##VIDEO ID:okbWkrHjxNI## okay let's let's begin good evening this is a regular regular scheduled meeting of the Princeton Zoning Board of adjustment being held electronically via zoom on December 11 2024 at 7:30 p.m. pursuant to section 13 of the open public meetings act adequate notice of the time and place of the meeting has been post has been prominently posted posting by given by prominently posting the sunshine notice of the Princeton Zoning Board of adjust adjustment such notice has been placed on the official bulletin board at the municipal complex and by transmitting a copy of the notice to the Princeton packet town topics the times Trentonian and by filing a company with the clerk of Princeton on December 6 20 24 and has been posted to the municipal website www Princeton nj.gov meetings pursuant to the extension of the ongoing state of emergency by executive order 292 in accordance with the emergency remote public meeting protocol for local public bodies to conduct a public meeting without physical attendance by members of the public notice that during this extension of the state of E urgency all regular and special meetings of the Princeton Zoning Board of adjustment will be held electronically via Zoom was transmitted to the Princeton packet town topics and the times and was filed with the clerk of Princeton on the 24th day of April 2020 such notices have been placed on the official bulletin board at the municipal complex and on the Princeton website and are to be maintained throughout the year and by transmitting a copy of same to the Princeton packet town topics the times Trentonian Comcast media and by filing a copy thereof with the clerk of Princeton notices have been placed on all window doors of the municipal complex okay um Gloria can you call the rooll please here miss son here Mr Floy here Mr stver here Mr tenom here Mr Stein here Miss Donna yes chairman Cohen here thank you okay we have uh we have resolutions this evening um let's see what do we have a first do we we have uh I guess our open public meetings protocol is that the 2025 annual meeting calendar correct okay do we do we have that yet it should be the yes the there were resolutions in the package oh okay I'm sorry to to approve the um 2025 schedule uh notice of special meetings and charges for subscribers who want to get copies in advance of agendas Etc okay do we wanna do we wanna do we vote on this yeah I think we should vote Yes y we'll take these individually yes okay so let's uh as everybody reviewed the schedule if there are any questions let's discuss it if not we someone needs to make a motion to pass it or not so moved okay we have a second second thank you I'll second it are we doing it as package or individually individually yeah individually okay okay great cloria can you call the role please oh is not a package no no okay m Miss tenen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floy yes Mr Shriver yes Mr tenom yes Miss Stein Mr Stein yes chairman Cohen yes thank you okay the next is the notice of special meetings once again um if you've reviewed it and if somebody would like to make a motion I Mo make the motion to approve speci thank you we have a second they're all second thank you Miss Chen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floy yes Mr Shriver yes Mr tenom yes Mr Stein yes shman Cohen yes thank you okay and our last is the uh changes for the subscribers for agenda agenda mailings again in your packets if someone would like to make a motion I'll move the charges thank you thank you Gloria Miss Chen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floy yes Mr Sher yes Mr Tenon bomb yes Mr Stein yes German Cohen yes thank you okay all right we have four resolutions this evening uh the first is case number Z24 d460 760 Mount Lucas road block 2701 Lot 19 again these been board members before uh you move ahead with a motion to approve uh after I prepared this and had it sent out to you a question was raised as to whether the board was approving uh all four variances that the applicant requested or whether it was only two variances and initially that was my understanding because at this application had two hearings at the first hearing the applicants engineer had advised that uh they were willing to dispense with two of those variances that they could make adjustments uh but then at the second me meeting when you listen to the tape uh you could certainly conclude that in fact the board was approving all four variances so uh I did confer with Mr Bridger on this that's his understanding and so I wanted to raise it with you tonight um and the two the two variances that the applicant had said they might be able to dispense with uh was for the side parking setback uh 4.75 foot that's what they were looking for 5T is required and the driveway width 22 feet is required but they wanted 30 feet for the dri width to the Adu and 25 ft for their parking space turnaround so um what what is the board's uh pleasure yes Michael yeah my observation you know because I questioned that too especially because your introductory whereas on page four said that we partially granted and partially right so but then when you got to the back there was no no specification of what we denied but that being that caused me to go look at the tape and the tape to me clearly we approved all four okay well I mean so it wouldn't have been a denial because they my understanding is they had withdrawn two of them and said that's okay you know we don't need them but I agree with you yeah there was discussion of of Steve's uh shriver's motion on whether we were doing two or four and it was resolved we were doing all four Steve Steve confirmed it in his motion okay yep so um then we approved all four Y is my then the resolution will be amended will'll make clear in paragraph five of the findings and also in the now therefore at the end that all four of the variances they were seeking um were approved and I I would suggest that at the top of page four in the whereas where you reference we partially deny that that be revised yes thank you Michael yeah George it's a very minor typ of graphical point but there are two instances one on page on number three on page one where the address has a small lowercase t in front of the is that deliberate or was that no it's not deliberate okay well that occurs on page one and also on page four in item two so it's you know silly but what that let's correct it yep thank thank you George yes Donna um Karen I think I voted on this um and I'm not listed I'm not