ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEET
DECEMBER 4, 2002
The Regular
Meeting of the Wall Township Board of Adjustment was called to order by
Chairman Clayton at 7:55 P.M. Members
present were Chairman Clayton, Vice Chairman DeSarno, Wilma Morrissey, Ralph
Addonizio, Dominick Cinelli, second alternate James Gray, Attorney Hirsch,
Recording Secretary Betty Schinestuhl, Planning Coordinator Roberta Lang,
Engineer William Hoover and 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.
CASE #BA16-2000
– Date application
complete: April 23, 2002. Carried from July 10, 2002 and October 2,
2002.
APPLICANT: HEATHER VANSAGHI
PROPERTY: 1526 Valley Drive, Block 146, Lot 19,
R-7.5 zone.
RELIEF
REQUESTED: Bulk Variance
Mr. Vansaghi,
previously sworn, said they are seeking a variance for 200 s.f. He said they were asked by the Board to
lower the roof and they have done that.
He said the architect redid the plans and the proposed addition will be
26.6’ in height. He said everything
else stays the same.
Mr. Gray asked
what the heights of the ceilings were on the second floor. Mr. Vansaghi said 6’.
Entered into
evidence:
A-3 Architect’s letter
Attorney Hirsch
said the side yard setback is 5’ where 7.5’ is required. Mr. Vansaghi said that is correct.
Chairman Clayton
asked if the shed had been removed. Mr.
Vansaghi said the cabana was removed.
He said the shed will be removed before construction starts.
Chairman Clayton
asked if the fence was still being proposed.
Mr. Vansaghi said yes.
Chairman Clayton
asked about the patio or deck in the rear.
Mr. Vansaghi said the deck will be removed.
Mr. Addonizio
asked Mr. Vansaghi if they made all the changes the Board talked about at the
last meeting. Mr. Vansaghi said yes.
December 4, 2002 Page
2
Mr. Cinelli
asked if the deck would be removed. Mr.
Vansaghi said yes. He said the cabana
has already been removed and the shed and deck will be removed before
construction.
Mr. Hoover said
the coverage included the removal of the deck and cabana.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked if the fence was going to begin where the house starts. Mr. Vansaghi said the fence will be along
the back property line.
Chairman Clayton
asked if there will be a fence along the sides. Mr. Vansaghi said no.
The application
was open to the public.
Beth Byrne, 1525
Bay Plaza, asked why the house wasn’t lowered to 25’. Mrs. Vansaghi said the reason is in the architect’s letter.
Ms. Byrne asked
why the deck was not taken down. Mr.
Vansaghi said Wall Township does not take construction material. He said they will get a dumpster during
construction and then it will be taken down.
Ms. Byrne said
the wires to the deck are still connected.
Mr. Vansaghi said the wire is not connected to anything. It is a non-life wire.
Ms. Byrne
complained the Vansaghi’s had a party three days after the last meeting. She stated she had to call the Wall Township
Police.
Mr. Gray asked
how the music was blasting. Mr.
Vansaghi said it was connected to the house.
Chairman Clayton asked if the electric wires will be removed. Mr. Vansaghi said yes.
Joanne Byrne,
1525 Bay Plaza, asked who was going to be the contractor. Mr. Vansaghi said he didn’t have one
yet. Attorney Hirsch said they do not
need to know who the contractor will be.
Joanne Byrne,
1525 Bay Plaza, was sworn. Mrs. Byrne
said the reason she asked who the contractor was going to be was because she
wanted to know if Mr. Vansaghi was going to do it himself. Attorney Hirsch said that is not for this
Board. That is for the Building
Department. He said Mr. Vansaghi needs
to get building permits, etc.
Mrs. Byrne said
one of her concerns is the oversized garage.
She said she is concerned that Mr. Vansaghi will move his business to
his home. She stated he has been very
inconsiderate so far. She asked if it
could be a condition that the fence is put up first. Mr. Vansaghi said he has no problem with that.
Beth Byrne, 1525
Bay Plaza, was sworn. Ms. Byrne said
she is not here saying they cannot have a nice place to live. They can improve their home. She said she wants to keep her quality of
life. She said she has to move her
child to another room to sleep because of the noise. She said she had to call the Police Department because of the
noise. Ms. Byrne said Mr. Vansaghi put
all his garbage along her fence. She
said the proposed addition will be an oversized house. She said the parties have not stopped. She said they tried to meet with Mr.
Vansaghi and he was very uncooperative.
December 4, 2002 Page
3
Mr. Vansaghi
said the proposed garage is not oversized.
