 MR. VALELLA: That’s existing four bedroom. 12 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: It’s existing four and 13 you want to make it one. 14 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, four to one. 16 I see that there’s a storage room in the 17 plans for the basement apartment that’s proposed. 18 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 19 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Is there any windows in 20 that -- are there any windows in the ground 21 floor, besides where the one bedroom is? 22 MR. VALELLA: You mean the basement. 23 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 24 MR. VALELLA: In the basement, the only 25 window is where the bedroom is going to take  34 1 place. 2 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 3 What’s the size of the storage room? 4 MR. VALELLA: The storage room is 14 feet 5 by 18 foot three. 6 And to be honest, that’s -- 7 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Four -- 14 -- 8 MR. VALELLA: Feet four inches by 18 foot 9 three inches. 10 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 11 And the bedroom that’s in your plan, how 12 big’s that? 13 MR. VALELLA: The bedroom will be 15 feet 14 two inches, plus -- times 12 feet three. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: And the storage room 16 that’s down there, there’s a closet in there as 17 well? 18 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. The -- the reason for 19 the storage room, it’s a function of this is the 20 remaining space when we eliminated the bedrooms. 21 So, we had nothing else to do with it, but call 22 it a -- use it as a storage room. 23 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Is there a closet in the 24 bedroom? 25 MR. VALELLA: There is a closet in the  35 1 bedroom. Yes, sir. 2 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 3 The variances are for Mr. Kauker. 4 MR. VALELLA: Now, that storage room -- 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Um hum. 6 MR. VALELLA: -- we’ve added a door to the 7 apartment, so we can have a second means of 8 egress. 9 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 10 MR. VALELLA: So -- 11 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Can you explain how you 12 would get in and out of the basement? 13 MR. VALELLA: Yes. The -- you walk -- from 14 the outside, you just walk in the alleyway. It’s 15 part of the rear yard of the property. And you 16 have steps leading down to the apartment. 17 There is a second set of stairs that leads 18 to the outside to the ground floor. We’ve added 19 a door so that that storage room, which 20 originally was part of the apartment, is outside 21 of the apartment, so the temptation to turn that 22 into an apart -- a bedroom is minimized. 23 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, there’s two ways to 24 get out in the event of a fire -- 25 MR. VALELLA: Yes.  36 1 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- from the basement. 2 MR. VALELLA: Well, actually, there’s 3 three. There’s the door -- the stairwell from 4 the side yard and the stairs up to the ground 5 floor and out. And of course, the window would 6 be the third. 7 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 8 My only -- 9 MR. VALELLA: But that -- that storage room 10 was part of the apartment. It is now outside of 11 the apartment. 12 This used to be a bedroom. Now, we’ve 13 taken it out. We -- we’ve isolated it so that we 14 minimized -- so, it’s space left over, but 15 nothing to do with -- with it. So, we called it 16 a storage room. 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Mr. Vallejo (sic), this 18 question is probably more appropriate for you. 19 I see here that the plans were revised on 20 March 29th. 21 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 22 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 23 So, I understand that the plans have been 24 revised. However, it still seems as though 25 bedrooms have been changed into living room,  37 1 storage room, dining room, that kind of thing. 2 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, I understand you’re 4 only going to have one apartment (sic), as 5 opposed to how many did you guys have before? 6 MR. VALELLA: You mean -- only one bedroom 7 you mean. 8 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Right. Bedroom. 9 MR. VALELLA: Okay. 10 We had four bedrooms. And then -- and none 11 of them had windows. So, I said to Bianca -- you 12 know, this isn’t right. This -- I don't want to 13 present this application because, God forbid you 14 approve it, and then, we’re stuck because it’s 15 not a fixable problem. 16 So, we met with Mr. Ferlise at the Building 17 Department and we rearranged this thing so that 18 we eliminated all the bedrooms, we moved the one 19 bedroom that was possible to the rear with a 20 window, and then we created a living room and 21 dining room. We isolated that leftover space, 22 outside of the apartment, to -- called it a 23 storage room with the door outside of the -- I’m 24 sorry. 25 We’ve done all we’ve been able to do to  38 1 make this a habitable, healthy situation. 2 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Would you be able -- 3 would you testify that although now there’s going 4 to be one bedroom in the basement, with a window 5 -- 6 MR. VALELLA: Um hum. 7 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- still, those 8 dimensions of the other rooms are the same, 9 they’re just not going to be bedrooms anymore. 10 MR. VALELLA: Well, no, they’re not. And 11 we’ve opened up the wall so that -- 12 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: But same sizes. The 13 rooms are -- 14 MR. VALELLA: The -- 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- the same sizes -- 16 MR. VALELLA: You know -- 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- they were before. 