##VIDEO ID:k7Km2EoV_5I## good evening and welcome to the public hearing for the Livingston Zoning Board of adjustment today is December 10th 2024 if you're an applicant for a d or use variance you should be aware that such a variance can only be granted after showing that special reasons for the grant of the variance exist and that variance can be granted without substantial detriment to the zoning plan of the township of Livingston excuse me 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 other variances require a majority of four members to grant that variance if you're an applicant for any variance and 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 and notice the decision if you do file an appeal I ask that you please provide a copy of your complaint to the planning administrator Jackie H holl pursuant to the requirements of the open public meeting act also known as the Sunshine Law adequate notice this meeting was provided to The Star Ledger in wests distribion and a copy was also posted on the bulen board and municipal building in addition to having notice posted notice this meeting was placed on the Township's website members of the public will have an opportunity to ask questions or to make statements regarding each application at the appropriate time when the time comes if You' like to address the board please come to the front and use a microphone so we make sure your comments or questions are part of the record we'll Now call the role Miss Conan Miss Khan is here Mr Kenya here Mr horn here Mr Shaw here Mr Sherman here miss kanana here Mr Beer here we have a quorum and Mr Valerio our board attorney is here miss Hollis the planning administrator and Miss majie from the planning department are also here thank you before we get going tonight I need to address an item on behalf of this board as many of you know things got a bit out of control at our last meeting certainly that that was not the intent of this board nor anyone who came before us and on behalf of the board I apologize I chair this board holding myself as a member to high ethical standards and will continue to do so it is important to note that there was several inconsistencies in the article published in West Essex in the West Essex Tribune about our last meeting to be clear Miss Durkin who I believe is present tonight did not criticize the board for keeping the application ongoing she noted that the application had been around for five years between this board and the planning board and there was just general frustration with all the numerous steps that the application had gone through throughout the process it is recognized that Miss Durkin was just doing her job I'm trusting for all involved this is a one-off there's a lot of tension in the world these days and it spilled over two weeks ago which I do not think anyone is proud of hopefully we can move forward and enjoy the holiday season thank you uh approval of the minutes second just get myself caught up here okay did everyone have a chance to review the minutes from our last meeting are there any questions would someone like to make a motion oh yes um are we going through the resolutions or just minut just a minutes first okay I'll make a motion anybody second I'll second okay okay um Miss Khan votes yes Mr Kenya oh wait I'm sorry I'm out of order I canot what he was I wasn't there oh you weren't here I'm just come up you weren't here okay um Mr Sherman yes Mr Beer yes Miss con votes yes Mr horn yes Mr Shaw yes um Miss Conor yes okay okay thank you you miss holl any Communications none Mr chairman thank you okay uh memorialization of resolutions we actually only have one that's prepared which is 435 Sycamore Avenue block 2602 Lot 29 and that was application number 20 24-24 DV I believe there's a comment on that yes sir um under section c as conditions of approval point five it currently says the stairs to the attic spaces shall be restricted to only pull downstairs I believe that should read the access to the attic spaces shall be only with pull downstairs so the only way to access both the two attic spaces should be so just changing the word from the stairs to the attic spaces should be the access to the attic spaces okay oh I think you're right all right uh there's one more comment which was brought to my attention there was one negative vote in the final certification Miss Hollis on the certifications right we had a negative vote yeah Mr chairman there was only one desent in vote right it says it was none both before my name and yours Miss okay all right just to confirm is there any member who has not read the resolution is there any member who has questions about doesn't understand the resolution with these uh Corrections there any member who feels a resolution is not ready for a vote would anyone like to make a motion motion second who seconded it Miss Conor yes Mr Sherman yes Miss con votes yes um Mr horn yes Mr Shaw yes um Mr Beer yes okay Miss holl I can swing by on Friday to sign this okay okay I think we're ready to go uh to uh the first uh application 42 Westmont Drive is being adjourned as well as the second one which is 95 V Terrace is being adjourned so we're going on to number three uh Mr chairman for the record that there no further notices required for oh yes for those two for those two ad no fur notice correct thank you and they're they're both to Jour to January 28 2025 yes also Mr chairman can you also note that there are some three additional resolutions listed on tonight's agenda and those resolutions are not yet prepared but will be U memorialized at the January meeting at the January meeting is okay okay thank you and before you move on Mr chairman if if it would be appropriate to ask um for an extension of time for the resolutions um listed under old business because it will be past 45 days how do we ask that we just ask I haven't done that yet think that we have representation on 14 Waterfall Drive and 47 Falcon Road um the attorney is here for for that application Mr chairman John bar on Falcon Road the grant 60 day extension that'll give you plenty only because you got a holidays two two major holidays two major religions coming up yep I don't want to have a problem so we'll Grant you a 60-day extension thank you we'll be ready for the next meeting thank you very much appreciated thank you Miss Hollis and I believe the attorney on 14 Waterfall Drive is also here Mr chairman thank you even everyone my name is Matthew pan from the law firm SS Comon gross and I represent 14 Waterfall Drive LLC if would it be okay with you if we extended the um resolution till uh our January 28th meeting through absolutely thank you very much that's appreciate it thank you thank you Mr chairman thank you okay now we're ready we'll we'll note um member marra's here she joined I didn't see you come in hi came in at what 7:38 um okay block 2704 Lot 8 six Sparrow Drive application number 2024 52- v six Sparrow Drive LL C applicant seeks approval to construct a new single family residence in violation of the following section 17087 cc3 habitable floor area ratio 21% required 23.0 1% proposed 2.01% variance requested evening Mr chairman good evening you look familiar hold by the then I pick you up in the microphone yeah okay yeah please John Barb Ru appearing on behalf of the applicant uh you're uh what we have done in the last two weeks is when over the seven months of Designing of this property and we're able to reduce the size of the of the uh variants we also made significant changes to the outside to try to bring it more in conforming with the surrounding areas as a result Mr chairman I have an exhibit that I'd like to present and give it to your attorney to mark it as A1 with today's date please do thank you thank you m so M you previously for this purposes and and since an hour ago your license is still in good standing and you are an architect in the state of New Jersey correct uh Mr chairman ladies and gentlemen of Ford I'd like to offer as he was Prior Mr sadra as an expert in architecture and we can go over the exhibit not here that's yes it's the a new exhibit and that's why I indicated make it A1 with today's date no prior exhibits no prior exhibits everything was submitted as part of the package and was digitized and put up on the lovely television thank you but today we're g to not do quite you two of it we're going to go the oldfashioned method Mr sadre could you please give the board the benefit of the changes that we made in the plan in terms of the uh side is the far variance sure um what we changed in the plan we changed uh we reduced the square footage deliverable square footage by 49 Square ft um the original variance uh we were applying for 23.0 1% of a floor area ratio uh this one after the reduction we are applying for 22.6 n% uh uh floor area ratio also I I just want to explain the 1.69% increase what it entails in the relationship to the square footage the 1. uh 69% is 258 square feet that's all what we're asking for and also I would like to mention that the 258 includes uh an a two-story open open fo which it counted twice and the area for the open foer is 129 9 Square ft so technically we're asking only for 129 Square ft of increase uh toward the floor area ratio but Livingston has a very particular ordinance because anytime you do a grand opening both floors count even though there's not a physical floor as you've heard tonight as you've already done at the six o'cl session that is part of the part of what we are presenting because that's part of your ordinance and you made changes to the uh exteror the prop yes um the last meeting we uh we decide to change the modern character of the building uh to some U something that can blend into this neighborhood so we designed this now uh which is the Colonia style home with the um Stone base at the base of the building we have stone also at the entrance and the foyer uh we have a um a horizontal board J Hardy and we have a vertical board and Baton on some of the walls at the second floor um So based upon the comments of members of the board members of the public we brought this into more of a of the neighborhood Colonial aspects uh that already exist in the neighborhood correct and are there the changes that are from our prior presentation say again are they all of the changes that from our prior presentation these are the changes uh the square footage changes involves with the second floor we reduced it by 50 square ft uh the first floor didn't change much but that said that's all the changes um just the uh 49 squ ft reduction and also the outside of the front facade so this these changes we were able to do and keep with the seven months of planning that we've done on this correct uh Mr chairman ladies and gentlemen of board I have no other questions for this witness and I submit him to any questions that you may have anybody on the board have any questions not a question but a comment you know I just want to say thank you right I think uh we had a long conversation about this last time with a number of the neighbors and we really do appreciate you taking the communities and our feedback into account I think this is a much improved design that goes with that um area of town so I just want to say on behalf of the board thank you for taking our feedback into account well I think thank you for your comments um I do have a question there is a the staircase going to the uh basement um there's no intent of using the basement as a separate apartment or anything else I assume this will not be a multif family you could put a restriction about multif family in the uh resolution not an issue I don't think it would we don't want anybody living in an attic and we don't want to have a separate rental in the basement uh fun things Happ Maybe a grandparent one day I don't want to live in a basement either does anybody in the public have any questions for this witness please come forward this will be for questions you can make a statement later if you want yes um good evening round two thank you um I have a question regarding the basement has the basement have your name I'm sorry Evelyn Deo at Sparrow drive we would be I'm sorry Evelyn yes eight Sparrow Drive we're the neighbors to the left of the house and again my question is regarding the basement have any been any changes been made to the basement uh not really it's only the right side of the building we had to bring it to the front little bit okay but that didn't affect the design of the basement just the location of the of the room all right I'll also save my comments for later okay thankk you that's all I have okay um does anyone in public have any comments they want to make statements come on back I should have told you to just stay there but you have to be sworn in now me again um wait you have to be sworn in absolutely I'm sorry raise your right hand you swear the testimony give me the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do again for the record your name Evelyn de Mayo eight Sparrow Drive please okay I just wanted to Echo your the board's sentiments um and thanks I have to say I'm very pleasantly surprised um with the changes that that have been made I think it really fits in much better with the neighborhood um so I just want to thank everybody um but I also wanted to state that I still do have concerns regarding the basement um and regarding the water in the area only because I've seen what am I respond feel free of course my client is a a very accomplished Builder both in here and in uh Baris and if he doing a field condition finds that there's a order problem he wants us to ultimately sell this to give you a new neighbor so I can tell you that my client will address any kind of issues and that's one of the reasons that the municipality here insists that you do positive drainage so we keep our fingers crossed but I can tell you he will address it in a very professional manner okay thank you thank you thank you and again thank you to the board and thank you both for all of your work and thank you for participating um do you have any closing statements you want to make very very briefly because I'm still trying to recover from getting home at 1:30 the last time we reduced the number of the the size of the variants we responded to the to the public because as you know as I mentioned to you before I represent three towns one of the things you have to do being on that side is have eyes and ears and to listen to what the community wants because although we don't typic typically say in in in Cox that you care about exactly what a comment is of the public you are you live here and you have to make decision and bring your expertise as as members we have reduced the variances Nick gave you the balancing the positive and negative and he gave you the exact statutory ref to why you have the power to Grant this additionally when you talk about the Aesthetics and you also talk about what what this neighbor is most concerned with the runoff the drainage the municipality requires when you're doing new construction to take care of those issues and this is this is a builder who's building to to redevelop many different areas in in the Livingston and he's going to make a positive change here uh everybody has everybody has somewhat of a reluctance to change and and of course this is the first one on this in this particular neighborhood but I believe that we've given you the statutory requirements through our planner we've given you the expert engineering and planning of the architect and that we have been responsive to the needs and