also not listed as absent and I do see that I voted on other October 23rd and you're correct okay then we'll add you then okay thanks right right thank you Don any other comments if someone would like to make a motion now we can vote on this this evening Ken yes okay yes okay someone would like to make a motion I'll move to approve thank you we have a second oh I'll second Stein thank you George okay uh Claudia can you call a roll Miss Chen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floy yes Mr striver yes Mr Stein yes Miss Donna yes chairman Cohen yes thank you okay our next resolution is case number Z 24-5 1917 armor block 10.02 Lot 29 any comments on the resolution if there are none if someone would like to make a motion I move to approve Floyd thank you I'll second thank you okay Claudia Miss Chen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floy yes Mrs schriver yes Mr Stein yes Miss Donna yes shman Cohen yes thank you okay the third case z245 397 Park Place block 2801 lot 3.01 comments on the resolution okay if there are none someone like to make a motion moved who's that Stephen dri yes second second okay Eve you made a second oh I did would but it wasn't me it was ber who made the second I did okay thank you thank you okay chaia can you call the rooll Miss Chen Miss Chen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floy yes Mr schriver yes Mr tenom yes Mr Stein yes thank you okay and our last resol solution is um a Z24 d534 543 Riverside block 592 loot two any comments on the resolution if none if someone like to make a motion I'll move proo Floyd thank you welcome second anyone I will second Stein thank you George okay Claudia can you call the rooll Miss Chen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floyd yes Mr Shriver yes Mr tenom yes Mr Stein yes chairman Cohen yes thank you it's approved okay that's the end of the resolutions we have only two applications this evening the first is case Z24 d538 195 South Harrison lot 11,001 lot 26 in the R5 [Music] tzone Claudia is the applicant here oh well first Karen are the noticing is in order and the board has jurisdiction tonight and Derek I'm going to swear you in now do you swear from your testimon this evening will be truthful yes I dok you okay um Claudia is the applicant here I'm trying to move him over right now okay thank you there he is Sir can you hear us yes I can okay there he is do you have anybody else that you need to bring into the meeting or yes I have U um my designer and next next neighbor they are also online one is Dan Burke the other is um and Caswell they should be online as well a little louder please okay so I said um my designer Dan Burke is online and my next neighbor in cwell is also online thank you well I think your neighbor will would come on on the part that's a public comment okay yeah Mr Burke is over now okay thank you all right um will you be making the presentation this evening yes okay do you want to hear from Derek first yes that's what I was gonna say before we hear from the applicant Derek can you summarize your memo please thank you um Mr Woo and his wife g g are the owners and applicants of 195 South Harrison Street it's located in the r5t zone in the former Princeton Township um subject lot is non-complying with regard to the required 21,780 foot lot area the existing lot is 3876 square feet it's non-compliant with both the lot width and the lot Frontage requirement of 100 feet they are both 25 ft and this the property itself the house is not complying with respect to the required 15ot sidey yard setback it's zero um and the left side required setback is 15 and the existing is 3.5 the applicant is proposing to construct a 9 foot by 34 foot 9 parking space in the front yard the property currently has no parking on site um the parking violates the require 25 foot front yard setback um the proposed setback would be zero um I just note that uh if you looked at the property there are trees on the adjoining property to the South that are overgrown and will restrict visibility while exiting the proposed parking space the applicant should advise uh how this issue will be addressed um if the project is approved a street opening permit will be required from the municipality and um the applicant has cons requested consideration under the C1 variants and that's my memo if you have any questions glad to address it thank you thank you any questions of uh Mr Verger okay um Mr we'll swear you in and Mr Burke can yeah unmute yourself uh Mr Burke you're the architect of record is that right yes all right and do you both swear or affirm your testimony this evening will be truthful yes yes I do thank you he Mr from begin all right let me share my screen all right see my slides and Mr Woo did you prepare these slides yes did you see my slides see my slides and uh can you tell me how many slides there are because we'll make that an exhibit for you in this proceeding so I have this set of sides um as my exhibition exhibits um that I going to represent all right and we'll make this exhibit A1 all right thank you so this is application for off street parking um at 195 sou harison street so we live at 195 sou Harrison Street between western w and hardly Avenue so we have been living here for over about 9 years so this is the mark that indicate where our house locates speak okay there are 23 houses on this BL block some are single family h Homes others are duplex but we are the only one that does not have off street parking so what does that mean to park day and night on this section of a Harrison Street so this is the um top down view of the segment of the street so Harrison Street is one of the main roads in and out of town and its traffic has been steadily increasing over the past years especially after the pandemic so the Harrison Street Narrows a little bit in this section with basically no room left to get in and out of a car parked on street amid traffic these are the yellow box indicates the parking space that we are allowed to park so as I become hazardous to use our car parked on the street especially after my wife has gone through a hip surgery this year and is slow to move so on street parking also has resulted in damaging the cars of ours and neighbors over the years many are just hidden runs so for all these reasons on neighbor which indic is in this R box who shared the same duplex with us they applied C1 variants for parking space and God approved in July 2021 so we like to do the same so here are some pictures of some car accidents that those