[Music] Zoning Board of adjustment meeting Monday December 11th 2023 I hereby declare this meeting of the Howell Township zoning board to be open adequate notice having been given pursuant to the New Jersey open public meeting act in the following manner first on March 31st 2023 a copy of said notice was mailed to the asber Park Press and the Star Ledger second on March 31st 2023 a copy of said notice was hand delivered to the clerk of the township of Howell third on March 31st 2023 said notice was posted in the office of the zoning board and on the bulletin board in the Howell Township Municipal Building 4567 Route 9 Howell Township New Jersey in accordance with the fire prevention code and your safety please be advised that this facility is designed with two emergency exits which are at the front and rear of the meeting room furthermore smoking is not permitted in the municipal building please take note that this meeting is being videotaped for possible future broadcast on Howell Township TV 77 this meeting is a Judicial proceeding any questions or comments must be limited to the issues of what the board May legally consider when rendering their decision and a decorum appropriate to a Judicial hearing must be maintained at all times thank you thank you Eileen roll call please Mr burillo has been excused Mr caner has been excused Mr Hughes I have not heard from Mr Mertens here Mr Orosco I have not heard from Mr Stanton here Mr Ryan here Mr Rebel here and chairman seya here you do have a quorum thank you Eileen will everyone please join me with Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you Andy can we please have a swearing in of the professionals yes you swear the testimony you give the truth the truth I do I do please State your names for the record starting with Charlie Charles conliff Jennifer beam Sher speo your Prof thank you your professionals are sworn Mr chairman thank you Mr bear we have no approval ad minutes e no minutes Eileen do we have any vouchers no vouchers do we have any correspondence yes I have a letter from Dennis Galvin he's the attorney for John blitt Inc which is on tonight's agenda he asked that this please be carried to February 12th 2024 due to the fact that they are going to revise the plans with respect to the house on the property and he would like to do everything all at once and he also said that if further notice he would like it that we carry it with no further notice and if there is um any extension of time required he will grant it because it's due February 13th okay so anyone that's here this evening for case number ba1 18-17 Alpha John blue at Inc this case is being carried to February 12 2024 with an expiration expiration date of February 13th 2024 this is being carried with no further notice thank you Eileen next one thank you uh I don't have correspondence but the last application on the agenda GF United realy LLC their notice was deficient so they have to be rescheduled with a new notice and I don't have a date it's just they're not being heard this evening okay for anyone that's here for case number ba1 13-15 alpha-2 GF United reality LLC this application is not ready to be heard and we do not have a new date but the expiration date on this is March 16 2024 correct thank you and that's all I have okay resolutions ba 23-19 Domenico klei resolution granting bulk variance approval to construct a single family dwelling on a lot with sufficient lot withd and Frontage eligible voters burillo caner Hughes Mertens Orosco Ryan Rebel and seya can I have a motion please please I'll make a motion Mertens second reel roll call please eile Mr merens yes Mr Ryan yes Mr Rebel yes and chairman seya yes motion carries resolutions memorialized thank you thank you okay tonight it looks like we have two applications that we're going to be hearing um one seems to be uh pretty much a uh a short short verion so we're going to carry the uh ba 30 23-17 case number ba 23-17 Celeste fendo Canfield first Mr chair hold on one second Mr chair hi Salvatore alfy on behalf of the restoration Worship Center that's a a d variance which requires five yes votes and I see that the board only has five members so rather then um start and then have to come back with a full compliment of the board we're going to ask that the application be carried to a date where we can get a full board okay I well December 18th is already posted so that's no good we have January 8th has a use variance on it scheduled already January 22nd has two use variances scheduled and February 12th has one use variance scheduled um I can't do the eighth so what was the other the 22nd has two already scheduled um February 12th is that okay with everyone okay um well so let me just check my calendar sorry it's fine with me and my professionals all said yes so if that were the case we'd request that the application be carried to that night without the need for further notice and I don't know when the expiration date is but we'd certainly Grant it's December 31st of this year so we Grant the board extension through the end of February in case it snows on the 12th light your tongue I know s we're good February 12th then huh yes okay you're going to announce yep so anyone that's here tonight for case number ba21 -9 restoration Family Worship this case is being carried into the new year February 12th 2024 with an extension to February 29th 2024 because I believe there's 29 days feary there is yeah gained an extra day Ines thank you and and without the need for further notice correct Mr chair without the need for further notice you have a great holiday everyone good H great holiday thank you thanks Al tonight just got easy night good night exell EXC thank you you too have a good bye sh good night sh so early I know all right shering have a good night sh see you in February okay back to case number ba 23-17 fendo Canfield bulk variants for a single family dwelling on an undersized lot description application of Celeste fendo Canfield as applicant and owner seeking bulk variants approval to construct a new two-story single family dwelling on a property serviced by a setic system to replace the existing dwelling that has been come fired damaged the single family dwelling will be accessed from hul's Corner Road by the existing Stone driveway and an attached rare deck and covered front porch are also proposed on premises known as block 110 lot 154 760 hules CER Road expiration date March 29th 2024 Andy yes who are do who is here on behalf of the applicant shour architect okay you you'll be testifying yes sir okay can you raise your right hand do you swear the testimony you give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God yes I do state your name for the record Sean mour can