ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
APRIL 2, 2003
The Regular
Meeting of the Wall Township Board of Adjustment was called to order by
Chairman Clayton at 7:45 P.M. Members
present were Chairman Clayton, Vice Chairman DeSarno, Wilma Morrissey, Ralph
Addonizio, James Gray, first alternate Bob Kerr, second alternate Wayne Palmer,
Attorney Hirsch, Planning Coordinator Roberta Lang, Recording Secretary Betty
Schinestuhl, Engineer Bill Hoover, Planner Cheryl Bergailo, Joe Kociuba 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.
CASE #BA3-2003
– Date application
complete: February 21, 2003.
APPLICANT: JAMES & DIANA BARNES
PROPERTY: 2202 Shore Drive, Block 128, Lot 1, R
7.5 zone
RELIEF
REQUESTED: Bulk
Sworn by
Reporter Arnone: Diana
Barnes
Mrs. Barnes
explained she wants to put an addition on her home. The house is a two room house.
There is no storage space.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if the addition will be 15’ X 18’.
Mrs. Barnes said yes.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if the house is one story. Mrs.
Barnes said yes.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if the addition will bring the structure closer to Salem Avenue. Mrs. Barnes said yes.
Attorney Hirsch
said the addition will be between 11.5’ and 12’ from the property line. The regulation is 25’. He asked what the existing front yard
setback is. Mr. Hoover said it is 19.5’
from Shore Drive.
Attorney Hirsch
stated there are a number of existing nonconformities. Lot coverage and building coverage are not
met.
April 2, 2003 Page
2
Attorney Hirsch
asked Mrs. Barnes what was on lot 20.
Mrs. Barnes explained the rear of the house next door. Attorney Hirsch asked if that house was
closer to Salem Avenue or the same.
Mrs. Barnes said it sets back about the same.
Mrs. Morrissey
stated lot 2 appears to be more impacted than lot 20. What is on lot 2 and would the addition block the natural light
of the sun. Mrs. Barnes said there is a
house on that lot; the addition would not block the sun.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if any landscaping was proposed.
Mrs. Barnes said the neighbor on the side where the addition will be is
going to put up a 6’ fence.
Mr. Kerr asked
if the deck was going to come down and if so are there any plans on building
another one. Mrs. Barnes said the deck
will come down and there are no plans to build another.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if there would be a fence or shrubs on the Salem Avenue side. Mrs. Barnes said she plans on planting on
that side. The stones are going to come
out.
Chairman Clayton
asked if there was anything showing what the addition is going to look
like. Mrs. Barnes said no. Mrs. Barnes said they are going to re-side
the whole house.
The application
was open and closed to the public.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if the setback is 11.5’ is it another 10’ to the road. Mr. Hoover said another 6’ – 7’.
Mrs. Morrissey
moved to approve the application subject to a grading plan being submitted
prior to a building permit being issued.
Mrs. DeSarno seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved by a
roll call vote. (Mesdames Morrissey and
DeSarno, Messrs. Palmer, Kerr, Gray, Rembiszewski, Addonizio and Clayton voted
yes.
Chairman Clayton
stepped down on the Wolf application.
CASE #5-2003 – Date application complete: March 3, 2003
APPLICANT: CHARLES & MARY WOLF
PROPERTY: 2134 First Avenue, Block 826.01, Lot 4,
R-20 zone
RELIEF REQUESTED: Bulk variance
Attorney Hirsch
reviewed the file and stated the Board had jurisdiction to proceed.
Sworn by
Reporter Arnone: Charles
Wolf
Mr. Wolf
explained he is seeking approval to build a 16’ X 34’ addition. It will extend the living area, give some
room for storage and add a laundry room.
He said they are a little over on lot coverage.
April 2, 2003 Page
3
Attorney Hirsch
asked Mr. Wolf to address some of the concerns in Mr. Gerken’s review letter of
March 31, 2003, page 2. Attorney Hirsch
said there may be a difference in coverage.
He asked if Mr. Hoffmann added the garage into his calculations. Mr. Wolf stated he gave Mr. Hoffmann an
updated survey. Mr. Hoffman figured out
the lot coverage. Mr. Hoover said there
is a question on coverage that is why we asked for an updated survey.