cars are parked on street in front of our house over these years so they cause some total loss cause some undamaged um panels some sound mirrors all these kind of SCS and my wife had a hips replacement surgery in April this year she's still in recovery and is given a disabl parking permit so this is the um evidence of his ofer surgery and this is the parking permit until November next year here's some um positive current Criterion that we want to present so on the left two pictures are the top down View and the front front of view of our property so you can see that our property is a landlocked by the property line on two sides with no easement from Neighbors and on the right is our public can see the size and shape of our property locked means it is impossible to build a parking space that is compliant with conscious Zing coordinance again our house is the only one without off Street paring on block so here are the P some pictures of our neighboring properties that have parking in front of their house particularly our next door neighbor who shares the same duplex with us because their appication approved by the ball in July 2021 so this picture bottom right picture is the parking lot just next to us so we like to do the same to have a parking spot in our friend yard so here is our proposal so we'd like to construct a parking space of 9 ft by 30 ft 34t 9 in to fit to midsize Passenger cars for hours that align vertically leaving about 4 fet in between here is the two cars that designed for this parking lot so the proposed parking space will take only 315 square feet that means the new imperious coverage for the property will be 3 1.01% well below the 61.5% requirement and there is no stone water management is required because because it is under 400 square fet also as indicated by the Red Dot here our neighbor of 199 has kindly agreed to remove the shrubs on the property line that will block The View when our CLS back out so our proposed parking space these are negative Criterion our proposed parking space is a narrow strip alongside and very close to some overgrown or bushes on a property line between 195 and 199 and the parking space is designed to be 9 ft by 74t 9 in which which means there is still more than half of the front yard left with our probably lot width being 25 F so the design makes it uh makes only minimum visual impact with the parking space so here the yellow drawing is my really rough rendering of the proposed parking lot what it takes place takes space um in Fr and with proposed parking space we can remove two cars of the busy the narrow segment of the street this not only can improve our own safety but also help free up the space that will benefit the safety of public of the public that use that road also as seen on this left figure there is a fire hydrant between two on street parking space in front of ours 195 and our next next door neighbor 199 this parking this 5 hyren has only 9 ft and 10 ft on each side between these two parking spaces that means the and these two parkings figur spaces are often occupied which makes the access to the fire hydrant very difficult so with our proposed parking space in our own front yard Township can reclaim the on street parking space making the fire hydrant easier to access in case of fire hydrant fire hazard so with the proposed un premis parking it is now possible for us to purchase an electrical vehicle which will benefit renewable energy use and uh that's all the pr for the Pres presentation thanks Mr Woo did you want to present anything from Mr Burke um no um could I make a one comment you can't Mr Burke just to confirm your licensed architect in the state of New Jersey correct landscape architect yes landscape thank you very much yeah so um on this on the drawing on the screen right now on the left side of the green car and the right side those two L-shaped gray figures are uh low stackstone retaining walls just to hold the grade because the property slopes so um we have to have something to to hold the soil back once we would make the cut for the driveway to go in there just just wanted to make that clear that that's what those are how tall are they uh at the top of the of the uh as they go towards the house they basically get about four inches high and down by the sidewalk they'd be about 15 inches high it's pretty much the same situation that the um connected neighbor has at uh 193 okay have stack stone walls also thank you okay um Mr Woo do you have anything to add um no um I guess um my neighbor from 199 she's a she should be online and she can testify um that the tree could be can be removed You' indic ated on your drawing that you're going to cut back some of the Landscaping to make uh to increase your visibility backing out that's right okay all right okay if uh neither you or Mr or your landscape architect Mr Burke have anything else to add um if it's okay with you we'll open this up to the public I'm okay okay so at this point we'll open this up to the public Claudia has anybody they want to speak Steve Michael Floyd yes please sorry um although you know he had offered his neighbor to put on the record that they will you know lower or eliminate the concern that Derek expressed I I personally like to have it on the record okay since it's in in Derek's memo okay especially so I request that you let the neighbor speak testify that's fine if at the public hearing they can do that oh I I meant as part of the presentation oh it's part of the presentation and the application yes okay yeah I I seem as Caswell we just uh you need to unmute yourself Miss Caswell there you go we just need to swear you in do you swear or affirm your testimony this evening will be truthful I do and you reside at 199 South Harrison you own yes that's right okay great thank you okay please begin I very much support this uh proposal I think it makes a lot of sense for all all of the reasons um that my neighbor indicated in terms of their own safety and in terms of the street safety it also makes sense for both halves of the duplex to have an equivalent access to off- street parking um the The Greenery in question is really large holly bushes um and it is completely fine with me for us to remove a couple of them at the front they're all grown together so it looks like one enormous hedge but it's a bunch of discreet holly bushes um and we've discussed either significantly cutting back or removing enough at the front so that it doesn't block any visibility as they're backing out okay okay okay are there any questions of this