good evening and welcome to the public hearing for the Livingston Zoning Board of adjustment today is March 26th 20 2024 if you an applicant for a d or youth variance you should be aware that such a variance can only be granted after showing that special reasons for the grant of the variance exists and that variance can be granted without substantial detriment to the zoning plan of the township of Livingston you should also be aware that in order to be granted such a variance you will require an affirmative vote of five members of the seven member Board of adjustment other variances may require a majority of four members to grant that variance if you're an applicant for any variance your variance is denied by this board you have a right to appeal to the superior court of the state of New Jersey within 45 days of notice of decision and that Court May overturn the decision of this board if you're an objector to any type of variance has been granted you too May appeal to the superior court of the state of New Jersey within 45 days of the notice of decision if you do file an appeal I ask that you provide a please provide a copy of your complaint to the planning administrator Jackie Hollis pursuant to the requirements of the open public meeting act also known as the Sunshine Law adequate notice of this meeting was provided to The Star Ledger and West EIC Tribune and a copy was also placed on the bulleon board of the municipal building in addition to having notice posted notices meeting was placed on the Township's website members of the public will have an opportunity to ask questions and to make statements regarding each application at the appropriate time when the time comes if you would like to address the board please come to the front and use a microphone so we can make sure your comments or questions are part of the record we will now call the role Miss Khan Miss Khan is here Mr Arron here Mr Kenya here miss cona here Mr Sherman here miss Yuan here Mr Beer here Mr jemus our board attorney is with us and Jackie Hollis the planning administrator and Katherine Mader the planning coordinator we have a quorum thank you uh before we get started I just want to announce that the agenda is uh modified slightly the first applicant will be going fifth so if you can please call um the number two applicant block 1404 Lots 1 and 12 44 and 46 North Ashby Avenue application number 2023 57 msuv applicant seeks approval to subdivide the parcel and create proposed lots 1.01 and 12.01 go ahead am I on you are good evening Mr chairman members of the board Cory Klein from the law firm of SSC and gross on behalf of the applicant 44 North ashb AV LLC as the board may recall we were here last month and we presented our application for minor subdivision approval bulk variances and a floor area ratio variance in connection with the adjustment of a lot line separating property located at 44 from 46 North Ashby Avenue identified as Lots 1 and 12 block 1404 on the tax maps of the township of Livingston um we are here today to um present to the board our Revis Ed application we heard some commentary from the board with regard to our plans and we've made some revisions based upon some of the uh the reaction and the opinions of the board and we wanted to present that to you this evening um I will say again that notice was uh served and published for the hearing last month and the hearing was carried to tonight without further notice to the public um at last month's public hearing and I would ask the board to confirm that it still has jurisdiction to hear this application yes that's accurate very good thank you um so with that I'd like to call my uh first witness Mr hike xien uh of space and Mark LLC our architect who was sworn and qualified at the last hearing Mr chairman if I could your credentials haven't changed in the last month correct all right and you understand your under oath thank you okay thank you hike when you get set up there if you can just walk the board through the changes that have been made to your plans since we appear last month I think uh yeah you're you're down a little bit further there yep okay all right um I'd like to briefly go over the changes we made uh we heard you last time you asked for a a smaller size house and what we did is we took 4 feet uh from the length of the house um we removed the covered porch and we we push the um the fireplace that was outside of the building into the building by doing these uh moves we were able to eliminate the uh building coverage uh variants uh moreover we removed the Second Story set of the foyer so now the four years um starts from a lower uh wall at the front entrance about uh 8 foot high so sorry 10 foot high and then it moves up the roof moves up at an angle so i' like to show it to you right here and this this removed uh bulk from the front of the house provides uh more light and air in front of the house and we were able to this way bring the floor area ratio uh below 10% uh over the um 30% requirement so so um and with that the layout pretty much stayed the same old the rooms are uh proportionately reduced in size we removed a a powder room from the first floor and we only have one bathroom serving the first floor uh we didn't have room for that additional powder room um any further reduction is going to drastically um reduce uh change the layout so this is the best we could do um and with that we also prepared um the renderings of the house it's a conceptual renderings with a blend of wood B and Bandon and Hardy with um you know metal roof at the at the first floor level um I believe this uh is going to be a beautiful house a nice addition um uh to uh North Ashby Avenue uh with that I'll take your questions there any questions from members of the board anybody so I wasn't here last month but I watched the video so the changes that uh have uh that are in today's uh application as compared to the previous one is that the f is down to 10% Plus and instead of 30 initially uh yes SL slightly under 10% yes slightly under 10% um our uh planner will give you the exact number but we're at well we we still have our um our engineer and planner who can give the exact number but that's correct we've reduced the F variance below 10% and we've eliminated the building coverage variance by reducing size of the home proposed M so there were design changes also made to accommodate when you remove the the building coverage variance you you had to make make internal changes to the design yes we did we had to reduce room sizes we had to take out the powder room um so each bedroom was shrunken by about a foot and we kind of uh proportionately spread it around within the house okay thank you anybody else anybody in the public have any questions for this Witness move on okay um I'd like to briefly call back our engineer Mr Joe Bachi of eka Associates with your permission mrman yeah he was qualif your credentials that you referred to in the last meeting are still in the same yes no change and you understand that you're under oath yes sir is that sufficient for you councel thank you yes uh so I'll be very brief architect those were the majority of the changes I'll just show you them essentially from a site plan point of view uh once this loads uh so I'll just look at sheet three no changes aside from our you know uh schedule of General requirements changed for the f um building coverage um in terms of what was on the cover sheet subdivision still the same plan um so looking at the site plan of our revised Set uh as was our architect mentioned we chopped off about four feet from the rear uh of the building so the the rear yard setback was previously 38 feet it's now 42.11 ft uh so we still fit nicely into the building envelope uh from the side yard front yard rear yard setbacks uh the grading is essentially the same we got nice swes up on the sides uh driveway still getting uh kind of pushed more to the center of the site so it it's a lot of the same improvements I spoke about last time um and to get you that firm number on F uh previously when we came in uh last month we were proposing 45% uh F uh We've now reduced that to 39.4% um so on under you know we at looking for less than 10% um building coverage last time we were here we were at 27. 