chairman we do Zoning Board of adjustment meeting will please come to order adequate notice of this meeting was provided in the following ways notice posted in the Cara news notice posted on the Bolton board and municipal building uh notice made available at the Town Township Clerk and notice sent to the curry news and the stall Ledger will the clerk please call the roll we got Mr Weissman here Mr Tillery here Mr Patel here Mr reio here Mr Blount here Mr Haka here Mr Mondo here and chairman kahill here will everyone please sorry chairman one second Mr Ali will you be joining us this evening or are you going to I know you have to go yes okay so Mr Ellie is here thank you Mr Ali will everyone please stand for a salute to the flag plance United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and Mr kiny do we have any changes to tonight's agenda yes we have a number of changes to tonight's agenda the application of nbad 1 on Park Avenue is adjourned until February 9th with no further notice the superparty application on runan Avenue has been withdrawn and will not be heard 100 Lake View is adjourned until January 25th with no further notice and Mr chairman I I must note that this has been adjourned quite a few times would you like me to send them a letter yeah I think that we should uh dismiss this without prejudice okay I'll tell them that if they're not ready to go on the 25th we'll entertain a motion to dismiss yes I appreciate that Mr KY thank you the last change we have is lnr properties on Normandy Drive that's adjourned until January 25th 2024 with no further notice got it thank you very much sir let's move ahead to item number six 23- zb- 81v Allan Cruz is Mr Cruz present hello everyone yes I am present sir I need to swear you in could you raise your right hand do you swear that the testimony you're about to give should be the truth absolutely your name and address please Alan Cruz 781 Maple Avenue Piscataway New Jersey thank you can you explain to the board what you'd like to do here yes hello uh thank you everyone for your time first of all um I would like to um I have a fence on the side of my house that is on Hamilton Boulevard um and it's a short fence on the back half of the property and I wanted to bring that fence outward and then also forward uh on Maple Avenue um which is the front side of my property uh just to wrap around it to the left if you were facing that the house in that direction or North the north side did you receive receive Mr hinterstein report of October 26 uh yes yes I did can can you comply with those items uh yes my one request and on this uh uh the list was also a mention of the shed which I just want to acknowledge that was only a02 uh uh difference uh deviation from the required three feet um and it according to the notice he deemed it minimal so I appreciate that if that's acceptable um but with the proposed um uh side on Hamilton Avenue uh I I believe his proposed his proposes says 15 ft from the Hamilton Boulevard side um and obviously uh you know wanting to maximize safety and and and space um I I was requesting to have it closer to our property line uh possibly 10 feet or or six feet or whatever uh I could possibly get he Mr Chadwick can you weigh in on let me just let me just comment the board has had requests for fences in the front yard area and has almost un almost always has required a minimum of 15 feet or more and that all has to do with the uh maintaining a roadscape as opposed defenses out under the roadway and I support Henry's recommendation and Mr hen's report also notes that your current proposal places the fence in the sight triangle easan uh that would be a safety issue correct yes no I and if if I may ask you want to release dat I'm sorry no that was apologies uh so yeah you know again and you know first-time homeowner so forgive me you know for for not knowing and and forgive me in advance for any additional questions uh but you know I had seen you know my family and I were asking I was asking also in addition to that far out being that you know uh in in in in our neighborhood or in and around our neighborhood you know I've seen also Corner properties uh with the uh the fence pushed out as you know 10 12 feet from the curb line so that was one part of the nature of my request um and of course I wouldn't want anything to hinder any safety and I don't pretend to know the details of of the site triangle but would it would it make a difference if for our uh front uh fence the maple side if we were to be 25 ft backck from there would that gain us any additional on the uh Hamilton Boulevard side you know no no they're not related okay okay well again I I I I leave it to you but I you know I'm requesting to have as as much as I possibly could of course there's it there's a process in getting a variance that you haven't address it all I don't expect you to do that because you would add to attend a number of zoning board meetings to understand that you have to show a specific hardship or that there's something particular to your property that you can't comply and that just isn't the case uh so they you you're getting a variance significant variance as it is so I mean it they could make you put the fence at the front yard setback and now it's you know tight up against almost against the house so I I would suggest that you um agree with the report and uh let's all move on thank you kindly I appreciate it and again thank you for your patience but yes again um you know I uh you know I heat to their recommendations um that way you know again that way we can all move on okay so if you you're okay with that 15 feet I'm pretty sure we could we could approve this to be honest with you okay okay Mr Cruz uh any other members of the board have any questions Mr CR any comments about this application hearing none I'm going to open it to the public anyone in the public have any questions or comments about this application no one chairman okay close the public portion and I'd make a a motion to approve this application thank you call the Mr wman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr reio yes Mr Blount yes Mr Haka yes Mr Mondo yes and chairman kahill yes Mr Cruz your application as amended has been approved we will memorialize it at our next meeting in January we'll send a copy of that document to you and you'll need that for your permits okay thank you very much everyone greatly appreciate your time and your uh energy thank you very much have a good night Sir appreciate you thank you good night good night everyone let's move on to item number seven 23- zb- 93v Azar nakin is Azar noi present presid here all sir I'm good I need to swear you in could you raise your right hand swear the testimony you're about to give should be the truth absolute truth thank you your name and address please my name is OAR nak and I live at 75 Hall Street pasc New Jersey 08854 thank you could you explain to the board while you're here Mr chair maybe I can speed this along to the applicant the onlyest the only request here is to uh the applicant to agree to allow for uh access through the easement in the back otherwise there are no recommendations are you agree yes can you agree with that sir yes good a lot of time and energy any other members of the board have any questions for this applicant any comments hearing none I'm going to open to the public anyone in the public have any comments or questions about this application no one chairman okay close the public portion i' make a motion to approve this application can I get a second oh second Mr wman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr reio yes Mr blamp yes Mr Haka yes yes Mr Mondo yes and chairman kahill yes Mr n your application's been approved we will memorialize it in a written document at our next meeting and send that document to you you'll need that for your permit appreciate it thank you so much for your time good luck sir good luck have a good night appr thank you be will item number eight 23- zb- 90v Sheila Hobson is Sheila Hobson president it's Shalia Hopson Shalia I apologize ma'am it's okay thank you I need to swear you in could you raise your right hand you swear the testimony you're about to give should be the truth yes I do your name and address please chalia Hopson 2602 Wade Street Piscataway New Jersey 08854 thank you could you explain why you're here yes I'm applying for a variance uh my property when I purchased my home there was a a shed a pool and a a fence uh that was 20 