ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEET
JULY 10, 2002
The Regular
Meeting of the Wall Township Board of Adjustment was called to order by
Chairman Clayton at 7:30 P.M. Members
present were Chairman Clayton, Ralph Addonizio, Anthony Rembiszewski, Dominick
Cinelli, Wilma Morrissey, Attorney Hirsch, Planning Coordinator Roberta Lang,
Recording Secretary Betty Schinestuhl, Engineer Savacool and Court Reporter
Arnone.
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.
Chairman Clayton
announced there are five applications on the agenda this evening. He said the Board is down to one.
Chairman Clayton
said George Mueller, BA#41-2000, did not notice. Attorney Hirsch said they have to submit additional information
to the Township for review.
Chairman Clayton
said Heather Vansaghi, BA#16-2002, has been rescheduled for October 2, 2002.
Attorney Hirsch
reviewed the Vansaghi file and stated the Board had jurisdiction. He said no further noticing will be
required.
Attorney Hirsch
said Kim and Richard Wagner have to notice.
He said they are scheduled for September 18, 2002.
Chairman Clayton
said Victor and Ursula Ayers, BA#23-2002, have to notice. They are scheduled for September 18, 2002.
CASE #BA18-2002
– Date application
complete: May 10, 2002
APPLICANT: MICHAEL
AND CHRISTINE FRIED
PROPERTY: 2547
River Road, Block 880, Lot 19, R-30 zone
RELIEF
REQUESTED: Bulk variance
Attorney Hirsch
reviewed the file and stated the Board had jurisdiction to proceed.
Timothy B.
Middleton, Esq. appeared for the applicant.
Sworn by
Reporter Arnone: Michael
Fried
Christine
Fried
July 10, 2002 Page
2
Attorney
Middleton said the property is located at 2547 River Road. He said the lot is approximately 22,000
s.f. He said it is long and narrow. The existing house was built in the
1930’s. He explained there is a 25’
drop in the rear of the property about 8’ – 9’ from the house. He said putting the pool in the rear or side
yard is impossible because of the topography.
He said there is no room on the side of the house. He said the only location is in the front
yard. He said this is a C-1 hardship
variance. He said there are some pools
in the front yard along River Road. He
said a landscape plan has been submitted.
He said the pool will be shielded from the road. He said the Township Engineer picked up a
number of existing variances on site.
He said the driveways are within 5’ of the property line. He said the applicant is going to eliminate
the driveway on the west side. He said
the applicant will move the driveway on the east side and conform with the 5’
setback. He said, regarding the
building coverage variance, the applicant will remove half of the concrete
carport. He said an impervious coverage
variance is being proposed because the pool and walkway is considered
impervious coverage. Attorney Middleton
said eliminating half the carport and the driveway should make it a wash.
Entered into
evidence:
A-1 Landscape
plan prepared by Bruce Bennett dated June 5, 2001, revised December 20, 2001
The application
was opened to the public.
Sandra Barre,
1610 Bass Point Road, questioned the notice.
She asked what is being noticed.
Attorney Hirsch said the applicant was noticing for the pool in the
front yard and lot coverage.
Ms. Barre said
some nonconformities are existing.
Attorney Hirsch said the applicant is seeking relief for two
things. Ms. Barre asked if it was for a
pool in the front yard and lot coverage.
Attorney Hirsch said yes. Ms.
Barre said she thinks the notice is defective.
Attorney Hirsch stated he has accepted the notice.
Ms. Barre said
when she looked at the file there was a copy of the application and a survey
and it was not deemed complete. She
said she went back today and there were a lot of other things in the file. She said there was no site plan. She said there was a lack of
information. Attorney Hirsch said a
site plan is not required. He said a
survey is the only thing required. He
said the information is sufficient.
Mr. Fried said
he lives at 2547 River Road at the corner of Bass Point Road. He has lived there for 2¾ years. He explained the property is long and
narrow. He said the Manasquan River is
in the rear. His house fronts on River
Road. He said it is a two-story
dwelling with a garage and carport.
Attorney
Middleton asked Mr. Fried to explain the back of his property. Mr. Fried said the property drops down about
25’ – 30’. It is a very steep drop.
Entered into
evidence:
A-2 Photo of rear of property showing drop
July 10, 2002 Page
3
Mr. Fried
explained why he wants to put the pool in his front yard. He said there is no room on the side and the
rear of his property drops down.