18 MR. VALELLA: It’s a 1,320 square foot one 19 bedroom. A 1,324 -- 20 square foot space can 20 yield a comfortable three bedroom, even a -- 21 well, not a four but a three bedroom apartment. 22 So, that’s just a function of -- of repair 23 that we would like to accomplish. 24 I don't see it as a negative. I just see 25 --  39 1 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. I don't see it as 2 a negative either, if it’s used as a storage 3 room, if it’s -- 4 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- used as a living 6 room. 7 MR. VALELLA: Well, the -- 8 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: But if it goes back to 9 being used as -- 10 MR. VALELLA: That -- 11 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- a bedroom again -- 12 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. Then that’s -- 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- then, we’re right 14 back to having four bedrooms down there again. 15 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. No. That -- that 16 would be a negative. I’ve done -- 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Is -- is that even a 18 possibility? 19 MR. VALELLA: Well, anything in life is a 20 -- it’s all beyond our control. 21 But what I have done to minimize the 22 possibility, if you look -- if you look at the 23 original, you can see rooms with doors and walls. 24 Those are all hollowed out so that what used to 25 be rooms with doors are now open spaces.  40 1 Now, can somebody use an open space as a 2 bedroom? If they wish to, they can do whatever. 3 But we’ve done the right thing -- you know? They 4 want to break the law, then it’s just out of our 5 control. 6 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Do you have your 7 applicant present? 8 MS. PEREIRAS: He is not with us at the 9 moment. 10 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. Does anybody have 11 any questions? 12 MS. PEREZ: Does anybody live there now? 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: That would be for -- 14 MS. PEREZ: Oh. 15 MS. PEREIRAS: There were tenants that were 16 living there and they are being relocated to 17 another unit that my client owns, because this is 18 considerable work that has to be done here. And 19 hopefully, they’re going to keep that family, 20 because it is a family, somewhere else and rent 21 this out to a couple. 22 MR. PRESSEY: On page two, bottom left hand 23 corner, I’m having problems reading this. I’m 24 not sure who to ask. 25 MR. VALELLA: This?  41 1 MR. PRESSEY: Yes. 2 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. 3 MR. PRESSEY: What is that? 4 MR. VALELLA: That is the survey. The 5 surveyor’s -- you know, drawing of the property. 6 That’s just depicts the property lines. 7 MR. PRESSEY: But the thing is, I believe 8 that if anything comes before the Board, 9 everything should be legible. I was just having 10 a hard time reading it. 11 And I understand what you’re saying, but 12 should be able to read and understand what it is. 13 MR. VALELLA: Okay. We also normally 14 submit this as an original. 15 MS. PEREIRAS: We did. 16 MR. VALELLA: It’s in the file. 17 MR. PRESSEY: Do you have the original? 18 MS. PEREIRAS: We would have submitted an 19 original with our application. 20 MR. VALELLA: I just put it in there for 21 information purposes. But the original is -- 22 MS. PEREIRAS: The survey. 23 MR. VALELLA: The survey is in the packet. 24 Look, Mr. Chairman, -- 25 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Right.  42 1 MR. VALELLA: -- just go back to your 2 point. 3 I had another option, which is to make the 4 actual apartment smaller, and then just -- but 5 you know, space is -- 6 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: No. When I asked you if 7 there was a possibility that somebody can use 8 those rooms as apartments (sic), you were honest. 9 I appreciate your honesty. 10 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. I mean, the 11 alternative was to shrink the apartment, and then 12 have less of a quality of life apartment. I 13 didn’t think would have been -- was the right 14 move. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: I think Mr. Spatz has a 16 -- 17 Do you have a question? 18 MR. SPATZ: I do have a question or a 19 comment. 20 The apartment on the first floor is a two 21 bedroom apartment and you said that it’s 645 22 square feet. 23 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 24 MR. SPATZ: Which is undersized for a two 25 bedroom apartment, so a density variance is  43 1 needed. So, if Mr. Kauker will be back up for a 2 little bit more testimony, -- 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: He will. 4 MR. SPATZ: -- if you could just add a 5 little bit something regarding the density 6 variance. 7 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Does anybody else have 8 any questions for Mr. Vallejo (sic)? 9 Okay. I’ll move -- 10 MR. PANEQUE: I have one question. 11 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Right. 12 MR. PANEQUE: Mr. Valella, is there any 13 possibility of flipping this apartment so that 14 the bedrooms are on the outside wall? 15 MR. VALELLA: The -- 16 MR. PANEQUE: Instead of the interior wall 17 that’s abutting the other building? Because I’m 18 assuming you have no windows on this side because 19 it’s abutting that building there. 20 MR. VALELLA: No, no. Yeah. There are no 21 windows here. We’ve moved the bedroom to the 22 other side, where we have a window. 23 MR. PANEQUE: Yes. But are there any 24 windows or are there any possibilities of 25 creating windows on this sidewalk --  44 1 MR. VALELLA: On the outside? 2 MR. PANEQUE: -- here? On 12th Street. 3 MR. VALELLA: No. That’s where we have the 4 mechanical room for the building; the boiler, hot 5 water heaters. We also have the electrical 6 meters and the gas meters. That’s mixing -- that 7 can get a little dangerous to -- to slide over to 8 where all that equipment is. That’s really not 9 feasible. 