years ago I um put up a new fence about three months ago and I didn't apply for a permit because the fence person told me that it was in kind and that I didn't need one but apparently I did so I I came to uh DPW and I applied for a variance for all the items that's on my property because I didn't know that there was never uh a permit for any of them because I bought the property in 2004 Mr chadrick in for a second the umson did you see the report of Mr Henry interest de are I'm sorry are you speaking to me sir yeah I am okay what what was the question did you see the report from the uh it's from Henry hin it says division of engineering and planning and development did you see that report no I didn't I I mailed it out to you Miss Hobson about a month or so ago oh I'm sorry but I I don't recall I don't there's a number of things that he's recommending that adjust the location of VAR sheds nothing would happen if we carry this to the meeting in in January everything would stay the same you don't have to take your fence down you don't have to do anything but I think you should read this report and contact Mr hin so that you can uh either agree or disagree with his recommendations I you know I I just remembered when you said about the the shed I think in his report he talked about moving the fence back I think that was what he said but well that's why I'm suggesting that you talked to him I did a reconnaissance before this meeting and the fence is there yes so to move it I think you might want to discuss that with Mr hinterstein the other adjustment to The Sheds I think it would be better off if you spoke with him directly nothing fall off this edge of the world here if you push it back to January and I'm sure the board would let let this go forward with no further advertis I I absolutely agree Miss Hobson I think it's in your best interest to deal with Mr Mr um hin one-onone so you can better ascertain your options okay and we don't want to move ahead if you don't agree to the stuff that we're talking about right now we don't want to go ahead with a vote now because it wouldn't probably be in your best interest so um Laura can we put this on for the uh January late January uh meeting well we could do January 11th oh okay that's even better does anyone know H Henry's back he's back on Tuesday okay good I'll just have Miss Hobson try and get in touch with him if you would get in touch with um Laura and she'll put you over to his office and then you can coordinate um you know all right thank you I appreciate it so anybody here on the Hobson matter 2602 Wade street that matter is going to be adjourned until January 11 2024 with no further notice by the applicant the only notice you're receiving is my announcement here tonight okay thank you Miss Hopson okay thank you I appreciate it see you next month uh item number nine 23- zb- 98 shiv Patel uh good evening uh members of the board uh board professionals this is Tim AR I'm an attorney licensed in the state of New Jersey and I'm here representing shiv K Patel for a property located on 165 cou Street um the purpose of this application is the uh the applicant is looking to build a second story addition to the house uh there are a number of variances that were called out although none of these are um caused by the Second Story Edition these are all existing variances um that were uh um put in place uh uh by the previous owner of the property um if you look at those variances I'll just highlight some quickly they're all um uh related to uh setbacks uh and they're all rather di minimist some of them are are as low as basically half a foot and as I said they are existing the only one uh that uh is not setback uh related is a fence that is in the current right of way I do have a report from uh Mr hinterstein that stated December 11 2023 there's really only three comments on that and just uh taking the tenor of the of the the evening um I think I'll just address these quickly and I think that'll go uh that'll be the quickest way to go about this um the uh we will agree to all of Mr H's comments um the his first comment is to uh basically remove the fence from the RightWay so that does eliminate one of the variances that we were requesting we were hoping to keep it there but uh I had had a conversation with the applicant um and we do agree to uh if we are approved to condition that on removing the fence uh there's also u a call for some screening and buffering around the existing garage we will comply with that as well and finally there's a call for a 5 foot temporary construction easement with which we will agree with as well um uh I shiv Patel is uh present um I don't believe he would need to uh directly uh testify but he is here if the board has any questions of him um apart from that I have one witness uh that would be our architect Mr Steve drugga who is present and is just going to briefly take us around the uh uh the proposal um and then I think uh I think I think that would be it for us please Pro there are no variances associated with the uh building construction that's correct Mr Chadwick these are all existing variances uh nothing is being triggered by the additional um Second Story and I think the pictures speak for themselves it's up to the board yeah I think we can move forward with this at this point I don't think we need to hear any further testimony unless any other members of the board have any questions or comments All you're putting down Mr kahill um I I will leave it to the board uh to make their decision appreciate you um to to confirm you've agreed with all of the uh recommendations of the report correct all of uh all three comments of Mr hinin will be agreed with we be perect any other members of the board have any questions hearing none I'm going to open it to the public any member of the public have any questions or comments about this application anyone in the public if you like to comment you'd have to raise your hand so I could see that you have a question no one chairman okay close the public portion and I'd make a motion to approve this application can I got a second I'll second please call a roll Mr wsman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr reio yes Mr BL yes m m Mr Haka yes Mr Mondo yes and chairman K yes thank you sir memorialize it in January okay moving forward let's go to item number 10 23- zb- 6465 v b y-usa Mr chairman uh Jim stall uh I I really have nothing to say I'm really here just to receive the decision you will recall that uh there were five members present at the hearing last month and uh you know to protect my client although I trust the board I elected to wait until this month where additional members could read and certify the transcript if you have any questions any member has a question Mr Kenny I have Mr uh uh I have my engineer on this phone call H Chris LA and uh we'll answer any questions if there are any all of the members present tonight were either present last month or have certified that they read the transcript thank you very much do any members of the board need to open it to the public yes do any members of of the board have any questions or comments about this application hearing none I'm going to open it to the public any member of the public have any comments or questions about this appc M bucking uh Mr chairman I'm going to unmute all of them just to make sure sometimes they have a problem if they're on their phone raising their hand give me one moment thank you okay members of the public does anybody have any questions or comments on V USA no one chairman okay close the public portion I'd make a motion to approve this application with all the conditions that we put on it at the last meeting can I get a second I second please call a roll Mr Weissman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr reio yes Mr BL yes Mr Haka yes Mr Mondo yes and chairman kah yes Mr stal will memorialize this at our next meeting thank you very much and all of you have a very very happy holiday and a happy New Year we'll do thank you you too Mr St thank to you thank you Laura okay let's move on to item number 11 23- zb- 95v Cass Beverly is Cass Beverly present yes I'm present Mr PR Beverly I need to swear you in could you raise your right hand do you swear that the testimony you're about to give should be the truth yes thank you could you explain to the board while you're here first give us your name and address sure Cass Beverly 358 Hazelwood Place for scattering New Jersey thank you