the requests and we' reduced the variance as much as we can to still be in keeping with the eight months that we're put into this particular project so I said I would be brief I think I'm not too many over my words but I'd like to thank you for your attention and uh one thing I would like to say I believe Mr chairman I'd like to make one comment about your statement about the what happened last time I want to say that as a chairperson of a board I want to commend you on how that that you handled that under a very difficult circumstance so I would like to thank you all and I would ask that you approve this project thank you very much thank you would anyone like to make a motion well for all the reasons that Mr horn cited and for your patience I truly thank you on behalf of the board for listening to us for taking the the neighborhood in your uh in your thoughts and uh understanding creating something which is which fits better which sits better in that neighborhood and and doing it in such a quick turnaround two weeks I truly appreciate that um truly appreciate your patience and paying heat really and for all that there's no reason to hold off this application I make a motion to approve I'll second it so Mr Kenya wasn't here um two weeks ago so can you can't you can't vote out and I I'll right okay unless he you read um Miss cona yes and um Mr sha yes Miss Khan votes yes Mr horn yes Miss morachi yes and Mr Sherman yes and Mr Beer yes motion carries thank you all I hope you have a very wonderful holiday which every want youd like to celebrate I like to celebrate them both more than Mar right oh well I'm 3% oi so I said you know after I did my DNA I got to celebrate more you're a tribe member I will see you early hopefully feary thank you you're done for the day all right we fun all right next okay block 2905 live 4217 Hampton Terrace application number 2020 4- 48- V gav Sasa and joy T Sinha applicant seeks approval for a second floor Edition in violation of the following section 17098 C2 front yard setback 50 ft required 36.4 be proposed 13.6 ft variance requested hi there how are you well hi there how are you you're still good you're here by yourself my architect could not make here but hold on one second one moment Happ is if you're ready uh can swear you in raise your right hand you swear the testimony given this matter be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes I do give us your full name sir G of Shasta and last name spell for the record s r i v a s d m v a one housekeeping matter it looks like on your application on the declaration page you checked off that you were applying for a d variant but your actual application says you're applying for a C2 variant so do you want to amend your application to correct that yes okay okay tell us why you're here and uh fill us in yeah so my architect could not be here but he can join us later in the meeting and if I'm not able to answer your questions maybe he can um so I'm here uh for a variance because uh I'm trying to build up my house um and the front yard set back uh in our Zone R3 which is the zone of my house needs to be between 40 and 50 ft uh currently as my house is built that front yard setback is at 36.4 ft uh so I'm requesting your variance that that front yard setback stay at 36.4 and I'm able to build up my house um can you describe the um changes you're making to the house for us so we are um doing a second floor addition uh on top of my um so it's a split house on top of the living room we are doing a second floor addition are you expanding the house to either side or to the front of the back we are expanding the house to the back of the house and by how much is that like in terms of like uh feet further that we are going so we are going close to 25 ft I guess his own ches everything's fine yeah please I'm just trying to figure this out that's what I was asking you're you're building over the existing house right yeah okay and the variance I'm requesting is for the front yard set back right so it's an existing non-conforming condition exact yes okay is the addition within the footprint of the existing building or are you extending it over the uh footprint so yes we are going further further out not going around going back in which direction to the back back of the house so there is no other variance there's no area ratio side it's only the front yard which is existing non-conforming yes yeah please so according to the here wait if I'm reading this correctly it says minimum rear yard set back is 40 you're staying within that 40 is that correct yes build a hand okay it's a front y head pack that's existing nonconforming 36.4 front so it looks like you're not going out over the footprint according to the plans it looks like you're just building straight up yes okay and the reason we want to build straight up because all the other houses on my street are buil straight up otherwise I'll have to go 5 ft back I think so that will not look good and if I go 5 ft back on the second floor I think I'll have to extend it in further 5 ft back and then I'll have to build more so it will be more costly so right so you're just going up yeah just going up okay just the one existing set back yes and just for the record so you're staying under the habital floor area and you're staying under the habital floor area ratio yes yes yeah of course right I have one question please so I know you said you're not extending in the front but I noticed the the design on the left side of the house has the windows boxed out in the front past the normal front facade are you saying that that doesn't extend out any further than the current bay window that you have have in the one of the house today yes so it's basically we have a bay window so we will have a similar bay window at the second floor okay and the attic is not usable right should be building no okay what's the bump out of the window Windows the the bay window do you know I don't know exactly but I maybe I can find out here I don't know actually frankly you can say it's a standard window it's a standard window and it TR be similar nothing special right no okay on the plans it looks to be about the same yeah anybody else in the board have any questions does anybody in the public have any questions anybody in public want to make a statement anybody in the board want to make a statement does anybody in the board want to make a motion any yeah okay um she's do in the last one she doesn't know that yet no no one didn't we Haven so Mr Shas you're not asking for any other variants except the front yard which is existing non-conforming you're building up and back yes and even the bump out of the window is existing and you are just going to have a similar window on the second floor yes um and I've been on your street as I went to check the property and I see that the houses in your neighborhood are uh redeveloped and bigger than your property so I think it's a very modest uh Improvement um and and compliant except the existing non-conformities and for that reason I make a motion to approve I'll second it thank you okay Miss cona yes Mr Kenya yes Miss Khan votes yes Mr horn yes Mr sha yes Miss morachi yes and Mr Beer yes thank you you're all set thank you sir than uh block 500 Lot 21 six Rock Hill Drive application number 2024 60- Chad and Robin Doria applicant seeks approval for pool and fence and violation of the following sections 17096 A8 swimming pool 20 ft required 28.3 ft proposed 21.7 ft variance requested 17091 B2B corner lot front side yard fence front side yard fence height 4T required 5 ft propos 1T variance requested good evening Hi how are you good how are you good thank you for seeing us I assume you're Chad and Robin yes yes um my name is do you want me to start I'm going to turn you over to the lawyer for a moment I'll swear you and then you can give us your correct name okay okay uh you can both raise your right hand at the same time you swear the testimony you give this matter will be the truth the hold truth and nothing but the truth yes okay individually give us your full name name sorry yeah Chad dor Chad dor yes I got and your miss Robin Doria okay okay fill us in a little bit okay um my name is Robin Doria um and together with my husband Chad um we live at six Rock Hill Drive with our two children who are 13 and 10 um we're here today with our engineer um Jeff aaren and our neighbor is coming um in support with us today but he's on his way so that's Phil Crystal who is right across from our property um we're here respectfully to request a variance to allow for the installation of a swimming pool on our property we believe that having um a pool would sign significantly approve improve um our family's quality of life providing us with space for recreation relaxation and connection um we have carefully reviewed all the possible locations for the pool on our property however due to the unique nature of our corner lot the situation is more complicated than it would be on a typical lot and because of this we're requesting a variance for the following reasons more of which um our engineer will get into the technical details of that um but some of the challenges that we fa that we were requesting this for are because um this seems to be the most practical location while minimizing the impact on our neighbors and the surrounding environment um we are committed to ensuring that our pool will not negatively impact the community and over the years we've made efforts to reserve the privacy of both our family and our neighbors including planting of a row of green Giants which completely surrounds our property um thank you very much for your time and consideration on our request me in I'll my he's a little more professional you did great fantastic sounded like a lawyer not quite all right sir would you raise your right hand you swear the testimony give this matter will be the truth nothing but the truth I do give us your full name it's by your last name sure it's Jeff egarian eg a r Ian my business address is 271e 46 Fairfield New Jersey I am a licensed professional engineer my license isn't good standing and I have testified before this board in the past can you just remind us of your education please sure I'm a graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology 2006 licensed in 2012 does anyone this board have any questions objections regarding this this witness there be no objections the witness is accepted as expert in engineering okay great thank you um so behind me is just our photo exhibit that we prepared for tonight um it again it just is a copy of our site plan with some photographs for um just for ease of of identification um I'll quickly go through the the existing conditions of the property the lot area is 20,961 squ Ft it is a corner lot situated on the corner of Rock Hill Drive and stonem drive it's occupied by a single family dwelling driveway walkways patios and similar perces the front and rear yard consists of dense lawn areas uh the rear yard and stonem Frontage are heavily screened by a thick row of arborite essentially being completely screened from the adjacent properties and from the Street the Topography of the lot slopes from east to west across the lot with an approximate change of grade of 8 ft what we are doing is proposing a 16x 38 mod sized inground swimming pool pool patio pool filter equipment pad retaining walls and um I was going to say uh filter screen but we decided um the home owners and myself while discussing the back we are going to remove the need for the variants for the fence um around the uh pool filter which required a variance for front and side yard so we would like to eliminate that from our uh application um I have my the denial letter is in my uh in my bag if you need me to read it off to you so then you're just coming for the swimming pool set correct just the front yard setback variance for the swing pool so yes those are two variances we would like to we're going to remove that uh screening around the filter um so we are requesting relief from the front yard setback with respect to the swimming pool where 60 ft is required and we are proposing 28.3 ft the pool conforms to the rear and side guard setback requirements uh there's an uh let me just see excuse me I still have testimony here about the fence so from a design perspective the pool in this location uh works best for the property and for the lot um okay sorry um for the for the lot because it what it does is it it will be the least amount of disturbance on the property uh The Pool and Patio it's going to require minimal grading in this location uh it'll require a small retaining wall 2 feet and less uh to allow for the construction of the pool in the patio the patio uh will function as desired and provide access to the existing paper patio and outdoor kitchen and Pavilion area uh on the same rear yard area no trees are proposed to be removed as as a result of this project the storm water will be managed in accordance with the township standards as you uh on the site plan we do have several cach basins in and around the proposed pool and pool patio area which will then capture and Route all the storm water to the cach Basin on Rock Hill Drive if anybody needs to see that I could bring up the actual site plan to show you that so certainly as a result of this project and as a result of the increased in previous area there will be a net benefit for storm water management on this property due to these measures that we are proposing as far as cash Basin and rting routing the storm water away um and again the arbor VY screen which is substantial will completely screen the entire front yard and rear area this screen will be maintained that's what is there it's what it's desired to be there for there will be no visual impact from uh on the pool or the pool patio from the street or from the adjacent properties the photogra s which I will just um scroll over here so I can get a clear look at the color photographs you see them we can hold on one second it's gone four times resetting interesting okay well actually I have a hand up um I have 11 by 17 okay that would help that' be great if you can walkk that A1 and please give a copy to Miss Hall perfect timing everybody wants a hard copy what we just yeah just in case we're having technical difficulties thank you just to show pictures perfect time always got to give a b so one thing uh the homeowners didn't know is is they did take great care in deciding where to put this pool and one thing I wanted to point out are in photographs G and H um because on the plan me just show you here quickly there is a substantially large tree on the adjacent property right here this 36 in tree which casts a very big Shadow over the backyard and prohibits Sun so in in image H which is directly adjacent which shows this area right here you can see the entire area shaded uh in image G which is the front yard area where the pool's going to go you can see where all the sun is um so the tree is is causing a bit of a hardship with with respect to Sun if that is a hardship but it's there not to mention the tree also in conversation deposits a lot of debris leaves sticks on the property which would end up in the pool um again which is all considered when we were uh deciding to put the pool in this location so the pool in this location too like I said it it minimizes disturbance if we were to push it into the into the most western corner of the property in a conforming location the existing paper patio the um masonry outdoor kitchen would all have to be modified