10 MR. PANEQUE: Okay. 11 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: If nobody else has any 12 questions for Mr. Valella, I’d like to bring up 13 Mr. Kauker. 14 Okay. 15 MR. KAUKER: Yes, sir. 16 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Mr. Kauker, can you just 17 briefly go over the variances again that you 18 seek, now that we know that the two bedroom 19 apartment is undersized and there’s a density 20 variance there? 21 MR. KAUKER: That's correct. 22 We, essentially, need a D-2, a use 23 variance, to expand or add two units to the 24 current mix of units on the property, which are 25 recognized legally as prior nonconforming uses.  45 1 That’s the first variance. 2 Second variance is a parking variance, 3 respecting a fact that I think 26 spaces are 4 essentially required, or 27 spaces. Excuse me. 5 And obviously, the property is fully developed 6 and has no parking. 7 The third variance, essentially, does 8 relate to the undersized two bedroom unit at 645 9 square feet. And I’d respectfully observe that 10 -- that the unit is functioning and -- and 11 complies with Occupancy Code, respectfully ask 12 for a waiver or a variance regarding that 13 apartment, understanding that it doesn’t meet the 14 zoning criteria. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: And I just have one more 16 question -- 17 MR. KAUKER: Surely. 18 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- for you, too. 19 Do you think, in your testimony, that this 20 makes -- by -- by legalizing these two units, 21 does it make the building a safer building? 22 MR. KAUKER: I believe it does because the 23 space is there. There’s no productive design 24 potential to utilize it constructively for 25 anything else.  46 1 And -- and it would seem to me that the 2 improvement, in terms of the bedroom reduction, 3 from a safety and also from a demographic impact 4 point of view is a good thing. And I think that 5 that enables the Board to conclude that there’s a 6 modest improvement in the life safety, as well as 7 the zoning related impacts related to this use. 8 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: And do you guys know, 9 offhand, what sort of parking is available by 10 municipal means? 11 MS. PEREIRAS: The -- my office is 12 literally across -- 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 14 MS. PEREIRAS: -- the street from it. So, 15 we have -- the closet municipal lot is down on 8th 16 Street. 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 18 Questions, guys? 19 Okay. I just want to open it up to members 20 of the public. 21 Okay. Closed to the public. 22 Okay. 23 I appreciate, you know, the honestly with 24 the basement. Even with the reduction of the 25 bedroom count, it kind of seems like it’s a -- a  47 1 very bad safety hazard. 2 And I honestly, I respect his testimony, 3 Mr. Kauker, but I don't see how adding two units 4 to this existing building makes it any kind of -- 5 any safer. 6 It’s just putting more people into an 7 already densely populated area. 8 So, I’d like to make a motion to deny the 9 application. 10 THE SECRETARY: Motion on the table to deny 11 the application by Mr. Bonacci. 12 MS. GUTIERREZ: Second. 13 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by Ms. Gutierrez. 14 Roll call on the motion to deny this 15 application. 16 Mr. Bonacci? 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Gutierrez? 19 MS. GUTIERREZ: Yes. 20 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Pressey? 21 MR. PRESSEY: Yes. 22 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Pena? 23 MS. PENA: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Perez? 25 MS. PEREZ: Yes.  48 1 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Cetinich? 2 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Mrs. Watley? 4 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor to deny the 6 application. 7 Motion carries. 8 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Also, respectfully -- 9 you know, the fact that you were honest and said, 10 there’s really no guarantee that you can’t just 11 have more apartments down there. You never know 12 what somebody’s going to do down there. That’s 13 like a big red flag. And being that -- you know, 14 I can’t make a motion -- you know, to change 15 that, that’s part of the reason why I made the 16 motion that I did. 17 I just wanted to make it clear. 18 MS. PEREIRAS: I understand. 19 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Thank you, guys. 20 MS. PEREIRAS: Those are existing 21 apartments. 22 We’re trying to improve -- 23 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: I understand. 24 MS. PEREIRAS: -- a situation that’s 25 already there.  49 1 THE SECRETARY: Thank you. 2 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 3 proceedings.) 4 * * * 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  50 1 Daisy Valenciano - 538 36th Street: 2 3 MS. DILLON: Whenever you’re ready, Carlos. 4 THE SECRETARY: Back on record. 5 Next application on tonight’s agenda, Daisy 6 Valenciano, 538 36th Street. 7 Ms. Pereiras, please? 8 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you. 9 Again, Bianca Pereiras, on behalf of the 10 applicant, Daisy Valenciano. 11 Last month, you heard our architect testify 12 in regard to this application. I will apologize 13 for him. He is -- he is at his children’s 14 recital, so he’s not here this evening. However, 15 we do have planning testimony to present. 16 Just to briefly recap, the project before 17 the Board this evening is to convert a house into 18 a boutique. 19 Ms. Valenciano operates a boutique shop at 20 513 36th Street, really just down the street. 21 She’s looking to move that boutique to her 22 building, which is the property in question. 23 We have one expert to testify tonight, and 24 that is Mr. Michael Kauker, our planner. 