31% and seeking a variance uh we're down we're now down to 24.6 1% so nice little reduction there um after hearing your your comments um that that's really the only changes uh not much from a site perspective thank you there any questions for this Witness anybody from the public have any questions okay two down okay um so my third and Final witness Mr Mike pesano our professional planner and we need to have him sworn and qualified Mr castalano do you swear or affirm that the statements you're going to make and the testimony you're going to present to the board this evening will be true accurate and complete I do you stated your credentials were you at the last meeting I didn't get to the mic the last so would you be kind enough to do that please yes gladly I'll let Council take you through it um I U am licensed professional planner in the state of New Jersey uh 40 years and still going um since original licensure in 1984 I've served as Municipal in-house planner served as uh Consulting uh firm planner to boards and now later in my career uh pretty much exclusively serving as expert planning witness before proceedings such as this throughout the state of New Jersey I was uh the Livingston board planner and Township planner in 201617 uh so gained some familiarity with the community uh in that role um I could take more of your time by going on and your license is in good standing yes Li is in good standing um anything else you'd like to know please feel free to ask Mr be qualified to provide expert testimony and planning does anyone of the board have any questions or objections regarding this witness there being no objection the witness is accepted as expert in professional planning thank you thank you very much um Mr Pano if you could tell us what you did to prepare for this hearing and describe the site from a planning perspective yes um my usual uh process is to uh become familiar with the setting of the property the site the regulations that apply to the property uh master plan um information uh touch base with the the applicants uh entire team to fully understand the project and I've done all of that and prepared a planning analysis to uh present to you tonight I've also prepared uh a planning exhibit to help you understand where I got my findings from as far as the the fit of this uh proposed home in its setting so I'd like to distribute this exhibit what shall we mark it number wise has it already been marked I know did we have one last week last last month I don't believe we did no all right so A1 A1 okay if anybody in the audience would like one I have a few extras okay and as we're entering our exhibits my uh architect just reminded me that the the final page of his plans that showed the rendering that was not submitted within the 10 days so it needs to be entered as an exhibit um after we finish with Mr pesano I could call call him back up for a moment and and have that as an exhibit whatever the board's preference I think we can just accept it as A2 a exhibit A2 I'd like to go back to exhibit A1 would you just oh for identification purposes if Mr chairman uh planning exhibit for 44 and North Ashby Avenue uh that's what the title is and it's six pages is that correct Mr yes all right so that's exhibit A1 councelor would you like to describe exhibit A2 yes exhibit A2 will um we'll say is the it four sheets Mr if we can call him back we added uh page 83 of of the architectural drawings and we made some changes according to the renderings we revised the elevations just the materials the elevations on page A2 so those were the changes before we okay thank you oh it's a three-page exhibit um architectural floor plans elevations and renderings thank you very much thank you okay um so quickly uh A1 is a typical planning exhibit to provide various perspectives on the the subject property and the application on page A1 uh an excerpt from the township of Livingston uh tax assessor map sheet uh 14 thank you Corey great so with this uh exhibit in multiple formats we have all a chance to to look at it um so the take away here uh on uh sheet one of A1 is um important to my understanding of of the property itself um in the R4 District as you know U 9375 Square ft is the minimum requirement and that typically is a 75 ft wide by 125 5 foot deep lot to to meet that conforming standard on both sides of North Ashby Avenue you can see that U there are lots that do not meet those standards and pretty much all of them uh in fact don't meet those uh particular standards I just mentioned so we're starting out of the gate with substandard lots um secondly uh one of the Lots um Lot number one on uh sheet 1404 is uh an L-shaped lot that wraps around the back of uh Lot number 12 which is the site for the U replacement home that was seeking approval for on to uh to the north is uh to the top of the page um so to the east of the subject property and to the west east and west of the at front on North Ashby Avenue more lots of a conforming nature uh predominate there watch to sheet two of A1 uh simply an excerpt from the zoning map showing the subject property and a a yellow highlight U where the R4 Zone uh which is not shown on the map by its uh name the Orange is all R4 zoning going to sheet three of six uh of one areial perspective showing the the subject property with a a blue house icon in the center of of the image uh it shows the the current relationship uh of the home to the ones next to it on either side most notably you can see that um the home is quite close to the the northern side property line uh we are proposing to eliminate that uh deficiency in this application you can also see that uh a driveway is along the side of the subject home and uh we are also proposing to eliminate the proximity of of the the cars uh next to the home to the South by virtue of providing a driveway in the in the front of the proposed home going on to sheet four of six the image is flipped around so now we're focusing on the west side of North Ashby Avenue and it's simply a representation of homes of various sizes um the one that's in the center um kind of approximates the the scale of the the home that we're proposing uh in this application the the subject property at 44 North Ashby is near the bottom of the page again the blue house icon uh showing the location of of that property now on to ground photo photos that were taken by myself I didn't take the aerial photos because I can't jump that high and take a picture at the same time anyway um image number one in the upper left shows the the existing home at 44 North Ashby and the driveway uh to the south of the home image number two shows A View From the rear yard looking at the uh rear 44 North Ashby and its proximity to its neighbor at 46 North Ashby also part of this app if image three in the lower left shows the uh patch of land that is to be transferred from lot one to Lot 12 as part of the minor subdivision element of this application and image four shows the existing home to remain on lot one uh this is the lot that would be uh dedicating the the the L of the L-shaped lot towards um 44 North Ashby Lot 12 finally on sheet uh six of six uh in the upper left we see uh the dwelling existing dwelling at number seven Hamilton Lane a sizable dwelling uh and its proximity to the rear lot line uh really stops us in our tracks from being able to acquire any more land it's a very unusual application I I should have said earlier on in that the applicant has done the utmost to try to make for a conforming or a larger lot with the the property before prop proposing or before building a new home on it and that's a rare thing uh in developed communities as you know so and and in my experience as well so the opportunity to do changes with the lot sizes has been exhausted now there's really no opportunity to gain any more land in any direction to make these Lots uh any bigger uh both lots are proposed at 6250 square feet but now with this if this is approved they would be identical rather than two um odd-shaped Lots um huddled together uh image number six in the upper right again just a front view uh and showing the the adjacent home at number 46 um Ashby as well as the 44 North Ashby and then image number seven showing the neighbor to the South um together with this the subject home at 44 North Ashby finally image 8 showing a compendium of homes uh to the west across North Ashby uh detached dwellings showing all two-story designs including the recently expanded uh dwelling at number 43 North Ashby so that provided me with the the setting for my uh planning analysis and I won't go into detail about describing the project uh other Witnesses have done great job at doing that so I'll just move right into the meat of my uh testimony we required a a Flor area habitable Flor area ratio variance for uh the quantity of space that we're proposing what what is proposed now is 2466 Square ft of live habitable uh floor space uh the application started at 2800 uh square feet and change so we've reduced it from uh an overage of 9900 of almost 1,000 square fet over to 591 square feet uh of floor space over the the limit uh of 1875 Square ft we also need um lot area relief for the two new lots that are being uh constructed here I call them new because the the lot line uh rearrangement makes for two technically two New Lots so both New Lots would be uh 6250 Square ft both would remain at 50 ft in width and now both would be 125 uh feet in depth the uh Focus um well let me let me just uh back up one more second I took a look at the master plan um and couple of things jumped out at me uh