e evening everyone good evening everyone this is the August 1st 2024 meeting of the Zoning Board of adjustment this is to advise that notice of the time date location and to the extent known agenda of the subject meeting was prominently posted in the public place reserved for such or similar announcements on July 17th 2024 mailed to the Princeton pack at Trenton Times in West Windsor Plainsboro news on July 17th 2024 and filed with the Township Clerk on July 17 2024 call the RO Please Mr frin Mr Gario here Mr van djk Mr Raider pres Mr Marx Mr Jacobson here Mr church here Vice chair hman here chairwoman Abby here first item on the agenda are the approval of the minutes of June 6 2024 does anyone have any comments corrections I have a minor correction on page three um the third paragraph uh said the zoning board discussed what was being considered and what was noticed only the side yard variant setback not the maximum impervious coverage but it should I think be Improvement coverage that a technical I think you're right yeah yes anything else anyone else we have a motion to approve the minutes of June 20 June 6 2024 with the noted correction I move we approve the June 6th meeting minutes as amended or as corrected moved by John Raider do we have a second I'll second it seconding by John Church all in favor say I I I any opposed seeing none one abstention who's the abstention who yeah we have to record your noted there was an exension by Henry Jacobson yes next on the agenda is resolution ZB 2206 976 Alexander Road that was just the extension of a previously approved application does anybody have any changes I'll move to approve it move by John Raider I'll second second by Curtis all those in favor say i i Henry abstain I abstain abstain by Henry Jacobson any knows resolution ZB 2206 is approved as they saying music of 77 respect next is the resolution ZB 241 six Robin Circle does anyone have any comments on that I'll move to approve that move by John Raider second second okay thank you all those uh Henry do you have to abstain from this one this was off the last meeting all right abstained by Henry all those in favor say I I I I any knows hearing none that's [Music] approved chair's comments and correspondence I have nothing Sam you don't have anything you don't have anything next is public comment this would be for non-agenda items meaning not comments on the application that's before us tonight anything else that anybody has a comment about seeing none we will move on to application of the evening ZB 2402 2 12 Baran Avenue constructing in addition to an existing home it needs a variance release for floor area ratio sidey yard setback and maximum Improvement coverage is the applicant here yeah what are we J so we have six people you need five people to approve one of our members for some reason's not here we'll wait just a minute to see if he can get in contact with him thank you for your patience Mr Roy did you bring the original proof of notice and publication with you we have a copy here yes I have maybe you could pass that up and we could take a look at [Music] that sure look Mach all right thanks I'll look it over I'm sure it's fine just for everyone's information because of the type of variance that they are seeking they need five yes votes out of seven ands hising over be here in five or 10 minutes so if we want to take a break and pause we're have to do that we're going to have to do that yeah because they need five votes for approval normally you're going to want seven people here it's up to the applicant if they wanted to continue with only five or six people here but normally they do want the seven people so we'll wait since he is supposed to be on his way we'll wait a few minutes and adjourn just for a few minutes until then thank you [Laughter] this one of those dog the homework on addition for those in the audience what we will do is we will hear from the applicant with um their description of what it is that they want to do the board will discuss it a little bit ask questions ask questions of our uh planner and then after that we will allow comments from the public and then have more discussion waiting for D I know it's not want to go out the back yeah that's that's a cute little is they say back like 1920 some of the lots are double in I used to live that goes to show youing yeah strange place the president and in the wrong meeting system for the water but he also was the developer at the area from Wilden it's really interesting just to bik through it which I've done several times and look at the houses sty were responsible to build their own hous we had zoning board only and the people who house were no building to speak of at that time right stood up told me well that was at the Sur this this is father it also included some is that is that the hotel no it's not going to be a hotel it's be just a oh yeah Dan Dan's coming hey Dan you okay all right resum the meting the entrance [Music] of good man you're here it's great thank you to sign what we're just getting started this is ZB 242 12 Baran Avenue when he arrived uh we'll we'll indicate for the record that uh Our member Marx just arrived so the board is seven members this evening that's a full board and that's what you're entitled to have to present your case so you got it and I'll also indicate that I took a look at the original proof of notice and proof of publication all of that is in order so the board as jurisdiction and can hear the case tonight and if the both of you are would like to testify if you'd raise your right hand I'll swear you in now do you swear the testimony that you're about to give is truthful is the truth thank you and if you could put your names on the record and spell your name for our secretary and then you can present your application and explain to the board what you would like to do sure sure so my first name is Amara it's a m AR t y a t for Tom y for Yankee a and last name is Roy r o y thank you and Mrs Ro were you gonna testify Mrs Roy yes sure well if you could step up to the mic and we do this swear you in if you could give your spell your first name as well oh you you swear the testimony GNA give his truthful thank you very much and your name good evening honorable board members uh my first name is subashri s u b h a Sr we and my last name is Bose bosc thank you very much so you can proceed and present your application thank you thank you uh honorable board member so good evening so uh today I wanted to talk about my variance application for the property located at 12 barin Avenue uh this application is for an addition uh where uh the current dwelling is a two-bedroom one B unit um and it's a 1 and a half story um house uh this house is currently located on a 9,064 squ ft lot and is currently having a living space of 714 Square ft so with the proposed addition uh we would like to add 686 