25 MS. DILLON: Mr. Kauker --  51 1 MR. KAUKER: Good evening. 2 MS. DILLON: -- was previously sworn. 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Um hum. 4 MS. PEREIRAS: Mr. Kauker, have you had an 5 opportunity to review the drawings prepared by 6 Pereiras Architects? 7 MR. KAUKER: Yes, I have. 8 MS. PEREIRAS: And have you visited and are 9 familiar with the site in question? 10 MR. KAUKER: I have. 11 MS. PEREIRAS: And can you please describe 12 the project, from a planning perspective? 13 MR. KAUKER: This property is located in an 14 R low density residential zone. The existing 15 parcel itself, which currently has occupied as a 16 two family home, has an area of 1878.13 square 17 feet, which is an existing nonconformity. 18 The applicant essentially proposes to 19 remove the two residential units and replace it 20 with a boutique, which will occupy both floors of 21 this two story building. 22 And certainly, a boutique classified as a 23 retail use, which is certainly not permitted 24 within this residential zone. Therefore, we’re 25 asking for a D-1 use variance before you tonight.  52 1 I believe that the -- the context of this 2 portion of the residential zone is somewhat 3 unique and different than the many areas that are 4 currently zoned RN, neighborhood -- excuse me -- 5 currently zoned R low density residential. 6 Property itself is located on 36 th Street, 7 approximately, I would say, 200 feet from the 8 major intersection of 36th Street and John F. 9 Kennedy Boulevard. That essentially is part and 10 parcel of the core retail commercial aspect of 11 Union City. The block within which we’re asking 12 for this variance, on the north side of 36 th 13 Street, are 13 similar residential uses housed in 14 one, two, and a few three bedroom homes. 15 To the immediate east of the subject 16 property, three doors removed, there are three 17 intervening residential buildings. As you move 18 easterly on 36th Street, there is a longstanding, 19 very large parking lot that’s metered, as well as 20 a similar size parking lot to the south. Those 21 particular two lots occupy approximately 200 22 parking spaces. 23 The southerly side of the block, which is 24 also located in the R low density residential 25 zone, including the commercially zoned Walgreens  53 1 site, which is located closer to the intersection 2 of 36th Street and John F. Kennedy, which is 3 across the street from three of the multiple -- 4 or residential uses located on the north side of 5 36th Street. 6 The southerly side essentially, the 7 majority of the uses are nonresidential. There 8 is, across the street, a two two story apartment 9 buildings, but as it relates to the uses on the 10 remainder of the block, they are effectively 11 nonresidential, starting with -- with the 12 Walgreens, which is significantly zoned 13 commercial, but on the same block, on the south 14 side of 36th Street, and an intervening fairly 15 large parking lot, and then the two residential 16 buildings, and then the Holy Family Church, and 17 then a portion of the -- the southerly portion of 18 the very large commuter parking area. 19 Those parking areas are currently zoned 20 public, P on the zoning map, so that the 21 residences that we are talking about are 22 essentially juxtaposed between the core 23 commercial area of the city and that fairly large 24 parking area. 25 It would seem to me that from a point of  54 1 view of reconciling this use with the Master 2 Plan, which clearly does not permit commercial 3 uses, that all of the nonresidential influences 4 that I’ve talked about represent a -- a change in 5 the character of this immediate area, which is 6 certainly relevant to the use variance that we 7 have before you. 8 I respectfully observe that by virtue of 9 the availability of parking, to serve a modest, 10 what I would call low profile boutique commercial 11 use, which would essentially not rate higher in 12 the echelon of a very busy retail kind of an 13 activity, namely because it’s probably -- 50 14 percent of the business is probably by 15 appointment, and 50 percent is probably a minimal 16 walk-in. 17 I think the site reasonably is very, very 18 close to the kind of intensity of use that is 19 compatible with one, two and three family homes. 20 And in that context, would not unduly change the 21 character of a residential use influence on the 22 north side of 36th Street. And I believe that 23 this use essentially is -- would be, even though 24 it’s a modest low profile retail, is kind of akin 25 to a personal service kind of an activity that is  55 1 not permitted, but that could theoretically be 2 permitted on this north side block, in the form 3 of a barber shop, a beauty shop, professional 4 office, things of that nature. And it may well 5 be that some of the uses along that block have a 6 slight degree of commercial activity in them, as 7 opposed to a pure residential array of 13 multi 8 and single family residences. 9 The -- I believe that -- the change in -- 10 from the commercial -- from residential to 11 commercial is -- is very proximate to the core 12 central business area. Obviously, within walking 13 distance. The length of the residential block on 14 the north side that we’re talking about is not 15 unduly long, approximately 350 feet, so that the 16 subject site is probably located within -- within 17 200 -- slightly less than 300 feet from that 18 major intersection. 19 That essentially concludes my comments and 20 -- and rationale for the D-1 use variance that we 21 have before you. 22 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Thank you. 23 That’s it with your testimony. 24 Right? 25 MS. PEREIRAS: That is.  56 1 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. A few questions 2 for Mr. Kauker. 3 MR. KAUKER: Yes, sir. 4 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, this is listed as 5 applicant proposes the adaptive reuse of an 6 existing house into commercial space used for 7 retail and offices for a business. Applicant 8 also proposes a rear addition. 