you spell it speak into the mic se mour you can bring it closer to you I got to get you on the record sha Missour s ha a WN m a z are and are you testifying as as a architect yes sir okay Mr chair before we continue in the absence of Mr Hughes we have to appoint somebody to be recording a secretary tonight Mr reel sure thank you you need a pen initial dat or you do enough gotcha problem to begin yeah okay okay so what we have here is Celeste had a a tragedy her her house burned down and uh we came up with a new idea to rebuild a new house in in a similar footprint but as you can see in that dash line on the site plan I don't mean to interrupt but if you're going to be testifying as an architect you want to qualify and be recognized as an expert in that regard do you need me to up to the chair please put your credentials on the record for the okay um I'm a registered architect in the state of New Jersey I'm also licensed in Florida New York and uh Pennsylvania and where did you go to school I went to school uh Savannah College of Art and Design for my undergrad in the new School of Architecture in San Diego for my Master's Degree okay we'll accept your qualifications thank you thank you y okay so what we have here is um you know we have a non-conforming site uh you know the structure uh was was sustained to fire it's not 100% damaged so um there you know we we left it intact and what I'm proposing here is to make a less non-conforming footprint uh so Les and I have gone back and forth with the design at this point in time right now we're looking for the footprint to be approved we may uh change it to a one-story house versus a two-story that's proposed due to a financial reasons uh we also may have the option of making an unfinished upstairs uh currently as you see the uh the dashed in line is the existing footprint of the structure what I proposed was to make something that was less non-conforming by reducing that setback on the if you look at the page on the northern part of the page and kind of reducing that to a 24t 11 I believe it's a 24t 3 and then holding that 30 foot setback on the sidey yard so we're actually making something that's less non-conforming than what was what's prior what's existing right now as the footprint still stands uh the house is the existing structure that was fire damaged has not been demolished yet um the existing sheds are are all existing uh you know no prop no proposing we're not proposing demolishing them or anything like that there are I you have a tree well she had a tree expert um there's no trees that are being demolished or anything like or cut down um it's we're trying to do as as minimal sight disturbance as possible here um we're also looking at I know there's some some uh uh back and forth on uh Wetlands uh there are wetlands in the back of the property uh Celeste has has a she has contracted with a uh an engineering firm to do a a letter of interpretation on the wetlands so that's under under uh being uh being accomplished right now so that's kind of where we're at with this um if you go to it's it's basically a straightforward you know house nothing we're not looking for anything in the way of uh you know structureal Heights or anything other than you know the bulk SE variants for of course you know the hardship that's CEST uh you know sustained here Mr chairman if I could just jump in and try to speed this up so yes sir uh there's three sheds on the property they look like they've existed for some period of time looking at aerial uh photos of the site um we just brought it up should the board not take issue with it granted variance relief so that way you know should the ownership change in the future they have no issues with that uh the site itself is undersized both in two terms of requirements um this site is not serviced by public sewer so um in order to be surfaced by a septic system the minimum lot area co area in accordance with our code is 40,000 square feet this is uh just under 29,000 ft² that's an existing condition you heard the applicant provide testimony on the record there's an existing structure that was partially fire damaged they're just trying to reconstruct very close to the existing footprint modifying it slightly uh approving some of the conditions um and then also uh it's in the air E6 Zone which requires six acres like I said this is like two-thirds of an acre they're not changing any those site this has been there for some time and looking at Aerials it's a at least had a structure since around 2002 uh if not 1995 um as far as setbacks I think what they have shown complies with the front yard setback requirement uh we did note though that covered front porches are included in the bulk setback requirements and it's typical for this board on applications that come before them to require rightaway dedication where what exists does not um comply with the master plan recommendations um including the front porch the front yard setback is 54.67 Ft um if the applicant were to provide the required RightWay dedication on the Frontage the front yard setback would be ex further than the proposed footprint so uh 24.25 ft plus or minus is what we had scaled off on the plan and then the other existing condition is the lot with like I said this is looks to have been rezoned at some point to AR6 which requires uh 300t of Frontage or or lot width uh whereas only like 66 and2 ft um this has existed for a long time so I really don't take issue as far as what's being proposed in terms of uh building and previous coverage uh the footprint like I said is changing but it's very close to what's existing uh I'll just note on the record this is an existing ploted lot that's existed for some time uh anything prior to 2008 is preempted into like building a lot coverage requirements uh so they're not requiring any variances and it's it's very close to what the existing footprint is uh the two things I just did note uh you said there was a possible maybe it just be one story maybe unfinished Second Story what you had shown on the plan I think was two bedrooms uh yes what do you have in the bedroom that's there now two bedrooms two bedrooms okay so I just want to put that on the record there's no change to the number of bedrooms so um you will be you know should the board act favorably you'll have to get probably a sign up on Board of Health uh that there's no change to the septic design or anything like that usually they're required to have an engineer just sign something but I just want to put that on the record um so and then rsis if it's two parking spaces going to uh sorry two bedrooms going to two bedrooms there's no change of parking requirements you have a gravel driveway that's existed there for some time