ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
MARCH 5, 2003
The Regular
Meeting of the Wall Township Board of Adjustment was called to order by
Chairman Clayton at 8:10 P.M. Members
present were Chairman Clayton, Vice Chairman DeSarno, Wilma Morrissey, Anthony
Rembiszewski, Dominick Cinelli, James Gray, Ralph Addonizio, first alternate
Robert Kerr, second alternate Wayne Palmer, Attorney Hirsch, Planning
Coordinator Roberta Lang, Recording Secretary Betty Schinestuhl, Engineer Glenn
Gerken and Reporter Arnone.
SALUTE TO THE FLAG
Attorney Hirsch
announced that all requirements under the Open Public Meetings Act had been
complied with for this meeting and read the purposes of the Board of Adjustment.
Attorney Hirsch
announced there was a special notice for the workshop at 6:30 P.M. to discuss a
litigation matter.
CASE #BA2-2003
– Date application
complete: January 27, 2003.
APPLICANT: MEREDITY & MICHAEL SHARIN
PROPERTY: Route 34, Block 917,01m Kit 86, GI-2
Zone
RELIEF
REQUESTED: Use
Attorney Hirsch
reviewed the file and stated the Board had jurisdiction to proceed.
Kevin E. Kennedy,
Esq. appeared for the applicant.
Attorney Kennedy
explained the applicant is seeking a use variance approval to build a
veterinary hospital. The applicant will
seek approval for site plan at a later date.
The property is located at block 917.01, lot 96.
Attorney Kennedy
stated he has two witnesses, Meredith Sharin and Charles Gilligan,
Engineer/Planner.
Sworn by
Reporter Arnone: Meredith
Sharin
Charles
Gilligan, Engineer/Planner
Dr. Sharin
stated she has been working in a veterinary hospital for over 15 years. She gave her work record and education in
the field.
March 5, 2003 Page
2
Attorney Kennedy
asked Dr. Sharin to explain to the Board about the land and what is there
now.
Entered into
evidence:
A-1 Section
of the Route 34 tax map showing properties north and south and photos of the
surrounding buildings
Dr. Sharin said the pictures put in
evidence were taken several days ago.
Dr. Sharin
explained the property is located south of New Jersey Gravel & Sand. She stated the proposed building will fit in
with the existing buildings.
Attorney Kennedy
asked Dr. Sharin to describe the proposed veterinary hospital and what it is
going to offer.
Entered into
Evidence:
A-2 Aerial of the site showing where the
hospital will be located
Dr. Sharin said
the property is over one acre. The lot
is next to New Jersey Sand & Gravel.
The wetlands restrict the positioning of the building.
Entered into
evidence:
A-3 Artistic colored rendering
Dr. Sharin said
the hospital proposed is barn shaped.
It is two-story in the front.
The second story is mostly cathedral ceiling overlooking the reception
area. The other half will be used for
storage space. The back area is where
the main portion of the hospital will be.
Shrubbery, birdhouse, etc. will be in the front of the building. There will be a walkway from the hospital to
an area that will include a pond, foot-bridge and a memorial for deceased
pets. There will be a covered walkway
covering the south half of the hospital.
Large picture windows are proposed so people can see through to the
hospital. She said a split rail fence
is being proposed on the back side.
There will be a puppy kindergarten and obedience classes.
Attorney Kennedy
said this is going to be a state of the art veterinary hospital. He asked Dr. Sharin to tell the Board what the
rooms will be used for.
Attorney Hirsch
asked Dr. Sharin to explain the types of use.
He said the Board needs to know what the nature of the use is.
Dr. Sharin said
it will be state of the art. She said
most of the veterinary hospitals in the area are old. There will be a hospitality area where children can play. There will be fish tanks, bird cages,
etc. There will be a room for surgery, dentistry,
radiology, an isolation area and some limited boarding. There will be no outside boarding.
March 5, 2003 Page
3
Attorney Hirsch
asked how many animals can be boarded. Dr.
Sharin said 10 – 12 dogs and 10 – 12 cats.
There will be an ICU unit and a wall of cages for animals with IV
fluids.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if the animals will be indoors or outdoors. Dr. Sharin said all will be indoors.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if boarding was only for the animals that are ill, operated on and need
special care. Dr. Sharin said boarding
will be very limited. She said boarding
will be available to clients only.
Attorney Hirsch
asked what else goes on inside. Dr.
Sharin said there will also be a grooming salon. That will be limited to our own clientele.
Attorney Kennedy
asked if the hospital will house a lab.