9 Is there going to be any demolition 10 involved with this? 11 MR. KAUKER: I don't believe so. None. 12 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: You don’t believe so or 13 there’s not going to be any demolition? 14 MR. KAUKER: I’ve looked at Manny’s plans 15 and -- 16 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 17 I -- that’s the thing. You know, it’s hard 18 for me to -- 19 MS. PEREIRAS: He’s -- he’s not -- 20 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- remember. 21 MS. PEREIRAS: -- here. I understand. 22 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: But -- okay. 23 MS. PEREIRAS: But there won’t be any 24 demolition. 25 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: And --  57 1 MS. PEREIRAS: This is interior 2 modifications -- 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 4 MS. PEREIRAS: -- of the space. 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, some of my questions 6 deal with construction, so I’ll put that to the 7 side. 8 It’s going to be a two story addition to 9 the rear. 10 MR. KAUKER: Yes. 11 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Is that correct? 12 MR. KAUKER: Yes. 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 14 Currently, are there any like comparables 15 to that in the neighborhood? 16 MS. PEREIRAS: As far as -- 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Rear -- rear additions 18 with two stories? 19 MS. PEREIRAS: I’m going to -- we’ve done 20 them here before. I wouldn’t be able to tell you 21 exactly the location. 22 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 23 MS. PEREIRAS: But yes. 24 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 25 MS. PEREIRAS: Two story additions, I’ve  58 1 seen them plenty of times. 2 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 3 So, now, the commercial spaces -- so this 4 was two levels of living. Now, it’s going to be 5 two levels of a retail store, and then two 6 offices. 7 Mr. Kauker, would you happen to have the 8 square footage of just the commercial space? Not 9 the office space, the commercial space. 10 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: They’re on the plans. 11 Right? 12 MR. KAUKER: I’m looking at Manny’s plans 13 and -- 14 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. Yeah, I looked, 15 too. That’s why. 16 MR. KAUKER: Yeah. And I -- I don't see 17 any notations as to unit, or square footage for 18 the second floor plan or -- or the first floor 19 plan. So, I -- I cannot answer that question. 20 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 21 So, this was a two unit, now it’s a two 22 unit still. It just has that rear addition. 23 The rear addition, how many levels is that 24 going to be? 25 MS. PEREIRAS: Mr. Kauker, if you don’t  59 1 mind, I’m just going to pull your drawings real 2 quickly -- 3 MR. KAUKER: Sure. 4 MS. PEREIRAS: -- so I can take a look at 5 it. 6 And what was your question? I apologize. 7 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: How many levels is the 8 rear addition? 9 MS. PEREIRAS: It’s two stories. 10 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Two stories. 11 MS. PEREIRAS: So, it just matches up to 12 the rear -- 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Matches the house. 14 MS. PEREIRAS: -- to the top of the house. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: And it goes right to the 16 property line? There’s no setback? 17 MR. KAUKER: There’s a five foot -- 18 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Five foot. 19 MR. KAUKER: -- rear yard. 20 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: What’s required? 21 MR. KAUKER: Eighteen point seven-five. 22 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, they’re supposed to 23 -- 24 MR. KAUKER: Because it should be 25 25 percent of the lot depth.  60 1 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: All right. 2 So, there’s supposed to be 18 feet between 3 your thing and what’s behind it, but there’s only 4 going to be five. 5 MR. KAUKER: That's correct. 6 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 7 Can you tell me anything about parking? 8 MR. KAUKER: There is no parking proposed, 9 but I certainly believe that the adjacent parking 10 -- public parking facility is very, very capable 11 of accommodating the parking needs. 12 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Would you mind if I just 13 ask Mr. Spatz a quick question? 14 MR. SPATZ: Sure. 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 16 So, they need one space for every 300 17 square feet. 18 MR. SPATZ: Correct. 19 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, how many spaces 20 would they need, with the rear addition now, 21 because it’s going to make it more? 22 MR. SPATZ: That -- that was the question 23 that I had raised in my memo, and that you had 24 raised, the square footage of the units, of the 25 offices and the commercial are not provided. I  61 1 mean, it’s possible that -- that the residential 2 required the same amount of parking -- 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Um hum. 4 MR. SPATZ: -- as the commercial will. So 5 there may not be an increase in parking. But we 6 weren’t able to tell from what was proposed. You 7 know, there is a municipal lot a couple hundred 8 feet away from it, so -- you know? 9 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, how many square feet 10 is the whole thing, with the addition? 11 MR. KAUKER: Well, if the lot -- and I’m -- 12 I’m not -- I’m trying to find a way to get -- get 13 -- 14 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 15 MR. KAUKER: -- some form of an answer. 