and relocated substantial amount of soil movement would need to be done to level that uh western part of the property we're talking retaining walls in excess of 4T just to bring in all that dirt and level that area to have a patio and pool that match the existing patio um so from a disturbance perspective the pool in this location works best and um that is my testimony I'll take any questions I have a question um no I mean I get it I think it's thoughtful if I read this correctly the entire property today screened by these large Arbor VES so I assume reading off of this I assume a degree of the will need to be taken out for the construction to occur and then be put back is that correct that's correct yes thank you um just clarification on the on the fence you saying both fences or so we were proposing initially a a small fence here around the fil to screen the filter equipment that was the other fence that was the other fence that required the variant so the so the the other the pool fence is still on here at 5T asking for the 5 foot this this is an existing fence we were only requesting variance for the I got which was uh a design feature that the designer sold them on was a 5 foot aluminum you know modern looking shielding fence but we decided they decided it wasn't necessary okay and the existing fencing is adequate to protect for soring pool right um it it will be pool compliant I don't believe the chain link fence in the rear is has a 2 in so it's just going to have to be modified to have the non-climbing fence but the fence will stay in in its location and it will be conforming to the International Swimming Pool code anybody else have any questions so this little box here is it's pool um Machinery this yeah that's the filter pad yes and there is a neighbor behind on that side of the property right there is a neighbor yes a house there is it possible to move the Machinery on the other side the pool or this on this side here yeah it it can I mean there is anything can happen yeah we're we're I mean this is the this is the application this is the design that we we're we're proposing tonight right um you know the the filter pad itself these things are you know a variable frequency drive pumps they don't they don't they're not as noisy as everyone thinks they are or as it the history tells us that they are um I don't see it being a nuisance especially with as thick as a screen that that is that that can shield and and damp noise GRE the green screen is absolutely impressive pass super great job with the the green yeah I I looked at the fence and I was thinking why do you need a new I mean the fence was great also the current existing fence it's all it's black and yes yeah it's yeah yeah that's my only thing I I I have a question um just really clarification I think more than a question on the agenda um the application reads of the swimming pool 20 feet required but it's really 50 feet required correct because on the actual application it's 50 feet oh if that's the application yes it's yeah okay so that we're just going to change that because on the on the agend the agenda it says 20 feet but we're looking at 50 ft as required correct yes front yard set back okay does anybody in the public have any questions for this witness does anybody in the public want to make any statements regarding its application they didn't make it does anybody in the uh the board want to make any statements I just wanted to say I really appreciate the consideration that you gave your neighbors I think the hedging is very impressive thank you you it took uh I think it looks great eight years to get I I'm sure I've never received so many compliments on you should you should it's like I bir them you should come here every meeting then Chad said before that you actually do all the hedg cutting right oh yeah yeah top would anybody like to make a motion I'll make a motion to approve I'll second it Mr horn approved um Miss morace yes Miss con votes yes Mr Kenya yes Mr sha yes um Miss cona yes and Mr Beer yes okay motion carries much thank you everyone thank you keep it rolling okay block 301 lot 3830 Cliffside Drive application number 2024 63- V abish Ki applicant seeks approval for a second floor Edition in VI VI ation of the following sections 17087 BB2 habitable floor area 4870 ft required 5513 ft proposed 643 ft variants requested did you your Sur uh you want them all no I just want this something yes all right how do I do that okay and there I am no there I am okay how are you good yeah I'll turn you over to our attorney for a second are you both going to testify uh yes okay raise your right hand you SAR the testimony about to give this matter would be the truth all truth nothing but the truth yes yes okay separately give us your full name to the record Roma B abishek Ki I'm I didn't get your name roma roma Bajaj can you spell your last name b a j a j okay thank you and sir are you going to testify are you there ready to testify Thomas singer architect all raite your right raise your right hand you swear the testimony you give will be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do say give us your full name and spell your last name for the record Thomas singer SI n g Mr s can you tell us your um education and your licensing and all that stuff um graduate of the University of Pennsylvania 1982 and 85 the 85 was a master's degree in architecture been licens in New Jersey since 1988 I also have a professional planners license in New Jersey since 2012 and your licenses are coverent in good standing yes they are uh does anyone on the board have any questions objections regarding this witness there be no objections the witness accepted as an expert in architecture thank you okay the show is yours okay good evening esteem members of the planning board and chairman my name is Roma Bajaj and I am here along with my husband to present a vision for constructing a dream home into a space that truly meets our fam's needs primary reason for this reconstruction is the storage um is the shortage of space in our current layout our 14-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter share a bathroom as they grow it's becoming increasingly difficult for them to have the comfort and privacy they need additionally our bedroom lacks a master closet which has meant I have to go downstairs to change every day these are practical issues that we've lived with but we now feel it's the right time to address them before our children eventually leave the Nest we want to provide them with with a home where they can spend these formative years with us in comfort and where we as a family can enjoy more spacious and functional environment this reconstruction is not just a want but a necessity that will greatly enhance our lifestyle and provide the space we've long needed we work closely with our architect to design a home that aligns with both our needs and the character of the community I kindly ask you you to listen to our Architects presentation which will give you the details of our plan and we are happy to address any questions we sincerely hope you will consider approving our design and allow us to bring this Vision to life thank you for your time and consideration okay okay um so this is 38 on block 301 lot 38 also known as 30 Cliffside Drive it's at the top of Cliffside Drive which is a fairly steep hill and it sort of towards the bottom of North Hillside Avenue so it's sloping both North and what east of the um of the adjacent streets um we do have a correction to make the habitable floor area that we were pursuing the variant the D4 variants was uh 5513 Square ft um after more careful measurements it's 5397 so it's a little smaller than we started but um it should be noted that um that it's actually going to be lower than that uh it's a bi Lev house um the lowest level is a basement meets the definition of a basement it's uh below grade um at at least one point it's actually the whole front of the house uh which would in other circumstances make it a one-story house in fact by levels originally were called raised ranches it's a Concrete ground floor and once we had the second floor Our intention is to add a a second floor to the the main portion of the house and the um above the garage the garage is this side that's the main portion of the house um and there's a twole deck in the back that's going to be leveled off um a little bit about the property there are some steep slopes they're mostly up here and some coming sideways here and there's a drainage Swale here in a burm that protects the neighbors so it's pretty well drained the driveway takes up a lot of the back uh and this is coming in close to level and then the grade keeps increasing along here up up the back and this whole area is um 9 ft below ground level um so we are stuck a little bit um So currently we have a basement level which is counter is the first floor of 2240 uh second floor that's 1521 for a total of uh 3315 Square ft which is well below the 4870 that's allowable we're proposing a 28 87 foot um first floor and a 156 square foot second floor and the basement is still counted in a 2244 which is how we get to the 5397 however after after this is built the house will be a two-story house with a basement by all measures which means the basement will come out and that'll be a 363 square foot house which is well below the 4870 Square ft we're asking for no no no no no no just see if you can tap it down go down it looks a little Frozen yeah just use the arrow key thanks uh um the house itself currently it's this is the proposed basement it did have a small storage area in here for yard equipment um but this whole area is going to be revised to this so there's a family room that's going in above the garage uh other than that it's the same square footage as the existing second floor except for uh two Bay window and a little bit of an overhang towards the back the second floor has three bedrooms with h Suites a master bath and some closets uh the exterior this is the exterior of the building I'm going to go go into more detail a little bit later but um actually I'm going to go in now s these are habit habitable floor areas just to repeat that's the existing basement going to a basement the first floor going to ground floor and a new Upper Floor the attic at its peak is um for 10 uh that translates to 82 Square ft below um the 6'1 level and that's well under the um 1500 square feet of the floor below so it's nothing M Mr singer if you don't mind use a microphone for me okay and again the ultimate square footage ends up being 10% of the habitable floor area ratio and 3 3,63 Square ft just another Point here uh just for the board members so the proposed in the last table I think uh goes higher for the variance that's why we are requesting the variance but the way after the house is built when it is considered the basement and then we will be conforming that was the point which she was trying to make so this just okay done so this floor just this drawing just uh describes the exclusions um the two-story family room is under the limits 10 ft at the edges so that that's considered a just part of the ground floor however the foyer which is two stories high uh here is uh counted twice so that's that's where we are with area uh now height this is um it's a unique site and a unique condition because the grade line comes down to the garage and then it ends up going back up so on the low side of the house um it's actually higher than the high side of the hill so because those are low and because the back of the house is more articulate than the front there are nine spot elevations that were used to determine the uh the height um right here actually so there are nine nine nine hype calculations that we use to get the proposed Peak which is uh 3483 however um we are putting something in front that changes grades a little bit which gets about 7even in less than the 34 yes now of those points um Mr Co you could remove the microphone and give it to him in his hand oh okay all right I got of the nine points three of them are at the front of the house and um six of them are in the back so the back which is the lowest part of the site the back which is a lowest part of the site gets all the weight while the three points in the front only get a little bit and as a result of that if you just took the three points in front the overall height of the building would be 33 Square ft or with the Landscaping we're proposing 314 3 um the overall slope of the site is that that straight line going down is a 10% grade between the front and the back of the site um if you were to extrapolate that line it would end up being about 31.6 feet tall relative to Natural grade before anything was built in the 1940s uh the work we're doing in front currently this is the elevation of the front front stoop and the front step we are slightly increasing the grade here to 5% using some structured uh walls to to get up halfway the stair to the stairs to the first floor so you'll be entering at the first floor um grade is right here the that's uh fill underneath the stair but this would be the the final grade there's a 16in SE seat right here and a a one and a half a 1 1 fo two drop to the Garden uh um that's just an enlargement in the interest of the time I think there are other hearings also planned I'll uh I'll just request so essentially the variance requested is for use for the square foot the plans which are already presented to the board members uh elaborate out what we are doing are we converting the B Lev house the the ground floor being the basement and adding a new floor on the top which will give us three uh on suit rooms uh the overall Square fo if you count including the basement that has been provided that's about 5,300 Square ft but if we count after the house is constructed if you count the ground floor as the basement it'll be conforming at 3,800 sare ft that was my question actually what is the style of the house you said it's a B level and uh after it's redeveloped it will be a colonial Colonial so the 2240 that you said is the basement area that it's being counted right now right will will be basement then so then it'll be conforming correct correct so what we were told uh I think the denial was that because it will be non-conforming while it being constructed that's why we have to apply for the variants uh for the used variants and there are no set backs the plot size is pretty big uh across and we have ample space around all the three sided it's a corner house right yeah that's what I was thinking why were we talking about the 2240 basement okay that that clarifies a lot and my my second question is about the the height um in the back the rear height which is 36 point something no so that that's what the uh well yes there are two two sets of Dimensions one is the uh maximum height which is from the lowest point around the perimeter of the house to the peak it's not an average it's not based on the average grade it's um it's it's a different criteria that uh that doesn't correspond to the code the height is not the question of variance here at all the height is not a question of variance we've just been yeah told somebody might like to hear about it yeah so I I think the height U comes into question because the topology of the the plot is not flat so when you're doing the measur men you will have much more height if you're looking from the back of the house versus the front of the house the house sits like this on on the sloping Hill that's why so I think Tom felt it right to just