Square ft and this this will entail a inline a a in-law suite one full bathroom and a family room in the first floor and we will be extending a bedroom that faces the backyard uh that will become the new primary bedroom and it will have an attached bathroom so the to the overall house uh will become a three-bedroom three B unit so uh with this uh the the purpose of this addition um I would like to highlight a few points so firstly um I have my mother-in-law who is who has osteoporosis now the current unit has its uh bedrooms on the second floor so due to her medical condition she has difficulties climbing up stairs up and down so we would like to have her bedroom on the first floor so that it's easy for her her to move around and get in and out of the house along with the full bathroom as well so um and also uh during the Summers my parents do visit from India um so we would like to um have them continue to come over and given the current unit uh the house is only 714 ft² with two bedrooms um it gets it is getting very difficult to to accommodate so many people into the house so uh with that extension of the bedroom on the second floor it will give us ample space to host this entire family um um seamlessly without any any challenges so uh the design that uh I work with the architect uh I wanted to be very conservative with it so that um we love the neighborhood and we don't want to grow or build anything that looks completely out of place so we wanted to make ensure that it complement and fits the neighborhood uh we will be keeping the same uh uh we are not going to change anything with the facade the the front is look going to look exactly the same um most of the or I would say the predominantly the addition is uh located on the rear of the house so and also we are going to be matching the same exterior so that's it's the current house is a stco we're going to continue with the sto uh we'll be putting the same colors the roof is all also going to be uh using the same materials so there will be no changes so we don't want any disruption uh to the uh to the existing house and we want to complement and and meet and fit the needs of the um adjacent dwellings so um the the neighborhood will will significantly benefit from this this addition so um the first things first definitely enabling my uh my family to to stay with me um and without any any challenges um the Improvement will also improve value um but improve the value of the property itself also the adjust in properties uh surrounding uh the house and also just to reiterate the fact that the Aesthetics of the neighborhood is not going to be impacted because of this um this addition um also I would like to mention that um since now we are growing from a 714 ft to a, 1400t home home in total uh this is also going to help generate um tax revenue um so I would like to highlight that point as well and then um lastly we're currently a couple we don't have any kids yet but we we would love to be in this community be in the neighborhood and grow our family so we definitely um this addition is going to help us with our uh with our journey forward all right so um so I would like to uh talk about um some of the the the the proposed designs so as I said um the the the exterior is going to remain the same with the same color so I don't want to reiter that fact can you clarify the square footage because I think there was more than one number in there it's 714 currently and you are expanding to to 1178 is that the right number uh no so the so the current house is 714 um I'm going to add 686 Square ft to the house which will make the house, 1400 Square ft in total it's, 1400 Square fet yes no um I would like to clarify some points that uh Mr David from burges Associates main so I would like to clarify those so um to reiterate the current house is 714 square feet um however on the drawings there was a typo uh it was miswritten as 9 so 509 is is incorrect so I would like to testify that the current house is 714 squ feet and if you need updated drawings um I'm more than happy to to provide them um the second second point I would like to clarify is um in the current drawing um it does show three bedrooms but uh so in the drawings there is a the hallway is miswritten as a bedroom on the second floor so uh the current house is a two-bedroom one B house uh and there is a hallway when you go go up the stairs which uh connects the two uh bedrooms and the bathroom so uh with this addition this house will become a three bed uh tool uh three bed three bath house also it's the kitchen on the first floor mislabeled living room I got a look like a k yeah should say kitchen that is a kitchen yes um also um I think um so as for the uh the document from Mr um David so I also testify that the the proposed number of bedrooms is three and uh there are three bathrooms so I just wanted to testify that as well um and and lastly uh the facade and the roof materials uh will remain the same and will match the existing dwelling so it's not going to change okay um uh lastly I wanted to talk about um the variance request so I have a setback and a uh bulk uh a bulk variance request so the setback variance request um I'm looking for is so on one side of the house which is currently having 20 ft 20.16 ft of U setback clearance um I would like to go go um extend it to uh and the new updated setback will be 8.83 uh feet however uh this 8.83 ft of um setback that we're looking for is only going to span for 12 uh feet uh which is essentially the in-law suite is where the the variance is going to be is is requested for uh excuse me uh I was hoping that your architect would be here to testify because I had some questions that I think maybe only the architect could answer uh unfortunately he was not able to he is on vacation he had a family emergency so he had to go out of town I did request him to come here today okay uh the main point I had is that U on page A3 it's called uh where is it page uh page J1 no the one that's called a survey it isn't really a survey uh where is the one that says it's a survey yeah oh G3 yeah uh it's not really a survey because there's no survey of signature or seat uh and so uh we run into this problem all yeah G3 we run into this problem all the time in Baran City because the Lots don't have recent surveys it makes it very hard for us to determine determine the actual setbacks and so uh for example here you there's two different versions of the setback on the the uh the southern side one says 8.1 fet and the other says 8.83 feet but the point I'm making is that we don't really know and you may not really know either where the actual lot line is because this is not an official survey so uh in fact the architect has labeled it as a survey but there is no survey survey a signature nor seal so it's not a survey and that's not really the proper way for an architect to