16 If the lot itself is 1875 square feet, call 17 it 1900 square feet, and the lot coverage is set 18 at 98 percent maximum lot -- lot coverage is set 19 at 98 percent, essentially, I would observe that 20 1800 square feet would be the -- the size of the 21 footprint. 22 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Could they need that? 23 Okay. 24 MR. KAUKER: And that would -- 25 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, you probably need  62 1 about six point -- 2 MR. KAUKER: That would equate to five, -- 3 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- point three -- 4 MR. KAUKER: -- six parking spaces. 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. Okay. 6 And you know, you got -- it’s retail and 7 it’s office. So there’s not living going on 8 there. 9 MS. PEREIRAS: No living. 10 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So that’s not -- 11 MS. PEREIRAS: And again we’re close to the 12 municipal -- 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: -- so much of a concern. 14 MS. PEREIRAS: -- lot. We’re close to 15 Bergenline; we’re close to Kennedy Boulevard, so 16 that makes this -- 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. The -- 18 MS. PEREIRAS: -- a lot easier. 19 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: The rear addition -- you 20 know, I don't want to be redundant, but windows, 21 emergency, that kind of stuff. Could you guys 22 provide any testimony for that? 23 MS. PEREIRAS: As you know, Mr. Pereiras 24 testifies before -- 25 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah.  63 1 MS. PEREIRAS: -- this Board every month. 2 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: I know. 3 MS. PEREIRAS: And his big concern is 4 always safety. 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Right. 6 MS. PEREIRAS: So, he always takes every 7 measure possible to make sure that there is 8 safety to the utmost on this. 9 Again, the office space for this is purely 10 for the boutique. It’s not for -- 11 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: I understand. 12 MS. PEREIRAS: -- going to be rented out to 13 different businesses. 14 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: All right. 15 Let me just shut up for a minute and see if 16 you guys have any questions. 17 Okay. 18 If there’s no questions from the Board, 19 I’ll open up to members of the public. 20 Come on down. 21 MS. DILLON: Mr. Price, please raise your 22 right hand. 23 Do you affirm the testimony you’re about to 24 give this Board is the whole truth? 25 MR. PRICE: I do.  64 1 MS. DILLON: Name and address, please, for 2 the record. 3 MR. PRICE: Larry Price, 1006 Palisade 4 Avenue. 5 MS. DILLON: Thank you. 6 MR. PRICE: I have both questions and 7 testimony. 8 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 9 MR. PRICE: Do you want it all now? 10 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 11 MR. PRICE: First the questions then the 12 testimony. 13 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Bring it. Let’s do the 14 questions, and then the testimony. 15 MR. PRICE: Okay. 16 Mr. Kauker? 17 MR. KAUKER: Yes, sir. 18 MR. PRICE: The -- your initial comment was 19 that they were going to take a two -- this 20 existing property, which you described as an 21 existing nonconformity. 22 MR. KAUKER: No. That was my prior 23 testimony on the prior app. I don't believe I 24 said -- 25 MR. PRICE: No, no. This -- this was your  65 1 testimony here. It is a two family house. 2 There’s nothing that’s nonconforming about it. 3 MR. KAUKER: That is -- 4 MR. PRICE: Did you -- 5 MR. KAUKER: That is correct. 6 MR. PRICE: Okay. 7 MR. KAUKER: Absolute. 8 MR. PRICE: Okay. 9 MR. KAUKER: And I -- I don't recall saying 10 that, but that’s okay. 11 MR. PRICE: Okay. Well, as we get older, 12 Mr. Kauker -- 13 MR. KAUKER: Sure. 14 MR. PRICE: -- things happen. 15 Okay. You described Walgreen -- 16 MR. KAUKER: Yes. 17 MR. PRICE: -- as being a commercial use. 18 MR. KAUKER: Yes. 19 MR. PRICE: But Walgreen -- 20 MR. KAUKER: Is a commercial zone. 21 MR. PRICE: -- is on Kennedy Boulevard, in 22 a CN zone. 23 MR. KAUKER: Yes, it is. 24 MR. PRICE: So, it is, in fact, a 25 conforming use.  66 1 MR. KAUKER: Yes. 2 But it’s still part of the block. 3 MR. PRICE: It’s -- okay. But it’s -- 4 MR. KAUKER: And it’s across the street 5 from three residential zones in -- residential 6 uses in a residential zone. And that’s exactly 7 the way I described it. 8 MR. PRICE: Okay. 9 But it is not a nonconforming use. 10 MR. KAUKER: No. And I don't recall -- 11 MR. PRICE: Okay. 12 MR. KAUKER: -- addressing that as a -- 13 MR. PRICE: Okay. 14 MR. KAUKER: -- nonconforming use. 15 MR. PRICE: And the -- okay. I -- you’re 16 applying for a D-1 use variance. 17 MR. KAUKER: That is correct. 18 MR. PRICE: What other variances are you 19 applying for? 20 MR. KAUKER: Parking. 21 MR. PRICE: Parking, obviously. 22 MR. KAUKER: A rear yard setback, maximum 23 building coverage, maximum -- 24 MR. PRICE: Five feet versus the 18 feet 25 required.  67 1 MR. KAUKER: That's correct. 2 Maximum lot coverage, 98 percent where 85 3 percent are allowed. So, essentially, 13 percent 4 over. The other variance, obviously, is the D-1 5 use variance. 6 MR. PRICE: Correct. 7 MR. KAUKER: All the other two or three 8 existing nonconforming setback conditions are on 9 the lot. 10 MR. PRICE: Okay. 11 But the new ones are you’ll increase the 12 coverage, you will cut the rear yard setback. 13 MR. KAUKER: That's correct. 14 MR. PRICE: And you’re not providing for 15 your increased parking requirement. 16 MR. KAUKER: That's correct. 17 MR. PRICE: Okay. 18 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: You had testimony, too, 19 right? 20 MR. PRICE: Now, I have testimony. 21 I did a 200 foot study and I have -- 22 fortunately, I took pictures of all existing 23 properties. And because of the expense of 24 colored photos, there are only two copies that I 25 am submitting, with the photos.  