I in 2006 I was with the firm that was working with uh Livingston Township to address uh the mcmansion phenomenon and our firm drafted the regulation that's now law to help contain uh oversized dwellings from ruining neighborhoods and uh in my awareness and Analysis what we're proposing in EXs F really is not what the target of that regulation was the target of that regulation at the time was to prevent supersized buildings from totally wrecking the the streetcape of well established neighborhoods what we have in this application is a nice Rhythm that is retained in fact the the home is is now skewed to the north of the of the lot we're proposing something that's now right in the center so you have an instant harmonization with the existing dwellings on both sides of the property and across the street where you have this Rhythm this Cadence of home space home space home and also the containment of uh vehicles in a garage that did not exist uh on the existing property does not exist on the existing property is also being corrected so um the application um does not only does not propose a garganta home it's a right fit home in my opinion it respects the the sidey yard requirements front yard and it has a generous reil yard 42 feet or 35 ft uh is the maximum uh I was pleased to see that the uh design team could come up with uh eliminating one of the uh other bulk variances which was the the coverage variants by shortening the the building length but um the master plan also caught uh my attention in the 2018 master plan uh with the intent to provide and promote highly desirable highly uh highquality residential neighborhoods throughout the township and that's taking place as you know uh day by day with upgrades to to neighborhoods to individual homes new homes replacement homes Etc um so uh this particular proposed home I think you saw the rendering uh really knocked my socks off how beautiful that's going to look uh in this setting and will represent uh quite an upgrade uh in the in the neighborhood and be a very good fit uh in my opinion so the on to the the relief of the moment U we need what is called a D4 variance for floor area ratio it's one of the dev variances um in the statute and requires special reasons but it's not like a use variance you don't need to prove particular suitability of the property uh for the use uh the use is permitted what needs to be demonstrated is that can the site itself accommodate the XS F in the in the application in The Proposal as I said 591 Square F feet is what is called the XS F in in this analysis so what might um happen with that xsf in the way of impacts is becomes the focus of the application and can the site can the the development of the site accommodate those potential impacts I find that that they can indeed do that um because we have U provided for more land area it it makes everything work now um with the proposed home the largely the impact would be visual uh effect but this these the visual impact is effectively mitigated by proposing conforming yards and conforming uh which supports a finding that the the project promotes adequate light air and open space uh purpose C of the miniso land use law nothing is requested more than what is permitted as to the building footprint we've Shrunk the building footprint so the building coverage now conforms as well um the project promotes the general welfare by adhering to uh the governing body's chosen spacing requirements for single family homes in the R4 District that is complying conforming side yards the additional massing of of of this proposed home is oriented in the direction of the larger Lots behind it and that's important U because if the impact is visual where is that visual impact happening it's not happening at the streetcape perceivably it's it's tucked behind the facade and oriented towards a neighborhood where much larger massing is normal normal and conforming the uh added benefit of removing an existing uh paved basketball court that goes uh nearly up to each lot Line This is the the 25x 50 uh section of land that's being uh changed to to Backyard space for for 44 North aspy being replaced with Greenery so that uh is an improvement too so rather than impacts I I see that this application um will U result an improvement in three significant ways uh one the lot and yard arrangements are being made more conforming and more harmonious with their setting uh the two adjacent Lots with vastly different configurations and areas are now being made identical as to shape and the dimensions and More in keeping with a lot design uh approach uh in in the subdivision regulations that is to have perpendicular L Lin lines and you know squared off things not L-shaped Lots uh the non-conforming conditions as to side yard setback and the absence of a garage are being made conforming on Lot number 12.01 the proposed lot 12.01 and the new construction certainly uh to refresh a a site that was built with a starter home some 84 years ago will be a particularly beneficial upgrade to the site and the area parking supplies also dealt with that's one of the other potential impacts of an oversized home and so we have adequate parking conforming parking um for uh this uh proposed home and again the the the proposal pulls the driveway and the parking of vehicles away from the neighbor's actual dwelling um so that that um impact can be lessened with this uh proposal so uh as for special reasons uh three purposes of the municipal land use law squarely Advanced by this proposal purpose a to promote the general welfare with a decent safe modern new home to a house a new family uh in Livingston uh purpose C to provide adequate light air and open space clearly achieved by honoring the the sidey yard setbacks the building coverage the footprint requirements uh of the uh ordinance and purpose I which is to promote a desirable visual environment the the new home will uh definitely uh be um a nice feature on the streetcape should this application be approved for the the bulk relief related to the lot sizes both the the C1 hardship analysis test applies and is met and the the C2 flexible um uh C where the benefits outweigh the detriments uh test is met the C1 test simply met because we have an unusually narrow lot no more land to to make it any bigger uh That's a classic case of of C1 hardship uh the C2 hardship uh we have I'm sorry the C2 benefits weighing analysis um requires that there's a specific piece of property we indeed are dealing with a specific piece of property uh the shortfall in area now exists for both existing Lots this will be balanced by the lot line adjustment to have two equal Parcels side by side as if they were like that from the beginning the equal lots in my opinion substantially increase neighborhood Harmony over the existing condition the rectangular Lots track precisely with a prescribed manner for creating new Lots in Livington Livingston Township and a better match with the platting of the lots to the North and South uh along North Ashby in this area these aspects All Advance the general welfare purpose a advance the purpose of providing adequate light ER and open space and the desirable visual environment all the bulk relief the two elements of bulk relief are not substantial uh in my opinion in the context of the setting and the current existing conditions these are these U relief elements are offset by the nice neighborhood and platting Harmony and proper garaging uh of vehicles that will be achieved and indeed oil bul relief would be necessary to implement implement this overall beneficial project as to the negative criteria just quickly U approaching the end here bear with me um neither the habital floor area ratio nor the bulk relief will result in a substantial detriment to the public good in my opinion um again improved Harmony will result rather than less more symmetric spacing rather than less um and additionally the very attractive new dwelling will upgrade the surrounding neighborhood character uh and appearance the lot widths will remain consistent with the prevailing pattern so no detriment from that result the the bulk associated with the excess F will be tucked behind the building and not be readily perceived from the the street perspective of North Ashby and the bulk associated with the xsf will be contained within fully conforming setbacks and a few feet below the maximum height Li limit even so under these results I find no basis for detrim determination excuse me that any detriment will occur let alone one that would rise to the level of substantial as to the Zone plan impact the second prong of the negative criteria the application proposes a permitted use that's what the Zone plan wants to see here a modern home with features today's consumer consumers expect and desire the F regulation adopted in the 2000s as I said was for uh much more massive uh projects than this one so I find no basis for a