Mr chairman before Mr Hazel uh Mr Beverly this is a condition that's been longstanding and the report Mr hinterstein indicates that adequate parking is available at the site which is one of the reasons you have a garage but the way it was done is that the garage still appears to exist from the street so it's it's more of a storage area now but I think all the aesthetic considerations and off street parking considerations U comply with Town trip requirements and Mr ind's report doesn't make any other recommendations yeah in the in the interest of Expediting this process I I honestly think that we can move ahead on this Mr Beverly right now fantastic okay uh any other members of the board have any questions comments about this application hearing none I'm going to open it to the public anyone in the public have any questions or comments about this application Miss Buckley no one chairman okay close the public portion and I'd make a motion to approve this application I'll second thank you please call the roll Mr Weissman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr reio yes Mr Blount yes Mr haka yes Mr Mondo yes and chairman K got yes start Beverly your applications been approved we will memorialize it in a written document at our next meeting and send that document to you thank you so much have a good evening everyone good even sir let's move on to item number 12 23- zb- 100v Robin Shepard is Miss Shepard present yes I need to swear you in could you raise your right hand do you swear that the testimony you're about to give should be the truth yes thank you could I have your name and address please Robin Shepard 181 Lakeside Drive North Piscataway 08854 thank you could you explain to the board what you would like to do here uh we'd like to replace our back porch with um a new porch that has a portico a roof over it Mr Chadwick um the site impact report doesn't any comments as to the uh re reconstruction of the porch but there are some questions uh the survey doesn't show the fence that's on the property now uh so it's should be updated the is a fence easement uh necessary from the prior resolution when you were before the board previously and that easement shown there's also in terms of relocation the walkway and the walkway eement don't coincide that was one of the prior conditions right to correct that updated survey showing that the easan has been relocated in the proper documentation anybody in the future and there's the last issue is You observe there bamboo on your property um by the by on the opposite side by the woods on the opposite side of the easement it's it's an invasive species it's regulated by Township ordinance and the recommendation is either remove it or build a trench 24 inches deep around it so it will be contained otherwise it's just going to spread and spread and spread the 24 in is there a low rooted plant um and you have your choice of of either taking it out or putting a uh trench around it to stop it from spreading okay we'll put a trench okay and the get the updated survey which you need to do anyway okay because it's the prior condition was to relocate it you can talk to Mr hin Steam on how how it should be done and give it to your surveyor and then you'll give the easement to the township and you'll recorded okay Mr hinterstein yes okay call L's office and she'll get you in contact okay you so you agree to those items yes okay John is there anything U to mention about a a driveway any issue there I don't see it on the um side impact but I was I was led to believe that there was some issue the back porch is not near the driveway at all no we're aware of that but there are other conditions on the property that need to be addressed once you're in front of us for the porch okay I'm just I'm just trying to get to the bottom of man I'm trying to expedite the process yeah the driveway when they relocate the easy the driveway will no longer be in the EAS right now it is yeah but I think the issue with whether or not she needs a paved driveway oh is the driveway in poor condition no it's gravel is it gravel yes but it's um edged with the the Belgian block I think the recommendation normally is from the the road itself there should be a pave uh 10 at least 10 feet of pavement off the main road to prevent stones from getting out onto the road to be kicked up into other vehicles and what not um you can do that you can dxy on it and that'll work just as fine just as well that's what I did my drivewood or put what it's an epoxy you just uh pour mix mix it up and it looks like the gravel driveway but it's solid surface no stone bounce out the street yeah man the interest is the interest is to keep the the gravel off the main road because the tires KCK it up and you break windshields and whatnot so the township when a situation like this comes in you you come in for something totally unrelated we have an opportunity to correct an a problem on your property so if you want to go to is it like a Home Depot JN where she can get this it's just you know what just do the asphalt now beats simply Oh I thought we were like there's no well why don't you do this why don't you discuss it with the engineering plan Department that you know about a epoxy that can be mixed in with each stuff and it makes a solid surface there aren't going to be any rocks flying any place and if they agree with it then do that okay now I was under the impression that the driveway would need to be dealt with if we were selling the house you well it's you're on mistaken oh okay okay so then if you make that condition I think we can move ahead with this ma'am uh yeah I can all right so I have to discuss uh call the planning department to discuss what to do again mrin is the goto guide okay okay I got it do you want to move this back or make it a condition Jim how should I deal with we could make it a condition okay any other members of the board have any questions or comments uh what do you mean make it a condition is that we adjourn your matter to another date and let you talk to Mr hinterstein in the interim but if we don't do that and we act on the matter tonight just make talking to Mr hinterstein aition of the approval you could move forward sooner okay I'll do that okay you want to wait to speak to Mr henders or do you want to move ahead tonight um well with one of the condition with one of the conditions being the 10 foot of asphalt yes I will do that that's fine well fantastic any other members of the board have any questions or comments hearing not I'm going to move it to the public anyone in the public have any comments or questions for this application no one chairman okay close the public portion and I will make a motion to approve this application with the conditions we just stated can I get a second I'll second it roll call please Mr Weissman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr reio yes Mr blamp yes Mr Haka yes Mr Mondo yes and chairman K yes Miss Sheard your application has been approved with some conditions we will memorialize this in a written document at our next meeting in January we'll send that document to you you'll need that to get your your building permit okay great thank you very much thank you ma'am have a great night have a nice holiday you too ma'am uh item number 13 22- zv- 69v Derek Bradshaw and Ida Gonzalez yes yes good evening good evening Mr chairman Erica Edwards appearing on behalf of the bradshaws good evening so we have Mr hinterstein uh report here as well and in the interest of keeping this moving um because it's uh we know the board has a lot of um business on the agenda um we we note that Mr hinting noted that we purchased the property uh our property at500 uh Quincy Street we purchased it with the existing uh conditions so in other words um the uh we we haven't done anything to the exterior but paint and replace that um old wooden fence that was uh there uh however when we replaced uh the wooden fence uh with the vinyl fence that is now there we pl we placed it in the precise same location it's the same height um identical Dimensions it's just vinyl rather than wood when we did that we unfortunately did not realize that we needed a permit to replace it um we thought we didn't because there was an existing fence but we made a mistake and um when uh when it was brought to our attention we went and applied for the permit tried to uh but we were denied because there are uh uh variance conditions that um are Apparent from uh um from you know largely