Attorney
Middleton said the pool would be 15’ from the property line and an additional
10’ from the pavement. Mr. Fried said
that is correct. Attorney Middleton
said it would be a total of 25’ from the pavement. Mr. Fried said that is correct.
Mr. Fried said they would put up a fence. Mr. Fried said the home two houses to the east have a pool in the
front yard. Attorney Middleton showed
photos of the neighbor’s pool. Attorney
Middleton asked if that pool was similar to the one Mr. Fried was
proposing. Mr. Fried said yes.
Entered into
evidence:
A-3 Photo of neighbor’s pool
A-4 Photo of neighbor’s pool
Attorney
Middleton said, referring to A-3 and A-4, the pool is well buffered from the
road. Attorney Middleton asked Mr.
Fried if he would plant evergreens and shrubs.
Mr. Fried said yes. Attorney
Middleton asked if he was going to buffer the pool. Mr. Fried said yes.
Attorney Hirsch asked
for the size of the pool. Attorney
Middleton said its 36’ X 28’ X 16” X 7” X 20”.
It is L-shaped.
Attorney
Middleton asked where the deep end is.
Mr. Fried said on the west side.
He said the long part of the L will be shallow.
Attorney Middleton
asked about outdoor lighting. Mr. Fried
said there will be no outdoor lighting.
He said there will not be any speakers.
Attorney
Middleton asked how many pools are in the front yard on River Road. Mr. Fried said seven. He gave the addresses.
Chairman Clayton
confirmed the testimony regarding lighting.
Attorney Middleton said there will be no outdoor lighting except for
lights in the pool.
Attorney
Middleton stated the driveway closest to Bass Point Road will be
eliminated. Mr. Fried said that is
correct. Attorney Middleton confirmed
that half of the carport will be eliminated.
Mr. Fried said that is correct.
Attorney Middleton confirmed that the remaining driveway will meet the
5’ setback. Mr. Fried said that is
correct.
Attorney Middleton
asked Mr. Fried about the two sheds on the property. Mr. Fried said the shed by the garage is attached to the garage;
it is part of the garage. He said there
is only one shed and it is located near the river.
Mr. Cinelli
asked Mr. Fried to testify as to the size of the neighbor’s pools in the front
yards. Mr. Fried said he did not know
the size. He said there are six
in-ground and one above-ground pool.
July 10, 2002 Page
4
Mr. Cinelli said
he looked at the landscaping plan and you are planting over 320 pieces of
shrubbery on the inside and outside.
Mr. Fried said yes.
Mr. Cinelli
asked about the fence. Mr. Fried said
it will be a wrought iron fence.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if the existing landscaping would remain in addition to the new
plantings. Mr. Fried said yes.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked how high the fence would be. Mr.
Fried said 4’.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if the pool could be smaller. Mr.
Fried said that was the one they picked out.
Mrs. Fried said the landscape architect helped pick out the one that
would look the nicest.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if anyone has objected. Mrs.
Fried said not that they are aware of.
Chairman Clayton
asked if the buffering would be mounded.
Mr. Fried said it would be flat with the land.
Mr. Savacool
asked if the west driveway and half the carport would be removed. Mr. Fried said yes. Mr. Savacool said the carport would go from
30’ X 20’ to 15” X 20’. Mr. Fried said
yes. Attorney Middleton said the
carport would cease to be a carport.
Mr. Savacool said given the reduction by the removal of the driveway and
half the carport the proposed coverage, including the pool, will not exceed
what is there today. Attorney Middleton
said yes.
Chairman Clayton
asked where the pools were located at the neighbor’s front yards. Mr. Fried said it varied. He said some are closer to the front setback
and some are further.
Attorney Hirsch
confirmed that they would remove the impervious inside the fence. Attorney Middleton said that is correct. He said whatever is being created by the pool
will be removed by the elimination of half the carport and the driveway. He said it was an even swap.
Mrs. Morrissey
said she would like to see the pool moved back 5’. Mr. Addonizio agreed. Mr.
Cinelli said the 25’ is adequate. Mr.
Rembiszewski agreed with Mr. Cinelli.
Sandra Barre
gave her credentials. She said she was
a nurse before an attorney. She asked
if Mr. Fried knew when the carport was built.
Mr. Fried said he did not know.
Ms. Barre said it was built in the 1950’s.