conclusion that this thoughtfully designed project and nicely adjusted project thanks to the board's feedback will render a substantial impact to the Livingston Zone plan or development regulations to the contrary I think it will add lasting value to the neighborhood consistent with the overarching intent of the Zone plan and zoning ordinance to preserve and and enhance existing residential neighborhoods and the quality of life through high quality development so coming back to the conclusion for the C2 analysis I think the benefits of the application as a whole clearly outweigh any perception of detriment uh and satisfy the C2 test as well as the C1 test for hardship in conclusion the application I think satisfies all the statutory criteria uh as evolved by re relevant case law and I submit to you respectfully your approval is uh warranted stand ready for questions thank you thank you Mr pesano are any questions for this witness anybody from the board have any questions no okay you have anything else uh just to conclude briefly um in summation we've eliminated the building coverage variance we've reduced the habitable floor area ratio variance below um 10% beyond what is permitted all within the building envelope so um we would ask that the board um approve this application if there are further uh comments or issues uh we we of course um welcome your feedback that's that's all I have thank you does anyone on the board want to make a statement I want to make a statement please um I really appreciate um what you have done especially you Tred to fit the building inside your envelope and I appreciate the idea that house house space house space for the neighborhood thank you thank you anybody else I'll make a comment um I would like to reiterate what my colleague said thank you so much for taking all of our suggestions and actually going I think sort of above and beyond what we even have asked for um and providing also the historical context um of the neighborhood um I really appreciated that um thank you for decreasing the mass and therefore decreasing the f um it's a I think these two houses will be beautiful in the neighborhood and I really appreciate all the work that you put into it thank you anybody else on the board anybody in the public want to make a statement okay anyone in board want to make a motion this one yes okay I second by Mr Kenya Mr chairman just to make sure that we put on the record that this is a minus subdivision with the variances okay so the the motion should include that okay yeah the Motions for approval good okay yes all right Miss missan yes Mr Kenya yes Miss con votes yes Mr arrti yes Miss kanana yes Mr Sherman yes Mr Beer yes motion passes thank you thank you Miss con will you call the next application block 401 lot 6124 Hearthstone Terrace application number 20 23- 58- V Michael Aden applicant seeks approval for a deck in violation of the following section 17097 C4 rear yard setback 50 ft required 31.8 3 proposed come right up and have a seat you're in the front row whether you want to be there or not hello Michael Hi how are you good and who do you have with you uh this is my wife your wife okay um Mr Jus I'm sorry would would you uh say your name and then spell your name each of you okay my first name is ehma Adan which is spelled e h i m w e n m a last name a a d e y i n thank you um my first name is Michael I Dane spelled m i c h a e l last name a d e y i n thank you do you each swear or affirm that the statements that you'll make to the board this evening and the testimony you'll give will be true accurate and complete yes yes yes consider yourselves under oath thank you okay whenever you're ready why don't you tell us why you're here and what you're looking for good evening everyone so um my husband and I we uh purchased our dream home here in Livingston um this we're a little bit uh over a year in town uh we have five children um uh we love where we are so when we purchased our property in um 2020 2022 um we had an existing deck that was um it was uh we were told that it it was dangerous for anyone to get on so we had to with the children my youngest is three uh I have an 8-year-olds um 12 13 and 15 so you know what children you can never stop them from injury so they told us to get rid of the deck uh it was just rotted and old so we bought it we we even uh received credit for it uh upon closing so we did get rid of the um the deck and we decided to make it a little bit shorter um because of the large you know family we have we wanted to create a a walkway a walk out from the basement so we wouldn't need the long deck that was existing anymore so we made it shorter um to the right of our house uh we extended the deck out about 6 ft and the the stairs so um so that when you go to the left and around to the back you can just get onto this um the steps oh yeah we can so Michael's going to just point to it show them how to get around so they showing okay so like right over here so if we were to go through this side um this portion uh leads to the bedroom area so we this piece here is what we added and then uh we made the deck um shorter so that we can have space for the walk out so this six feet uh did put us in violation we came to know so it was already short um you know we weren't at that 50 fet setback originally but adding to 6 feet made it just you know a little bit shorter so we're just we requesting uh permission to um you know to have that that that step there we just felt like it'll be easier rather than have the kids uh go all the way around they can just climb onto you know this walkway here and get onto to the deck uh and there's a back door around here that leads to the bedrooms so you're you're really you have an existing house and you're coming another six feet towards the back right uh can you just describe what's behind your house what what's back there um it's just so there's this line here is like a a a metal fence and this is just like uh just grass um and then all it's just open space grass so there's no one back there that would see this no there's no impact to neighbors no we we do have pictures um in color we can you have it all right so um there's no one back there this little here is like um it's a little wall that at some point um but there's really nothing here it's just a short metal fence that's here that separates like a large lot between myself and um the other houses okay does anyone on the board have any question questions is it possible for you pictur your speaker is it possible for you to go to the pictures yes Mr chairman with your permission yes please can you confirm that you took those photographs and those photographs accurately depict what they show yes thank you okay thank you [Music] okay so this Photograph here is is exactly what um it is so there used to be no way to when you go around to the back the only door was all the way at the Other Extreme end down here so what we did was when we put this walkway now if you go around to the house you can get onto the deck and into the bedroom area so we just wanted it to be a little bit more accessible for the kids so the deck can be accessed from two sides now yes so it can be access if you go to let me see if there's another picture okay yes so so before this both this side and the other side didn't exist the deck was just in line with the house so the opening is what we add it so um it went all the way the deck went all the way around let me see if I can yeah so that's what we added that you can see there that's a clear depiction so before the deck just went around the whole back so in order to climb on you had to go through the other side see there's another picture thank you anybody else any questions I got I one one question so this is the one deck the other there's another deck also right but that one's not built yet no that's not being constructed yet so okay that's the smaller one that's in the other side of the okay yeah so the deck was just like um just straight across the whole back so when we do build the walkway we didn't need that whole long piece but we do need um the other uh opening to the house has um a back door and it does need something cuz it's high up it's elevated so we just shortened that deck so rather than just have it long we kind of took out the middle and then we added um this step here anybody have any more questions I don't really have any questions I think it's fine just in the future when you do any sort of construction I think now you know also you see that if you ever do any anything again to your house just take a look at what your setback requirements are consult with the town find out about permits so this way you don't have to come back and have this done after that because it can get expensive so it's fine but in the future you know just keep that in mind I think they know us very well here now I got a question how wide are the steps is that there 4et six feet so