as a function of um of our our fence so um we see Mr hinterstein recommendation here uh candidly I wish we had reached out to him um to speak with him directly um because I'm I'm not sure that we're clear on exactly what he's recommending here but perhaps Mr Chadwick can um um help us understand that you know I think this is the case the expense is there come to a resolution Mr hint Stein's report is pretty clear you obviously want to further discuss it and I would suggest you carry this matter and speak with Mr h directly before the uh meeting in January you think he would meet us out there Mr Chadwick I can't speak for him sure I'm sure he would but it's just a matter of schedu okay all right that's the recommendation you think you okay with that Miss Edwards uh yes I think that's a fine recommend I think that' be prudent to be honest with you okay um Laura is is the 11th becoming packed now or no not yet January 11th okay and if any revised plans are to be given they have to be in 10 days before the meeting understood and would you like us to extend the time uh for the board to make a decision because I believe the time expires at the end of this month I I'll I'll look tomorrow and I'll email it to you okay very good thank you for your help have a great evening you too thank you happy holidays amen no anybody the Bradshaw and Gonzalez uh application 1500 Quincy Street this will be continued to January 11th 2024 with no further notice by the applicant thank you very much thank you ma'am have a good evening let's move on to item number 15 23- zb- 103v BJ singal uh thank you uh uh Mr chairman and uh esteemed members of the board and board professionals my name is Tim Arch attorney licensed in the state of New Jersey here here representing VJ sing hul this is for 4462 Avenue um I believe the board is familiar with this application this is an an amended um prior approval uh to uh for Mr singal to construct a house you may recall uh this house was uh designed specifically uh for his handicapp daughter she's wheelchair bound she has a very serious condition in which her uh skin is uh like crpe paper and and braids very easily and so um part of the design of the home is to allow is to maybe make more ample space to allow her to uh uh to move around freely um so I don't think I need to go uh into all that testimony o over again with Mr singhal although he is here if the board has any direct questions um as you may recall we were uh in front of the board not too long ago as a discussion item because when uh construction of the house was going to be done it was discovered that the water table was higher than uh than re uh than was previously suspected so because of that that led to uh the design of the house having to be not changed at all but basically lifted up uh and at that time we were asking to lift it up five feet uh to account for that water table uh Mr H steam was at that meeting and he uh actually pointed out that raising uh it would trigger a variance he was actually mistaken uh about that uh he has since uh checked and uh there were no variances that were triggered uh in terms of uh numbers of floors and we are not exceeding or even meeting the maximum height for that uh area so what we were proposing did not trigger any new variances but uh Mr interin was indicating that it would uh that it may exacerbate existing variances so we filed this uh this amended application we actually were able to uh with our architect Mr Mark Marcil we were able to actually reduce it again slightly so that we are now raising the home only about 3 feet uh from what it was um so even slightly less than what we were proposing at the discussion uh uh meeting U I think really the only question for the board is whether or not uh is is essentially if the board's decision to Grant the variances at the original hearing would have been different had the building been three feet higher it doesn't trigger any new variances uh it's still underneath the maximum height for that zone which is 35 uh feet uh we are significantly under that uh and really it comes down to and the only comment that Mr hinterstein has on his report is that uh uh is that the uh necessary testimony would have to be put on the record to justify this well frankly it's because of the water table that's a topological feature of the undersized lot uh I think would fall under a C1 hardship argument uh but again I don't think that we have to go through the uh um uh rehash in all the testimony of Mr and Mr Marcel Mr Marcel is here and he's available in case there is any questions uh from the board of the board professionals um but I think it really just comes down to the question of if that Home Design was three feet taller at the original application would that have changed the board's unanimous vote to approve this or would the board still have voted and I'll also point out no members of the public voed any objection at the at the initial hearing and uh although we haven't opened it up to the public yet I would uh hope that there's no members of the public objecting to this so um I are there any members I got it from here Tim um are there any other members of the board that have any questions or comments about this Mr Arch did Henry shoot you an email or send you a letter stating that uh that statement you just made about there being no variance on the on books or anything yes he he did I actually I actually emailed him after that meeting to ask if he could uh actually direct me to the uh the part of the ordinance that uh that he was citing and he uh emailed me back to say that he was mistaken that he was actually thinking of I believe another town potentially that he had worked in so he he did confirm that I think it was an honest mistake obviously I agree yeah Mr chairman I think you got to put on the maximum height allowed in his zone is Mr Arch uh maximum height in the zone is 35 uh feet and we are uh actually Mark if you're here do you have the uh you know the height that we are at I what yes I proposed now the height propos is 30.4 five feet 30.4 five and what was it when the original application was approved 27.53 yeah that's the three feet that M yes I don't think that's an issue considerably less than the maximum L correct correct agree agreed any other members of the board have any questions or comments okay hearing none I'm going to open it to the public anyone in the public have any questions or comments about this application I have one chairman uh hold on one second sure his name is Rob Rob can you raise your right hand I need to swear you in can you see me hear me see your name we can hear you sir okay do you swear that the testimony about the give should be the truth yes your name and address please uh Rob CAU 429 Patton Avenue directly behind the lot thank you go ahead sir my my only comment I I missed the original uh we were away and couldn't see us but I I don't have a problem with the house and and all that it's just it by raising it I just want to make sure the grading does not put any water towards my property fair enough question only only issue um and and if you know the history of those few houses there used to be a drainage dish through there uh that has been as work was done on each house was filled in over the years so I think that's your water issue um uh if I could address that chairman um we don't have our engineer John dupon here I can say that I did confirm with him that uh the raising of the home does not change anything to do with the grading or the storm water or the um or any of the engineering that was originally proposed and in designing and building this house I believe there's actually going to be improve storm water management on the site um uh because of our proposal I believe there's a a I think there may be a dry well or or some storm water management measures that are taken but again I'm not an engineer so I can't spec I can't testify specifically to that okay thank you Mr AR any other questions sir uh no that was all just just just okay thank you for your thank you for your input any other members of the public out there have any questions about this application no chairman okay close the public portion i' make a motion to approve this application and I get a second a second call roll Mr Weissman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr reio yes Mr Blount yes Mr Haka yes Mr mandoo yes and chairman kahill yes we'll memorialize it in January thank you so much can I say something Mr chairman take