Dr. Sharin said yes it will be a full service lab. Testing of blood, feces and urine will be
done and the results will be back in five to 20 minutes. The pharmacy will carry the most popular
prescribed pet medication.
Dr. Sharin said
once the hospital is up and running she will apply for certification from the
American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA).
Dr. Sharin said the AAHA sets high standards. Participation is voluntary.
Attorney Kennedy
asked if the AAHA will review the site.
Dr. Sharin said they will examine all aspects of the facility.
Entered into
evidence:
A-4 Colored Wall Township zoning map prepared
by John Maczuga
Dr. Sharin said
the existing hospitals in the area include Belmar Wall Veterinary Hospital,
Allenwood Veterinary Hospital, Sea Girt Animal Hospital and Squan Animal
Hospital. They are located in the east
and southeast section of Wall. Normally
people will only travel about ten minutes for a veterinarian. This hospital will be in a section that has
no veterinarian.
Dr. Sharin said
patients would include animals such as cats and dogs, as well as pocket pets,
such as hamsters, reptiles and birds.
Dr. Sharin said
she would like the hospital open seven days a week. The hours will be from 8:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M. Patients will be seen by appointment only. She said emergencies will be treated on a
walk-in basis. She explained after 8:00
P.M. a message will tell pet owners to take the animal to an emergency center
in the area with overnight hours.
Attorney Kennedy
asked Dr. Sharin to talk about staff.
Dr. Sharin said she will initially be the only veterinarian. As times goes on she would hope to add veterarians
for a total of four. In addition to the
vets the staff would include two receptionists, two technicians, two assistants
and a groomer. Dr. Sharin said she
would like the receptionists to be trained as technicians so they will be able
to answer basic questions. Dr. Sharin
explained the work shifts. The veterarians
will work a 3˝ day week.
March 5, 2003 Page
4
Dr. Sharin said
animal hospitals are perceived to be noisy and smelly places. She said they will make sure the dogs are
comfortable so they do not bark. If the
animals are comfortable they are quiet.
Dr. Sharin said
acoustic tiling, insulation and heavy doors will be installed in the building
to help block the noise.
Attorney Kennedy
asked about outside activities. Dr.
Sharin said there will be no outside activities, everything will be
inside. She said they would like to
have a puppy kindergarten or obedience class.
Attorney Kennedy
asked about garbage collection. Dr.
Sharin said regular trash will be collected by private contractors. Collection will be provided on a weekly
basis. Medical waste will also be
contracted out.
Attorney Kennedy
asked about deliveries. Dr. Sharin said
deliveries will be made by FEDEX and UPS.
Once in a while food will be delivered.
Attorney Kennedy
asked about smell. Dr. Sharin said the
hospital section will be cleaned at least three times a day by the
assistants. The hospital itself will be
vacuumed and mopped at least twice a day.
Two to three times a day anything outside would be picked up.
Attorney Kennedy
asked about a security system. Dr.
Sharin said a security system will be installed. It will be a double door system.
You would have to come in one door and unlock it before you can go
through the next door.
Dr. Sharin said
she is the contract purchaser of this property.
Mr. Cinelli
asked how often AAHA does its inspections.
Dr. Sharin said there are four levels you can obtain. They range from 1, 2, 3 and 4 years. She said AAHA has changed and now offers
only one certification which is equivalent to the previous four-year
level.
Mr. Cinelli said
he feels the barn like building will not match the other buildings in that
area. Dr. Sharin said most of the
buildings in the area are box shaped.
She said several buildings in the area have a different shape. She said Jersey Sand & Gravel and Wall
Storage are much more house like.
Mr. Cinelli
asked if the building would be pre-fab or built on site. Dr. Sharin said it will be built on site.
Mr. Palmer asked
if pocket pets include reptiles, poisonous snakes, etc. Dr. Sharin she would not treat poisonous
snakes. Mr. Palmer asked about large
cats. Dr. Sharin said she will only
treat domestic cats, no wild life.
Mr. Rembiszewski
said the hospital will be open seven days a week from 8:00 A.M. to 8:00
P.M. Will appointments be walk-in or by
appointment. Dr. Sharin said they are
scheduled
March 5, 2003 Page
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appointments. There will be four appointments per
hour. She explained she will need some
time for surgery.
Mrs. DeSarno
asked if animals were permitted in this zone.
Mr. Gerken said yes.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked Dr. Sharin if she made an attempt to purchase lot 44. Dr. Sharin said yes but Jersey Sand &
Gravel declined.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if Route 34 will be buffered with trees.