we just wanted to make sure in case like the bicycles whatever we're carrying so we just wanted the to have it wide enough chairman yes I just want to make something clear for the record you submitted with your application two surveys the one survey shows existing conditions and it shows your a regular R lot are you familiar with that and that accurately shows what the existing conditions are yes sir the other survey shows uh is the same date but it shows where you're going to put the steps and everything that's accurate as well correct correct you're very familiar with your neighborhood correct and would you is it your opinion that if the board were to approve this application um that that the deviations are outweighed by the positives all right definitely and that in the event the board were to um approv this it it's substantial without any detriment and it's consistent your what you have there is consistent with your neighborhood correct thank you very much thank you um does anybody want to make another statement or I have one okay um does anyone want to make a motion oh move to approve Mr frony I'll second Mr Kenya Mr freny yes Mr Kenya yes Miss Khan votes yes Miss kanana yes Mr Sherman yes Miss Yan yes Mr Beer yes motion passes you're well done thank you welcome to town thank you very much sir is the back there party sent is a backyard [Laughter] party thank you so much thank you call the next uh application block 4703 lot 17 18 Midway Drive application number 202 24-4 DV Lewis Melina applicant seeks approval for a second story addition and porch in violation of the following sections 17099 C2 front yard setback 40 ft required 31.9 ft proposed 8.1 ft variance requested 17099 C3 side yard setback 10 ft required 4.5 ft proposed 5.5 ft variance requested how are you today hi very good how are you good hi there don't get nervous we're really very nice up here you seem very nice we're neighbors we're all we're all on the same page um do you want to sway them in would you please identify yourselves for the record just give your name and spell your name please hi I'm Marissa Melina m a r i SSA last name m a d d a l n a I'm Louis Melina uh first name l u i s last name m d da L na uh Mr and Mrs Adelina do you uh swear or affirm that all the statements you're going to make to the board this evening will be true accurate and complete including your testimony yes consider yourselves under oath thank you okay very good go ahead the floor is yours I'm Marissa this is Lewis we live at 18 Midway Drive uh we both grew up in Livingston we met at Livingston high school um we moved back to Livingston about four years ago our intention is to stay here we love our neighborhood we have two baby girls and we're walking distance to the playground and the pool and the library um but they're getting a little bigger so we're just hoping to add a little little extra space uh to the second floor of our house okay would you like to go through the additions I think you have somebody with you yes hi um if you wouldn't have mind identifying yourself with your name please um I Lisa waler I am their architect and um they hired me to work on a addition swear or affirm that all the statements and testimony give to the board this evening will be true accurate and complete yes would would you kindly uh present your credentials to the board um I am a licensed architect I've been licensed since 1984 I'm licensed in New Jersey and New York um I've presented before this board several times um one recently a couple of months ago um um you're familiar with the applic you're familiar with the application I I'm familiar and your license is in good standing my license is a good standing Mr chairman does anybody on the board have any uh questions objections regarding this witness there be no objections a witness is accepted as an expert in architecture okay except not I guess if we start with the proposed survey do you find uh that's the this is the existing house um but we may as well go to the um the proposed survey one down no no sorry I can do it from here the next survey okay this I've got it I can okay so um this is is the existing house and um it's it's a smaller I didn't touch what this is what oh okay anyway um Melissa and Lewis have a small house and um I think we need to talk in the microphone please okay they have um they have as I said they have a small house they have two kids but I think it's a neighborhood that a lot of the houses started out small I think a long at some time ago people used to buy like starter houses and there were small houses and then added on but I think today people I I think are looking more to move into a house and raise their kids there and and this couple has um you know lived in grew up in Livingston and they really like it so they wanted to stay their house is only about it's on the screen but it's not up there I mean I'm looking at it on my screen I guess we can look at you can look at your drawings you have them I was just going to say um I guess we can start with the survey if you look at the proposed survey there it is okay now you got it okay so the red is um so the red is what we are proposing to build on the second floor um the house is only currently about 1,400 a little more than 1400 Square ft um which is a relatively small house um on the second floor there are three very small bedrooms they um they had to build in like closet space like you know little built-ins to have enough room to even put some clothes away um it's pretty small um it's got one bathroom um and there's only one full bathroom in the house and there's there's no primary bathroom so they just really wanted some more space um and the E the most logical way to get space in this house was to they have a um family room um so to they just we decided to put a new primary bedroom on top of the existing family room um with a um primary uh bathroom and then on top of the garage we decided to en to enclose that for some play space for the two kids which are now very small but they grow so um okay so anyway um we can look at the the floor plan now you want to show the floor plan touch it Miss Walter yes um the floor plans what I'm looking at is floor plans are um so we can dated if I if I could take you through it dated November 21 2023 uh that's correct and we're first looking I guess you can look at sheet A1 and it's it's on it's yeah but I just want to I just want to identif with your permission I'd like to identify the document for the record okay yep um it's a ayen one ayen 2 existing plans correct yep existing and A3 and A4 are the proposed plans correct yes and you prepared these documents I prepared them thank you very much you're welcome um okay okay so you can look um at the um I guess at the existing floor plan the ground floor it has a living room that really when you walk in the house it almost becomes um like circulation space it's entry space um because you have to walk through it to get to any other place they have a kitchen and then on the other side they have a family room none of these rooms are are very big um and there's not really a separate dining room there's a dining area it's really like an you know part of the kitchen a living room and a family room and you could see by the dimensions it's not very big um and then if you go upstairs um which is next to it um you'll see that there are two small there are three small bedrooms uh the primary bedroom has a very very tiny closet and those two little bumps are as I said they're like built-in Cabinetry that they added just to have a place to put things away and there's one bathroom so in order to preserve like some open space um we decided to build on top of the um existing family room that's down below um we can go on to I guess the next uh I guess I can do that the next plan the proposed plan I got it okay okay so um we decided to build um above the garage to make the playroom um we did a little I did a little bit of reconfiguration um to the to make the two children's bedrooms um slightly bigger and um and then gave them a primary bedroom in the back that took over a little bit of gave them a decent Siz walk-in closet a decent sized bathroom um just a nice size room it's not oversized by any stretch of the imagination it's just a decent primary bedroom and then just take the spa we took the space that's over the garage although we set it back a little bit so that you can see on the elevation it looks nice um and gave them some play space for the kids because the kids' bedrooms are still quite small so they would they're they're fine for sleeping in they'll fit like a bed and a dresser but they're not going to give them any room to play um if you look at um I have the existing A2 um what I'm showing now these are the existing ele Elations um so you can see the garage um is only one story um but the rest of it is two stories um you've got the if you go those are the side elevations