witness okay thank you very much okay okay well we'll go back to execu to uh the public hearing portion Claudia is anybody indicated they'd like to speak on behalf of this application there are no hands okay all right so we'll close the public portion of the hearing Mr Woo before we go into executive session and we Talk Amongst ourselves uh do you have anything you want to add in closing just like to thank the board of all uh and also Mr bridge and cl for reviewing and then ending this case okay thank you okay vard we're going to go into executive session comments on the application I I do have a question um and it's I I how much trouble I guess would it be to back into these spaces so that when you come out you're coming out at first not back first I mean that road is so jammed backing out into traffic would would really make me quite anxious and and I'm the question I guess is what do other people do on the street do other people back in and how difficult would that be so we are experienced drivers for many years and we are no exception um say the other neighbors that have the same situation on that the road and one plus side um for our situation is we are on that side of road with exra space for the parking the original un street parking then give us more buffer room to get in and get out of the um the street so that helps us better than the other parking space on the other side of road all right it I mean it's not directly relevant to the application but was just curious no it's a good it's a good question to ask George are there any other questions of the applicant or the applicant's witnesses or the neighbor I move we approve the application with the stipulation that the uh Shrubbery be removed to a safety point I second the motion could I uh just ask a question please yes please um just visually looking at the area to of the vegetation to be removed it looks like it's sufficient but I would just like to visit the site with the land use engineer and confirm with a site visit that it's acceptable from a safety point of view it look like it is but I just want to double check for safety's sake no problem I think it's a good idea thank you y I agree okay is that that's all right with you Stephen oh yeah yep okay all right and is it a condition that they need to get the road opening permit or is that the I mean that's a requirement to open any so you can put it in there it doesn't hurt then it's all laid out for him what he needs to do okay thank you Mr Woo are you okay with our zoning officer visiting the site to look at the landscape I'm Mo who is that I'm happy to meet you on site at your convenience so sure thank you thank okay um you made a motion Stephen I did okay do we have a second yes Mr tenom Mr tenom good thank you okay um can you call R please Claudia Miss Chan yes Miss Colson yes Mr Floy yes Mr Shriver yes Mr Tenon bom yes Mr Stein yes chairman Coen yes thank you thank you Mr W thank you Mr W can you stop sharing your screen now yes okay there we go thank you thank you okay our last case this evening is U case Z24 d563 95 Library Place block 12.01 Lot 8 um Karen is the noticing in order it is and the board has jurisdiction to hear the case okay thank you uh Derek can you give us your memo please yes sir uh Naro Oto is the owner of 95 Library plates and Brett and Jean Schaefer are the contract purchasers and applicants they are seeking a floor area variance suu to njs 40 col 55d -70 D4 to permit the construction of a small infill two-story addition a C1 variance is requested from the required setbacks and height to setback ratio to permit the expansion of an existing Dormer and the construction of an Associated second floor roof deck on the rear elevation the property located in the r1b zone in the former burrow and the subject lot is non-compliant with respect to the required 20,000 ft lot area the existing lot is 14,000 feet square feet and the lot width requirement is 125 whereas the existing is 75 4et excuse me um the existing house is non-compliant with the required 10 foot smaller sidey yard setback the existing 2.84 uh it's not compliant with the required 30 foot combined sidey yard set back the existing is 20.05 and it's non-compliant with the height to setback ratio it's 1.5 to1 um it's non- compliant on the southern elevation and it is non-compliant with the proportional floor area ratio uh requirements 31.75 and the existing 38.1 6 the project uh the applicant is proposing is a two-story addition in an existing void of the home near the rear of the dwelling on the Northern elevation the existing billco basement entry doors will be removed and reconfigured outside of the proposed Edition the proposed 63 square foot first floor Edition will be used utilized as a powder room and the approximately 54 square foot second floor Edition will expand an existing closet um this addition does increase the floor area ratio um from the existing 38.1 16 to 38.97 they're seeking A4 variants um and then they also have some C1 variances requested associated with an existing Dormer located on the um expansion of an existing Dormer located on the rear elevation of the house and the addition of a roof deck with an entry door um Dormer and the deck require variances from the side yard setback and the height to setback ratio um the Dormer required sidey guard setback is 10 feet the proposed is 4.99 ft and the sidey guard setback the roof deck is also 10 ft the proposed is 4.37 and the height to setback ratio requirement is 1.5 to1 and the proposed is 1.5 to 0.38 um that's a synopsis of my memo if you have any questions I'd be glad to try to answer them board members any questions of Mr Burger thank you okay you're welcome okay um Mr Kennedy I see you here are you representing the applicant I am thank you Mr chairman um if we could also uh in the audience should be Glenn freeze our architect if we could bring him over as well he he's already there but he's thank you his camera is not on one step ahead of me thank you so much um so uh thank you uh Mr chairman members of the board uh and Mr briter uh for hearing us tonight and Mr uh briter for your memo overviewing this uh I am here uh on behalf of Brett and Jee shaver um recent purchasers actually one correction from Derek's memo which was correct what he wrote it actually but uh no longer correct we started this application uh with our applicants as contract purchasers uh living elsewhere in Princeton uh excited that earlier this month they actually became the owners of 95 Library uh consolidating their interest