Dr. Sharin said some areas will be thinned a little. There will be decorative shrubs. She would like to keep the front as open as
feasible.
Mr. Gray asked
if any of the hospitals in the area are AAHA certified. Dr. Sharin said Allenwood and Brielle. The others are not.
Chairman Clayton
announced this application will be carried to March 19, 2003, no further
noticing is required. Attorney Kennedy
waived the time limits.
9:15 P.M. the
Board recessed.
9:30 P.M. the
meeting resumed.
CASE #BA34-1999 – Date application complete: October 17,
1999.
APPLICANT: MERIDIAN
QUALITY CARE, INC.
PROPERTY:
State Highway 138 and New Bedford Road, Block 267, Lot 11, OP-2 zone.
RELIEF REQUESTED:
Remanded from Court to approve site plan.
Peter Carton,
Esq. appeared for the applicant.
Attorney Carton
explained this application has been remanded back to the Board for
approval. Revised plans have been filed
with the Board. He said he has received
back a copy of the engineer, planner and fire department review letters. The applicant will comply with all items. He said the engineer and planner have
reviewed the plans to make sure they comply.
He explained there were a few items in the fire official’s review letter
that did not come up during the hearings.
We will comply with those. Item
#2 regarding fire hydrants stating the system must be looped. The applicant’s engineer discussed this with
the fire official and they feel there is a better solution. The applicant will comply with whatever the
fire official states.
Attorney Carton
said the court did state there would be conditions regarding noise and
odors. Meridian will install an
additional scrubber system. It will be
a three point system. The system
includes upgrading the hood in the kitchen area. It will remove additional odors.
A fan system will be placed on the roof to direct air leaving the system
away from the neighbors.
March 5, 2003 Page
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Attorney Hirsch
stated this Board approved the use portion of the application. This is a conditionally permitted use in the
zone. It must meet certain conditions. This applicant failed to meet one
condition. That condition was access to
the second arterial road. The DOT
prohibited the applicant from providing access to the site from Route 138. Other than that they met all conditions. The Board voted on the use first and
approved it. The Board was not
satisfied and denied the site plan portion of the application. The applicant appealed that decision to
Superior Court. Judge Lawson upheld the
Board’s decision. The applicant then
took the appeal to the Appellate Division of Superior Court. We argued the case and months later they
ruled and reversed the decision by this Board.
The Appellate Division said the Board’s reasoning was not strong enough
to support denial. Therefore, the Court
remanded the matter back to the Board for approval. The Board has no option but to grant this application. The Court said the Board can put some
responsible conditions on noise and odor.
The applicant will comply with all noise ordinances and state statutes. The applicant submitted some additional
measures regarding controlling the odors.
A report was submitted to this Board.
It was a very substantial improvement to the site. Odors will be reduced by 99%. The odors will be directed away from the
residential properties.
Attorney Hirsch
explained the Board is here tonight just to approve this application. The applicant said he will comply with the
engineer, planner and fire prevention reports.
They had to submit a plan showing that they will comply with all. They met all site plan regulations of the
ordinance. The applicant has agreed to
comply with all reports.
Attorney Carton
explained there is a change to the canopy over the entrance. The original canopy was supported by
cabling. The proposed canopy will be
supported by peers. We would like the
Board to approve that change.
Entered into
evidence:
A-1 Colored rendering of original and proposed
canopy design.
Mrs. DeSarno
said the proposed canopy does look better.
Attorney Carton
said they will reflect this change on the plans.
Mr. Gray said he
is not in favor of the suggestion regarding the fire hydrant by the fire
department. Attorney Hirsch said there
has to be a compromise. We can make a
condition that the applicant meet with the engineer and fire prevention.
Mr. Addonizio
asked why they couldn’t just run it under the new driveway. Why does it have to run through the woods? Chairman Clayton said because of a break in
the line it can’t be run through that driveway. It is on the New Bedford Road side not the highway side.
Mr. Addonizio
asked why they can’t have some sort of outlet system. Why can’t the hook up for water be on the building? Attorney Carton said there is a standard
pipe but it is not attached to the building.
Chairman Clayton said it can be on the building or right outside the
building.
The application
was open to the public.
March 5, 2003 Page
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Paul Draper, Woolly
Road, was sworn. Mr. Draper said he has
lived in Wall 20 years. He said he does
not feel like a citizen. He said he
does not feel like he is part of a democracy.
He said every resident came to the meetings regarding this application
and not one word was said on our behalf.
Chairman Clayton said the Board did listen to everyone and we did vote
against this application.