Ms. Barre asked
if the pools in the neighborhood were similar.
Attorney Middleton said the one 2 – 3 doors down is similar.
Entered into
evidence:
O-1 Tax map
Ms. Barre asked
if Mr. Fried had any knowledge of cars running from north to south coming up to
his property and taking out the light fixture.
Mr. Fried said no, not while he’s been there.
July 10, 2002 Page
5
Ms. Barre asked
if the 300 plus bushes were going to be located directly where River Road has the
curve. Mr. Fried said they will go
along the house.
Ms. Barre asked
if the fence was going to be solid aluminum.
Mr. Fried said he did not know.
Attorney Hirsch said he could put any type of 4’ fence on his property.
Ms. Barre asked
if the fence and landscaping would provide protection for the cars going straight
on River Road onto his property.
Chairman Clayton said that could happen now without a pool.
Ms. Barre asked
if the pool could be smaller. Mr. Fried
said that is what they have in that series.
Ms. Barre asked
if the soil being removed would be over 500 cubic yards. Attorney Middleton said no. Mr. Savacool said he figured if the pool was
8’ deep all around only 220 cubic yards would be removed.
Ms. Barre asked
if the carport would be enclosed.
Attorney Middleton said no.
Ms. Barre asked
if there were any DEP or CAFRA concerns.
Attorney Middleton said no.
Ms. Barre asked
if they had a copy of the deed.
Attorney Middleton said no.
Ms. Barre asked
about underground utilities. Attorney
Middleton said they will be staked out prior to excavation. Mr. Fried said the electric lines are to the
right of the property. He said the gas
lines are in the center of the driveway.
Mr. Cinelli
asked who was installing the pool. Mr.
Fried said Dover Pools. Mr. Addonizio
said it is a law you cannot dig without having it staked out first. Mr. Savacool said anything over 18” must be
staked out. You can call 1-800
MARKOUT. They will stake out all
utilities within three days.
George Sollami,
1610 Bass Point Road, asked about drainage if a cover is used. Attorney Middleton said water goes through
the cover.
Mr. Sollami
asked how Mr. Fried’s impervious coverage compares to the seven other pools in
the neighborhood. Mr. Fried said he
does not know. He said it looks like
the same.
Ms. Barre asked
where the right of way was and where is the property line. Attorney Middleton explained.
Ms. Barre asked
if Attorney Middleton has ever measured the width of Bass Point Drive. Attorney Middleton said no. Mr. Cinelli said that would affect everybody
else with front yard pools.
Ms. Barre asked
how wide the driveway is. Mr. Savacool
said 9’ wide. Ms. Barre asked how a
fire truck could get through. Attorney
Middleton objected. Chairman Clayton
said fire trucks do not go through the front yard.
July 10, 2002 Page
6
Ms. Sandra Barre
was sworn. Ms. Barre said she is
concerned about cars running onto that property. She said there has been a problem there.
George Sollami
was sworn. He said he would like to
concur with the issue of safety. He
said there are cars that go off that road.
Attorney
Middleton said this is clearly a C-1 hardship, maybe a C-2. He said some things will be lessened or
eliminated. There will be over 300
plants to buffer the pool and a slight berm.
Mr. Cinelli said
putting in a stronger fence and the buffering would reduce the safety
hazard. Mr. Rembiszewski
concurred.
Mr. Cinelli
moved to approve the application subject to the removal of impervious coverage
inside of the fence, make sure there is a balance in impervious coverage. Mr. Rembiszewski seconded the motion, which
was approved by a roll call vote. (Messrs.
Cinelli, Rembiszewski, Addonizio and Clayton voted yes, Mrs. Morrissey voted
no.) The application was approved.
RESOLUTIONS TO BE MEMORIALIZED:
MICHAEL TRANBERG
– BA#13-2002
Block 5, Lot 7 Rembiszewski/Morrissey
ROBERT AND DONNA
DAVIS – BA#12-2002
Block 233, Lot 5 Morrissey/Rembiszewski
JEFFREY AND
HELEN SHIELDS AND
MATTHEW AND
HELEN PRINGLE – BA#15-2002
Block 771, Lot 1 Rembiszewski/Morrissey
There being no
further business to come before the Board, a motion was made, seconded, and
unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 P.M.
Respectfully
submitted,
Betty
Schinestuhl
Recording Secretary