as owner and applicant and very much looking forward to uh making some U minor Chang es to this historic property uh defe fit the needs of of their family as you'll hear from our architect and applicant uh a very small dare I say di Minimus uh increase in floor area by filling in a small unutilized um portion that's not visible from the street or really any neighboring property uh filling a void to give them essentially a powder room on their first floor uh that is much needed for the home and to reconfigure uh their second floor or bedroom uh currently it's cut up with a bunch of very small difficult to use spaces and rooms this would allow a much more um uh usable layout on both floors in in ways that respects the historic Integrity of the home without any detriment or noticeability uh from uh any of the neighbors as Mr Bridger said this property is undersized by about 25% uh already um while in keeping with the size and stature of homes on Library place over the floor area ratio that is permitted uh less so over than many of its neighbors uh but still over so even a small change uh the 63 squ ft on the first floor and 54 on the second floor do require D variance and that is a variance that we do need five votes for just as a reminder the other change uh that requires your attention is in the back of the house there are existing Dormers uh an existing portion of the house that is in the sidey guard setback you'll see that the house is uniquely angled uh and uh interestingly was designed perhaps for an artist who was very keen on making sure that the uh very large window in the great room of the home lined up with the sun uh for uh artistic purposes which means that unfortunately it is not parallel to the or perpendicular to the street uh and as the the house reaches the back of the lot gets much closer to the neighboring property and hence the existing setback issues uh the the modifications to the back essentially respect that stepping and are are kind of being placed in areas where already there are setback um incursions uh naturally from this home where it was always built historically and kept uh but uh by increasing the size of the Dormer slightly it does exasperate uh or intensify that variance um condition that's already there uh we hope you'll see that the these were done very Tastefully with a minimal impact the rear of this property so while you won't see any of these from the street directly behind them you'll see is kind of a commercial parking lot and their neighbor to the right is well screened uh and and this backs up to their parking area uh as well um with that I'd love to introduce our now owner app applicants uh uh Brett and Jean to briefly or quickly introduce themselves excellent um thanks so much and I just need to swear both of you in do you swear airm your testimony this evening will be truthful yes I thank you thank you no thank you to everyone for for taking the time tonight um we've been Princeton residents for 17 year we're actually calling it we're zooming in from our current home today which we've been living before our oldest daughter was born and most recently been looking to make a move toward closer to the western side of town and we feel very fortunate that we found this Unique Home on Library Place um I think we been very attracted to the beauty of Library place as well as the history and um and our goal with this home is to really beautify the outside maintain the historical structure the appearance while increasing the curb improving the curb appeal but at the same time as we did a review of the home we recognized that uh the interior we want to restore most of it but also there's modernization that would require and hence for the the variance request um we feel fortunate to be working with a great architect Glenn freeze and contractor Alaway Construction who have worked on many homes uh within Library place and I think also have a great appreciate appreciation for we have for the uh the history so as as Ryan said the house has a unique layout in the back um which is you know as we determine it's it's very difficult to see from the um the front of the road but a unique layout and this fill in would really help us it would effectively give us a usable powder room on the first floor and as Ryan said we we could have a Master Suite on the second floor uh where we can enjoy instead of multiple kind of cut off smaller rooms and bedrooms thank you so much Brett Jean um much appreciated uh um one one just quick question for you before I uh see if the board has any questions or uh you know kind of ask you to take your your seats back again um I know you reached out uh we reached out to neighbors with some some friendly information and copies of the plans and things like that have you heard uh negatively from anyone or any concerns or complaints uh about the program um no concerns and it was an ironic coincidence I was at a meeting for a club I'm a member of earlier this week and I met the across the street neighbor for the very first time and she had received our notice in the mail and she was very excited to know that we were moving in across the street and excited about the work we were doing in the project and um only had positive things to say so I was very happy I I didn't know her at all and um we had a very positive first meeting so that was a nice surprise well excellent introduction to the back to the neighborhood so she's the resident of 94 Library so right our our road neighbor right across the street thank you um Mr chairman unless there are any uh questions for the applicants um i' happy to move on with our to our architect have one very quick question when was the house built think 1905 so did it precede the two houses adjacent to it question just out of curiosity no we'll learned we've been nice some of our U neighbors have shared us some of the history which is very interesting uh I understand most were built around the same time but it may have been there before some of the other properties okay all right just I used to live at 144 Library all right 40 years ago um okay please continue thank you uh Mr chairman uh um I I'll don't I'll I'll I'll remind um our architect to to note that we did look there was some information put together when the former burough was exploring a creating a historic area uh Des um district for the morvin tract area and we we did look through some information and we're surprised to find little information about this home in particular to be honest with you uh but um I'll let Glenn speak to