you really don't see this side is from the street you don't even really see it because of the trees but that's the family room um over there this is the back elevation and uh that's the other side the side of the garage so the garage has this kind of funny shape um so we decided we could just build on top of that um and if you go to the next elevation um you will see that we went over the garage but we set it back the reason the roofs are showing up so dark is just because I would you know that's where we're adding on space but they will blend you'll you can see that we went straight I went straight across with the windows um so that it looks like it was you know part of the original house um but um it's it's set back to where the second floor is we decided to add a porch just to give it some charm and you know just make it a little bit nicer a little bit of space to sit outside um and um anyway so there's the porch and then we built over the family room to give them a um new um primary bedroom which the house didn't really have um okay so now let's go quickly through the fo no I'm going through the wrong photographs sorry wrong iot pulled out the last project can you pull out the photographs okay that's the front of the house very simple it's nice well our what my plan is to um just extend uh the second floor so that it's in line with the existing windows it's not coming out as far as the garage and just put a matching window so there'll be three Windows across instead of two um it'll be um you know the simple um house that it is and then just put a nice um porch in front the porch is small part of the area is part of it is already um there like the steps already so we I mean it'll be rebuilt but it'll be just going across um let's that's the back of the house and we're going to build o this is what we're going to build over but it will be not as high or it won't be any higher than the existing building over the the existing other part of the house okay this is the this is the the picture that I think really tells the whole story this is their house this is their nextd door neighbor's house and this is not like something that's unique um to the neighborhood um most of the houses there I think people found the same thing the houses were small people you know who like staying in town um and don't want to move find that they're they're just too small so they end up adding on this is their next door nebor neighbor and you can see they also built a the garage I mean porches are kind of um popular in their in the neighborhood because it's um a little more of a densely populated neighborhood it's nice to sit out with your kids and um watch you know your neighbors go by it's a friendly neighborhood so I I think it just even with what we're adding this their house will be still look significantly smaller than their nextd door neighbor's house um but as I said that's that house is much more typical of the neighborhood today like pretty if you go down their street you'll see that pretty much everybody has built above their garage because it's kind of like a natural place to build um without taking over you know it leaves you still a lot of open space in a backyard so um it's you know very um very typical so I think by doing the by the by what we're proposing um one it's um it's in the int the intent of the or I forgot to say one thing if you the most important thing the reason that we need a variance is that um to build over the garage the garage is already non-conforming the garage is what's creating the location of this on the site it's very close it's close to um it's only 4.5 feet from um the property line so we're looking for a side yard variance we're also looking for a front yard variance but we're not really changing the front the front front yard is not coming any close to the street it's actually um other than the porch which will be open and um and it'll be taller but it it won't it'll be actually set back a little bit so it um so the reason for the variance is for the sidey yard and for the front yard to build over the garage um I said it's really it's it's a very typical in their neighborhood um it's a very typical renovation because it makes a lot of sense um this way they keep a nice you keep a lot of open space they still have a backyard um and it will fit very nicely into the neighborhood um so um the hardship is that you know we're too close the existing house is too close to the sidey so but it makes sense to build there it doesn't make sense to add space on more space onto the back um so um I don't think there's any detriment to the neighborhood um I think it's actually an asset they're looking the the porch will add some charm to the house I think the size is still going to be smaller than a lot of their surrounding neighborhood neighbors but yet it will fit very nicely into the neighborhood um and that's pretty and that's the story okay just for clarification this is a slightly undersized lot it is a slightly undersized lot so that also is one of the things that um and with all the changes you don't have any you don't have you don't want or anything else right right I was going to say that Flor area ratio we're not even close to um they're not even like at the maximum Flor area ratio um so you can see this is not like they didn't ask for like you know like a mcmansion or anything like that they just wanted a little more space have some closet have a um have a you know on you know a primary bathroom with like a a nice CL some nice closet space place for the kids to play um so you're not tripping over toys in their living room um but we didn't go crazy like we did not it's not a it's not going to be a a gigantic house it will still be a relatively small house but a little bigger and a little more livable does anyone have any questions for this witht us so uh like here yeah hi so the the side yard is uh existing nonconforming correct and so is the front yes and we going to make a portra in front of the existing non-confirming uh yes but you're allowed to do I think with the zoning ordinance you're allowed to go six feet out from your um six feet past your front uh facade so that's the the depth of the porch will be 6 feet is it yes okay the depth of the porch will be Sixt right so the only addition that you are proposing is to build above the garage and to BU build above the family room in the back and build a porch and build a porch three things yes I think it's it's a good addition now I had a similar question so thank you so yeah about that and that means you're not taking over any more space you're building over all what already there and it's a great addition it's good job I just wanted to ask one more thing so this resolution was approved in 2020 or expired in 2020 so it expired so this was um this is a good question um so this was um that variance was done by the prior owners and um so when so although there was a variance on it it wasn't exactly the same project it was very similar they were asking for similar variances um they were building in the same places but I just you know you know I I didn't meet the prior owners I met them and I laid it out according to what would meet their needs so again it's so logical of where we're building so they were building in exactly the same place and they needed the same variances however it's it's not exactly the same floor plan so um when it came around to applying for our permit we had to redo it thank you so it had been approved before similar not exactly but the same variances so when I was looking to buy a house in Livingston 25 years ago What attracted me to this town was also that there were multiple Generations here and kids who left town worked elsewhere came back so as a Livingston mama I feel very happy to see them back raising their family if you're hungry she'll make you dinner anybody in the audience have any questions for this witness yes I just want to confirm that the shed that ex that exists that's going to be removed yes so the reason we actually decided to remove it is because we did look at the old variances and the last time it was approved they did they they approved it with the condition of removing the shed so I asked them how they felt about the shed and they said actually they like it and they're using it but if it meant you know getting the rest of it approved they would also be willing to take it down so we proposed it that way thank you very much okay does anybody want to make a motion I'll a motion I'll make a motion I second I approve I support the application uh Mr chairman Miss cona yes Mr Sherman yes Miss Khan votes yes Mr arronte yes Mr Kenya yes Miss Yan yes and Mr Beer yes motion passes yeah thank you thank you you're welcome good luck could take a Cofe see just don't want it I'm gonna ask we take a five minute break because I need a five minute break so be right back you e e e e e e e e spe e e remember e okay I think