care have a good evening yeah no my daughter was waiting for that day and you gave her that Christmas grip so we're glad to help out does our hearts warm when we help C uh you know residents out with situations like that so you're more than welcome thank you thank you bottom of oh no my blessing don't worry about it uh item number 16 23- ZB d2v CZ piscatway uh thank you uh Mr chairman this is still Tim Arch uh still licensed attorney in the state of New Jersey I am here representing uh CZ Piscataway LLC this is a bifurcated use variant I'm sure the board is aware uh but just uh just to reiterate a bifurcated use variance we're here asking for a uh a use that is not permitted if granted we would then be coming back to the board with a full site plan so there may be some um aspects or or some specific questions uh that really are more appropriate to be addressed at the site plan uh rather than the uh the bifurcated use variants um but we are asking for uh uh the use in order to uh construct a self- storage facility um in a residential Zone um there are some uh uh additional variances that we've also identified uh but again all those will be addressed at the site plan but we uh we are addressing maximum Building height maximum building coverage those are the main ones um obviously the use the use as a self storage uh and then there is a parking deficiency required is 256 spaces proposed are 17 spaces that sounds like it is a astronomical um difference um but what you will find and I think what you'll find through our testimony and actually what is backed up by uh your own experts uh your uh uh report from Dolan and Dean is that the needs of parking and the traffic generated by Self Storage is extremely low and the ordinance and the parking calculations in the town are really not designed with self- storage in mind in any regard um so that's why you get that big disparity between what is required in parking and what is the reality actually required in parking uh and again i' i' I've alluded to we have uh some reports we have Mr hinterstein report from December 11 we have a DPW me uh Memo from October 23rd that essentially just says uh there they will not comment until the site plan uh we have a a Dolan and Dean's report uh from November 6 which I alluded to which indicated that our parking variance is uh can be granted with no negative impacts there will be no additional uh traffic impacts and that we are actually providing more parking uh than what the the standard uh the um uh not rsis but the equival of varsi standard would be um for self storage in that area uh and then finally our last report is Mr Chadwick's report of November 17th um so tonight I do have three Witnesses um I have James kley uh he's the representative of CZ just scataway I then have Mr Matt Shero he's uh from Dynamic engineering and then finally Allison coffin is our professional planner um uh we also have um our architect here as well if the board uh has any questions um but again I think uh I think the architecture will be more directed towards the site plan um application although we do have I believe a sign detail that was uh that was um uh presented uh just to address one comment in Mr hinterstein report um we are agreeing I believe to all of Mr uh hinterstein uh comments um uh the only one that I think really uh we needed to address was uh moving of the uh moving the sign we had uh we were presenting a uh freestanding sign or a monument sign that we were proposing at 8 feet from the right away he wanted it to be 10 feet we will comply with that um so without any further Ado I believe Mr kopley is uh is ready to be sworn in and testify I interrupt one second before we start the testimony Mr AR have you gonna have testimony relevant to the ruian question yes Mr Sherl will uh Mr Sherl will address that but I but just as a uh as a let me ask you the question have you had an approval from thep yet uh I no I don't believe we've had an approval from D but I can tell you there are no Wetlands on that property again Mr sharow can address that has nothing to do with it you got a stream next to your property you get impacted by the riparia my understanding is that there is no riparium buffer but again I'll have Mr sharrow address that because he's much more qualified to address it than I am Mr chat could I I suggest we have that testimony first to be convincing because if there is a reran buffer required it'll have significant impact on the use of the prop well not the use but how much you can use on that lot so it I want I don't want to go through you know whatever time it is and we find out that oops we can't do it understood if if it's the board's pleasure I can start with Mr sharrow of dynamic engineering and I think we should get disposed of that issue thank thank you John I appreciate that yeah Mr Arch i' like to proceed that way as well certainly uh Mr sharrow is available and uh I believe is right to be sworn in could you raise your right hand you swear the testimony you're about to give should be the truth I do your name and address please uh it's Matthew sharo Dynamic engineering 1904 uh Main Street in Lake Como New Jersey thank you no problem thank you Mr sharro if you could just briefly give us uh uh the benefit of your uh credentials and let us know if you've ever been accepted as an expert uh in front of badway boards so I uh have been practicing engineer for over 20 years now be since 2016 I'm a principal at Dynamic engineering I've been accepted at the planning board in Piscataway and then multiple municipalities around pasc away that's fine sir good qualification so thank you very much appreciate that all right Matt I'm going to just uh give you the uh the floor if you can please address Mr Chadwick's concerns I guess initially sure no problem so because this is not a cad can I share my screen so everybody has an idea of what we're talking about here sure can everybody say yes yes all right so this is the colorized version of the site plan that was submitted schematic plan that was submitted as part of his application um be marked as A1 since it's different from the submitt sure it's uh I'll just for the record it's site and schematic landscape planning rendering prepared by Dynamic engineering dated 1214 2023 thank so the the the question um here is we went out and did a walk of the site um to determine if there was Wetlands it was determined that there was not Wetlands associated with this uh with this Brook Do's Brook but there is a there is a buffer to the top of uh Bank of the brook so that's what was flagged was the top of Bank of the brook so that is what these on the map that you see and I'll zoom in a little bit for everybody to see so you see these flat these these markers A1 A2 all the way up through uh a11 yeah and there was more that went off the property uh that is the top of that is the top of bank for do brook and associated with that is a 50 foot buffer and that 50 foot buffer is this line right here um if you can all see on my screen that I'm I'm I'm traveling along it's the multi Dash with the dot line that's the 50 Foot buffer to the top of Bank associated with the Dotties Brook so as you can see it basically falls off the property um for most of it except for the the South or northwest corner and the northeast corner of the property where we are not impacting that area at all and just to further the D questions there is also a flood Hazard area associated with the brook and that elevation is uh ranges between 67 and 68 uh flood elevation and this the improvements of this site are about 10 feet higher than that elevation so there's no impact from the flood Hazard area as well so from from our perspective from D perspective there's no impact on on the brook uh or the flood Hazard area with the improvements of this project you didn't address riparian requirements this is yeah this is this is not a this is not a category one so there's no 300 foot riparian here it's going to be it's open water so it's based on the top of bank I'm not talking about 300 feet well you talk the total total width of the r perion but I'm just talking about generally the applications I've seen last several years D lays a reran buffer of 150 feet on intermittent streams not not because it's a state Open Water this is this is based on the top of bank and associated with the flood Hazard area so we're looking at a 50 foot buffer here to the top of Bank Mr ch if I may um as you had indicated before uh really that would