do this U did the architect consult the survey I mean you recently bought the house so I assume you have a survey he did yes is he a survey I don't think he is a surveyor I'm sorry if he's not a certified surveyor he can't label it drawing a survey uh he so we have the the survey from uh the previous owner we received the survey I think the but we don't have it I think the question is did the architect have the survey when he or she created G3 he had the survey yes well where is the survey we need to see the survey okay sure I will I will ask him to to give this well that's a little late though sir well John when if the board grants the variance and he applies for the zoning perit in the construction have to be sealed Ser right he's taking a chance right now by his architect saying 8 feet 10 inches but it's not a survey but when he comes in that's what you would approve the variance for if he comes in withit and it's 9 feet or six feet then he's got to come back here again so he's claiming it's going to be 8 feet 10 Ines so so a survey will have to be provided at some closer he's coming right back to the board that's in the getting the permit process okay probably the drawing is reasonably accurate but I I came up short when I saw no surveyor or seal or signature normally it it's there and so you know where the property line is sure uh and so I know this is a common problem in Baran City people don't really know exactly where the property line because no pins have been set frequently no markers have been set so it's kind of Hit or Miss right so that's what we're trying to work with and sure we want to work with you but uh there's some problems here the other thing I had is that it looks like the uh the house is going to sit out much farther towards the street than it currently does looking at your drawings because you're adding quite a bit of material to the first floor so I'm just wondering about the setback uh and maybe Mr Novak can also address this uh the setback I'm not not sure what the setback is is the same setback is the same as it is now well but the house is going to be a lot farther closer to the street then no it's not well if you look at the drawing well it's misleading because the pictures that we have are actually showing the back of the house not the front and the way that these drawings are presented they're showing you from the back the top it's a little confusing it's not consistent that's why I've got mine upside down some of them what A3 for example is really upside down which page are we looking at the the top of the planning drawings are the front of the house yeah that would that would be correct if um I should probably get Dave you spr the test you're about to give us is that right I don't ince yourself figured it out myself good Eventing my name is Dave Noak uh I'm with burges Associates we are the ones who wrote the July 3rd 2024 memo thank you so much for uh your responses so far to that yeah just to clarify the okay front yard setback as of right now is measured to the front of the enclosed porch that's 13 feet 4 inches the addition is going towards we'll call it mostly the rear of the building okay all right yes yeah so the if you look at the uh if you look at the photograph renderings that were prepared uh now that my computer's not moving uh if you look at the we'll call it the second page uh the bottom picture shows I think probably the best example that you would see from Barry AB with the front porch there you can see that clearly defined with the windows and the addition there in the back so uh the front porch is not getting any closer they're not moving okay got it John this is the front of the house okay I got it now and for some reason the drawings are all upside down yes the drawings are up I go by it several times and try to figure it out D while while you're speaking on did you um to put to get a sense of of this property in particular can you go over which of the both variances are existing yet nonconforming absolutely so uh this site is located uh in the R-1 a district he just did I'm SW I I I get caught not being sworn in all the time so make sure to catch me this time um the site is located in the rd1a district along with the majority the rest of Baran City uh that District requires a minimum lot size of one and two3 Acres uh I've asked this question all the time but I'm sure the board already knows the answer does anybody have a guess how many residential lots can form to that lot size two zero zero yeah in the whole District yep um so the applicant does have a number of pre-existing conditions the first would be lot sizee so we in one and 2/3 acres is required the property has an area of 9,648 one square F feet that's a pre-existing non-conforming condition uh in terms of minimum lot width 175 fet is required this property has a lot width of 50 feet the minimum front yard is required to be 40 ft the applicant uh has a front yard setback as measured to that porch of 13.33 feet as of right now the property does have one nonconforming sidey setback of 14 feet typically 20 feet is required in this application the applicant is proposing to have two non-conforming side variances uh one being 14 feet the other one being 8.83 feet uh surprisingly the f is actually compliant uh this is I believe the small house in Baran City based on the research I've done uh and the other pre-existing non-conforming condition would be the Improvement coverage so 17% is permitted as of right now the subject site is at 18.88% and the variance they are proposing is 22.2% you are welcome actually while the microphone is relatively in front of me can you just go over what the existing parking situation is like there um you have a garage and a driveway just describe that and a rough estimate of how many vehicles you can fit in that driveway and garage uh three first Shi okay three first sh thank you e um is just there a reason you don't have a perspective rendering of the front straight on uh it so it does not have the yes it does not have the uh the exact front um it's the they uh the architect did it from a corner of the front uh but it's going to look exactly the same um I can ask him to to give me an I have it in my in as a digital copy um what are you talking about the elevation Susan um talking about this oh the reason I asked is because A4 has got all four elevations it's yeah it's kind of the only front view we have is this yeah one here which has a big Shadow there for some reason but I'm just I'm wondering why you're adding another front door oh yes I forgot to sorry so um so as I mentioned my my mother-in-law has osteoporosis So eventually I do have a plan to add a wheelchair lift accessible lift um on that um uh door that will give her direct access to her bedroom why doesn't that go in the back that is in the back uh no I'm talking about when you look at it from