Attorney Hirsch
said there are various existing non-conforming variances. The lot is undersized. There are existing non-conformities for
width, frontage, depth, front yard setback and side yard setback. They are all deficient.
Attorney Hirsch
asked what is on lot 65. Mr. Wolf said
there is a house. Attorney Hirsch asked
how far is that house was from the property line. Mr. Wolf said approximately 1.5’. That house is a single story.
Attorney Hirsch
asked what is on lot 67. Mr. Wolf said
there is a house but there is a lot between that house and my house. It is part of a vacated street. It is 50’ wide. My neighbor and myself each received 25’. The neighbor’s house is approximately 100’
from the property line.
Attorney Hirsch
asked, in addition to the 25’, the width of that other lot is what. Mr. Wolf said at least 50’. Attorney Hirsch stated the survey does not reflect
any of that. He asked how far from your
property is the house on lot 67. Mr.
Wolf said about 75’.
Attorney Hirsch
asked how far the house in the rear is from the property line. Mr. Wolf said approximately 60’.
Mr. Gray asked
if the addition is going to have an attic.
Mr. Wolf said the roof line will stay the same.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if Mr. Wolf is going to remove the deck and put in a new one. Mr. Wolf said the deck will be removed and no
new deck will be built.
Mrs. DeSarno
asked if the Board should require the new survey. Attorney Hirsch said he does not know how Mr. Hoffmann did the
calculations. If the Board approves the
application they can make a condition that the application is approved if Mr.
Hoffmann’s calculations include the garage.
They can also request a new survey be submitted.
The application
was open and closed to the public.
Mr. Addonizio
said he feels what is proposed is in character with other homes in the area.
Mr. Addonizio
moved to approve the application subject to assuming that everything is in
line. Attorney Hirsch said it should be
a condition that the applicant gets a survey showing the entire property and
building coverage calculations. Also a condition that Mr. Hoffmann’s
calculations include everything on the lot.
If the calculations are not correct the applicant must come back to the
Board. Mr. Gray seconded the motion
which was unanimously approved by a roll call vote. (Messrs. Addonizio, Gray, Mrs. Morrissey, Messrs. Rembiszewski,
Palmer, Kerr and Mrs. DeSarno voted yes.)
April 2, 2003 Page
4
Chairman Clayton
returned to the meeting.
CARRIED APPLICATION
CASE #29-2002 – Date application complete: August 14,
2002. Carried from November 5, 2002,
December 18, 2002 and February 5, 2003.
APPLICANT: B.P. PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA INC.
PROPERTY: Route 71 and Eighteenth Avenue, Block
12, Lots 1, 2 & 3, HB-20 zone
RELIEF REQUESTED: Bulk, Use & Site
Philip E. San
Filippo, Esq. appeared for the applicant.
Attorney San
Filippo recalled Paul Grygiel who testified at the February 19, 2003
meeting.
Mr. Kerr asked
Mr. Grygiel how he would categorize the store portion of the project. Mr. Grygiel said the retail portion can be
considered a small convenience store.
It will be smaller than others that you see. It is a small scale retail convenience store. Mr. Kerr said with an ATM machine and a
lottery machine it is more of a full service store.
8:30 P.M. Mr.
Palmer left the meeting
Mr. Addonizio
said at previous meetings the convenience store was referred to as a food mart
and at the last meeting it was referred to as a convenience store. Mr. Grygiel said the terms are
interchangeable.
Mr. Addonizio
said when talking about a convenience store, 7-11, Wa-Wa, etc you don’t see a
sit down area. Why is it necessary at
this store? Mr. Grygiel said at any new
convenience store being built they have a sitting area. The older stores do not have them. They are too small. He said he does not think it is such a
unique aspect. There are going to be
just eight seats.
Mr. Rembiszewski
said the Board is concerned that the sitting area becomes a haven for large
groups. He said if there is a seating
area at this convenience store they may have the same situation that they have
at Dunkin Donuts. Mr. Grygiel said the
applicant wants to make sure their business does not become a teenage
hangout. It is not in their best
interest.
Mr. Grygiel said
the West Belmar Gateway Project calls for similar uses. The Township is trying to redevelop this
site. The sitting area is not
counterproductive to the Township’s goals.