if there is a riparian impact that would impact the site plan more so than it would impact really this bifurcated use variant I think it I think it would relate to your propos well because you're asking for coverage variances and uh various other variances they might all go away if we had to deal with reran but uh I'm not going to get argumented about I've heard the testimony uh the expert says he's this is open state waters and doing from top of bank and uh I'm not going to comment on whether D is always consistent or not I hav't comment on that either Mr chck um and it's safe to say Mr Sher just to piggyback on that um obviously D would have jurisdiction and we will obviously have to follow whatever uh D regulations uh are imposed is that correct yes I think yeah I mean we don't nobody wants to get caught flat footed on this thing have you got any permits from DP at this point we have not have you approached them no because we would need full sight plans for that okay one of the reasons that we're requested the B we've had we've had several applications where we had use variances and all of a sudden the gets into the Act and the Mr CH if if I could is that for me somebody's got a feedback their phone's too close to their mic John proceed I think we can accept the testimony and they go with their own RIS I mean they haven't approached the they are going from their experience and their knowledge of the regulations and uh accept that okay thank you proceed uh so Mr since you already have the uh the floor if you can just uh take us to the rest of your testimony and then I'll I'll double back to Mr Copley for the uh for his testimony sure thing um so real quick I just want to you know um go through some existing conditions some proposed conditions of of the property um and I'll make this I'll make this quick because everybody knows you know where we're at here uh this is block 5601 lot 2.05 the address is 16 59 South Washington Avenue also known as County Route 655 U let me share my screen again um screen share can everybody see this the screen yes yes yes all right so this is uh this is a colorized version of the aerial map exhibit prepared by Dynamic engineering this will be A2 yes prepared by Dynamic engineering dated 1214 2023 um the the property in question is located at the center of the screen uh for the purposes of this presentation North is to the left of the screen um noted by the north Arrow at the top right corner um to the north of the site is the Piscataway Town Center to the east of the site is Count vacant County owned land uh that's wooded up here to the south of the site is more county-owned land with a residential use and uh Municipal land uh own land Beyond uh to the West is South Washington Avenue with the industrial the um South uh was industrial park across the street um and moving on to a more detailed look at existing conditions this is an aerial map exhibit at 30 scale prepared by Dynamic engineering dat 1214 2013 I'll call it exhibit A3 this just shows you a better view of what's going on on site today there are some multiple structures on site with a driveway a couple curb Cuts along South Washington Avenue uh some sheds some twostory residential structures a garage uh some equipment stored in the back um but U mostly you know you know cleared for the for the residential portion and then some wooded area um the brook just so everybody's aware the brook is located basically along this um zone line between the the town center and the property in question moving on to proposed um conditions this is again exhibit A1 I believe we we called it site and schematic Landscaping plan rendering um I'm just going to walk you through the plan really quick um as you enter the site through a full movement driveway along South Washington Avenue you have a 24 foot Drive aisle that circulates around the entire building uh for full full circulation full two-way circulation around the building as you come up to the the the front corner of the building you have eight parking stalls uh for access to uh some units uh as well as the office then you have a security gate which allows you to uh access the rest of the property behind that security gate you have nine parking stalls located here um those are for you know patrons to use while they're there and then we have a 30 foot wide loading zone along the the south side of the building at the end of that loading zone is your 10 by your 10 x 20 uh trash enclosure as we work our way around the site you see the 24 foot wide Drive aisle that has full movement in both directions as well as a 10- foot striped area along the building uh this is for loading and unloading of the um atg grade um units as well as gives a little bit more room for trucks you know moving trucks or vehicles to pass each other um as you work your way around the site and back towards the front there's another security gate and then then you can exit the site from um this this driveway uh you know this is schematic Landscaping but obviously we would plant some Evergreens along the front and sides of the the the improvements to uh buffer the you know supplement and buffer the existing uh the existing um Trees and Landscaping to remain uh there's some decorative Landscaping as you enter the site around the proposed ID sign the ID sign would be step back to 10 ft as suggested um and will obviously be out of any sight triangles as suggested and then we have a little bit of landscaping as you enter the site to pretty up that front office area um it's a you know pretty straightforward um storage application here there's nothing nothing too crazy about it um and you know as noted before it's a 4 42574 square foot footprint uh three stories high for a total of 27,7 22 Square ft uh thank you Mr cherl and just to just confirm you've had an opportunity to look over all the reports correct I I have yes okay and you don't see anything in those reports that we can't comply with correct not at all no all right I have no further direct questions for Mr Cheryl do any members of the board have any questions Mr Cheryl I have a question please do um is there any hydrant on that that building that shct sht all and inventable fire uh you know what I will look um for that I know there's a water main that runs through South Washington Avenue um so let me let me take a look while you go to the next witness um and I will I can come back we can double back good yeah we can double back I don't want to waste time looking and appreciate yeah no problem we'll come back to you Arty okay all right Mr Arch please go to your next witness yeah I have a question oh I'm sorry Steve ENT and exit are going to be only from the Northbound side of traffic or is it going to be people heading southbound as well will people be able to drive across the two lanes and take a a left turn coming out um they they can um but yeah no it's it's it's basically for the for the you know the the South the South the Northbound side of the road I'll also indicate that um uh that is a a county roadway so on that roadway and those sorts of things are going to be obviously under the county jurisdiction when we make that that application to them if we are approved and you'll also have an opportunity to see that more fully fleshed out during the site plan um if we are approved for this you know off the top of your head if that's a double yellow line there would be is not right there that's that's why we that's why we placed it down that way yeah okay thank is that okay yeah thanks thanks Steve any other members of the board have any questions hearing none move on to your next witness Mr Arch okay great thanks guys appreciate it you'll get back to us right yeah I'm gonna look right now thanks shff yeah Mr Sheriff you can just uh stop sharing your thank you there we go um next witness would be uh let's uh go back to Mr James cley Mr kley are you present yes would you raise your right hand you swear the testimony you're about to give should be the truth yes I do your name and address please sure James kley on behalf of CZ Piscataway 134 West 29th Street New York New York one01 thank you uh Mr kley if you can just briefly tell the board a little bit about uh yourself about CZ Piscataway and about uh why it is that uh that this site is so suitable or that Piscataway is so suitable for this use sure thank you uh good evening chairman and members of the board um as mentioned James kley on behalf of CZ pcad way uh we appreciate the opportunity to