the front yeah I know that's well I mean it's on the front you see it from the front uh yes it is it is from oh yes it is it is from the front yes right um why why wouldn't you have that in the back because you're going to come in the driveway and why wouldn't wouldn't they go in the back so from the from the driveway uh there is the existing garage is there so the the way it would have to then work is we'll have to go straight into the driveway and then she'll have to we'll have to make a pathway across the house and then she has to get in so once we are done with the with the um um the extension right the the distance between the existing house and the garage is going to narrow down so there is not enough space so if I have to put my car in the garage and if I have to put the uh the lift the wheelchair lift it is going to uh um it will going to um coincide with each other sorry it is going to coincide with each other use instead of R yes I thought about a ramp um the amount of concrete slab I have to put or whatever material that's complying with it it's too much and and we looked at the renderings it was looking very ugly to be honest so so um I think Dan was that m is just right now here um talk about weather protection uh are these the way they make lifts now they can with stand rain and snow them at least based on the research I did yes they [Music] do I was just G to say that take that's true platform for the r better than very long platform for the LI I have a question about upstairs yes so right now you walk upstairs there's a bedroom in the front no so we walk uh we walk upstairs straight I look straight into the bathroom there's a bedroom that's on the left and then there's a bedroom on the on the right well that bedroom would be in the front bed so what what happens to that existing bathroom because I'm looking at the upstairs and I have a master bedroom in the back um I have what I'm assuming is a bedroom up front yes it's not and then I have an empty room where the bathroom used to be how many how many baths so in total one currently it has one bathroom uh so there is going to be one more bathroom that will be added to the extended bedroom no so one downstairs and then one upstairs yes so what is this extra that's the bathroom what is the front room the front room then that's the bathroom currently the yeah that will remain a bathroom yeah so you're not going to make any change to I'm not I'm not making changes to the existing uh so the second floor is essentially the the bedroom that's facing the the backyard is only getting extended the rest of the house or the rest of the second floor remains as is no changes to it so are you asking what this room is right next to the stairwell yes this is the front and this what what is this room it's bathroom no it's not sorry that is the bathroomroom yes that is the bathroom Curr it is currently a bathroom stay it is staying a bathroom no changes there's two bathrooms upstairs yes in in in the current house it has one once the addition is done there will be two bathrooms on uh on the on the second floor one bathroom on the first in total three bathrooms yes and the front room is there see it's confusing because there's no light there's not there's some missing labels here okay yes the front room is what the front the front room on uh the second floor yes the front room on the second floor is a bed bedroom is there a closet I don't see a closet in there is there a closet in things that you're not changing you didn't label uh well that is being changed that front room they're changing the uh the roof there's a dormer being added I think isn't that what this is isn't that a and I think that's where the bathroom is what is that this is the front of the house the the one that you're seeing in front that is the bedroom right and the one and and the one that you're seeing in the back that's extending out that is going to be the master bedroom that that I'm asking what this Dormer is there's an added adding a dormer to the front bedroom I am I am I am not no then what is it's existing I see it I see that's the one that's already there that's it is it is on this that is correct so that is the bathroom and the bathroom is a dormer essentially that's existing that is existing yes okay really wish your architect was yeah no I thought it was being add I thought that door was being added um I do have a question about I I think it's great that you're adding you know basically you're doubling the size of your house and yet it's still for, 1400 square feet which is actually about the average size a little bit bigger believe it or not but about the average size of the house so that that's great and you're adding on the back because you do have the Restriction I do have a question about this wall yes it's next to this new second front door it looks like a shed sticking out of the front of the building that is going to be the the the bathroom on the first floor can that go on the back or something there's no windows I mean this is just a big wall and there's no windows we thought about it actually we what we can do is we can instead of having the window on the side of the bathroom we can actually put the window in the front to make it look good so in then the current one you're seeing is flat wall right so talking about correct so some reason he's got all the shadow here and so you can't really tell but it actually this is just a big wall it is it is with a roof coming at you it looks like a shed's sticking out and there's no windows anywhere correct so we can actually put the a window there so there where on the on the front on the second floor or no on the first floor on the on the bathroom so on the but you said the bathroom is here I know that's what I'm saying this is the wall you would want what yeah you can what bathroom doesn't have any windows in it that's where the shower is you can reconfigure the bathroom yes Susan is there you're saying there's a bathroom without a window in it well currently so right here yeah if you look at sheet A2 which is this here yeah but that's oh yeah if you look at she he's not building any second floor in there that area though no no no but I said it just looks like a shed yeah if you look at she A2 and if you line that up with the proposed North elevation on she A4 so starting off with she A2 you have the bathroom there with the sink facing up which would be facing towards Baran a the question was could there be a window added on that first floor bathroom wall facing Barry and ab because right now it's just kind of a blank wall it almost looks like a leano I would call it it looks like a tool shed and I think the applicant indicated that they could internally reconfigure that bathroom to provide that window towards Baran Avenue the the benefit of which would be provide some more visual interest along that front