James Folen,
2605 Woolley Road, was sworn. Mr. Folen
said according to what Attorney Hirsch said Meridian appealed to the Appellate
Division of the Courts. The Board
approved the use but denied the site plan.
Now the Board has to approve it and you have no choice. Attorney Hirsch said that is what the court
system is for.
Nancy Draper,
2609 Woolley Road, was sworn. Mrs.
Draper asked what is going to happen to the traffic on Woolley Road. She asked if they were widening the road. Attorney Hirsch said he doesn’t recall. Mr. Gerken said some minor work will be done
on New Bedford Road only in front of the subject property.
Mrs. Draper said
she has a tough time getting in and out of Woolley Road as it is now. She asked how much of her yard is going to
be taken. Mr. Gerken said they are
going north toward Woolley Road. He
said by the time they get to her driveway nothing will be taken off her
property.
Mrs. Draper
asked about the fire loop. She asked if
this is for fire trucks to get in and out.
Attorney Hirsch said no it is for the water line.
Mrs. Draper
asked if fire trucks are going to be able to get in and out. Mr. Gerken said certainly.
Mrs. Draper
asked if there was going to be a blinker light at the ingress and egress. She said there is a large hedge that you
cannot see around. Attorney Hirsch said
there is not going to be a light.
Mrs. Draper
asked what is going to be done so you can see someone coming from that
direction. Attorney Hirsch said this
plan was fully revised before litigation by our engineer. When the Board voted on this they relied on
the reports of the Board Professionals.
They were all addressed. The
ingress and egress are all safe. They
comply.
Mrs. Draper said
on the north side of the building what is going to be put on the buffer. Attorney Hirsch said the landscape plan
addressed that. There is a whole plan
for landscaping. There will be a number
of trees. There will be substantial
buffering including a 6’ fence. Every
one of these items comply with township ordinances.
Mr. Gray said
you can go to the Planning Board office and see the plans.
Mrs. Draper said
one of the neighbors did call the Planning Board office and was disappointed by
their answers.
The application
was closed to the public.
March 5, 2003 Page
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Attorney Hirsch
said he can only say this Board tried to protect the neighbors in this
area. When a Judge rules the Board has
to comply with what the court orders just like all other individuals do. The Land Use Office does a good job. He said he gets a lot of compliments on the
Land Use Office.
Mr. Gray asked
what happens if he votes no. Attorney
Hirsch said if you vote no it doesn’t mean anything. Attorney Hirsch said he advises that he not do that.
Mr. Addonizio
said the one thing that troubles him is that he lives in the United States and
sitting as a Board member he made his decision and a judge over-ruled it now he
has to change his decision. He said he
can’t see how he can vote yes for something he is against.
Attorney Hirsch
said we are a country of law. We have a
court order. That does not change your
opinion. It doesn’t mean you have
changed your mind. You are just ordered
to approve this.
Mrs. DeSarno,
sadly, made a motion to approve this application. Mr. Rembiszewski seconded the motion.
Mr. Cinelli said
he feels there should be certain conditions.
The applicant must comply with the professional reports. The applicant must meet with the
professionals regarding the fire hydrant system on site. The applicant shall put in the new
ventilation system. The approval also
includes the amendment regarding the entrance way.
Mrs. DeSarno
made the motion to approve the application with the conditions. Mr. Rembiszewski seconded the motion, which
was approved by a roll call vote. (Messrs.
Kerr and Palmer voted yes, Mr. Gray voted no, Mrs. Morrissey voted yes, Mr.
Addonizio voted no, Messrs. Cinelli, Rembiszewski voted yes, Mrs. DeSarno voted
yes and Mr. Clayton voted yes.) The
application was approved.
Attorney Hirsch
stated Messrs. Kerr and Palmer are alternates and their votes were not
needed.
The application
was approved five to two.
MINUTES TO BE ADOPTED:
Mr. Cinelli moved to approve the minutes of the Regular and Workshop
meetings of February 5, 2003 and February 19, 2003. Mrs. DeSarno seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
RESOLUTIONS TO BE MEMORIALIZED:
TOWER LODGE –
BA#8-2000
Block 239, Lot 8 Gray/DeSarno
CHARLES &
JOSEPH LECHNER – BA#36-2002
Block 811.07,
Lot 22 Gray/Addonizio
There being no
further business to come before the Board, a motion was made, seconded, and
unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at 10:20 P.M.
March 5, 2003 Page
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Respectfully
submitted,
Betty Schinestuhl
Recording
Secretary