call it out but it's not part of the variant it's still if you look around the neighborhood even after construction the house will still be under 36 ft which is the maximum height allowed that way one more question um access to the attic space is done how pull down stair okay and the height of the attic space is uh 6' 11 to the underside of the ridge so it's not inhabitable yeah and so there's uh 80 80 ft of space that could be considered 66 okay thank you after that it's constructed nobody would want to go to attic right kids will never it is a stand question we ask everyone no no no thank you um can go a little further with I think that's fine I think there are if there are other questions okay any any questions what you got question I guess my only question is I know that we're calling this a basement after the fact but I mean legally is it a basement after the fact I mean it's it's still an above ground level level it's not um go ahead Bas according to the ordinance basements and walk out basements are not usually counted in measuring the floor area uh I don't know the reasons why the building officer decided it should be included here I mean that's why I'm confused because otherwise I would think they would just have accepted it you're building a according to the plans and if the plans make it a basement then it would be a basement but obviously they don't think it's a basement he's not here so we can't get an answer but but based on the size of the lot right it's almost as if you're an R1 siiz lot which even if you included it would if it was an R1 lot it would still be within the habital square foot right that's what that's what we thought right like when we first started planning this out uh we were trying to just expand on top of the garage and then we took almost a year and our friends who have been part of the town they said you have such a big LW why are you just going trying to do this just go one floor higher we are not increasing the footprint of the house none of the boundaries are going ahead even by a single foot we are just building one floor on the top and so another primary reason why we're doing this is the basement which is now currently the B level of this home still has good foundation so we build on top of it rather than demolishing completely and then it it's we we'll definitely save a few hundred, by redeveloping the house versus uh going to a builder and saying that okay just get it done so that that was the reason it took us almost a year to just design this thing and the uh the floor area request is uh now not 43 but 527 correct yeah um let me verify [Applause] that it's 5397 the new Square proposed square foot is right uh right well at the end of the day 3605 the request is um 5,300 97 yes thank you which is 15% um of a habitable floor area ratio is anybody else on the board have any questions does anybody in the public have any questions for this witness does anybody in the public want to make a statement regarding this application does anybody on the board want to make any statement regarding this application would anybody like to make a motion I make a motion to approve Mr horn approved Miss cona um yes Miss did you miss Conor you are the one who seconded I just want to make sure yes yes you seconded it okay um Miss Khan votes yes Mr Kenya yes Mr sha yes Mr Mar Miss morachi yes and Mr Beer yes motion carries thank you thank you so much keep it rolling okay block 1508 Lot 10 11 Maplewood Drive application number 22461 DV Sal bilgen applicant seeks approval for a first and second floor addition and violation of the following sections 17099 C2 front yard setback 40 ft required 35.7 3 feet proposed existing 4.27 V variants requested 17099 C3 left side yard setback 10 ft required 7.61 ft proposed existing 2.9 2.39 ft variance requested 17087 cc4 habitable floor area ratio 30% required 35.5% oos 5.5% variance requested welcome aboard good evening ladies and gentlemen how are you good how are you so far so good my name is okay sure okay Mr Belgian raise your right hand yeah you swear the testimony given this matter would be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes sir right give us your full name and can spell the last name for the record it's Sal s a i h last name is bilin b i l g i n I've been residing in Livingston since 2008 and I own the property since 2010 with my beloved wife and we live over here with my two daughters one of which is in Boston in Bentley University right now and my wife is currently in treatment in Europe for whatever it's you know like every lady is dealing with the same problem nowadays unfortunately but we had time to put together our heads to redesign our house and you know make it even Lovelier because uh we put our uh effort all these years ER to make it a great home and we wanted to make it even better so past year with Mr Bill William figer uh we put again our heads to make it a more lively ER living space for ourselves and er more inhabitable space for for our family because uh the current space is you know I don't know how we ever survived with one bathroom with three ladies in the house house I don't know how I survived there were some days I I ran to Starbucks I remember because I got the short stick always with three ladies ER hopefully in the new design I will have more opportunity freedom to myself you know I got old I cannot run Starbucks in I just need to know which one is your bathroom in this house uh downstairs because upstairs all the ladies of course downstairs there is there is there is the powder room is my bathroom you know you you always get to short stick when there are three ladies and when you are a happily married man for all these years it means you know how to follow orders and I know how to follow orders that's why you're happily married yeah so uh to cut it short I'm going to leave it to the expert he knows because he was so patient to follow three D directions three ladies asking this asking that I just shut up follow them and they come up with a wonderful design ER you know I am only a network engineer I know what to do with electronics part of things which I haven't even started doing it yet Bill okay let's s you in swear in or okay raise your right hand you swear to testimony you give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing with truth please give us your full name and spell your last name for the record William figdor fi g d o r are you appearing as an expert uh yes okay architect you want to yes can you uh please provide us your education and some background um I've actually been in this here at the for variances on previous occasions I can't remember the last time but it was before the pandemic um so I went first I got a degree in at the University of Miami and then I got a degree at the Boston architectural College in architecture and um my father built house designed and built contemporary homes so I grew up with it um U what else did you need the state of New Jersey um registered in New Jersey C for 24 years 25 years and it's covered and in good standing yes does anyone this board have any questions objections regarding this witness I'm an architect yes there be no objections the witness is accepted as expert in architecture please proceed okay so first of all we had one unclaimed letter for the certified mailings I don't know if you need that Jackie do we need that no okay so um the front yard setback is the first thing I'm going to just bring up uh the existing uh along with the adjacent properties meets the the existing house is at 30 I I included a chart for the adjacent setback study did you receed that in your package we had an engineer survey the adjacent properties so it's required to be 40 ft and the adjacentes the the average adjacent setback is 34.82357 yeah that's that's what it is now and that's what it will be it's existing and proposed and it meets the the adjacent setback requirements uh the second thing is the uh let's see which which one should do it I'm looking at the wrong sheet sorry is the side yard setback on the left side of the rear of the garage which I'll just use this as a pointer please uh please use a mic microphone you want to make sure everything is recorded properly hello Okay so so the uh back corner of the garage is existing non-conforming it will be uh they're they'll we're putting on a second floor over the garage and in the back as well this is a first and second floor Edition this is a second floor Edition we're expanding the garage so we're setting back actually the the front setback a little bit to create the more of a two-car garage the uh back corner on the second floor is actually a balcony it's an open space but for structural and and visual reasons uh even though it's unenclosed it it needs a variance because of the roof if we didn't put a roof on it it wouldn't need a variance because it would the addition would be literally in that back corner so we're requesting uh that little owner for the uh addition and finally the habitable floor area is required to be 30% and uh it's allowed to be 3200 squ ft 3220 but um right now we're it's it's required to be 30% and we're at 35.5% so we're we're requesting a variance of 5.5% over which is still under the 3200 square ft similar to a previous applicant tonight so those are the three applications the three uh requirements a question so the total square footage of the new home is 2683 am I reading that correctly yeah I go to the Chart yes 26835 okay thank you and for some of these Varian you describe the hard the hardship for us that you're up against and okay well this this is an existing Cape so it's one and a half Story House sing with a single car uh they've been living it for 15 years is that right sell yeah since 2008 right and they're still continuing to live in it um one of their daughters is um living is going to be in the upstairs room right now she's in the Attic um but she'll be have her own room in this corner whoops well the corner of the that little corner of the garage the upstairs we created a suite for her she that's what she wanted the balcony she that's her favorite part the the way we did right now we created this Penthouse Su it upstairs especially at Co time it helped her to boost her morale so upstairs was hers and in the two rooms downstairs we took the small room the the the room in the front in the Cape Cod became like the guest room because my mother-in-law was visit visiting us she was she got stuck in Co with us over here that was the fun part but you know it was it was okay we survived all together but it helped my daughter a lot having she called that pant house with upstairs and we did it great you should have come and see and you know she was she was able to H get her friends over there because that's the largest room in the house you it's it's okay uh so I have a question about the attic space now what is the um what is the height of the attic as it stands now uh five 5T 5T at the collar tie at the highest point it's 5T yeah and it's accessible only from a pull down ladder which is on the in the ceiling plan um the undue hardship is really the um the space itself is just too tight for the family um because there's really no real second floor it's all Eaves so um and and they needed space for like a family room and some you know to live in it so uh uh the other houses around this one have all been upsized uh they're not mcmansions this one's the same width it's going to be the same uh you know it's not going to take over the the property as a matter of fact the garage is set back a little further so I think that's probably a plus um so it's not a snout house and you say You're Building straight up yeah and within the setback and for the addition we had two options we you know we wanted to save and build in our own town we like our town you know this is yes taxes are high this that but we love this town even though my daughter graduated I don't care about the school system I don't need the school system but I need this down I need this people I like to walk in this street so that's why I would like to invest in my town instead of leaving my town that's what it is so this is also an undersized lot if it was a regular R4 you wouldn't require the the floor area ratio of variance right yeah the the the real problem is the left side yard is at a an acute angle and that that creates uh issues if it was perhaps straighter it might not have even been anything L You're Building directly over the existing house yes right anybody else have any other questions for this witness anybody in the public have any questions for this witness anybody in the public want to make a statement for this application anybody on the board want to make a statement any board want to make a motion I'll make the motion to approve I'll second it Mr sha yes Miss marachi yes Miss Khan votes yes Mr Kenya yes Mr horn yes um Miss kanana yes Mr Beer yes motion carries thank you thank you so much on behalf of all my ladies thank you I feel sorry for Starbucks they're not going to see you anymore anybody need a break or we're all good keep going block 1601 lot 312 Twin Oak Road application number 2024 64- V Andrew Edwards applicant seeks approval to construct a new single family residence in violation of the following sections 17096 a eight swimming pool corner lot front side yard set front side setback 20 ft required 12 ft proposed 8 ft variance requested 17096 A8 swimming pool right side yard setback 20 ft requir 10 ft proposed 10t variance requested 17- 96 A8 swimming pool rear lot coverage 10% allowed 14.7% proposed 4.7% variance requested all right good evening uh chairman and the board members welcome good evening hold on one second you're up okay sir would you raise your right hand raise your right hand are you going to testify raise your right hand got both of you going oh I didn't see him there stand up do you swear that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth and whole truth and nothing but the truth I do both if you give us your full names put your hand down all right uh and spell your last name for the record uh my name is Andrew Edwards uh I live at 12 Twin Oak Road with my wife and two kids sir my name is Gary Chang c h i a n g and I'm the engineer that's going to represent the applicant all right get started well like I said good evening uh good evening board and board members um again my name is Andrew I live at 12 Twin Oak with my wife and two kids uh I've been living in Livingston since 2015 um I was here previously for another variant uh maybe about six months ago to expand our house which was approved um and back again to request a variance to um add a pool um I believe adding this pool will increase the quality of life for my family as well as our neighborhood um our neighborhood um is a tight-knit neighborhood there's a lot of kids uh all around the same age including um my do my two daughters around seven and 10 um so we think this will be a good addition especially in the hot summer times when the community pool um could be crowded um it's not a huge pool um it's um on the smaller end but I think uh just having it will uh like I said increase the quality of of bringing people together in the neighborhood as well as um our our quality of life um I'll turn it over to uh Gary who is the expert with with the numbers okay before we get started could you tell us your education and all that stuff I was say a I'm a graduate of uh NGIT uh with BS in civil engineering and I am a licensed engineer in the state of New Jersey for over 25 years in good standing