facade so that way we're not just staring at a expansive not that it's the green monster but not we're not staring at a a blank wall essentially if he fli the shower exactly and yeah over the other side and puts the toilet in the sink there and then he could have a a window because right now with the shower window can get over the toilet I think probably is the only thing it can go over yeah so if you could add a window right there what centered on that wall yep matching maybe the window that's on your porch absolutely um obviously not the above thing but just this one here just for continuity I think it'll look up really nice and we're going to use like the same Windows styles that we have uh throughout the house in the extension we are not going to make massive changes to the the window designs we're going to we're going to stick to how the current windows are designed so that it we have a continuity uh throughout the house I didn't understand what are you changing out any of the existing windows in the front no okay no okay yeah if you can just put one window yep maybe centered in here that matches you know one of these one of the the picture windows that I have on mat Style on the okay yeah matching style sure the right height and everything that would that would match with this and I'm wondering if you didn't want to extend this roof over the doorway so you have a little protection um that's a that's a good good thought again uh the reason I said I went very conservative I didn't know if I am putting a roof on top is that going to add you know anything to the variance I'm I was not aware of it so we so we I was not aware of it so the roof on the the bathroom area can go to the end of the building okay like a almost like a porch or a covered walkway so yeah it would cover the door so that when you're going in and out of the door if it's raining it's cover and I think it would look better absolutely absolutely and provides more visual interest absolutely she came here last year she stay with us when we we we were not here in this neighborhood at that time we used to live in nor South South Brunswick so she was there for us uh for about 6 months and then uh she is now in India so she's this year she couldn't come um but we want definitely want her to be here next year and stay with us oh yes yes yes permanently so she has been doing back and forth uh between India and the US uh but then starting next year we do plan to keep her here and take care of she's actually alone she um she stays alone in India um so herself and her brother they they're all here uh so she's currently living alone uh we definitely want to and she has been traveling to India she already traveled twice to India this time to look after her she has sever osteoporosis so when she was climbing the stairs in our previous residence um she got a jerk in the knee so um we were really worried so this time we were like not to challenge her or not to pressurize her so that's why we're making the condition habitable so that she can she doesn't have to stay alone she she stays alone cold weather here cold out that's great that thank you honorable board member um you have two really nice trees to the left of they will remain I will I will keep them yes you have to be careful because a lot of times the construction people will tell you oh no we have to take them down in order to get the equipment out and it's usually not true it is a little more difficult but I have already told don't let them I have already told my contractor the hydrogenous staying there and the Dog Wood we both are plant lovers really nice trees uh we both are plant lovers we we I mean when we came to this country we used to live in a very small apartment we had a balcony we used to do gardening in our balcony so we love plants and we would which is why I mean we wanted to come to this neighborhood because of the the backyards and and the existing trees they're already matur trees and you're going to have take down that big Norway spruce in the back which uh the really big beautiful Norway spruce that has to come down ah I know it it we we both have been the the spruce the one that it looks like it's probably does m we have a magnolia at the at the in the backyard now um which we have to which has a lot of IVs growing around it we probably would have to clean it up and revive the tree again um when you do this are you getting a whole new roof whole thing re roofed no um the existing roof stays as is I'm not even touching anything it already has solar panels so all of that stays as is no changes to it um the all of the new roof is going to be on the new addition I would recommend that when they put the addition on they put the same overhangs as the rest of the house yes that's that's a very important feature of that Stu is to have an overhang and so sometimes when they do additions they don't put that overhang on there and then it doesn't match so correct I think that will add to um a nice looking addition yep so on the side towards the neighbor on the left as there is no house on the right anymore um that doesn't count in the setback Sam or does it the way that window protrudes bay window yeah yes no the bay window it would count also that's where it says I think it's what 8 Fe 10 in right there it shows it I'm looking at the what's three and it says 8 10 in to the end of the bay window yeah that's uh that's the 8.8 it's 8 fo 10 to the bay window so without the bay window it would only be 10 Fe bay window looks like that bay window is 1 foot 7 would be 8 nine 10 plus yeah 10 and a half feet almost e does anybody have any other questions of David or the applicant no yeah uh we'll open the floor to public comment if there's no more questions for our Consultants I a few ready the testimony you're about to give is truthful yes and my name is Mary condo I live at six Baran which is neighborhood I want to start off by say excuse me can I have your name and address again please oh sure Mary condo KO o n d o and my address is six Barian you won't see my address weirdly on any of the paperwork I don't know why they left my house off when they did all the square footage stuff and things un like the paperwork I don't know I was like where's my house but um I just have a few comments I know that Kelly that owns the house um on 14 in 14 which is right next to them emailed Patty and supposedly her email was going to be given to you um we've received a memo with comments from The Neighbor Next Door yeah who is out of state and can't make it to the meeting you did receive that the thing is because she's not here we can't read this into the record because she can't be questioned her testimony can't be questioned I see so we do have comments from someone next door all right well I am also here to comment not necessarily on her behalf which is kind of her behalf but it's also based on