68 1 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: We’ll just pass them 2 down. 3 MR. PRICE: I also have three copies 4 without photos. 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. 6 MR. PRICE: Which you could -- 7 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Do we need to mark 8 these? 9 MR. PRICE: Yes. 10 MR. PANEQUE: It’s going to be marked as -- 11 MS. DILLON: O-1? 12 MR. PANEQUE: Yeah. 13 MS. DILLON: O-1? 14 MR. PRICE: O-1. 15 MS. DILLON: So, there’s more than 16 photographs with that. 17 MR. PANEQUE: Yeah. It’s -- it’s just -- 18 MS. DILLON: Do we have a title? 19 MR. PRICE: Two hundred foot -- 20 MR. PANEQUE: It’s the -- 21 MR. PRICE: -- study. 22 MR. PANEQUE: -- Summary, 200 Foot Study, 23 538 36th Street. 24 MS. DILLON: Okay. 25 MR. PRICE: Okay.  69 1 MS. PEREIRAS: Can I take a look at it? 2 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. Let me just -- 3 MR. PANEQUE: Do you have a colored -- 4 colored one there? 5 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: I’m looking through. 6 I’m just looking at the addresses. 7 MR. PANEQUE: And this is the 200 foot 8 list. 9 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Okay. This is in color. 10 We got color. Just comes to color. 11 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 12 proceedings.) 13 MS. DILLON: Did you mark them, Tomas? 14 MR. PANEQUE: No. We’ll get it back and 15 mark it. O-1. 16 Right? 17 MS. DILLON: Yeah. 18 I can mark this one. 19 MR. PANEQUE: Okay. 20 21 (Whereupon, Summary, 200 Foot Study, 538 22 36th Street was received and marked as Exhibit 23 O-1.) 24 25 MR. PANEQUE: Okay, Mr. Price.  70 1 Go ahead. 2 MR. PRICE: Okay. 3 The starting point of this study was the 4 200 foot list. Now, as Board members, you don’t 5 see these too often, but every applicant has to 6 go to the Tax Assessor, and they give a list of 7 the properties within 200 feet. So, I got it, 8 and there’s seven pages, there are 105 entries of 9 properties within 200 feet. 10 And then, basically, what I did was go take 11 copies -- or pictures -- 12 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Of all the addresses in 13 the neighborhood. 14 MR. PRICE: -- of all the properties. 15 Okay. 16 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Would it be safe to 17 assume, Mr. Price, that this is for the purpose 18 of explaining to the Board that your survey 19 conducts there’s no commercial use in this zone? 20 MR. PRICE: Exactly correct. Okay. 21 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: That’s what -- that’s 22 what we’re getting at. 23 MR. PRICE: Okay. 24 Similar, they’re sort of coming around -- 25 there’s a top sheet, which gives the --  71 1 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: A brief overview. 2 MR. PRICE: -- the overview. Exactly. 3 You start with 105 entries on this -- 4 whatever. 5 Now, a lot of entries are, I guess you’d 6 say redundant, they’re the same address. The big 7 one is Union Square, which is an apartment 8 building on 38th Street. It’s a condo. So, there 9 are 40 listing. It’s only one building, but 10 there are 40 separate listings. So, we take out 11 those, and we end up with total proper -- there 12 are 45 of those. Obviously, 39 of them are Union 13 Square, so there are six others. So, we end up 14 with 60 properties. Okay. 15 There are two properties that are 16 commercial, but it’s Walgreen, and that’s in the 17 CN zone, and that is a conforming use. It’s not 18 a -- it’s within 200 feet, but it’s not in the R 19 zone. 20 And there are also two entries for the 21 Parking Authority. As was described, there’s a 22 big parking lot, but a municipal use is legal in 23 the R zone. So, this is not a residential use, 24 but it is a conforming use. There’s nothing 25 improper about -- whatever.  72 1 The parking lot, by the way, doesn’t seem 2 to be in use because the construction guys who 3 are putting up the new garage seem to have taken 4 it over. 5 Okay. 6 Anyway, that comes down to 56 properties 7 within 200 feet, which are -- okay. And what I 8 found out was that, and documented by the 9 pictures, is that 48 of them are conforming. 10 Almost all of them, in fact. There are four 11 empty lots. There are 15 one family houses. I 12 couldn’t believe that. I didn’t think we had one 13 -- one family houses in Union City anymore. 14 They’ve got 15 one family houses within 200 feet 15 of the proposed site. 16 There are 21 two family houses and eight 17 three family houses. 18 There are eight properties that are not 19 permitted uses, two of them are Holy Family 20 Church. Sorry, but churches are not permitted 21 use in the -- but tell that to the -- to the 22 reverend. But anyway, but so, it’s a non- 23 permitted use, but that’s Holy Family. 24 And there are six multi-family buildings. 25 There are -- with -- within the zone, which are  73 1 also not a permitted use. They’re all -- been 2 there, obviously, for -- there are two two 3 families -- sorry -- two four families. At the 4 other end, there are obviously Union Square with 5 40 -- 40 units. 6 Okay. I was kind of stunned when I looked 7 at the results of this. 8 First of all, this area is located between 9 two commercial corridors, Bergenline Avenue, 10 which is to the -- to the east, and Kennedy 11 Boulevard to the west. And usually, what we find 12 happening is that in the -- the nearby 13 residential zones start to be infiltrated by 14 commercial uses that are migrating from the -- 15 whatever. 16 Not in this one. There are no commercial 17 uses within the 200 foot that are -- that are not 18 permitted. 