does anyone on this board have any questions objections regarding this witness there be no objection the witness accept as expert in civil engineering thank you okay so I guess I got get the mic so we are proposing a 14 by I 28 y that's uh in ground swimming pool uh which is a pretty modest size um and we will need a variance for the side setback on this side 20 ft is required we proposing 10 ft and this will be the front side set back which is also a 20t requirement with proposing 12 ft and we also um require variant for the pool rear yard um setback um of 14 I can't move this right there it is 14.7% so this property it's um existing undersized lot um and also um in in terms of um area um the requirement is 9,375 square ft and we have 6,22 square ft um the lot width is also um exist non-conforming um it's um existing 50 ft wi and requires 75 ft um so if we were going to put this pool in a in a conforming lot we would not actually need any of these variances um right now now the topography drains from the upper right down to down to the road here so there would be no impact on the neighbor and it's going to continue to flow you know in the same direction um we have a six- foot fence on the right a 6ft fence on the rear and a 4ft fence on on Blair Cliff Road our property is also about 8 to 10 feet higher than Blair Cliff Road so it's an it's it's kind of like a natural you know buffer from screening from you know out there um so um like again because of the unique size of this of the of the property you know we're requesting these variances does anybody in the board have any questions for this witness what is the pool equipment the machine ma where does that go actually we we were planning to put right here on the side here there's there's a 6ft fence here already so you know it will already be screened you know from the neighbor it's not labeled so I have a question the photos that we received the house doesn't look like this anymore right it's under construction yeah it's Curr in construction correct so every day it's going to be a different look okay and um it's hard to see in the back because there's all the materials back there now so it's really hard to get a good a good sense but it's not particularly large backyard um I understand the need to have to want a pool I totally get it it's a small backyard why did why did you just not choose to make a smaller pool and not come in front of the board I'm just wondering like what what's the real hardship of uh well no matter what size would have a setback issue it's 20 20 ft but that is on the smaller side anything smaller just wouldn't make sense um that's a this the pool that we're proposing is a pretty small pool to begin with and you can't move the fence because it's right at the top of where the hill is going down so you can't move it out anymore no well that's our property line even though we we have um additional um space but that's not that's not a part of the property line ends where the fence is that's correct so we we do have additional space that's beyond the survey that's most likely the towns but it's not it's not our property right and it's not usable anyway yeah so okay I just and looking at this um pools are always tricky but um it just seems to me that this does not fit in the backyard um I mean you um I I work with over um 20 different pool companies and usually in average size pool nowadays is it's probably like um 18 by 32 so this one being 14 by 28 is it's it's relatively on the smaller size now um plus the applicant have two kids and then you know they have a lot of you know kids and their friends and when they come in so um so it really a hardship though well the hard the main hardship is the existing on the siiz lot yeah and and the lot width also so and and I get it and we always work with the applicants and trying to pass to pass the application but to me I look at this and I just see that it's not really a hardship you know not being able to put a pool in the backyard because you have a small backyard is not really a hardship um anybody else on the board have any comments or questions from your experience dool companies only in standard sizes uh usually yes um I mean they do I mean this is this is going to be a line of pool so so it's pretty you know uh they do have their standard shapes uh once you go to a gunite then they could make it any shape they want um but I mean the gunite pools are very you know a lot more expensive so yeah I mean like like he said it is a smaller size pool that we do have a fence to protect um you know Outsiders from coming in but we don't really need we prefer to have a pool than to have grass and a bunch of um you know space for maintenance we do have space in the back so you do see that it is 20 foot from the fence um and then the other side is about 10 ft and then the other side is I think seven almost seven so the set Maxs are not huge I think the overall is just a 4.7 request on on the variant which we're asking um you know I don't think anyone comes up here for a hardship everyone is coming here to um improve their family's quality of life there's it's no different from from myself well we might every application that comes to in front of us if it's a c v if it's a c um variant it does require a hardship it does so even though it might not we know what the hardship is it might not you know if in speaking when the architect or the engineer or the planner makes their arguments in front of us they usually specify what the hardships are in the argument okay so that's just part of like the municipal land use law that we have to have a hardship for a C2 variance or a c variance one other question I have um if I read this correctly the pool is 14 ft from the end of the house uh on the left quarter yes is that the current house or the side um the new the new addition 14t New Edition if it's something people have a right to or that be ordinary for the neighborhood then it would be a hard are you keeping the same fence that's there um that's the fence that's uh currently there but we will conform to whatever fence is you have in order to um the excavation you'll have to remove yes we'll have to remove the fence take it out and you'll put back the same fence yeah well whatever fence is required re ired for to conform to the pool we'll put but yes we'll have to take the fence out to do excavation okay it it will be pool compliant when we put it back um actually it's currently it is pool compliant uh I believe it's uh I believe the gate is also pool compliant as of right now so but we'll take it out we'll make sure we'll put on the same pool compliant fence okay and in here to all safety measures in the backyard yeah yeah we'll have a professional doing the bill okay and you can't plant trees on the outside of it of the fence because there's really nothing there so you that's the that's the township RightWay property so on the inside you could possibly yeah we could some Landscaping some screening coverage y to this way you block yourself from your neighbors and from passing traffic and so forth okay that's correct does anybody else have the on the board have any comments or thoughts on this theze m g um and you said you considered smaller sizes or you you I I mean actually um the applicant my friend he first came up he asked for a bigger pool and I advised him to go for a smaller pool um so um and with the you know with the um I mean any smaller it's uh it's not really going to you know 10 you know 12 by you know it's it's a very small pool you know I mean it's it's not even going to be you know big enough for the kids to play in it'll become like a lap pool after that so yeah I think it looks bigger on the paper than when you actually dry it out because I drew it out in my yard and I still have a lot of yard around after um I don't know maybe the blocks around it makes it look a big than it is the uh the papers the walkway yeah want cons the just wanted to know if anybody else has the swimming pool in the neighborhood uh I'm not sure I know there's a lot of swimming pools um in Livingston but not sure on exactly where in in in the vicinity of this house that there there isn't actually so this will be the first one in the in the whole block yes I mean the fact that it's a corner lot that is an advantage for you at least you have neighbors only on the other sides and your one side is free I understand that's why I'm this is a bit of a dilemma because um I understand that you're quite elevated the property is very elevated and uh so from your point of view yes you have the buffer you have some privacy because and and and and again we could add you know some AR variety to for extra screening if we you know if we have to yeah yeah we'll be compliant that could be a condition yes okay um anybody else have any thoughts I think the lot size is a hardship do anybody in the public have any comments for this witness anybody in public want to make any statements so see it seems like what I'm hearing from the board is they they're looking for some screening okay um I guess we just have to kind of Define that a little bit um what can we what what can you what do you recommend for screening arbes would be the best because they they're they're more like straight up so it don't spread out so um we we could put a roll of arbores over there well just be careful cuz the regular Arbor the deer love so You' probably want to do the Green Giant the Green Giant yeah it's deer resistance yes okay so which which sides how many what's this facing um on the uh Blair Cliff roadside um we could we could plant them uh usually they are provid you plant them about 5T apart so we'll just fill up the whole you know sigh where the pool is so from the corner from back from from from from the corner of out right here all the way to the back and I guess 68 foot as they come um yeah six feet 6 feet 6' minimum 5 foot spacing they grow quickly on that they they they grow fast the green Giants so Ares or on one side will be uh good for them for privacy point of view but uh the back and the other side with the neighbors are there's there's already a six foot high fence so okay yeah there's a fence on the back and then on the side to our only neighbor um and then the the fence in the back cuz it's a corner lot that's actually their front yard it's not their U backyard but there's a six foot fence okay but I I still feel a few um greens over there would also help it will make your backyard look prettier and also for the The Neighbors on the side and the back um it'll be a green wall yeah because the trees will be taller than the fence yeah the Tre so it would be nicer from aesthetic point of view okay so they we putting on all three sides is that what I'm hearing or all agre is that okay uh did you say three sides or two sides they're saying three I think three sides Bo boom boom okay so the front the side and the back right right right okay okay definitely the front this definitely the front and the side so okay well I think I think everyone's nodding on all three sides so all three sides Green Giant 6ot minimum height 5 foot spacing yes okay but you might but I don't mean to beat a dead horse honestly I don't but green Giants grow really really tall so I mean I feel on the side we definitely in the side in the front definitely Green Giant but I mean I don't know is that something that you want to it's up to you I mean I am not a landscape architect and I'm not designing this for you but I sort of would think that you might want to look into that I don't know is that the right I don't we could we could I want to make recommendation for that CU I don't know that's the right you could get them trimmed they trim pretty easily yeah I mean I have a landscaper so I'll let him I just don't want to make a recommendation for something that I don't have I mean my wife was going to put trees there anyway so okay um all right yeah I think we're good there does anybody in the public want to make a statement anybody in the board want to make a statement anybody the board want to make a motion I'll make a motion okay I'll second who was it Mr sha Mr sha motion to approve subject to the conditions of the yes okay thank you Jackie um okay Miss Khan votes yes Miss Mr Shaw yes Mr Kenya yes Mr horn yes Miss morachi yes um Miss kanana yes and Mr Beer yes motion carries all right great thank you have a good night so we're good next so we're good all right oh my God it's like a record seriously okay it's a journal oh look back we know you block 500 lot 216 Rock Hill Drive oh no we did that never mind sorry sorry block 6 block 6900 lot 6 51 Bernett Street application number 20247 DV radak Builders Livingston 3 LLC applicant seeks approval to construct a single new family residence in violation of the following sections 17097 C2 front yard setback 40 ft required 39 ft proposed 1 foot variance requested 17087 BB2 habitable floor area ratio 30% allowed 35.9% proposed 5.9% guance requested good evening my name is matth from the law of firm SS Comm and gross and I represent the applicant rodak Builders Livingston 3 LLC in connection with this application for habitable FL a ratio as well as front yard setback the applicant is here tonight proposing to demolish the existing improvements and construct a new single family home you hear testimony tonight in relation to a front yard setback I do want to advise this board that currently the front yard setback is 29 ft whereas the new setback will be 39 ft which will be consistent with the established setback for the surrounding neighborhood so we did we are still requesting that relief but it is substantially reduced an intensification in addition although we are requesting a rati IO here tonight the habital floor area itself is more than compliant as it's about 500 ft below hand and in addition this is because the hardship is the actual lot size itself as a lot size is approximately 20% under siiz as far as it goes for testimony tonight though uh my planner Mr Nick gravano is going to be doing a two for one special although Mr gravano is not an architect he does own a planning and Architectural firm itself so what he's going to do here tonight is he's going to put on his planning testimony while also walking through the architectural plans which I'll qualify him for reviewing great terrific so my first win will be Mr Nick Riano as a Aller him only as a planner you swear the testimony give be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do all right give us your full name for the record Nicholas graviano Mr graviano is your license still in good standing yes sir terrific does board accept him as an expert in planning well it's more than 10 minutes we will accept them as expert too chat Mr graviano uh is it true that you own a firm and your firm uh does both disciplines of both architectural and planning yes so do you have familiarity with architectural plans yes I design houses okay and have you had an opportunity to review the PUO architectural plans yes I also had a chance to discuss the plans with the architect and the applicant great why don't you walk us through and while you walk us through also discuss the planning of relief we're seeking here tonight and balance with the proposed application certainly uh first I'll go through the architectural plans uh highlighting the proposed floor plans and elevations for the single family dwelling as Mr pada indicated will replace uh an existing dwelling um here you have the front facade uh front entry twocc car garage uh windows for the bedroom program that is on