correct right uh looking at it I think it's approximately scaled it was around you know anywhere from 20 ft to like 35 ft from the roadway which is more than adequate to house two vehicles and are you proposing a garage with the no yeah so I mean from rsis I think two bedrooms doesn't even trip one and a half parking spaces so you you're you're meeting what's required um really the only comments that I have are whether you want RightWay dedication and then obviously you heard them provide testimony they'll get an Loi as a condition of their board approval Charlie are the properties north south east to west of this particular lot are they dedicated the one to the to the east is yeah I think two lots to the east looks like it's got to bump out in the right away onto their property so so there are some that have some RightWay dedication it looks like in in the past so and the board Bo could do it as a roadway widening easement that wouldn't impact the setback it's just we would prefer RightWay dedication because then you know the town has ownership and then can widen put sidewalks you know for Public Safety uh in the future like that so Mr maor yes would your client accept the fact that we would request a RightWay designation in the front I don't know what that means a RightWay designation basically gives them the ability to the township the ability to have part of that already F lot to put sidewalks it's kind of part of the how many how many feet are you looking to take as you can see it's quite a small lot so yeah so uh I understand yeah so the existing uh half width is only 16 1 12 ft our right away recommended in the master plan is uh 60t total so 30t half width so it would be 13 1/2 ft of dedication required along the Frontage there's always the roadway widening easement which kind of gives the same effect doesn't impact the bulk setbacks in lot area and they generally serve the same purpose but you know right away is generally preferred from the Township's perspective it doesn't mean that the town is going to actually pave that property just didn't understand so sidewalk has become sidewalk has become a very important issue in Township so it gives the ability for the township sometime in the future to maybe put in curb and sidewalk if needed so you just say you don't have to issue with it no no okay no issue okay and that doesn't affect the existing the proposed setback no corre okay yeah no so we put it on a record right the if with the dedication it would be 41 and a half feet so I would say you heard them you know the might be one story might be one story with the unfinished Second Story as long as they comply with that 41 and a half ft from the dedication I I take no issue with it thank you John Jen I have no issues at all I understand that the house burned down and they absolutely have a right to replace the house you know it was a very small structure to begin with I take no exception to what they're asking but I do 100% agree with Charlie that an Loi needs to be produced because we've had circumstances in the in the past where they've come back with endangered species with 150 fot buffer and we've allowed development and then the developments within the buffer so I do think that Loi and I I think you said they've applied for one that's to me is the only item that we really need to make sure occurs other than that and the roadway dedication I have no nothing to add thank you John I have nothing okay fellow board members any questions Billy I'm good nothing for me I'm good okay um we're going to open it up to public Andy yes okay can a motion open to public he's with us we should open it yeah I'll make a motion second all in favor I yes okay IA we're going to open the public at this time the chairman has opened the hearing up for members of the public if anyone has any questions or comments regarding this application please step forward you'll be required to give your name address and be sworn in okay I don't see anyone raising their hands or coming forward so um can I have a motion to close the public please I'll make a motion to close second okay all in favor e we're closed the Public Public is now closed okay so do you have any final summation before we no I'm good do you have anything you want to say she's been to a lot okay so what's the pleasure of the board then make a motion to vote Yes you would like to vote for what to approve you would oh okay course we have a motion to approve do we have a second second we got a second ien roll call please Mr Mertens absolutely yes Mr Stanton yes Mr Ryan I vote Yes Mr Rebel yes and chairman seya yes motion carries applications approved congratulations I hope you can build as quickly as possible thank you you just have to wait for the resolution Y which I mean Andy is the keeper we looking about four weeks or so right no about four weeks yeah probably we could do it early January give January okay yeah yeah and have to go through compliance Y and part of that will be the LOI Y and then there's an engineering review here at the township and then after that she can get her building permits okay great okay sounds good okay perfect Mr maor thank you thank you good luck good luck thank you you can leave them and I'll take them if you don't want I don't think you need them for anything thank you take care okay Eileen next meeting next meeting is next Monday at it's our last meeting of the Year December 18th now are you going to give us a uh an opportunity to see the resolution for um the end of year report or yes Mr chairman I will uh I will send that around uh this the next couple days okay through e I'll send it to e got it send it to both of us and to e and Paul yeah baby's sick so I I'll probably be in all right great yes I'll get the around t all right thank you so then there's no other further business I Mr chairman at the last meeting you you brought up that there was a last passed round of the dates for next year's meetings yes I never got that oh I'll send it to you tomorrow could you yeah there was only one change on it the last meeting of the year was supposed to be December 23rd we moved that to December 16th but I will send out a full I just sent the ad to the paper today to post them so I will send everybody a yeah I was fine with the DAT I just yeah I never got it and I didn't see I usually after the first the year I give everybody a sheet with the dates and a roster of all the members as well so you have everything but I'll send it thank you you're welcome okay great all right everyone we thank you and we'll see you next week May I have a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn I'll second all right all in favor I I all right I we are adjourned thank you very much have a good evening