that a bit so um Mr freze if you could um introduce yourself and and give the board briefly the benefit of your background and and credentials so I can have you accepted as an expert here tonight Mr Freeze let me just swear you in first do you swear airm your testimony this evening will be truthful yes my testimony will be truthful thank you so glad if you could um give you a bit of your professional background and and credentials um for the board I'm a professional architect and a professional landscape architect in the state of New Jersey uh I went to graduate school at the University of Virginia Which taught me the historical importance of good buildings with good structure uh been doing this for 40 years and I know I've seen a lot I've done a lot and we're getting good at it this job a pre-existing non-conforming lot where they built the building on the true north Arrow excuse me Mr Freeze yes one thing um you you said you were licensed in New Jersey yes New York Connecticut several States okay well we'll accept you expert thank you please continue uh the house was built and I can't remember the names but was built for an artist and he wanted North light Perfect North light so there's a big Studio window in the great room that points directly north well they got that room right but then as they started moving the building and building the building back towards the back of the lot they got closer and closer to the sidey yard property line and then they would Notch it and then then go back further and then Notch it so there's about three notches in the back right against the property line so there was very little that we could do on this building because it's pre-existing non-conforming there was very little we could do without asking for your support so we're here to ask for a very minimal request of 60 square feet on the first floor and 50 square ft on the second floor for the variance and the Dormer variance that we're requesting is also very minimal because if you look at the pictures that Ryan will shows in a minute you'll see that the Dormer is actually less than the larger main roof of the house so it's not infringing on anything it's just a requirement that Derek and I thought we should uh go to you for and uh with that if it's please of the board I I'll share my screen we can go through our slides I believe there are 16 of them uh this evening you like that Mark as exhibit A1 that would be wonderful thank you so much so uh Glenn I'll start taking you through first uh um on slide two here we've got a uh the zoning map showing uh the R1 former burrow Zone that Arrow starts to point to the the property here at 95 Library place is that right that's correct zooming in a little further here's a neighborhood map uh Library Place uh to the left here and uh some other streets Stockton and uh headed into downtown that everyone's uh likely familiar with is that is that right that looks right all right now as we get a little closer if you can see uh the rest of the neighborhood coming together here in in Focus that's the subject property in in outlined in blue there and I'll perhaps note uh behind it I guess right up on their property line is a I guess a parking lot for the U neighboring users there is that right that's the parking lot for Morphin yes next as we zoom in here uh kind of changing our orientation uh I guess you this you can start to see the unique uh orientation of the house as it you know not perpendicular to library but I guess designed to to really truly be aligned uh with with the light that the artist that this home was built for initially wanted um I'll note the red ER we're going to try to be consistent in in showing you the two parts of this program uh that that is being implemented red is the small infill area and yellow is the location of the Dormers that we're going to talk about we're going to we tried to color code them that way to keep things consistent so we can we can track those changes as we show the plans uh Glenn also just before we leave this um this slide I guess where're this back area here this is already the part that is very close and in the existing setback that you were describing for as the house steps back yeah you see how it gets to that property line and that just keeps hugging it with step backs and you'll see it in the floor plans in a little bit and then finally just note you know from these Aerials uh the portion of the neighboring property to the right that I guess is closest to what we're talking about is their driveway and uh parking area uh I believe there's a a a significant fence and a lot of screening between the two as well from the photo you can see the the trees yes and those large trees yeah all right uh next side again we'll try to keep consistent with the red and the yellow uh but Glen I guess on top that's the existing interestingly stepped floor plan and that red area is the part that we're proposing to fill in uh with some additional uh I think you said 63 square feet on the first floor and 54 on the second floor uh square feet of living area correct and then it's in the back the house I don't know what the original idea of it was that it it makes that traffic in and out of the back porch very cumbersome and you can't you know use any good space there without filling that in and the existing uh first floor now has a powder room but it's 2 feet by 3 feet and it's very difficult to use uh reminds me of my own which I apparently legally cannot call a halfbath due to the lack of sink so I certainly understand the the desire to to make things uh uh even Small Things um usable uh and then on the bottom this is the rear uh elevation of the home and yellow circled is the uh proposed modified Dormers that we're going to be talking about that's correct and as I said earlier it's much smaller than the existing main roof so it nobody's going to see the difference between this and and this feature is is step back further from the property line um than the nearest part of the the home so that the home actually to a setback is up 2.8 ft that's the existing condition uh this is uh I believe uh 4.9 and we'll get to the details when we get to the end but it's further step back that's correct so here again sticking with our yellow arrows to try to talk about the the rear portion here you talk us through a little bit of the um uh this cross-section I think that you did uh uniquely shows the parts of the Dormers as proposed that are while closer or Excuse me while further away from the rest of the house and step back are