19 And whatever. I -- I was struck by how -- 20 this is a real residential area. It’s kind of 21 unique in Union City in the sense that we have a 22 lot of things that are zoned R zone, but they’re 23 really kind of mixed uses, because you have a 24 mechanic shop here, and there’s a bodega over 25 here. And they’re -- they’ve been there -- you  74 1 know, a lot. There’s a story for every one of 2 them. But the fact is that most of our R zone 3 is, in fact, mixed use. Not this one. There is 4 not a single commercial use, nonconforming within 5 the 200 foot. 6 If you approve this application, it will be 7 a first for this neighborhood and it is not a 8 good idea. 9 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Mr. Price, I just want 10 to say your survey, you did a really nice job. 11 MR. PRICE: Yes. 12 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: And it’s real easy to 13 follow, and I can understand what you’re trying 14 to get at is that -- you know, to maintain the 15 integrity of the R zone would be beneficial. 16 MR. PRICE: That is correct. 17 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: So, thank you. 18 MR. PRICE: Okay. 19 You’re welcome. 20 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Other members of the 21 public? 22 Okay. 23 Closed to members of the public. 24 MS. PEREIRAS: If I may briefly? I think 25 we need to --  75 1 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 2 MS. PEREIRAS: -- focus on the type of use 3 that we’re proposing here. 4 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yeah. 5 MS. PEREIRAS: This is not your typical 6 commercial property, where you have an influx of 7 clients, and people coming in and out. This is a 8 boutique. 9 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Um hum. 10 MS. PEREIRAS: And I love to shop at 11 boutiques. They’re -- it’s a very beautiful 12 relationship, the clientele with the owner of the 13 property. They usually have a very distinct 14 group of clientele that come in by appointment. 15 This is, again, not something that is going to 16 have an influx of people coming in and out. 17 This is up the street from where she 18 currently has her shop. Unfortunately, her lease 19 is up, and she’d like to keep the property or the 20 business in the neighborhood, because that is her 21 clientele. 22 So, for that reason, and the fact as 23 mentioned by Kauker, we’re so close to Bergenline 24 Avenue, Kennedy Boulevard. We are so close to 25 other commercial zones. I think it makes perfect  76 1 sense, and that’s the way that we can promote 2 what is a boutique shop, which is the 3 characteristic of being in a home, or have it 4 look like a home and be a boutique. That is the 5 goal of this application. 6 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Thank you, Ms. Pereiras. 7 I just want to go over a couple of things 8 that maybe Mr. Price didn’t allude to. 9 The hard thing about this one is approving 10 the application would be removing living space, 11 residential space, and that’s a disservice to 12 residents. And that’s not beneficial to the 13 neighborhood. 14 And the other thing is that commercial 15 spaces -- you know, they’re not -- they’re just 16 not permitted in this zone. And this would be a 17 first. So, I don't want to be the one who sets 18 that precedent or -- you know, I don't want to 19 speak for other members of the Board, but you 20 know, that’s opening up a can of worms and then 21 I’m responsible for that. 22 Also, there’s a lot of commercial spaces 23 throughout the neighborhood that are available 24 for that, that they’re just waiting to be used. 25 And I see them all the time. I drive around. I  77 1 see spaces that are just empty. And, they can be 2 boutiques, too, and they wouldn’t take away 3 living space -- you know, that’s a nice structure 4 for people to live in. 5 And the biggest thing is -- you know, we 6 would be removing housing from the R zone, which 7 I just don’t want to do. And it just doesn’t 8 make sense from a zoning or planning perspective. 9 It’s not a beneficial use for the neighborhood. 10 The denial would maintain integrity to the R 11 zone, which kind of piggybacks off of what Mr. 12 Price said. 13 So, with that, I’d like to make a motion to 14 deny the application. 15 THE SECRETARY: Motion to deny the 16 application by Mr. Bonacci. 17 Any second the motion? 18 MS. GUTIERREZ: Second. 19 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by Ms. Gutierrez. 20 Roll call on the motion to deny this 21 application. 22 Mr. Bonacci? 23 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Gutierrez? 25 MS. GUTIERREZ: Yes.  78 1 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Pressey? 2 MR. PRESSEY: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Pena? 4 MS. PENA: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Perez? 6 MS. PEREZ: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Cetinich? 8 MR. CETINICH: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Mrs. Watley? 10 MS. WATLEY: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Six (sic) in favor. 12 Motion carries, to deny this application. 13 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you all for your time. 14 I’ll see you -- 15 CHAIRMAN BONACCI: Thank you. 16 MS. GUTIERREZ: Thank you. 17 MS. PEREIRAS: -- next month. 18 THE SECRETARY: Thank you. 19 20 * * * 21 22 23 24 25  79 1 ADJOURNMENT: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: There being no other 4 application on tonight’s agenda, can I have a 5 motion to close tonight’s meeting? 6 Motion by Mr. David -- 7 MS. GUTIERREZ: Second. 8 THE SECRETARY: -- Pressey. 9 Seconded by Ms. Gutierrez. 10 All in favor? 11 12 (Whereupon, there was a chorus of ayes.) 13 14 THE SECRETARY: The ayes have it. 15 Thank you. 16 Good night, everyone, and have a beautiful 17 rest of week. 18 19 (Whereupon, the proceedings were concluded 20 at 7:22 p.m.) 21 22 23 24 25  80 1 STATE OF NEW JERSEY : 2 : 3 COUNTY OF ESSEX : 4 5 I, DEBRA A. KASZNIAK, assigned transcriber, 6 do hereby affirm that the foregoing is a true and 7 accurate transcript in the matter of the REGULAR 8 MEETING of the UNION CITY ZONING BOARD OF 9 ADJUSTMENT heard on Thursday, June 13, 2019 and 10 digitally recorded. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Monitored and proofread by: Deborah Dillon