we're back in session okay Miss Khan will you call the next applicant block 6701 Lot 2 three Canterbury Road application number 20245 DV Stacy Bernstein application applicant seeks approvable applicant seeks approval to install a pergola over existing patio in violation of the following section 17087 e1b accessory buildings must be located 10 ft from principal building one foot proposed 9 be variance requested Mr shman I believe you want to be recused yes I need to be recused see [Laughter] you hi there how are you good let's uh get you sworn in okay would you kindly state your name and spell it please oh push a button it Go Green see it goes green okay uh Stacy Bernstein sty Bernstein b r n s t i n thank you Miss berstein do you swear or affirm that all the statements that you're going to make to the board this evening and your testimony will be true accurate and complete I do okay would you identify yourself Sarah yes Michael owner of uh Majestic outdoor t o o l e correct M Mr tul do you swear or affirm that any and all statements you make to the board this evening and your testimony would be true accurate and complete yes would you explain a little bit more detail uh what you're I know that you're with a company that designs these pergas from what I read them so I just need to get information about you if you don't mind sure um you know we've basically been uh installing and designing outdoor shade structures for about 25 years uh been in business 30 years uh graduated college for uh from AR um and we're proposing to put a a shade structure uh a purle up uh at the burnen over their existing patio and your you and your firm designed or prepared the documents that have been submitted with regard to the perola that are part of the site plan package correct correct thank you Mr chairman I have nothing to okay proceed I apologize I didn't even actually know I was speaking this evening um so we built we have a a deck but we built a patio um actually kind of two side by-side patios two years ago to have an outdoor kitchen and just some more space we don't really use our deck too much um so as we had it uh we realized that it's it's very very hot uh sitting out there we don't have a pool or any place to cool off we also uh redid our backyard at the same time that that patio was built so we cut down quite a bit of trees and so now there's no shade so the idea was to build the structure that he's talking about over one of the patios so that we could enjoy the patio more um that we just built um that's pretty much it okay um let me ask you um you're looking for variances of the positioning of the burglar why do we need the variant and I think what do you want to have yeah so the um all right pass it over yeah so the we thought we needed uh we're basically 13 ft off the house with the pergola um but we were told we needed the deck is basically coming out 12 feet so we're a foot off the deck and we're told that we needed to be 10t off the deck or would be required for a variance um we're looking to Center the pgle over an 18 by8 existing patio it's a 16 X6 per so we're going in a foot on on each side uh which would allow us obviously to to pour the footings and then install the system over the top of that so uh the variance basically was to be you know um or or a foot off of the deck uh as opposed to 10 feet Miss yeah please miss Buren you submitted um a survey that was prepared by harbard Consultants okay I'm showing it to you now and then there was another document that has part of the survey on it with yellow marking okay and it says 16 by 16 adjustable pergola being installed over an existing 18 by1 18 patio is that accurate Mr correct correct yes um you also presented these documents I think they're about three pages is this your product Mr yes I was just trying to show the renderings and then I've also got the construction drawings there stamped by the uh structural engineer and finally I'm just going to ask the photographs that were taken who took those photos I took the photos yes these accurately depict what's depict what's shown in the photos right they do yes you can kind of see the uh 18 by8 patio with the one foot border around it there okay and the final item is um is something that's entitled The presented by Majestic awning project Bernstein residence it's a number of documents like this with a with a cover feet yes you're familiar with that correct and that's accurate as to what the applicant proposes to do yes it is thank you m Mr chairman I have nothing for okay um any questions as everyone's looking through this no just like more of a question for the attorney we this is like treated as a c variance or to set back we might want to approve both just in case this is just a mik I'm sorry I keep forgetting that because I'm old um it's it's really a c i mean I think because it's just a deck and what we're doing is putting the pera over the deck so I don't think the use is changing it's not like it's attached to the structure and they're going to have it they're not going to inhabit the Pergo at least I don't think so right you're not going to live in the pera okay so I would suggest that we go with aity on this but I thank you for bringing it to my attention thank you ja you good with that yeah okay um I guess my one question it's an 18 by 18 patio but the perula is 16 by 16 so you got to rip a part of the patio to put the post in yes okay so it's fitting kind of a little inside yes correct okay just want to make sure that was actually correct yeah close please so the the pergula is not really covered on top right it's got gaps um it's a louvered pergula it is motorized and you it does close to protect you from the rain and the sun okay uh with some lighting in it and uh fan okay and the electrical outlets are available and uh and those permits have been secured to uh we we filled out the building and the electrical permit but then we're uh you know clearly we're clearly here and so it's never mind I answer my own question yeah we've installed a few of these systems here in Livingston the other ones were attached directly to the home so we were we were then uh clearly just getting the building permits and the electrical permits any any questions comments down there um go you can go two more thank you m Bernstein U and and Mr atou based upon what you know and your familiarity with the neighbor neighborhood and your PR preparations for doing this if the board were to approve this deviation that deviation wouldn't substantially outweigh any detriment to the neighborhood or cause any problems correct no not at all it's it's it's in the middle of the of the property so it's not close to any setbacks in in any any direction the rear setback or either or the sides and you agree with that Miss berste right I do thank you very much how high is the railing that we're looking at there off the off the um ptio uh about 40 in to where we're where the decking is 40 in to the decking and then another 36 to the top of the rail so 76 maybe or uh yes I would say approximately six six feet or so yeah and the pergola is 8 feet uh the pergola is going up to the top uh to the bottom edge around 11 ft 11t yeah we're trying to keep it up high enough that if you're on the deck you're it's over the top of you that you're not looking into the side of it and also you're looking from the house out that it would be up at a height that you're it's not obstructing The View into the into the yard and behind the house you have mostly Woods no that's the problem it's all grass oh oh yeah there's no trees yeah there's no trees I mean there's trees in the perimeter but not in the center so you have any plans if there's any you know fire related issues come up or something happens fire issue I'm sorry uh the the pgle is all extruded aluminum uh with a powder coated finish but you know clearly the electrical work we're doing will be inspected and it be grounded so it's not like a traditional wooden Perle if that was the question or concern but I'm also concerned about my question is also about the flexibility you're moving around if something happens in an emergency you have enough room around you wor about egress yeah from the house it's not blocking any oh yes e or anything else no you can fully walk through the the sides are open so you'll be able to okay go walk way through it right yeah okay yeah there's no intent to close it in no no I think it show I think on the it shows one you can close it with we've got one motorized screen on the on the side where the sun's setting to the West since we're up so high the sun clearly would be completely underneath the you know the structure so that allows you to drop it down but it's just one side of the of the for and does that does that have to be up during high winds um depends the the screen does handle a lot of high wind but so um but typically yes it would be it would be put up yeah so so it can withstand