Mr. Rembiszewski
asked if this was a 24 hour a day business.
Attorney San Filippo said yes, there is nothing against a 24 hour a day
service. He said Attorney Hirsch asked
if we would consider not being open 24 hours.
We said we would consider that.
Attorney Hirsch
stated the applicant’s burden is to prove that the site is suitable for the
proposed project. They must also prove
that the use will benefit the public.
Mr. Grygiel said the Master
April 4, 2003 Page
5
Plan designated
this section for HB type use. The
Master Plan stated that the types of use are those similar to those found on
Route 35. The Master Plan does not
break down the use into smaller groups.
Attorney Hirsch
stated the ordinance was changed about one year ago. Mr. Grygiel said that ordinance addressed a certain type of
convenience store, gas station.
Mr. Grygiel said
some of the impacts of this project are the same as other uses. Attorney Hirsch said how can this Board
grant a variance when the Governing Body says that this is not going to be
permitted in this zone. Mr. Grygiel
said there are reasons to grant this variance.
Attorney Hirsch
stated the applicant must establish that the site is suitable for the proposed
project. Mr. Grygiel said economics is
a valid concern. The property is
underdeveloped. The gas station and
convenience store provide services needed in this area. The application would comply with highway
access. The convince store can help
reduce trips to other stores.
Bob Smith, Elm
Street, said you mention food being served.
There is going to be a few high stools and ready made sandwiches. Mr. Grygiel said the application is for a
food mart that has eight seats. There
has been no change. There are no
booths.
Mr. Smith said
there are many gas stations within one-half mile of this site. Why is this going to be so good for the
area? Mr. Grygiel said this project
would spur the redevelopment in the area.
Muriel Melando, 915
Sixth Avenue, stated there are eight gas stations within the area. There are four on Route 35 and four on Route
71. She asked how you would expect to
get in and keep the traffic going. Mr.
Grygiel said the same way any other gas station does.
Mr. Smith said
there is access to this gas station from 18th Avenue and Route
71. Where is the third access? Mr. Grygiel stated the property has frontage
on three streets. There will be access
only on two of them, 18th Avenue and Route 71.
Attorney Hirsch
asked Attorney San Filippo if he received the updated reports from the Board
Engineer, Planner and Traffic. Attorney
San Filippo said he received them today.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if he wanted to address the moving of the driveway on 18th
Avenue to the west and the moving of the tanks. Attorney San Filippo said Mr. Spalt will address those concerns.
Mr. Spalt,
previously sworn, said he spoke with Mr. Verderese and we have agreed to move
the tanks. The driveway can be moved
about 25’ up 18th Avenue.
There are no negatives to doing that.
The only impact would be that the driveway now aligns move with the
property on the opposite side of 18th Avenue.
Mr. Addonizio
asked if the 1 s.f. logo on the pumps was included in the signage package. Mr. Spalt said he did not think so. The total signage is 140 s.f. plus 6 s.f. at
the dispensers. Mr. Addonizio asked
what is the total allowed. Mr. Spalt
said 200 s.f.
April 2, 2003 Page
6
Mr. Gray asked
about moving the underground storage tanks back. Mr. Spalt said they will be closer to the pumps by 10’. They will be approximately 20’ from the ROW.
Mr. Addonizio
asked about garbage pickup. Mr. Spalt
said a private contractor will pick up garbage. It will be picked up twice a week.
Mr. Addonizio
asked about delivery trucks. Mr. Spalt
said step vans will deliver most of the products. Maybe a larger truck would be scheduled for off hours. All deliveries will be made through the
front door.
Mr. Addonizio
asked if a gas truck would be able to get on the site with no problem. Mr. Spalt said yes.
Dr. Knust, 1908
18th Avenue, asked what was considered off hours for
deliveries. Mr. Spalt said off peak
hours, non-rush hours.
Mr. Addonizio
asked about gas deliveries. Mr. Spalt
said they delivery whenever necessary.
Mr. Addonizio asked if a delivery can be made at 3:00 A.M. Mr. Spalt said yes. Chairman Clayton stated the Township
ordinance states the noise ordinance in effect is from midnight to 7:00
A.M.