the second floor here are the other three elevations um you have the two side elevations with ample fenestration so you're not dealing with any blank wall situation uh similar to the rear elevation where you have uh windows for the various rooms as well as access to the rear yard I would like to note that the siding material is high quality Hardy plank siding um it is not vinyl um so that that will be a very attractive facade moving on to the floor plans uh here you have the basement plan where uh the majority of the basement is an oan Recreation room um as well as a small bedroom and bathroom in the basement uh moving to the second floor you have a attached two card garage as well as an open kitchen dining and family room area there's additionally a guest room with an onsuite bathroom uh I I would like to note that this is a a pretty modes sized dwelling um the first floor living space plan is you know approximately uh 600 square feet um for the family room and guest room and then the kitchen um and the mud room balances out the habitable floor area of that floor here you have the second floor program it consists of a primary bedroom uh onsuite bathroom walk-in closet uh bedroom 2 has an onsuite bathroom I'm sorry bedroom 3 has an onite bathroom whereas bedrooms one and two have a Jack and Jill bathroom situation I'd like to highlight that the only access to the attic is through the pull down stair in the second floor hallway um with relation to the staircase here this is an open foyer so there's no access for the stairs to get to the attic so everything will be through the pull down stair in in the hallway and therefore the attic cannot be habitable the attic will not be habitable thank you so that that concludes the program for the proposed dwelling the exting oh I'm going to get into the he's get into the planning in just a moment but yes that is true the front yard is existing Ona for at 29.1 whereas a new proposal we'll have it at 39 ft whereas 40 ft is required so we're going from 11 to 1ot variance yeah there are other variances that are eliminated with this application and I'll get into them does anyone have any questions regarding the architecture of the house please step forward your name and address uh Pascal Marinello uh 53 Bernett Street Livingston uh a couple of questions I had if you could first scroll back to the um front elevation the front elevation shows the main uh roof front to back but then when you show the side elevations they go side to side so if you look at the the main roof oh oh you can I'll I'll I'll highlight the roof plan that'll show you the variation okay give me give me one second yeah it's just showing it right there right right here uh no no this this is the roof plan that shows that there is variation in the roof line is that the front elevation no this isn't the front elevation this is the overhead roof plan that shows that okay there are variations if you see yeah there's in other words when I'm looking at this is what I want to show you when I'm looking at this front elevation up top the main roof goes front to back but when you go to the next page and you see the side elevations it now is going side to side no there there are Dormers in the roof it doesn't just simply go back to back the applicant added roof definition so it isn't just a large expansive asphalt shingles that's why you see that's why you see this triangular area here on the roof this triangle area here on the roof and the one okay so that's I'm looking at the uh uh yeah the applicant didn't want a a roof without definition so it added definition to provide some variation in the roof scheme okay understood um I noticed on your plan that you're going to salvage the garage foundation in footings with all the demolition you're knocking the whole house down why would you um or how do you do that and there's reason why I'm asking all this stuff because I saw notes that were made uh that uh they were going to preserve the existing garage uh foundation in footing and uh that is the area that's next to my property and so I was curious now the the the applicant is proposing a new foundation for the garage it is okay because uh the notes that I had when I came to review the plans uh at the Town Hall um it said otherwise and uh but okay yeah no the applicant is is building a new house here yeah I I I I I realized that in fact I saw everything else was being demoed but it had a specific little uh subnote on the plans regarding that and uh I didn't know uh it was being left to grandfather something in so it on the side elevation on A2 I think that's a note that the resident is referring to right there on the left side of side ation no uh yeah up a little at top of the screen now it's kind of in the middle dead center existing footing and Foundation to remain okay we we'll get that corrected um one of my concerns uh because I'm the property right next store to it and um the drainage is there going to be under under ground drainage is it going to be going to the backyard is it going to be down their driveway yes so I can actually answer that question as far as it goes for drainage for this application it's actually not part of the jurisdiction of it nevertheless it is part of the overall approvals to be issued building permits and what do I mean by that if this board were toine favorably The Next Step would be that we would have to submit a lot surface drainage report to the Township's engineer and pursuing to their review any runoff issues Andor storm water mitigation issues the the township engineer will then recommend improvements and those aren't really recommendations those are actually directions that we would have to follow and install without absent doing that we wouldn't be able to be issued construction permits then let me ask you since you're in the construction phase T in a typical house like this would the gutters uh come to down spouts and the down spouts go uh under as opposed to just draining to the side of the house or uh a submitted with the application the applicants engineerings plan show subsurface drainage in the rear yard which the roof leaders will be connected to okay and uh and also the front part obviously it's going to be one 60 foot long gutter when the front uh down spouts they'd be led to the back of the house also one moment yes everything's being led to the rear yard okay um the and as Mr pada said all this will be reviewed by by the municipality's engineer understood yeah because because this is just the first step of the process the applicant then has to go get uh the storm water approval from the engineer as well as zoning permits and building permits and the like the thing that I'd like the board to understand um I've been living in um in this house for 48 years and uh it's probably one of the older neighborhoods in town uh my house is going to be 100 years old in 10 years and uh it's in beautiful shape we're one of the last houses that has a traditional wood siding and uh so you know uh you know we take uh good care of it and um being that it's an oldfashioned neighborhood with only 50 foot wide Lots it's uh very easy for drainage issues to occur from all these new houses being uh constructed and um you know that's one of our concerns uh with that um a couple years ago when we had the huge rainstorm for the first time in 48 years the uh uh slop syn in the uh basement had a a an overflow not from the neighbors obviously but from the city Source system because of uh and when I talked to some one of the engineers with the T they said well it's because the the town we're overbuilding and uh because we're a low-lying area on Bernett Street I guess I don't know if you've ever been on the street it's a uh a very low neighborhood and uh so I'm very concerned about protecting our house from uh things like that and also from rain uh you know runoff from neighboring properties so are you to the left or the right of this house looking at uh I am to the right looking I'm number 15 53 okay so in this scenario the house is actually going to move further away from your I saw that it went from 5.8 ft to 10 ft yeah so you're actually going to get additional uh green space between this dwelling and your house as long as it's not a slope towards my house the engineer will be looking at the gra the town the town makees sure that there's no additional drainage going off of a new construction onto the neighbors good to that's a requirement as I think they tried to explain maybe didn't catch which is fine but this is every single every neighbors was worried about that it's Livingston the water doesn't go anywhere so we we understand the town understands that the town tries to take good care of everybody sir I certainly know that this is an improved scenario for you given that the house is going to be pushed further away from your property and subsurface storm water drainage will be added to the site um yes and also Mr Marinella today the site itself exists with no storm water improvements so there will actually be a mitigation what's being proposed here tonight uh okay uh I have other things but it's probably regarding the um the setback should I wait and do that at a separate issue oh you can do it right now okay yeah um one of the things I have uh um I know miss kanana you had mentioned on previous cases that were heard tonight that you had uh visited a lot of the properties I don't know if you visited this property you did good all right um my house uh is uh it was built 30 feet deep and uh around 45 years ago 40 years ago I built uh a room off the back that goes out 13 ft so I I go back let's say 43 feet this new house is going to be uh 60 ft deep or 50 9 something uh you have the exact number there it's going to it's in my opinion far too large for the property I'll sit out my back deck I can now wave to all the neighbors you know uh to my right to my left and now I'm going to have a house that's going to go way back we're kind of in the question phase so if you want to make a statement you can do that later yeah it's kind of yeah okay so we we'll invite you back up thank you so much for your questions okay okay if I may uh M May Mr gravan proceed forward now with the planing testimony please great thank you Nick okay so the applicant is before the board requesting uh the habitable floor area ratio variance along with uh C variances uh some of which relate to the existing uh measurements of the property some of them relate to this proposal uh firstly the applicant is requesting a variance for the minimum lot area 9375 is required 7584 is existing and proposed there's no variance requested for that it didn't wasn't cited by the township building engineer probably all right I was just going to put on the proofs that it is an existing condition but if you don't want the testimony that's fine um same goes for the M uh lot width which is not being uh Changed by this application uh the C variants that the applicants reating for setback is the front yard uh the applicant is requesting 39 feet whereas 40 feet is required um this is in excess of the neighborhood average which was conducted um that variant certainly could be granted under the C1 criteria uh promoting a positive uh visual environment and creative development techniques and Arrangements that's purpose I of the municipal land use law uh the with one foot and given that it's meeting the front yard setback average of the neighborhood there's certainly no substantial impairment of the Zone plan or zoning ordinance uh with that request uh the applicant uh as I mentioned previously is rectifying a current deficient side yard setback whereas presently 5.7 5.76 feet exist whereas the ordinance requirement of 10 feet is proposed uh additionally the current aggregate sidey setback is 13.14 ft Fe the applicant is proposing a conforming 20 foot as per the ordinance requirements so lastly the applicant's request is for the habitable floor area ratio whereas 30% is required 35.9% is proposed uh the applicant is well below the habitable floor area limit uh as you know the habitable floor area limits 3,220 ft the applicant's home is at 2723 uh that is 497 uh Square ft uh less than the habitable floor area square footage amount also this is an undersized lot the applicant lot is 1,761 square fet deficient in this scenario looking at the setbacks uh the applicant is requesting that 1 foot front yard setback the applicant is meeting uh the required sidey setbacks and the applicant is ALS also uh exceeding by 10.8 ft the rear yard setback so this house is certainly conforming with all the required setbacks of the district if the board pushed we could push the house back a foot to conform to that 40 feet I don't think it's necessary in this situation because the applicant uh meets the average uh front yard setback uh of the neighborhood um excuse me what is the average front yard setback 37.4 so certainly uh with respect to the habitable Flor area ratio request uh it certainly promotes uh purpose of zoning of the municipal land use law specifically purpose a uh promotion of the General Health moral safety and Welfare that's done through a couple of different items the applicant is adding subsurface drainage uh to the property the applicant is rectifying the deficient sidey guard setback and the applicant is rectifying the deficient aggregate sidey guard setbacks it also promotes purpose G sufficient space and appropriate location for a variety of residential uses to meet the needs of New Jersey citizens and lastly it promotes a desirable visual environment and creative development techniques and good Civic design and Arrangement um there's no substantial impairment to the Zone plan or zoning ordinance with the granting of the F variants thank you I have no further questions for this witness does anybody on the board have any questions for this witness as a planner is any P anybody in the public have any questions for this Witnesses a plan come on back up do you have to say State my name again just question question questions first okay um well it it's it's all part of um is it a statement or a question uh both I got you know little little bit of both why we sway in okay and let's do it all in one big shot I do Pascal Marinello 53 Bernett Street um regarding the um habital floor ratio well all the numbers presented you know sound good if you never saw the property it doesn't conform with the um adjacent houses um my house total including my addition is600 Square F feet and this house uh is uh proposed to be I think 2 uh 27 um if it remained at the 30% habital floor area ratio would be 2275 Square ft which to me for a kid who grew up in a cold water flat this is a pretty darn good house at 2275 um my concern is um from the front beautiful front elevation yes it's going to add nice to the neighborhood but the depth of the house going way back is just going to be um uh it's going to ruin my property lines looking to the left um and uh it's just oversized for the lot uh my house like I said goes back 43 ft the existing house that they're going to build on goes back um 30 feet and uh and they're going to double the size going back so like I said we're not going I I I I think it's going to be a hardship for us enjoying the back yard looking at a long wall you know um I think it's overdevelopment for this area of town uh you know it just doesn't um lend itself to a house of of this size the width is fine the Height's fine the looks from the uh Street are fine but the depth of the house uh is to me oversized and uh and that's what my concern is and