be here tonight um you know our firm is a private uh privately owned developer and operator of self storage facilities we've been doing such since uh about two year 2000 uh we've been developing classa uh facilities um you know throughout the New Jersey Metro New York City area in that time we've developed probably an excess of 3 million square feet of uh similar projects to what we're proposing here tonight in Piscataway uh we make long-term investments in the communities uh where we develop uh sorry about that no that's okay uh and ultimately we think that the uh residents and uh business owners of the scataway will uh be very uh happy and pleased with what we can uh bring to the community here um we've performed significant um diligence and market analysis and we're very pleased with with the strong business fundamentals that uh We've we've uncovered here in Piscataway um we've taken into account existing storage facilities uh that are operating now in addition to anything that has been you know proposed or under construction um and in our analysis we still believe that um this particular trade area is significantly underserved um especially when compared to other trade areas and on a national level uh we think we're going to be a very complimentary fit uh along uh South Washington Avenue especially with someone the uh current development that's going on across the street the jll project um you know and for that we think that we're going to be you know it's going to be a successful operation um you know the flexibility um that storage adds you know it really fills the need of both local residents and and small businesses um you know we're proposing to develop a class a modern storage facility um the facility will have a mix of different size uh storage units that will all be housed within a climate controlled environment um we are not proposing any outside storage at this particular facility um the site will have uh you know modern Safety and Security features um which will include you know sight lighting digital security cameras computerized Access Control Systems as well as onsite uh staff for uh support purposes um we anticipate that the uh facility would be staffed by three to four employees um 7even days a week uh our store or you know office hours typically range between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m Monday through Saturday um usually a little shorter day on Sunday um you have customers we would expect to have uh Grant access from 6:00 AM to 10 p.m. at night um and that would be done via the uh controlled access systems um you I know we you know we have other professionals here that can you know continue to provide uh other Insight but I'm happy to answer any questions that the board may have thank you U Mr Co just real quick to piggy back on your testimony um so just to touch upon the parking based on your experience with self self storage and based on what you just indicated with um the the number of employees that you anticipate being there do you do you see that the uh the amount of parking that we're offering is more than adequate uh for both uh customers and for employees at the site absolutely probably probably in my experience probably double what we really need but uh in we're fortunate to have the area that we can provide it so so we will okay excellent and there's not going to be any boat or RV storage uh there you would indicated outdoor storage but does that include that that that's correct okay um uh I have no more further questions of Mr Copley any members of the board have any questions or comments I have one question of board M go ahead John the individual units are they going to have any electric outlet lights anything in there or are they uh open a door and you get the light from the hallway yes uh Mr Chad yeah typically there won't be any Outlets inside there would be Outlets uh for in the in some of the hallways for staff for cleaning purposes they typically have a key lock over them so people can't plug um electric cords and things like that in them and then the the Lighting in the hallways uh would be uh on a a sensor system so that they don't stay on all night if if nobody's there obviously uh some of the larger units will have a convenience light located in it but again that would also be tied into uh the hallway lighting system as well on a sensor so it's they're raised up pretty high so people can't get into them okay and you have all the other standards no fuel no any you know no guns not any of that stuff can go no no ebikes uh no lithium batteries none of those good things absolutely okay what would the hours of operation be uh so again the office hours for staff uh customers would be 8:00 am to 6 PM uh Monday through Saturday and then again maybe maybe the same or a little shorter on Sunday and then access hours for clients would be 6 AM to 10 pm seven days okay thank you sure any other members of the board have any questions yeah just one is the building going to be sprinklered in any way shape or form absolutely it'll be fully sprinklered okay thanks Hardy any anyone else okay Mr AR you can move on thank you our Final witness tonight is Miss Allison coffin our professional planner M coffin could you raise your right hand yes I do your name and address please Allison coffin spelled Co ffi N I work for James W hain's Associates we're at 14 Tilton Drive in Ocean Township New Jersey I believe Mrs coffin has been accepted as a professional planner before this board on prior occasions I believe so my license and certification are still in good standing that's good news if you can the floor is yours please give us the benefit of your expert analysis sure the property that we're looking at tonight is a 3.7 acre a regularly shaped lot it's got 455 ft of Frontage on South Washington Avenue which is a four-lane road the lot contains two detached structures Which tax records indicate were both dwellings the surrounding area is not developed residentially residentially the lot to the north is a large scale retail Center across dois Brook the area to the west across South Washington is developed with a large Industrial Park uh there appears to be a tree recycling operation of some sort south of the site also on South Washington and surrounding the site it's itself on three sides is County open space with municipally owned lands further to the South uh the applicant is requesting the board's permission to develop the site with a three-story self- storage use that's supported by 17 parking spaces Landscaping lighting fencing and a freestanding sign although the site is in the R20 residential Zone where this use is not permitted so the applicant is requesting D1 variance relief uh there's some other bulk variances that will be associated with this application height where 35 feet is the limit in the building is 38.33% is permitted and they're requesting 26 and change uh parking which again looks significant on paper at 256 spaces and they're proposing 17 um parking and driveways accessing a commercial use in a residential Zone a fence height and a freestanding sign again commercial uses in a residential Zone uh it's my opinion that special reasons exist for the granting of the use variants and that the site is particularly suited to the proposed use and there's no significant detriment to the Zone plan or the surrounding properties that would result from this variance uh this subject site is exceptionally large for the Zone having an area that's like 12 times the minimum required for the Zone it's extremely deep it is the only property in the R20 Zone that is north of the traffic light on South Washington that that traffic light that serves the industrial park across the street a location which distinguishes the site from the remainder of the R20 Zone and it is not currently served by public sewer uh the proposed Self Storage use is ideal for the site which is located in an area of transition from high-intensity residential use and Industrial use I'm sorry high-intensity retail and Industrial use uh to the county open space and the municipally owned Parcels to the South the use itself is quiet and has low traffic volumes the shape and depth of the site allows for the building to be placed at an angle to the frontage which combined with landscaping and fencing will soften the appearance of this structure from the roadway and the indoor nature of site activity uh limits impacts in terms of noise um and any potential impact on do brook uh