Mr. Addonizio
said he believed midnight was too late for deliveries in this area. Deliveries should be made during the
day. He suggested no deliveries after
9:00 P.M. Attorney San Filippo said
that is severe. He said they would
agree to the township ordinance hours.
No deliveries between 12 midnight and 7:00 A.M. Mr. Addonizio said there are too many homes
there to have a truck pulling in at 11:00 P.M. at night. That is unreasonable. Attorney San Filippo said he does not think
9:00 P.M. is reasonable. Mr. Gray
agreed with Mr. Addonizio and said there should be no deliveries after 9:00
P.M. Attorney San Filippo said they
could not agree to 9:00 P.M.
Attorney Hirsch
said before the Board can set restrictions they have to allow the use first
then you can address the restrictions.
Rich Ambrosio,
1102 Glenn Street, asked about the environmental issues on the property. He asked if the applicant planned to
incorporate soil removal. Attorney San
Filippo said soil has already been removed.
Soil remediation has been completed.
The contaminated soil has been removed and replaced with clean
fill. Attorney San Filippo also stated
that BP will not purchase the site until the current owner receives a letter of
no further action from DEP regarding the groundwater remediation. Mr. Ambrosio stated there have been no
samples of soil taken since 1999.
Attorney San Filippo stated the owner has provided a 2002 certificate
asserting that remediation efforts are ongoing.
Mr. Mayer, 1001
Sixth Avenue, stated he will see this from his home. He has lived at this address for 17 years. He stated he has never seen any soil
removed. Attorney Hirsch said soil
removal is not in the jurisdiction of this Board. There is a DEP case file.
The DEP must be satisfied that the site has been completely remediated.
April 2, 2003 Page
7
Mr. Mayer asked
about landscaping along Camp Meeting Street.
Mr. Spalt said he has provided extensive testimony on landscaping. There will be evergreen, deciduous trees,
numerous Norway Spruces, Douglas firs and others.
Mr. Mayer said
the township wants a colonial look on Route 71. Mr. Spalt said the building will have a brick façade. Mr. Mayer asked what will it look like. Mr. Spalt, using a photo that was put into
evidence, showed Mr. Mayer a similar gas station.
William Everett,
1815 Camp Meeting Street, asked about the buffer along Camp Meeting
Street. He also asked Mr. Spalt to
explain the berm. Mr. Spalt said there
will be a 2’ – 3’ berm along the rear of the building. Mr. Everett asked how close to the
street. Mr. Spalt said 10’ – 12’ inside
the property line. Mr. Everett asked
how wide. Mr. Spalt said about 15’ –
20’. Mr. Everett asked how high. Mr. Spalt said approximately 3’.
Mr. Everett
asked about filters being installed to catch all types of debris. Mr. Spalt said they will be installed and
they are shown on the plans.
Mr. Addonizio
asked if the applicant’s traffic expert was here tonight. Attorney San Filippo said no, he concluded
his testimony at the last meeting
The Board
recessed at 9:30 P.M.
The meeting
resumed at 9:45 P.M.
The application
was open to the public.
Petronella
Smith, 1725 Elm Street, was sworn. Ms.
Smith stated she has been to all the meetings but one. She said she feels this is not part of the
redevelopment plan for Route 71. She
said she does not like it in her neighborhood.
She said she would prefer something else there. Ms. Smith also stated she has gone out of
her way to see gas stations at night and they will light up a lot more than
what the photo shows.
Dr. Knust, 908
18th Avenue, was sworn. Dr.
Knust said this project will have a negative impact on the surrounding area and
on the environment. Esthetically it
does not fit in the neighborhood. She
said she is concerned about safety because of the traffic. It will be a danger to the children and
people who walk to work and wait for buses.
The welfare of the community is not protected in any way.
William Everett,
1815 Camp Meeting Street, was sworn.
Mr. Everett agreed with Dr. Knust.
A gas station is totally unnecessary.
It is larger than the other gas stations in the area. It is surrounded by residential
properties. There are environmental
concerns on the site. There is also a
clean-up project going on the site.
That was because of the former gas station.
Muriel Melando,
915 Sixth Avenue, was sworn. Ms.
Melando said she will be looking at bright lights all night long. The traffic will be coming down Camp Meeting
Street even more. She stated she does
not care for another gas station on this site.