the neighborhood our street and the neighborhood as a whole um my family's been residents at Barian City since 2018 um we were drowned mostly because the convenience of the train station it's a block away um but we were also drawn to the charm of the houses um the neighborhood is very unique it was built by the railroads men back a hundred years ago um our neighborhood is a hundred years old this year we have our Centennial um and most of the houses were handbuilt by everyone and a lot of them including my owner Sears and robok houses which are becoming a rare commodity in the country as they are being torn down to build you know various houses one actually just got torn down right next to me um and while I'm the I'm not opposed to like expanding houses and fitting into a lifestyle I do believe that it's important for the zoning board to take into the following considerations um for 12 and for any of the F any future housing zoning applicants um in Baran city um it AB absolutely should be in keeping with the current structure which I think you guys did a good job and not be allowed to be larger than the average house size of the street and they just made it I think our street is 1411 and it was 14 so that was very awesome because some houses you know people want really big houses and kind of the president of our neighborhood is smaller houses we can't say that we are a an entry-level housing market anymore because the house across from them just sold for $560,000 and it's a one-bedroom one bath so we are no longer an affordable neighborhood but we are still a small neighborhood and people like my myself and my family we enjoy having small houses because we like being you know near each other um and I also think the addition should be in keeping with the current houses width and height um when we bought in 2008 our realtor who is not exactly in our neighborhood she's on the corner of um Clarksville in Harris so she's not technically our neighborhood but she made it very clear to us when we were buying because of course we were a young family starting out we only have two kids but you know people want more um that if we wanted to enlarge our house we could only go back we couldn't go up we couldn't go to the sides and you know that's what we bought going into and I don't know if all Realtors are as honest as Barbara is or you know but the onus is kind of on the purchaser to make sure you know like what is cool with the neighbor Hood before they buy you know it it it's you know you can't just go in expecting to double a house size and this is kind of what you know it's still fitting and cool but it is doubling the house um and so and that you know variances shouldn't just be readily approved just because people want them because I have a big wish list ideally but I also have realities um and then also since 2008 there have been murmurings and talkingspy a plan that we saw in April like they were doing like an initial proping but I am asking respectfully that nothing should be approved until we have a a plan of what is going to be happening in our neighborhoods because I'm going to site the example and my neighbor is here also sorry I'm throwing you under the bus um I don't know what two thou 102 year old house was completely torn down it was a bungalow style it was a Sears and robok house it and I once again it's not you guys because you're doing a great job like preserving the front part of the house um but it was totally torn down and we shouldn't do any variance approvals until we get a set a set structure of preserving at least the front facades of our houses the problem is that one didn't need any variances yeah I know that because it was a double lot but I am hoping it serves as a catalyst to um jumpstart the preservation of our neighborhood because most of the houses are around like a hundred years old I think it goes it goes like in clumps because somewh in the 50s and somewh in the 60s but all the houses around us are around a 100 years old and I know the lady that grew up in your house well she passed but they her dad also built like they're all handbuilt um and so we should just have protection and I don't think anything should be done until that protection is held because it's a slippery slope when you you start allowing people to have very small narrow Alleyways basic you know it's it's going to be like 16 feet or so from house to house that's very small um and in terms of of their house um it would have been advantageous to include an actual an accurate portrayal of the landscaping around the house because the pictures that the the renderings you see don't show really how close the ranch house is next to it um and the bulk of the addition you know that juts out to the side is going to be looking into their bedrooms and that was a concern that Kelly had told me um and it's uncomfortable like I don't know like once again throwing them under the bus our house and the one that's being reconstructed is very close together and so I know I know how the people next to them will feel when like they're going to have a very narrow passageway because it's about going to be about the same it's just it's it's uncomfortable and it's I don't know they you have to be very careful about window placement because you're going to get a lot of a lot of views of you know like of your neighbor Lifestyles um I had a suggestion and it would be a very big ask and I know it wasn't probably not really advisable but that bulk that they want if they're going to get a variance anyway can't the bulk shift to the other side where the Jensen's yard is as opposed to a house so there's just going to be an open yard on their right side which really has doesn't have much of anything like for when they are when they're building and I know they're probably wanting it because it's um south facing on the side that Kelly's side is on and they want that light but you know they probably would like privacy as well and you know nobody if it's just yard next to it it's much less so you're talking about this window here yeah it would be the north side and it's their driveway and they may have to reposition the driveway but I mean the garage they currently have have respectfully it's more of a shed I don't think you could fit a real like you could fit a Model T in that car garage but you cannot fit like I don't you can't fit an SUV in that garage yeah so you would have to rebuild that garage because it's the same garage that all the houses had which you know are very tiny like my car wouldn't fit in it my the mini might fit in it but that's it um and so I don't see why they you know if since it's still in the planning stage why can't they shift the bulk so it's not up in Kelly's face or at least reduce the bulk so it's not 8 feet away from you know her property line and give that a breather and you know if they wanted to go closer