He said the stuff along the fence will be stored in the garage. He said no one else has complained.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if the various items in the yard will be removed. Mr. Vansaghi said some will be removed the
rest will be stored in the garage. Mr.
Vansaghi said there are other homes in the neighborhood double the size of
his.
Attorney Hirsch
asked Mr. Vansaghi if he agrees not to store the debris outside. Mr. Vansaghi agreed.
Mrs. DeSarno
asked how many total square feet is the house.
Mr. Vansaghi said the proposed size will be 3,124 s.f., 3.600 s.f.
including the garage. He said that
includes the second story.
Attorney Hirsch
asked the proposed home will be 3,124 s.f. how does that fit in with the
neighborhood. Mr. Vansaghi said the
house to the left is probably close. He
said there are smaller homes in the neighborhood. He said there is some construction going on in the neighborhood. He said as far as the size of the house it
fits right in.
Attorney Hirsch
asked if Mr. Vansaghi’s lot was bigger or smaller. Mr. Vansaghi said his lot is about the same as the others.
Mrs. Byrne asked
what size Mr. Vansaghi’s lot is.
Chairman Clayton said 100 X 100.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked the engineer if the house could be lowered to 25’. Mr. Hoover said the roof would have a pitch
that would be dangerously low.
Mr. Addonizio
said if the roof goes below that height you can no longer use shingles. He said the snow would stay on the
roof. He said the proposed height is
probably the best.
The application
was closed to the public.
Mr. Addonizio
moved to approve the application subject to the new roof height being 26.6’, a
6’ fence will be installed along the back property line with avidities planted,
all decks to be removed, lights on the fence will be sparse, no business at the
house, trees to be planted on the outside of the fence and electrical wires to
be removed.
Mr. Vansaghi
said he does not mind putting the trees on the outside of the fence but how can
he take care of them. Attorney Hirsch
said Mr. Vansaghi can just trim them.
Mr. Cinelli seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved by a
roll call vote. (Messrs. Addonizio,
Cinelli, Gray and Mesdames Morrissey, DeSarno and Mr. Clayton voted yes.)
Mr. Cinelli stated
he felt that the applicant did a good job of reducing the height of the
building. He said the applicant could
have just reduced the garage and built the house 35’.
Mr. Gray said if
there were any problems the neighbors could go to the Building Department to
complain.
December 4, 2002 Page
4
Mr. Cinelli
recused himself from the Harter and Meccia applications.
CASE #15-2001 – Date application complete: May 15,
2001. Carried from September 5, 2001,
December 5, 2001, June 5, 2002, September 18, 2002 and October 2, 2002.
APPLICANT: CHRISTOPHER MECCIA
PROPERTY: 1640 Martin Road, Block 942, Lot 16,
R-60 zone.
RELIEF REQUESTED: Bulk variance
Attorney
Middleton said there are some neighbors in attendance tonight. He said they received a wetland plan from
DEP. He said the plan that he received
was different from the plan they received.
He said he wants to reach out to the DEP and find out which plan is the
correct one. He said he would like to
carry this application. Attorney Hirsch
said the DEP’s determination of that line is critical. He said the Board cannot override the
DEP.
Chairman Clayton
said the application will be carried to January 15, 2003.
Attorney
Middleton said if the plan he received from the objectors is the correct one he
would have to change the plans. He
would also have to renotice.
Joseph Dochney,
Esq., attorney for the objectors, asked what would happen if the plan Attorney
Middleton received tonight is the correct one.
Attorney Middleton said if the map he received tonight is correct he
said they will not be back before the spring of 2003.
CASE #BA24-2002 – Date application complete: June 25,
2002. Carried from October 2, 2002.
APPLICANT: SUSAN HARTER
PROPERTY: 2310 Ramshorn Drive, Block 831, Lot 72,
R-30 zone.
RELIEF REQUESTED: Bulk variance.
Timothy B.
Middleton appeared for the applicant.
Attorney
Middleton stated the applicant is proposing to construct a house on a lot that
has frontage on Ramshorn Drive. He said
this lot was approved for a subdivision in the late 1980’s and met all
requirements. In the 1990’s the zoning
was changed and made the lot deficient.
The neighbors who live to the west are complaining about the location of
the proposed home. If the house is
moved it would impact the neighbor to the east. He said four of the homes are located the same distance from
Ramshorn Drive. The other three are
closer. He said the proposed house will
be consistent with the other homes in the neighborhood. He said the proposed house will have a 20’
setback on each side. It will be 170’
from Ramshorn Drive.