I had the same thought uh it's got no parts that can be ripped apart by strong winds and and hit the neighbors correct the the uh louvers um basically we could put a wind sensor on it so if the wind basically is over 60 MPH it automatically opens the uh louvers up so the wind passes through the system and there's no uplift on it and and you're not planning to cover it in the future at all or anything like that right no is anybody in the public have any questions anybody want to make a statement and the next question would be does anyone make a motion on a statement I mean just feels very like technical to me it's like obviously far enough away from the house and so if we're just I it seems like on a technicality is why you're here which um but on balance like I don't you know it's a big backyard it's not going to be a detriment to anyone nearby so you know I before you make a motion I have a question because I don't I don't know the answer to this so it's really just if the perlar were attached to the house it would need a permit would it need a permit if it was attached to the house because this is not attached it would need a permit if it was attached because then it would be like an accessory structure like attached to the house okay so regardless if it's attached or not attached it will need okay well it needs a permit but it would need need a variance it would need a variance right the variance is for between structures okay that's yeah that was code requires it to be 10 feet from right so the variant is only for if it's not attached okay got it or by yeah because we' we've we've clearly um pulled permits for ones that we've installed to the homes this is the first time I'm here for uh you know for a variance on one of the systems all right just wanted to clear that up okay good I'm sorry Mr Arron it's okay um motion to approve second now do we have to add in that c c variance this is going to be a VAR shape of the house and dynamics of it right I'm sorry I keep forgetting the mic I I'm sure when I'm 90 remember uh so that this variance is being given uh because it's not be it it satisfies the positive and negative criteria as you testify and we'll go forward you just have to strictly adhere to how this Pera is being installed because if it does attach to the house or if something changes that Dynamic then changes the variance okay thank you Mr chairman thank you is anybody second second Miss U Mr arren yes Miss cona yes Miss Khan votes yes uh Mr Kenya yes m Mr Sherman oh he's not here never mind um Miss Yuan yes Mr Beer yes motion passes okay great thank you okay pull the last okay block 4700 Lot 36 Hazelwood Avenue application number 2020 3-30 DV abishek gangal applicant seeks approval for a new attached garage deck in right side and rear and rear addition and violation of the following sections 17099 C2 front yard setback 4 ft required 26.1 ft proposed existing 13.9 ft variants requested 17099 C3 right side right side yard setback 10 ft required 6.67 ft proposed 3.33 ft variance requested 17099 C3 left side yard setback 10 ft required 5.75 proposed 4.25 feet variance requested thank you do you want to make a not thank you Mr Gango you you've been sworn in before you understand that correct so you understand that you're under oath now yes okay would you identify your sir by your name and and spell your name please again right oh I'm sorry thought you were talking to him I no yes I'm talking to you now would you would you say and spell your name please my name is Frank Hall h a l l and Mr Hall were you were sworn in before yes I was and you were qualified as an expert yes sir and has any of your credentials changed from when you presented them to the board no they have not thank you please consider yourself under I will sir okay welcome back um that you've been here a few times maybe just shoot through what you've changed since last time un anything Mr chairman if I could do just sorry I've got to do this procedurally um um Mr gang we've received the letter from Dian Diana pal McGovern of gason Pomo dated March 21 2024 that says that your request they're no longer representing you um yeah for today's meeting right so that you understand at this hearing you don't you're not represented by attorney because of your own choice yes uh we internally discussed and uh based on our previous discussions uh yeah I don't I don't mean you I was asking you to to justify aw the other thing is you submitt documents and there's another denial of application uh that is dated March 11 2024 that you have a copy of this yes corre and you're familiar with it which which is different from the denial of application dated September 28 2023 yes sir thank you very much that's all I have Mr chairman thank you okay as I was saying please guide us through what's changed and uh let's see where we are so um previous previously I had gone through my testimony uh described the nature of the project walked through the various different spaces uh proposed in the home and you heard the uh the planning testimony um and but before the meeting concluded we we heard your concerns about the U essentially the size of the the two-story Edition and its proximity to the rightand property line and and the neighbor on that side uh so what we did was we took those concerns into account and our design team um modified the application so that all of the two-story construction on the right hand side is inside the 10-ft sidey yard setback the only portion of the addition U of the proposed project on the right hand side now that uh is in need of a sidey guard setback is the garage itself uh and that's largely that's because the garage has to be the size it has to be uh both functionally and under the uh the Livingston zoning ordinance um in addition to that um we have um we have managed to somewhat reduce the habitable floor area ratio it was 39.94 something like it was over 39.9 and now it's uh 39.5 3 so it it is um an Ask that's less than 10% over the um the permissible um habitable floor area ratio uh I think we're you know so now our our variances that we're requesting are the front yard setback which is largely an existing variants uh the existing condition um the garage violates it just very slightly uh but the second floor Edition uh above it is is pulled back behind the 40 foot um front yard setback uh so other than that the and the the habitable floor area ratio it's the side yard setbacks on the two side uh so really all of the uh requested variances are uh directly a result of the excessive narrowness of the property and also the um the the out of square uh positioning of the existing house uh so that the right front and the left rear are a bit closer to the side property lens than they would be otherwise if the house had been built parallel to the side property lines um so uh we feel that with the um the rearrangement of the the project um in general that um it's beneficial to the property uh and to the the adjacent neighbors we're getting a lot of construction out of the backyard area uh attaching the garage to the house which is a which was a primary goal of the project um and making the other portions of the uh construction conform as much as uh is possible uh with that concern about the uh sort of looming over the neighborhood being um being corrected Mr Hall if you could clarify something for me maybe I misheard it um under the denial of application dated March 11 2024 the new one it says that the proposed U HF AR is 39.56654 of 9.56% is needed is that accurate um I may have yeah 3 9.56 the Deni L I thought I heard a different percentage that's why yeah that was the old one 39.5 39. 56 I thought I must I think I said 3953 thank you correct thank you very much okay um well I'll just does anybody have any questions I I I'll make a quick statement um I really appreciate you coming back and adjusting this I know you adjusted it more than once um it's a tough lot it's a difficult lot um uh we we I personally appreciate what you've done to make it a little bit more amiable to the neighborhood and to alleviate some of the board's concerns I'd like to hear from my other members of the board if they have have similar thoughts or different thoughts I I concur with what my Este colleague just said anybody else yeah Mr joh yeah um no I would just like to say also I think that uh this this remedied uh some of the concerns that were brought out from the last time um by increasing at least the uh sidey space thank you was there anyone in the public that had any questions by the way I'm sorry no um would anybody like to make a motion then I'll make the motion okay Mr Sherman yes Miss cona yes Miss Khan votes yes Mr refr yes Mr Kenya no Miss Yuan yes and Mr Beer yes say motion passes thank you very much thank you thank you thank youate thank you very much thank you [Applause] I think that's it for our business for tonight um meeting is adjourned good job chairman