uh in that setback and in the height to setback area is that correct that's correct talk a little bit of just generally though about the benefit uh um you know program wise or that that can be given to this family by by increasing the size of the Dormer here yeah the the back of the house was as very chopped up in small rooms but by getting the floor area and by op opening up some of the other smaller rooms we were able to get enough square footage in the back of the house to do a very nice primary suep uh during that development it became very clear that having a roof deck over the existing porch would be a very nice uh asset to that Master Suite or primary Suite uh giving the luxury of going outside in the morning and checking out the weather so we mve the primary bedroom from what is on the front of the house to the very back of the house and then the front bedrooms are now available for the two children so then our next slide we've got the left is the existing rear elevation with that existing uh Dormer feature shown I guess highlighted in green and then on the right the proposed revision because with the existing Dormer still shown in green so you can kind of see the the slight expansion is that right yes it's a slight expansion we expanded at about 3 feet so that we could put a door in there out onto the deck and then down at the deck level you can see that the encroachment is very very minor well you can see with the green line that it's it's a very minor encroachment but we still need help from you guys to do it and I guess we've got the the required existing and proposed height to setback lines that the that the Dormers revive Dormers create right if you see the existing one and then the red line is what was built so that's existing what was built so we're still even better than what the rest of the house is oops now uh this next slide I I wanted to include this is a portion of the neighborhood character uh rules uh this does not mean that I don't think uh that we don't need a a variance here for the the Dormers but I do wanted to point out that some effort in the neighborhood character exercise was was put forth to to understand and try to wrap their head around the idea that yes these projections into height to setb back and into setback in certain situations particular when they're there already do make sense uh we're not saying that this completely qualifies uh my my take on this provision was they were thinking shed Dormers and there is a width requirement of a percentage of roof that can project that's not quite what this situation is and I can understand how this provision doesn't quite fit but I I again just wanted to point out that some effort had been made to recognize that these situations do make sense and are preferable um to full-scale Renovations and are less um uh detrimental than an actual projection uh that the the dorm is is less obtrusive uh and and problematic uh that provision couldn't solve every problem uh but again wanted to point out that our Dormer Here Comes very close to satisfying this this condition um but uh perhaps in a future revision of neighborhood character this type of Dormer would would also fit as an exception um next then we can go to the what we've been showing with the the red arrow and that is that rear tucked in um infill area so uh help me out here this this photo is is of that rear porch and where their current billco doors is with a unusual and and not very helpful inset feature right well not very useful at all as and the studio window it faces North and does nothing but fill up with snow and ice in the winter time because it never gets any sunlight so it makes sense to make it an indoor space and um obviously this can't be seen from the street or really anywhere else and you can't see it from anywhere except for this picture um so then showing what the floor plans again on the left this is existing uh on the right this is proposed showing how that space would be uh filled in with the uh small additional amount of of floor area now we've got clipped floor plans here and maybe could take us through or take the board through a little bit about what you're able to do back here by um by inserting this Powder Room well we're moving the kitchen up further front and then this used to be a uh laundry area where before the door so you you would walk through your and go out your back door so by creating that square footage there it was enough room to do a nice powder room and build some closets for pantry and also Cubbies for the kids for all their stuff as they will probably use this back door and mudroom most of the time and I guess here's the infill on the second floor and what that that allows you to achieve right well at a it gives us a little more square footage for the bedroom primary bedroom area and then it gives us more square foot useful Square for the primary closet um next we' got yeah sorry sorry Glen you froze up there for a second but uh well that's looking at it from live right and and as uh I guess as everyone will note that the the parts of the house that we're talking about are are not visible from here or from essentially any any part of of Princeton other than maybe peering over their fence uh from from morvin parking lot uh that's the only place you could see it from is from this parking lot that's correct uh this this view we flipped it round uh uh Library would be on the top of your screen here um again showing the yellow where the Dormers are and red where this infill portion is uh meaning to show the um both the screening with trees with the garage with the fence and uh for for the most part particularly for the the morvin property it's it's screening of that from this property uh because it's it's more of a commercial setting there with the with with the parking lot um just to through again color coding here uh the variances needed uh while the smaller side yard is unchanged at 2.84 that's the that's the house um we did call out and note the Dormer at 4.99 fet and that roof deck at 4.37 ft uh the height to set back ratio again uh um we think the Dormer could potentially encroach into that under neighborhood setback But ultimately we um have the uh revised uh number for where that um pierces that plane uh and then again the the effect of the already um for the undersized lot uh and again perhaps a say dare I say undersized house for the neighborhood one of the smaller houses in this row um uh the addition of the 117 square feet uh changes uh the floor area to uh 38 .97 ft uh as as a reminder