Attorney
Middleton said the lot was offered to the adjoining property owners for
$185,000. Ms. Harter has not heard from
either Mr. Cooley or Mr. Smith.
December 4, 2002 Page
5
Entered into
evidence:
A-2 Aerial view
A-3 Copy of letter sent to Cooley and Smith
dated November 1, 2002
A-4 Survey
Attorney
Middleton said the letters were sent regular and certified mail.
Attorney
Middleton asked Ms. Harter to describe the survey. Ms. Harter outlined where the proposed house would be. She said it will meet the side setbacks and
rear setback. A minor subdivision was
granted with the restriction that the house be 150’ back from Ramshorn
Drive. The proposed house will be 175’
back.
Attorney
Middleton said the property owner to the east expressed that the house would be
too close to his home on lot 21.
Attorney Middleton said the proposed house would be at least 80’ from
the closest house.
Attorney
Middleton asked Ms. Harter if she would be willing to plant high trees which
would separate the proposed home from the home on lot 21. Ms. Harter said it is all wooded now. She said she would agree to that if
something was going to be built on it.
Chairman Clayton
asked if Ms. Harter would be putting in plantings next to Mr. Smith. Ms. Harter said Mr. Smith has already put
plantings in. Attorney Middleton said
Ms. Harter would be willing to put in additional plantings.
Mr. Addonizio
asked if the additional plantings would also be the responsibility of the
person that buys this property.
Chairman Clayton said it would be a condition of the resolution.
The application
was open to the public.
George Smith,
2312 Ramshorn Drive, said he thinks there may be some deed restrictions. Ms. Harter said the only restriction is that
the house be 150’ from Ramshorn Drive.
George Smith,
2312 Ramshorn Drive, was sworn. Mr.
Smith said his concern would be that if someone purchased the lot there would
be a deed restriction stating that any house would be constructed behind my
house, that it would not be built to the extreme east side of the
property.
Attorney
Middleton said he reviewed the resolution of approval. He said the Planning Board indicated that
the house not be any closer than 150’ from Ramshorn Drive. He said they moved the house back an
additional 20’. The Smith home is
located along the 75’ strip. He said
they could increase the southerly yard setback along lot 20 and make it 25’ –
30’.
Attorney
Middleton said the applicant has no problem with the house starting within 25’
of the property line on the left (lot 21).
Mr. Smith asked
if a width parameter could be put on the house. Attorney Middleton said they would agree to 80’ width.
December 4, 2002 Page
6
Mr. Gray said he
is not comfortable telling the applicant where to put their house on the lot.
Chairman Clayton
asked Mr. Smith if he was interested in purchasing the property. Mr. Smith said he was interested in it about
a year ago, not now. He said he would
be interested in it if it was a buildable lot.
Attorney Hirsch
explained that if Mr. Smith was interested in the lot he would have to be now
and it would have to be at fair market value as if the variance was
granted. Mr. Smith said if the variance
is not approved he is not interested in purchasing the lot.
Mrs. Morrissey
asked Mr. Smith if he felt there was enough buffering. Mr. Smith said he thinks it is okay. Mr. Gray asked as far as trees and plantings
are concerned is it enough. Mr. Smith
said yes. He said when the lot gets
cleared he would like to make sure his property is buffered.
The application
was closed to the public.
Mr. Addonizio
suggested increasing the side yard setback on the lot 20 side for the
driveway. He said it is 20’ now he
thinks it should be increased. Attorney
Middleton said he would agree that the driveway be 20’ from the property
line. Mr. Addonizio suggested
increasing the setback an additional 10’.
Attorney Middleton said according to ordinance the driveway can be 5’
from the property line. He said he
feels 20’ is adequate.
Mrs. DeSarno
said she feels the applicant has been more than fair.
Mr. Addonizio
moved to approve the application. Mrs.
DeSarno seconded the motion, which was approved by a roll call vote. (Mr. Addonizio, Mrs. DeSarno, Mr. Gray, Mrs.
Morrissey and Mr. Clayton voted yes.)
RESOLUTIONS
TO BE MEMORIALIZED:
ROBERT L. AUMACK
– BA#33-2002
Block 920, Lot
28 Morrissey/DeSarno
SOPHIA M.
GARRETT – BA#32-2002
Block 347, Lot
43 Addonizio/Morrissey
There being no
further business to come before the Board, a motion was made, seconded, and
unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 P.M.
Respectfully
submitted,
Betty Schinestuhl
Recording
Secretary