on the other side it's just Sam's yard it's not like bedrooms and it's not like you know where you would have to keep your windows drapes closed all the time yes my picture here shows that the setback on the other side of the house is smaller smaller it's smaller it's and I said not all of it but if they could reduce the bulk on the one side I mean it's smaller because it's the driveway but it doesn't it doesn't negate the fact that they're going to be looking into somebody's bedrooms from like the bay window it's a thought I don't know how many people like having Windows right next to their bedrooms I mean I have it on my other side on for Barian we're like hey it's not comfortable I mean not all the time like you just you know and and since it's a new construction you can think about it our house in um the Amman House was built like you know my house is 1931 and hers was a little bit earlier so it's like yeah we moved into those conditions knowing so what what are you saying I'm saying just you don't want any Windows there or you want smaller window or want want more space between them does that make sense like I don't know go back but like instead go back instead of going to the side I mean one tree is already down like if it's preservation of the fur tree one of the fur trees has already been cut down um but that's what I was saying like maybe like reduce the bulk on the side so there's a little bit more breathing space between their house and Kelly's house the rendering does not give an accurate description it looks like there's like empty space but there's not it's Kelly's house um I have a I don't know I have a picture well I mean it was just something finally I wanted to to say that you know it's not because I dis like the planks it's a pretty plant I'm just saying that it's going to be close to the neighbor's house and if there's a possibility of it not being as close to the neighbor's house that's how it should air because once it's there it's always going to be there and people always ask for more later and it's just airing on the side of like graciousness to your neighbor is basically what I'm saying I mean I have photos real photos of what it looks like not the rendering where it looks like I know it's I'm long I'm sorry no sorry all um I you know it's not of course it's I'm so sorry this is to I think the problem is that if they weren't to go as wide they'd have to go even further back and then they run into running into the garage could make it attach G I don't know that driveway on the looks like that dog maybe it's not I don't know yeah yeah and the garage is like it's tiny I don't know maybe some type of screening to you know yeah they do have Kelly does have some shrub but I'm so sorry I should have printed it out but do you see do you see how it's not like it's it's not like it's GNA go it's not like it's an like aun that's this one here [Music] IDE I don't even well I mean it's up to you I promised Kelly that I would come and sit and I don't the slippery slope that the neighborhood is going to with large houses they're tearing down very well-built houses you is Kelly the neighbor who's not able to come tonight she was yeah she was she's in North Carolina and she she sent an email she had she she had texted me several times and I'm like well text the township and see if you can Char 14 yes and to put a statement in and I guess somebody named Patty and I'm just going by what she text me told her she could and so she sent a an email just saying the concern sorry a question for Sam or David if someone were to raise a house on this lot what would be built what could be build what size we build you mean as of right or as of right without a variance as of right without a variance we actually do that analysis so essentially I mean yeah if you're looking without anything yeah so if you were to factor So based on floor area they would only be allowed if this is a vacant lot they were constructing from stretch I know floor area they would be allowed a house size of 1,178 square feet but Sam is correct due to the limited building envelope because they would have to have a front yard setback of 40 feet two side yard setback of 20 20 feet so and then a rear setback of 20 feet which is relatively generous for this lock it's a long deep lot is lot 50 feet so have 20 foot set back on each side kind of a narrow house it's a 10 foot that's why when we were when that's why when we bought we were told we could only go back because it's so narrow and I yeah so anyway I said my piece I hope you consider it um I do think they did a lovely job like with the house like keeping the front part and and maintaining the Stuffle on it I think you guys did a lovely job just you know like give a little consideration of the space in between the houses that's all thanks how we G do thank you anybody else seeing none we'll close the public comment motion to close the public comment it means nobody else out there wants to speak I move that we close the public comments second uh all in favor of closing public comments say I I any knows okay us a second please thank you um I have a question um yes you talk about this second front door as being a place to enter but you're not going to put a driveway there I mean what you're going to come in the driveway and go all the way around the house to go no so we are going to so we'll we'll stop the car in the front we'll use the existing walkway which will go and connect with the with that door that you see the driveway back yes and then will have the wheelchair lift and then we'll we'll use the wheelchair lift to go straight into the house so that would be a walkway not a driveway it will not be a it will be a walkway yes talking about the separate door to the I'm talking about the other front door the is that the one to the in-law suite yes okay thank you I understand now okay just want to make sure that that's clear that's not going to be a driveway at some point addition of the walkway add to the in prvious coverage yes it would but we don't have that information correct so we are not we are not doing it immediately now which is why we did not want to put it on the on the drawings it is you would have to come back to the zoning board then when we do that we will definitely come back to the zoning board yes yeah yeah I think if it's not something you would do for a year or two couple of in in couple of we will because it will be the the neighborhood will be rezoned with better proportions for what can be built there and restrictions on Styles and things like that which seems like you fit in anyway but yeah you would come back and maybe you would already meet the new mic okay maybe but you may have to come back here absolutely okay he'll be right back just walk away we to go to the bathroom okay we'll take another we'll take a break we'll take a Henry break be back