Hello. Hello. Oh yeah. What are you doing? I'm looking for another Hello. Here's what I like In accordance with section five of the
Open Public Meetings Act, chapter 231, public law 1975, be advised that notice of this meeting was made by posting on the Bolton board at town hall and serving the officially designated newspapers, a list of the meeting dates annually, indicating that
this meeting would take place at the Milbourne Board of Education Education Center building at 700 p.m. on June 30th, 2025. David Bradford, Shandra Harjani here, Gary Rosen
here, Regina Truit here, Beth Soul here, Steven Cohen here, Joseph Cfield here, Jessica Gl here. Okay. Um, next up we have just approval
of minutes right from uh April 28th, 2025. Um, are there any corrections, changes, additions to it? Would someone like to make a motion? Do you have a second? I can second.
All in favor? I Okay. Uh we have no resolutions today. Do you want to talk about the or do you want to first announce in terms of carry? Yeah. Okay, we'll do we'll do that first. Okay. Um so just a few
announcements. Um calendar 4028-25. That's 30 Jefferson Avenue. The applicant is Mark Staglaniano. That application is not going forward at this time. So if anyone is here for that um it is not going forward at this time.
Um and then we also have calendar 4031-25. Um that property location is 23 Dorset Lane. Um the applicant is Malavvic. That application is being carried Do we
have the date? Uh that is being carried to August 25th. Okay. So that is being carried to August 25th, 25. No further notice at 7 o'clock. At 7 o'clock p.m. here at the Milbour
Board of Education Center, 434 Milbour Avenue. Okay. Before we move on to um the matters that are going forward tonight, we need to have a talk as a board um and
with Eileen about um dates going forward. If you'll remember that we beyond uh August, if you'll remember that we only um approved the adopted the calendar through August because of our move to this location. Um
we had to wait for the board of education. Yeah. Can you tell everyone what has gone on since? They have since adopted their dates for 2025 2026. So we are kind of for September September 1st is Labor Day. September
8th is a board of education meeting and September 15th is a board of education meeting. September 22nd is Rashashana. So the only date available is September 29th. And then the same thing in October. October they have October 6th and 27th.
October 13th is Columbus Day. So we have only the 20th. Um November we initially only scheduled one meeting. We were going to avoid the Monday before the league because I go down. But we can certainly have a meeting on you know adopt a second meeting in November if
that would be um you know so we're meeting on the 3rd. The board of education is meeting on the 10th. We can meet on the 17th. it would just be an added meeting because it wasn't on our initial um schedule. But if you thought if you
think we should add a November meeting, we certainly can do that. That's not an issue. Yeah. I I think Eileen, one of the issues is what you see sort of is coming down the pipeline. either pending applications, anticipated applications,
and whether you know starting on July 14th and going through the end of the year, whether the dates that you're proposing are enough for us to get through add the 17th and if at that time it
doesn't look like we really need it, we could go from there. We only have well, we do have two meetings in December, the 8th and the 22nd. So, That would be November 17th. Yes. Question. Yeah. Do our meetings have to be on Mondays? I
mean Mondays in particular. The problem is that here Yeah. No, because Mondays are a problem here because but the other days of the week they have environmental, they have planning board, they have all the other meetings are being held here as well. So pretty much they're Tuesday. I think most of the
other dates are kind of even Thursdays. Thursdays is HPC. Oh, okay. They're only once a month, but I would have to check with them to see if they have other things. As long as we can get through all the applications. I was explaining to
Jessica. The only concern of course is and it's good that we have two meetings in November and two in December because we don't want to be at the end of the year and we have a lot of carryovers and board members change, etc. Okay. Um All right. So, I don't we're not going to adopt anything tonight,
right? No, we can we can do it though for for the July 15th July 14th, excuse me, meeting. If you could prepare it um and just circulate to the board the revised, you know, updated calendar, that would be great. And then we could adopt it at our next meeting.