April 2, 2003 Page
8
Richard
Ambrosio, 1102 Glenn Street, was sworn.
Mr. Ambrosio said he would like to see remediation completed before
granting an approval. He would also
like to see less hours of operation.
Robert Smith,
Elm Street, was sworn. Mr. Smith said
cars wait two – three lights before they can get through the intersection now. He said there will be a problem with cars
turning on Ward and Camp Meeting Street to beat the light. He is also concerned about the drainage on
18th Avenue and Route 71. He
said that water is going to run south toward Wreck Pond. All the run-off from the gas station will go
into the storm drain and then to Wreck Pond.
Mr. Spalt testified about the filtration system. Attorney San Filippo said the storm water
detention system is not going into the public system.
The application
was closed to the public.
Attorney San
Filippo, in his closing statement, thanked the Board and the public. He said the applicant wants to be a good
neighbor. The former gas station will
be eliminated. The site is being
remediated. The applicant will be
consolidating three lots. 3,800 s.f.
will be dedicated for the widening of Route 71. This project will be on a state highway. Most of the standards of the HB zone have
been met. Out of 12 standards we meet
11. There will be no access to Camp
Meeting Street. There is extensive
landscaping proposed. Sidewalks and
curbing are also being proposed. Street
trees will be installed. The site will
be ADA compliant. There will be off
street parking. The lighting will be
controlled and shielded. Improvements
will be made on the state highway. Camp
Meeting Street will be treated as a rear yard.
The plans were revised to take into consideration what the Board wanted. Everything was reduced. Attorney San Filippo stated this site is
well suited for this use. What is there
now is an eyesore. That will be
eliminated. There will not be
substantial detriment to the zoning.
There will not be substantial detriment to the surrounding
properties. The property is large
enough for the proposed commercial building.
Entered into
evidence:
BOA-1
Review letter from Glenn Gerken, Schoor DePalma, dated November 2, 2002
BOA-2 Review letter from Glenn Gerken, Schoor
DePalma, dated December 11, 2002
BOA-3 Planning review letter from Schoor DePalma
dated October 30, 2002
BOA-4 Planning review letter from Schoor DePalma
dated December 11, 2002
BOA-5 Traffic impact study dated December 11, 2002
BOA-6 Revised traffic impact review dated April 2,
2003 prepared by Nicholas Verderese,
Schoor DePalma
Attorney Hirsch stated
the use variance needs five yes votes.
The use will be voted on first.
If that is approved than the site plan will be voted on. That needs a majority vote.
Attorney San
Filippo asked for the eligibility of the members. Attorney Hirsch stated all are eligible. All have signed affidavits and read the
transcripts.
Mr. Addonizio
moved to deny the application. Mr.
Addonizio stated there are five or six gas stations within one to two miles of
this site. He said he felt the traffic
study was not as complete
April 2, 2003 Page
9
as it should
have been. It did not consider the
summer months. The applicant agreed to
reduce the number of lights but he increased the wattage. This is going to have a negative impact on
the area. This will be a 24 hour a day
operation. They already have too much
traffic which has a negative impact on the neighbors. It does not fit into the West Belmar Gateway project. It is not a good site. It is too big for that area.
Mrs. DeSarno
stated she is concerned about traffic.
She said she lives in that area and knows how bad traffic is. There will be a negative affect on the
neighbors because of the lighting. It
will have a negative impact on the surrounding properties. It is not suited to this site. It is not in keeping with the Master
Plan. I second the motion which was
approved by a roll call vote.
Mr. Addonizio,
Mrs. DeSarno voted yes.
Mr. Kerr voted yes stating he does not
believe the general welfare of the neighborhood will be enhanced by this
application.
Mr. Gray voted
yes stating he is concerned about traffic.
This will have a negative impact on the area. The use is too intense.
Mrs. Morrissey
voted yes stating this application failed to meet the Master Plan. The applicant failed to show special reasons
why it should be approved. It is a
detriment to the surrounding properties.
Mr. Rembiszewski
voted no.
Mr. Clayton
voted yes. The application is
denied. There were six yeas to deny and
one to approve.
There being no
further business to come before the Board, a motion was made, seconded, and
unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at 10:30 P.M.
Respectfully
submitted,
Betty Schinestuhl
Recording
Secretary