in five minutes well that's when I I looked at this drawing here no that's that's in D I just F car last night yeah so I they to mail him to me this is where the side went it's really farward of this house yeah it's quite of course the um the addition is going to be here so that would well I I think this she spoke to this I don't know that did you she had adequate notice do it if you anything do okay discussion um yeah uh it's just kind of clear reading between the lines that the next door neighbor who's not here could have some issu I'm just wondering if we could and this is a little unusual we maybe should continue this application till we can hear from that neighbor CU I I'm getting a sense that there's some issues with the immediately adjacent neighbor that the the other with this mentioned I don't know whether we would want to entertain a motion to continue till that other neighbor it's it's hard to read between yeah you can make a motion yourself you well I I may may not win but I'd like to make a motion to continue this application until such time as the impacted neighbor can come back I think it's G for I think it's com back yeah that's all right wanted to mention [Music] that screen do that too too whatever you're going to plant there there not much WR to put anything there well the trees will hang over a trus with a Vine guess a fence requ a fence to go that that could be on sight I think they're no it's a wire fence there that's pretty tight now there's a fence height regulation right it couldn't be that high I do wouldn't look but you could put yeah you could do something with a Vine you don't need to have complete obstru oh we can we can actually put uh what is it Cherry LS I mean we can we can put trees as well that [Music] oh yeah okay and if you can see in the Neighbors when as they can see in yours too of course yes you got uh it will be two and yes correct correct we will we will definitely cover it with uh with trees I mean yes deer resistant is something that we'll have to consider if you look at sheet A4 where chose the bay window 7 bench of I guess the issue that it just runs across the whole it doesn't have to go well that's why I suggested a trellis basically atrus is a little piece of fence that not recommending just op absolutely absolutely right that's why I suggested what I did I I have I I would also like to address the remarks of the neighbor because I do not remember the exact application and it's been a long time ago but there was another house in Baran City that had beautiful architecturally redesign but it like went from a one story to a two story and I voted against that I'm not going to vote against yours because I think you have done the utmost to preserve the overall appearance of the front of the house and the addition is harmoniously blending with it um I just like what like to add one thing uh we've been uh often we often been putting in deed restrictions now with these variances to avoid having a problem with the addition being rented out to somebody else that's not a family member uh should we consider putting in a similar deed restriction to the ones we' we've done recently to make sure that family member sep yeah for this one I don't have that much of a a concern with that if they were installing a kitchen upstairs and a kitchen downstairs I would have a littleit more of an eyebrow raised uh because of the separate entrance in this one but there's no other independent facilities upstairs uh I I don't think it's necessary for this one okay right right okay I [Music] still good it's definitely something that crossed my mind when I was reviewing the plans just to make sure because like any application you want to make sure that it's not going to be meeting the definition of a two family this one I felt very comfortable it was not any other comment so I'm hearing that people mostly are supportive with this would you like a motion to approve yeah I'm just going to say that you can have in fact you need you should have a motion before you have discussion well I will I will approve I I will approve the I will move the approval of the mo of the application second no no you discussed before you vote you can discuss coms I think this is the type oftion that we want in bar to put it on the back to keep the look of the existing house bacular of early 20th century I I think you've done that um I do think if you had to put it even deeper in the back you run into problems with your garage some other things so I think that that's appropriate there it is a little closer than we would like I think we can remediate that I would have some criteria things that you would have to do I've been running down to yes there's no further encroachment on the against the house that's on the bike at the roof that's on the bathro by the new front door will extend over the door so that it goes all way across um on that bom the front wall you have a window centered and window will mat the window the very you can figure the overs mat there may be a walkway from the driveway to the new front door so but you may have to come back if it's going over your and there will not be Dr along the property line window have some green you want to put pet behind it do that as well my personal recommendation day eat don't I recm skip Laurels some of as well absolutely okay and my motion to approve includes everything you said I guess anybody doesn't agree what I believe the addition can be accommodated appropriately um it's sub it does not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the V and it does uh coincide with David's comment about recognizing preserving the existing historic and unique development pattern the bar City community that not be disruptive to the neighboring cause undo and that the although you are doubling the size of the house the house was only 700 something square feet to begin with so the total of 1400 square feet is that's it anybody have anything else I I guess as Sam mentioned earlier the survey has to correspond to what we're approving part that's so that's not we don't put that in as a condition yeah yeah that's that's up to the uh building department um unless there's anything else we'll call the role this is uh voting to approve the application with the stated criteria and conditions Mr garia yes Mr Raider yes Mr Marx yes Mr Jacobson yes Mr Church yes Vice chair hubman yes chairman na yes thank you thank you you're approved um thank you to the neighbors for coming and expressing your opinions thank you thank you honorable board members good night you're plan we have another what the for the zoning board or for the okay so there the planning board on what date September September 4th listen guys on September 4th the planning board will be hearing the issue of zoning in Baran City okay motion to adjourn so move second second thank you thank you so on September