Okay. Thank you so much. Okay. Um moving forward, our first application tonight is calendar 4026-25. The property location is 55 Elm Street. It's Lee and Moo.
Um, and this matter is uh it was carried from April 7th, 2025. Should they start? So, first of all, thank you. Yeah, sure. Wait one second. on.
Is it on I have to hold it right. Okay. Okay. Remember? Thank you. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Um, this is a continuation hearing, right? I just don't know who was here last time. Was everybody here?
No. The only member that was not here was Steve. He was not yet a member. Everyone else was here. Okay. That's it. So, we're continuing. We're not going to be reworn. Well, Mr. Classy, uh, your license
remains in good order. Yes. Okay. So, we'll continue as sworn from the last hearing. Thank you. Okay. So, first of all, thanks for having us and we're really glad to be back. uh my wife who was supposed to be here and uh unfortunately her flight got
cancelled so she got uh stuck in Tokyo and uh so she wouldn't be able to make it and my name is Lee and uh we took all the feedback last time and we've been working with team very closely we made a lot of change and
you know hopefully you know we can get it passed tonight so with all the technical stuff I will hand over to Tim okay I'm going to go right into it. Yes, he was. I guess I'm going to just start with
this. Okay, this is similar to an exhibit that I showed last time, but it's really a new exhibit. So I guess I'd like to call it according to my notes the last exhibit we had marked is A3 and this should be
A4 I believe. Okay. So um on the T on it's a existing streetscape proposed streetscape which is exactly the same as you saw last time and then I added the
zoning tabulations for just F building coverage and lot coverage on the side. What we did is I'll just summarize really quickly that we reduced the F to a variance for 1.59%. Which is 159 square feet. Previously it
was I think 5.35%. We reduced building coverage to 166 square ft which is 1.66% previously was just under four. And we reduce lot coverage
to 3.69 a variance request for 3.69 or 369 square ft. You know this is all happening because the lot is exactly 10,000 square ft. And um where before it was 6.38
and all of this is summarized in that letter that I sent to you that's dated June 11th that I think everybody has. Right. So just so we're clear on on the record. So that the only variances remaining right
now are F lock coverage and building coverage. No. Okay. I'd like you to just take a look at my letter from June 11th. It's like the cover page of go back one. I'm sorry.
Okay, that's the 10. Oh, this always just reminds me of teaching college, you know, looking at everybody's homework. The um you know, we came to the April 7th meeting. We have deleted two variances.
The left side yard setback. See that in my 0.1. And then we deleted the side combined setback. So that that's my 0.1. In point two, we reduced the building coverage variance
from I'm just going to use footage for now. 3 391 square ft to 166 ft. We reduced the lot coverage variance from 638 ft to 369 square ft. And we reduced
the F variance from 535 ft to 159. And remember this lot, this is a 10,000 foot lot. So it's really easy because 559 is like 5.59. Okay. So now we modified two variances,
right? Like reduced them. I'm going to say sideyard setback on the left side and the sideyard set back above 18 ft. Okay. And I guess I would just like to
go to let's see what's on my next page. Go to my next page of that 8 and 1 half x 11 document. Can you just go back one second? Because in number one it says deleted the following left sideyard setback variance
but then on number three it says remained modified sideyard setback left side. I don't know how I did that. Oh, good. It sounds like magic to me, but I'm sure there's a little more to it. I I'll figure it out when I get Maybe it's the additional. I don't know.
It must have been the additional above. Okay. So So set back to 18t of height. The maximum is 12 ft and you're proposing 9.9 ft. Correct. 9.9 is existing and proposed.
Proposed, right? So, combined sideyard is eliminated. Correct. Because you're Okay. Because now we can we're it's a it's required to be 17.5. It's existing at 14.9 and our proposal is 21.9. It's a a
pretty big improvement. And and and what about the side set back above 18 feet? The side set back above 18 feet. I'd like to show it to you in the elevation if I can. Okay. Can you just though just verbally?