uh since we are talking about a floor area ratio under the Coventry Square case what we need to do is make sure what what needs to be shown is that the site will accommodate the problems associated with the floor area larger than permitted by ordinance here with this historic home uh and I'll note uh the purposes of zoning particular purpose J is essentially to uh uh help with the conservation of of homes like this these modifications essentially promote that uh rather than encouraging someone to do some more drastic change uh to a historic home uh and there are we we hope you agree no negatives the site is is well suited to um accommodate uh whatever problems there are from this minor increase uh in floor area uh one the actual footprint of the home isn't really changing the mass of it is already uh existing at this size it's just being filled in slightly uh and it's not visible uh to the street uh from the street uh or really any of the neighboring properties as well the other variances um we feel May appropriate under C1 this site is exceptionally narrow 125 uh is required for wi we're less than 74 um while it was designed very interestingly uh in uh to step back and try to follow that line and not be parallel to it uh the existing home is as we said uh 2.84 ft from it already we are staying well proud of that uh with these modifications the addition is well away from the side setback the the revised Dormers are uh closer to that area but again stepped back much further uh than the existing home well a few feet further than the existing home is we uh again much appreciate your your time uh this evening hope that uh you'll agree that the the next stewards of this really amazing home at 95 Library have done their homework and brought in the right uh architect to to design very minor and and we think again not noticeable but very respectful uh slight modifications to this home to allow it to serve uh this neighborhood for another 15 years in the future so that um again much appreciated and and happy to answer any questions that you might have W members any questions to the owner the applicant the attorney the architect okay um if there are no questions um Mr Kennedy we're going to try to open this up for public comment do you want to say anything um just again thank you uh luckily there wasn't too much of a delay between my my last summary and and now so I won't burden you with hearing it again thank you you're welcome okay Claudia we're gonna open this up to the for public comment now um Claudia you're muted but is there anybody who's indicated they'd like to speak on behalf of this application no there is no hands um I believe Chris Rice is trying to get online he just raised his hand one second okay hello Mr rice um if you're comfortable could you give us your address 73 Library Place which is within 200t of the property and we will swear you in do you swear firm any testimony you give this evening will be truthful I do thank you I wanted to say that I agree with the statements made by the architect Glenn freees and by Ryan Kennedy and certainly by the Shavers that this is di Minimus um I am one house over so there's a house between my property 73 and 95 I cannot see anything from my backyard also I have been on the board of morvin for eight years I'm the co-chairman of the buildings and grounds committee so I went over to the parking lot which I know will continue to be a parking lot at morvin and because of the screening uh there is no effect because of this change to the house thank you that was very helpful anything else You' like to add happy to answer any questions question board members do you have any questions of Mr rice no thank you very much thank you okay uh cloria anyone else indicated they'd like to speak there are no hands okay all right we'll uh close the public portion of the hearing and uh again Mr Kennedy would you like to sum up before we go into executive session and uh thank you all for your time here this evening uh best wishes for happy holidays coming up uh this this very interesting historic home uh takes the right Steward and an architect to to get right um I hope you agree that they've made some very minor modifications to this that will allow to be used by its next Steward for maybe they won't be here for the next 100 years but but the house will be uh and these changes allow it to uh be modernized but but by still respecting the historic nature uh and and helping with the conservation of a very important uh historic home in a very important neighborhood uh in Princeton the changes will be visual visually um while compatible uh and Well Done imperceptible to anyone and have no negative impact on any of the neighboring Properties or the Zone plan and in fact will promote several of the uh uh purposes of zoning particularly Jay uh to help the Cons with the conservation of historic places under Coventry Square for a floor area case uh the key again is to make sure that the site will accommodate the problems associated with the floor area larger than permitted by the ordinance uh the site's already proven that it is already um as are its neighbors larger than the ordinance would prescribe and these changes uh don't change the site's ability uh to handle that um reminder though that because it is a d variance um we do need uh five votes to to move them uh to the next stage of of stewardship of this home uh and again uh happy to answer any questions but much appreciative of your time as volunteers here uh tonight thank you so much you're welcome okay board members we're going to go into executive session comments questions well I'll I'll start off I think it's a uh I think it's a nicely planned modification I do agree that it won't be visible and I think there's the increase in the floor area ratio truly is dominous I agree yeah I agree as well well would someone if there are no other comments if somebody would like to make a motion I'll move to approve have a second sure I'll second thank you any comments on the motion okay L can you call the r Miss Chen yes Miss Coulson yes Mr Floy yes Mrs Shriver yes Mr tenom yes Mr Stein yes rman Cohen yes thank you thank you all so much good good luck with the house it's uh it's really nice thank you very thank you very much thank you so much for your time you're welcome thank you all okay so I guess uh that's it for the evening um to all a very happy holiday and a healthy New Year and uh we'll see you all in January thank you Steve thank you happy holiday everybody happy holidays thank care see you