that's why uh I'm against the um the hab habitable floor ratio even at 30% uh it's going to be um a deep house uh because uh if you're going to knock off um say 500 ft it's uh you know would it going to decrease the depth of the house by maybe 10 ft or something like that but um but I you know that's what I'm against uh I'm against the uh the depth of the house uh and for that per particular set back the one foot in the front is not an issue but uh the uh the ratio U is the problem I would just like to address some of the neighbors comments and I I respect his opinion however I must respectfully disagree on a couple of items um mainly the square footage of this house does fit into the neighborhood and is consistent with many of the homes in the neighborhood a couple houses down at 57 Bernett Street you have a 3,56 foot house uh at 39 Bernett Street you have 30 46 as well as 37 43 you have 3013 29 you have 30 13 19 you have 256 2592 so the square fo footage of this house is similar to many of the exist that exist in the neighborhood um with respect to the building length there's there's no building length requirement in the ordinance any applicants actually exceeding the minimum re rear yard by over 10 ft so um while the neighbor thinks the house is long it's it's within the bounds you know of the zoning code of of the municipality the um the houses down the street uh I believe rodak was involved with those if I'm not mistaken sir I'm I'm just going on the data from the tax assessor okay um you know so there are and the one two houses down uh I never got noticed that that was even going uh you know about coming to uh zoning meeting and I know you weren't involved with that uh either but if objection but if you okay but if you were to to come uh make a visit to the neighbor hood and see the house and from the street it's a beautiful house uh the one at 57 I think that you're referring to but you sit in my backyard two houses down it's it's just a to me it's an eyesore it it just doesn't blend with what the neighborhood uh was meant to be and you know I I could see you want something a little bit bigger but to double the size the double the depth of what was there is a lot I I don't know what to tell you and and that's why I'm um not in agreement with the uh habital floor ratio uh increasing it uh I may not have any um say as far as the 30% you know I don't know if I could even uh if if I could I'd even say 30% is too much and again if you saw the neighborhood if you saw my house next to it You' say gez you know would you want this next to you and like I said from front is beautiful you know um but uh from the back you know uh that's a different story okay thank you um I know you minimized your front yard setback MH what if we take a foot or two back is that possible maybe give a little bit more light in the back and yeah that was actually going to be part of my summation itself is that the reality is is that we are modifying the footing of Foundations and we're setting it back 10 more feet to be more in conforms with the zoning code itself which to his position would be inconsistent with the character of the neighborhood so the reality is it's up to this board as to whether or not you want us to bring it up another five more feet or eight more feet or keep it as is so that he could have that much more of a setback because if his setback is 43 feet and ours is roughly 30 feet if we go back to the 10t we're really just talking about a 3-ft differential so I leave it to the sport as to how you would like to see that actual foot footprint in order to accommodate his side angles excuse me you're saying is 50 ft the other one side is 50 I'm I'm not going going back and forth I'm just saying that okay I'm sorry he he's was trying to find some sort of mediation try help everybody out a little bit at least on the proposal it says 39 ft is the setback for the new home correct but on the drawing it at least appears it's 38 ft No it should say 39 ft 39 ft is a setback cuz that's what the zoning official had say that's 38 here okay so just just just consistency between the two so we should just make sure we're clear whatever number we approve that we're clar about that number is because it need to stay on the form okay yeah yeah sure absolutely so any but today right now as exist is 29 ft so I guess what we're talking about is where do we want to go because if we want to be conforming a 40 we can push it back another foot it's really to this board because of the flexibility we have oh I lost my voice with the rear yard so it's really up to this board and what was this you are fixing the sidey yard non-conformity right yes we're eliminating those side yard setbacks meaning the side yard and the argate side yard have now been eliminated so you're squeezing in how much more just as a reminder about 5et I think it's like 5.68 now we're going to be performing so that will increase the distance between the two properties correct so I guess again like I stated before to address uh this neighbor's concern it's really where do you guys want us to put the plot well looking at the average the average setback is 37.4 and that's probably skewed a little bit because of the 7124 which weighs very heavily on on the averaging maybe we maybe we hit 35 pull it back four feet how does that sound to the board um absolutely we agree to that as a condition of approval to modify the setback instead of being 39 it would be 35 and you'll have a 5 foot variance yes okay so we they have agreed to move it back 4 feet towards the front to give you a little additional light out there a little bit more of your side yard back to I mean they they they can go back another 10 feet understand and we really can't argue they could fit inside and but they're trying to keep something relative and I think if they move it forward that probably helps you out a bit another 4 feet is you know whatever something like that yeah it's so I I was to do that and also chop maybe another fourt off the back of the house I we will not consent to that yeah so well why not just uh why not just stay within the 30% required we need to have a record so yeah I guess I could just make this blanket statement we're more than willing to accommodate and shift the actual building Foundation itself either four feet up four feet back you know whatever we can do within the actual building envelope itself but as far as it goes reducing or redesigning the project um we're not open to having that type of dialogue at least not tonight but thank you then my question to you would be if the required um habitable floor ratio is 30% and you just did it at 30% why not just use that number uh why look for the 35.9 why don't you just reduce the uh square footage by 500 square feet well I guess it's because the municipal land use law allows us to put on the record proofs to justify that D variance and that's what we did here tonight and we're hopeful that the board adjudicates in our favor because as stated on the record all the other both measurements not only have they been met but we more than accommodated by eliminating other variants relief additionally part of our proofs was that this is an undersized lot and we far um are under the habitable flu area limit established in the zoning District so that was part of our proofs for the application I leave it in your hands thank you we app we appreciate your opinion and testimony anybody want to make a statement I'll I'll make a statement the zoning Board of adjustment is often times put in very unenviable positions and we hear what you say and we also have heard the testimony um presented in front of us tonight so now we have to make that decision we appreciate the fact that the house is being pushed back another four feet but again um we have to abide by the law that's set forth so um as much as we might think something we have we have to abide by the law and that's what we go by and I would like to add I appreciate the applicant making adjustment that the board thought was necessary to at least mitigate some of the concerns of the uh Community absolutely which applicant doesn't need to do that I mean could have gone with it correct would anybody like to make a motion I'll second turned your mic open sorry I a motion to approve subject to the 35 foot change in the initial setback and I'll second it thank you that was um horn and Mr okay Mr horn yes and Mr sha yes Mr sha did you second it who seconded it I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry Mr Kenya yes okay Mr sha voted yes um Miss Khan votes yes Miss morachi yes U Miss cona yes Mr Beer yes motion carries thank you we're going to take a two-minute break thank you thank you for your that e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay go forward um block 1307 lot 3019 may you drive application number 20 24- 59- V at Andre Andrew and Rebecca Freeman applicant seeks approval to construct a new single family residence in violation of the following sections 17097 C2 front yard setback 60 ft required 58.1 ft proposed 1.9% 1.9 ft variants requested 17087 BB2 habitable floor area 4 487 7 ft Square it's been a long night 4,870 ft allowed 500 5,250 ft proposed 380 ft Vance requested 17087 cc2 habitable floor area ratio 18% required 21% proposed 3% variance requested good evening my name is Matthew padum from the firm SS Comon gross and I represent the Freeman in connection with this variant application what the applicate is looking to do here to tonight is propos a project whereby they're going to demolish all existing improvements to do a new single family home itself although this application has both a ratio variance and also floor area variance I want to keep in mind the character of the neighborhood of where this actual proposed Improvement is itself you're going to hear testimony tonight from our professionals that although this site itself has an exceeding ratio and floor area it's actually substantially undersized and I'm doing air quotes not to be sarcastic or pretious but just to be honest with you because you'll see that some single family homes in the immediate vicinity are almost 3,000 sare ft larger than what's being proposed here tonight tonight I'll have two experts to provide testimony I'll have both my architect and also my planner who I believe this board is very familiar with now tonight and then I also just want to make mention that we do have our engineer here in the audience in the event that there's any questions about storm water but I do want to get ahead of the curve a little bit here tonight and just state that we are proposing storm water improvements to the subject site and that for those existing storm water improvements that are on the site right now we will agree as a condition of approval to Jet them subject to the review and inspection of the township engineer just to confirm that they are all working up to par for current modern expectations noted thank you thank you so if I may I like to just call my first witness who will be my architect Mr Jordan Rosenberg good evening my name is Jordan Rosenberg second microphone and we wear the testimony given this matter would be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do but give us your full name sir Jordan Rosenberg r n b r g terrific uh Jordan can you please do us a favor and please walk us through your educational credentials and state whether or not your license and architecture is still in good standing in the state of New Jersey my license is in good standing with the state of New Jersey I've been a licensed architect since 2004 um practicing on my own with my own firm since 2004 I received my masters of architecture from Tan University to ref does his board accept him as an expert in architecture does anyone board have any questions or objections regarding this witness the declaration page of the application you did not check off the box for the D variance the D variance was noticed though it's not checked off so so would you amend it to check that off yes absolutely thank you thank you going back to the architect um there be no objections the witness is accepted as an expert in architecture thank you terrific Jordan did you have an opportunity to visit the subject site yes and did you also have an opportunity to drive around and see the character of the neighborhood I did great and did you also have an opportunity to review this municipality zoning code for this Zone yes and did you take that in consideration we're proposing this development absolutely great why don't you welc us to this proposed single family home certainly use the mic microphone please yes be happy to thank you um you do you all have a copy of the um the exhibit the rendering exhibit copy of that yes we don't have a hard copy we're going let hard copies would anyone like a a hard copy of it sure okay well you you're PR them out oh okay [Applause] sorry thank you of the kind of part the pet just a copy for our convenience so um my clients a Andy and Rebecca hired me to design a new home for their family they have three kids and uh their their requested intent was to have a four bedroom second floor house for their three kids and themselves and they also Rebecca's parents uh live out of the state so they wanted a guest bedroom for them as well which we provided on the first floor um so so essentially they hired me to design a house to meet their needs based on their programmatic requirements um essentially that's why uh it's triggering some of these variance variances but the intent of the design itself and and the character of the home is um I want with the assistance of my clients we wanted to create a very Charming uh Timeless elegant shingle style home something that would contribute in a really positive way to the character of the town um we are proposing a product called the siding is new cedar siding which is a composite siding uh the color is called worldly gray and it comes in three different Hues a light gray a medium gray and a dark gray you're actually ordering it in one color but it comes to in boxes within three Hues and it gives it this really wonderful realistic effect of um semi-translucent stained siding it's beautiful uh the windows we are uh exploring ing the possibility of Marvin Windows kobby Windows or or Anderson Windows they're going to be true simulated divided lights um the character of the house we wanted it to be understated elegant we didn't we were not trying to create anything ostentatious or assuming we we have um roof lines that come down with skirt roof and the roof line over the garage on the right side of the house so you can see comes down to the first floor skirt roof to create the essence of a a house that's evoking a sense of humbleness um so that when you drive by it you know hey this is the personality of the homeowners they're they're humble in nature because the house is does not have that that um in yourface look it's it's Charming character um uh that's basically it unless you want me to go through the floor of plants that's all I have to say yes please walk us through the Flor plan sure as well as the elevations including the heights the heights sure so oh okay let me do it from the screen that's what you guys are used to my pleasure Architects plans microphone um it's a finished basement we have a recreation room a home gym um and we have guest bedrooms uh home office uh gym it's basically a flex room whatever they want to use it for and a bar area it's a walkout basement um that creates access to the existing pool the first floor has your uh what what