therefore the proposed self- storage use on this site makes an effective and appropriate use of what is a unique property and in so doing this variance advances the purp of the municipal land use law with regard to providing space in an appropriate location for this type of commercial use now this is a bifurcated application but uh if the board would like to have some comfort with the bulk variance relief that's being requested I I can address that in Broad Strokes if if that would be appropriate at this time the more we get on the record the better I think you got it then uh so some of these variances the bulk variances being requested are direct direct directly related to the application of residential zoning standards to what is a non-residential use so those would be subsumed within the use variants requested and that's the height the ordinance height limit of 35 ft is intended to control single family residential use in the zones where Self Storage is permitted the li1 and the li5 zones the height allowed is 40 to 50 feet which indicates that the height proposed is appropriate for this use uh the building coverage also as with height the building coverage is intended to control residential use and the coverage that's proposed is appropriate for this use uh the parking in a residential Zone if the board sees fit to Grant the use variants then the parking Associated for this use and the the access for this use would also have to be located in the same site and same with the freestanding sign signage that's proposed is appropriate and it's required for the use to function uh the biggest variance that the applicant is requesting is for the parking uh but the parking that's proposed is appropriately scaled to the use the I's fifth edition parking generation manual would indicate a demand for a self- storage facility of this size of 13 spaces as is you know stated in your board's traffic expert review letter so the 17 parking spaces that the applicants proposed is more than adequate and can be granted uh in a manner that would not have an imposition on the public uh in fact I think overp parking it at 256 spaces while this operator has said that they have no interest in outdoor storage of vehicles as part of their business model having too much parking on a self storage facility does create that sort of Temptation so we're we're far better having those 17 parking spaces then more than 200 if 17 is is enough to operate the facility uh there's also a six foot high frence in the front yard and that's for security purposes the applicant is proposing to screen that fence fully with 7 to eight foot Cedars at least on this concept plan and that may become more extensive Landscaping at the time of site plan so this fence will not be viewed publicly these variances can be granted also under the C2 standard uh they allow the site to be developed in a manner which advances the purposes of the municipal land use law providing adequate light air and open space and providing sufficient space for a commercial use in an appropriate location and the benefits of these variances would outweigh the detriment the benefits include permitting the applicant to properly develop the site and there would be no significant detriment that results from the bulk variances uh the variances in my opinion would not substantially impair the intent and purpose of your master plan and zoning ordinance uh a site itself uh present contains non-conforming uses or was in the past developed with two uh residences on one lot and the site is unique and distinct from the remainder of the nearby R20 Zone the proposed use in this case is uniquely suited to this unique property members of I'm sorry Tim go ahead ask if anyone members any members of the board have any questions or comments we good John yes okay hearing none um I guess you can make your summation Mr AR uh if I can just uh um I'll just back we did get confirmation from Mr Sher there is a a fire hydrant um on the property um or on the uh I guess on the along the roadway and uh obviously any sort of uh uh issues with fire will be uh addressed at the site plan I don't know if Mr Sher if uh we need any more information for Mr Shero to answer that I forget which member of the board asked that question about the was already hia um could you put that picture up and and tell us where the fire Hardon is on the on the property not it's not on the property can you ever see my screen yes yes so it's not on the property this is the the Right End entrance to the industrial uh facility across the street there is a fire hydrant right here uh across the street so it's on the opposite side of South Washton it's on the opposite side of South Washington directly across from the facility U that does that answer your question sir yeah I would prefer that if they put one on that property in the event of a fire um you're going to shut down all of washingt Avenue a major traffic problem yeah as I said at at at at site plan I think this will be uh more thoroughly looked into especially by you know fire safety and all that all that sort of stuff that's certainly something that I think will be addressed during site plan okay your client indicated that this building would be fully sprinkled correct so there's going to have to be you know public water brought onto the site for sure yeah they'll there'll be domestic water and and a fire service okay we can address that down the road any other members of the board have any questions comments It's All to You Tim stion uh I I don't think there's really much need to to I totally agree you're and we're totally in agreement with Henry H's side impact correct we said that yes going to with all the reports got it okay agre all the reports and and move the sign that was the uh's keep it short and sweet I'm going to open it to the public anyone in the public have any questions or comments about this application no one chairman okay close the public portion and I would make a motion to approve this application can I get a second I'll second it okay call roll Mr wisman yes Mr Tillery yes Mr Patel yes Mr Rio yes Mr Blount yes Mr Haka yes Mr Mondo yes and chairman K yes we will Sor who who seconded the motion daa thank you J will memorialize it in January thank you so much everybody everybody have a a wonderful a happy New Year and uh thank you for being so efficient tonight too thank you do we put the resolution that the board retains jurisdiction on the site plan well the board does okay have to come back here the site plane that's jurisdiction good yeah policy wise I don't know whether the resolution at this time I'm concerned that the EP may act different than your expert believes I think there should be a restriction of filing the site plan assume you have approv that you have D at least um tenative approval of all of the permits that you need before you go forward Mr kley is that something that you would agree to or or um you're gonna have to get them well I understand you're correct I understand that I'm just I just for timing purposes I wouldn't want to be prevented from proceeding at our risk with site plan on a Township level if we are still held up with d so perhaps just confirmation that there is no you can't get by D what what are you talking about timing what does that I'm saying because going in front of the township with a with a site plan obviously obviously the goal would be to submit those both simultaneously in front of the township while we're P pursuing our D approvals as well so I wouldn't want one to necessarily hold up the other and again it would be at our risk to proceed forward I you heard my you've heard my recommendation you boards heard your comments as well okay thank you Bob touch with you for some language thank you Mr Arch thank you have a great night let's move on to item number 20 adoption of resolutions from the regular meeting of November 9th 2023 first resolution morsa Ked B which you voted to approve you went out Jim Mr Weissman yes Mr Patel Mr mandoo yes yes Mr chairman kahill yes next one is gri n which you voted to approve Mr Whitman yes yes Rond yes chairman K yes those are all the resolutions I have received item number 21 is adoption of minutes from the regular meeting of November 9th 2023 all in favor say I I item number 22 is Ajman all in favor say I hi hi always a pleasure ladies and gentlemen I thought we'd be a little bit longer but you got a great chairman all right happy and healthy New Year everyone happy holidays that