a a standard uh new home um would have it's a two-car garage a dining room kitchen family room uh dinette a foyer it's a two-story foyer uh so it's important to note that although we're asking for the F variants it's counted twice but the floor area is only usable in terms of once a guest bedroom and a home office and a kids playroom and then the second floor I could find it here I don't know why I'm not there it is okay great and we have our four bedrooms um three B second floor the uh so the house uh the the front of the house as you can see the rendering better depicts it than the two-dimensional architectural elevations the back of the house uh is represented below it it has a covered Vera at the back um clean lines and then this two- side elevations here it's side loading garage the garages are hidden from the the the side of the house uh the existing house and um has the has an the existing house which is a brick Colonial from the 1960s it's being demolished and it has a two-car garage on the left side and it's a it's a basement level or garage um not not we're moving the garage to the right side of the house so it could be entered or accessed from the first floor and it's just a cleaner look and that's our roof plan I don't just conceptual in nature but but but accurate um regarding Building height yes so we comply with Building height the uh it's a pull down hatch to access the attic it's an un addable on non-habitable attic the it's important to note that the G the two-car garage um does not have any attic above it it's it's no ceiling on the two-car garage it's open lofted kind of a garage so real quick I want to go back to the for a as you know and as you noted as well on the record that it is essentially double counted can you please advise this board of approximately what the square footage is of that forer that's double counted sure so the foyer is 12T 1 1/2 by 18t 2 1/2 so let's just say 12.1 * 18.1 and of course that it's going to be 10% larger than that because the staircase I'm not including but staircases exist in all houses not two story spaces okay so it's about 219 Square ft yes sir okay thank you I have no further questions for this witness does anybody in the board have any questions for this Witness I got one um do you know what the height is of the attic because it's not sure well so um to the underside of the attic structure is 6'1 because that's what I set my collar ties at and the collar ties are an essential part of the structural integrated element of this rigid A-frame uh roof design um so technically when you put on the hatch and you go up to the attic those every collar tie at 16 in on Center which will be 2x8 colar ties will be set 6'1 anybody else have any questions and to clarify in the garage Would we not going to come back and add any Joys it's going to stay open and correct the attic the attic is a pull down you T pull down does anybody in the public have any questions for this Witness D so I assume a house of this nature you're going to have mechanical equipment up in the attic too right that's correct okay yes R the Aesthetics put on roof okay back to you Mr pada my thank you so much I just like to bring up my last last witness Mr Nick gravana he'll be testifying to planning ready yes sir you swear a testimony about to give in this matter of the truth the whole truth nothing but truth I do thank you your full name please Nicholas IO and Nick is your license still in good standing for planning yes sir thank you we can accept you as expert and planning thank you perfect uh Mr Gano do you have an opportunity to visit the subject site yes I've been at this site on two separate occasion yes did you also have an opportunity to review the tax uh cards in regards to the other single family homes within the uh neighborhood yes I was able to access data obtained through the uh Essex County website terrific why don't you walk us through why you believe that the site can accommodate the proposed Improvement certainly I'd like to uh give that rationale as well as some neighborhood data to show uh that this house is certainly in keeping uh of the neighborhood uh the applicant is requesting this relief for Block 1307 lot 30 uh this is a 25,000 foot lot in the R2 Zone um the R2 Zone um allows a building coverage of 2.72% for this particular lot uh the applicant's proposal for the building coverage of this dwelling is 16.51% so the building coverage of this proposed parcel is certainly under what's uh permitted by ordinance uh the applicant is requesting the front yard setback variance whereas 60 feet is required and 58.1 feet uh is being proposed that 58.1 ft is the neighborhood average in this context uh that variant certainly could be granted under the C2 criteria promoting purpose I a desirable visual environment uh and good Civic design Arrangement um that 1.9 ft certainly does not cause a substantial impairment to the Zone plan uh or the zoning ordinance uh the applicant is requesting a 380 foot increase of the uh maximum habitable floor area uh for this dwelling uh when you look at 300 80 Square ft it's only 1.5% of the total area the lot it's a pretty modest request and it's even more modest when you look at it in in terms of the neighborhood context and I'll get into that data shortly uh the applicant is also requesting a 3% increase to the maximum habitable floor area ratio as you heard in the architectural testimony uh the propos the proposed double counted foyer counts to 219 Square ft so the applicant in essence is only asking for 171 Square ft in excess of the square footage uh in relation to the habitable floor area number uh looking at the neighborhood I had a chance to look at these houses in person as well as look at the tax data uh some of the houses in the surrounding Community uh 27 Mayu which is known as block 1307 lot 26 uh that house is on a house that's slightly larger than the applicants but not that much larger that lot is 128 by 112 the applicant slot is 125 by 200 uh the 27 Mayu Drive housee which was built in 2005 is a little bit short of 8,100 square ft uh that house measures 8098 as per the tax records moving on 23 Mayu Drive uh that house was built in 74 uh that house has a building square foot of 6,816 square ft uh that is on a lot the exact same size as the applicant 21 Mayu uh that lot that house contain that lot contains a house that's 5,000 922 Square fet on a lot size the exact same uh as the applicants before you this evening so you know with the three neighboring houses this applicant slot although 380 Square F feet larger than it's supposed to be is still a considerably amount smaller than those neighboring dwellings which are on lot sizes that are consistent with the applicants so looking at that F uh variance the applicant must demonstrate that the site can accommodate the building given the increased uh request for the proposed F I touched on some of the numbers uh the applicant is uh roughly 4% less than the pered building coverage for the site uh the applicant is providing uh new storm water management systems and the applicant is meeting uh all required setbacks uh with the exception of a one n 1.9 ft for the uh neighborhood average for the front yard I certainly do not see any uh scenario where the S site cannot accommodate the proposed dwelling uh when you look at the advancement of the purposes of zoning of the municipal land use law it certainly advances purpose a um that's done through the addition of additional storm water uh Management Systems to the height uh it also advances purpose G to provide sufficient space and appropriate location for variety of residential uses to meet the needs of New Jersey citizens and here you have a little node where this neighborhood is known uh for accommodating dwellings uh of a larger size than what's permitted by ordinance um lastly as you saw by the architect's impeccably designed house this house is a drastic improvement aesthetically uh over the current home which is a nice home but you know these are the type of homes that you want to see in your community from an aesthetic standpoint certainly advancing uh purpose ey the municipal land use law uh Mr graviano is it your testimony here tonight that those single family homes with an immediate vicinity include homes with a the habital floor area anywhere between 700 to 2900 Square ft larger than what is being proposed was here tonight yes sir thank you I have no further questions for this witness any does anybody on the board have any questions for this witness anybody in the public have any questions for this witness not seeing any that's it that's it I can't believe it does anybody in the public want to make any statements yes swear you in one second sure you swear the testimony give will be the truth the whole truth nothing but truth I affirm please give us your full name and spell your last name sir Jeremy Michael Doberman d o b r m an and your address 17 Mayu thank you sure um an admitted attorney in New York and New Jersey in various federal courts as well okay okay uh so my property is the property immediately I believe to the north it's uh immediately downhill from the applicant's property so I just wanted to make it clear from the perspective from which I'm joining I'm I'm uh I would be my property would be in the position to be impacted the most by the proposed development I stand tonight in strong support of the applicants uh uh request for variances uh I think that there's no question that this is in keeping with the um with the character of the neighborhood um color blinds I can't really testify as to whether or not the actual color is aesthetically pleasing and it's gray okay whatever that means uh you know my look pink to me on a given day but the bottom line is that uh it does to me look like a really nice house uh I think the applicant has worked hard for it I think he deserves it and I think it's great uh the and also with regard to the testimony by the planner uh that there are significantly larger houses on the Block even just to joining us that's certainly true there's no question that this is in keeping with the character of the neighborhood uh as I look at the property it's uh just the smaller version of the house that immediately adjoins it to the South which is on the other side of the applicant's property from mine um my sole reason for joining tonight other than strongly supporting the application was a concern about storm water management and I don't know if you can bring up the proposed plan um I did just want to show graphically what I'm referring to because I did have a chance to talk to the applicant and also talk to the applicant's engineer regarding it are we able to pull this up yeah I need some help from The Man Behind the Cur sorry taking okay so that's the proposed dwelling if you can go down on to the next page the existing dwelling right so right now as things stand uh if you can zoom in a little bit that's a little far out there is to the right of the pool there um an inlet that's several feet right there several feet by several feet as things stand right now there is a pipe that's running under the patio uh all the way to my side of the property and it connects with an existing pipe that allows uh storm water to drain towards the street and there's a drainage easement R running across the front of my property uh in the applicants initial proposal uh he cannot keep that pipe running from the right to the left uh because he's building there so what the Instead The Proposal right there you go um so what Instead The Proposal was was to move that a few feet after what was the patio towards the pool uh I don't think that makes a lot of sense I think it has the potential to cause drainage issues in the future so my recommendation was a conditional approval with the requirement that instead of reconstructing that uh pipe that runs towards my side of the property instead horizontally install dig and install a pipe that allows the water to drain from that Inlet that's on the right side of the pool there directly towards the street and to connect into the existing uh groundwater management system there uh one of the reasons that we strongly support this application I do have to emphasize strongly support the application is the driveway uh is that is on my side of the property is being entirely uprooted and replaced with grass so in terms of storm water management concerns that's that's a really big one that we think is really going to improve uh and so we're also very happy of course that the garage is um going on the other side of the property essentially I do have to say uh you may consider this you may not I don't know in what we would call it heay I spoke to the owner of 21 Mayu who's the owner on the other side on the right over there uh and he indicated he has no opposition whatsoever he's traveling otherwise he would be here tonight also in strong support thear though yes sorry I believe that is hearsay right so well you know if nobody objects it can be considered by a court but anyway um that's a rule of evidence what can I tell you okay so so just generally speaking also there are a couple of inlets that are being proposed to be installed uh on my side of the property all this together uh with the uh pipe that I propose to run on the other side of the property uh I think will certainly do enough for storm water management alleviate any concerns moving forward and again we strongly support the application with that one modification thank you um we we really don't have the privy to make a water a storm water management decision at this time the engineering department from the township will require a full study so no additional water can travel to any of the neighbors uh property after construction so you you are covered um probably a good idea to what you thought of but we can't really because that that might not be the optimal engineering solution right so that has to be designed so but yeah okay the township Engineers report on this I have not seen the my copy and he addresses the same issues you do so maybe you want to talk to him about spoke with the assistant Township engineer today but I'm happy to pick it back up that the last paragraph there yep okay and just to reiterate as I said in the opening of this matter uh we do agree as a condition of approval to Jet the existing pipes to confirm that there is no blockage okay thank you very much no thank you for your uh testimony is do you want to have a closing statement at 10:30 no okay good you didn't want want to 7:30 either so it's okay or 6:30 or 6:30 yeah uh would anybody like to make a statement on the board I I'll make a statement I I I I walk that area a lot you know and I think I've seen the applicant over there too a couple times with this rivan uh but yeah it's it's a pretty good neighborhood and go up and down and it definitely will enhance the neighborhood over there because right now the house is kind of dark and dull we'll be you know Ren it up so yeah good'll it'll make a big Improvement and with that if you want I can anybody else I'll make the motion to approve there you go second okay Mr Kenya yes and Mr horn yes Miss Khan votes yes Mr Shaw yes Miss morachi and Mr kna I mean Miss Kaa I'm so sorry it's [Music] late and Mr Beer yes okay thank you everyone for the night thank you so we don't see you until next year now oh yeah what to do it's like every two we before I before I make a motion to adjourn I'd like to say thank Sherry for service thank you Sherry for your service she'll be moving on motion to adjourn