I I I really don't know what it is without looking at the elevation. Yeah, we do. I'm just going to go to my sheets, which are exactly the same as your sheets. Go to your BOA 16. Now, what we did here
was our first set was BOA 1 through 10 and these new sheets that you have. Yeah. What sheet was that number? 16 in the in the new documents. If you see a VA1, it's an old document. So, it's the last sheet.
Now, I'm going to I'm on the rear elevation. Okay. On BOA 16. And if I'm on the left side, you can see we come up with our
12 foot required. I hit this 18 ft point and then I go up to the I I penetrate the roof at 15.94. Right? 16 is a required at 32 but at
15.94 is where I penetrated the roof. So the variance request on the left side is 2.54 ft. You see it that little I don't really want to mark this because then I'm going to get
it's this little 2.54 here on the left side. So on your to your revised summary attachment F above side setback
above 18 ft the maximum is 16 ft at 32 you with me Tim um no are you talking about the third variance on yes on okay yes I'm with you yes see that y
and the proposed it says 13.4T 4 feet. Is that correct? No, I don't see that. That's on the right side. That was the proposed is Yeah. Yeah. The proposed is 13.4. So the variance request see it see the
second column from the end on the right side is now 2.54. Right. Okay. That that's the numbers actually um work actually like my math is okay. Yeah. I just want to
I did it one night really late question. I think I think you misspoke. That's why I'm trying to correct you. Okay. Okay. So, it's 13.4 proposed which results in a variance request of 2.54 ft. That's correct. Thanks. That's the left side.
Mhm. Now there we call it the right side because we're saying right from the face of the house but it's really the left side from the rear because I'm looking at the rear elevation right now. That's what that is. Yeah.
Still the right side of the house. It's the right side. Yeah. I'm calling it the left because it's over here on my left. But it's just the rear of the house. Don't let it depends on which that's right. Yeah. Like everything in life. So there must be. Okay. We got this some Seinfeld likes to definitely.
So now if I'm on the right side, you can see our new building coming up at the 12T mark. Right, we pushed our building to the 12T mark. Right there is the spring point where we hit the 18.
Right, that's my 18. And then we start cutting in so that we can get up to 16 at 32 feet. But we actually penetrate the roof at 15.63 ft.
So the variance request on this side really for that dormer is 6.57. Right? it. And that's I wrote that in
that little page two. Yeah. When I did that and I wrote corrected because that is actually corrected. We called it 5.4 before but we were incorrect. Okay.
It's actually 6.57. It hasn't actually changed. it was just really corrected when we really got into this. So I guess I just want to say that these
two variances for sight for site above 18 ft are really you know I don't know I think it's really like that area I guess I just did it. You just did it.
Exhibit. I'm sorry. Like A5. I'm sorry. And is that is that BOA16? Yes. I'm sorry. It's hard to you know, all you do is draw all day. So it's hard to stop. So
anyway, that's what I'm saying. We corrected that variance because it was actually incorrect before. That's that side. But you can see that our primary building is really been shifted. The dark lines that are here,
the dotted dark lines, that's the previous application. And I did that just because I didn't want to do an overlay thing because then I figured this way you could all have it instead of me just flipping an overlay back and forth. But that's the previous application. You
can see we push the building. And then if I come to the side elevation, I guess I would call this the yeah the left side, you can see that we have shortened the length of the building. We have deleted
the dormers. We removed the dormer that was in the front because we thought it was made the building look bigger in the front. And if I'm going to now flip to my BOA 15,
you can see on the right side elevation that we've reduced our building and pulled it back and eliminated those upper dormers. And on our front elevation, we really actually left everything as it was. We
didn't change anything. If I I'm going to go keep going back. I'm gonna go all the way back to my first floor plan. Uh that's my BOA12 sheet. And that's the one that has this sort of summary on it
that I had blown up on the exhibit 4. But on on my BOA12, you can see the outline of the previous building and how we pulled the building back in. And you can see the
previous outline of like there is the deck and the back of the existing building. Right? This building on this side, the width of our building is remained exactly as it is. I guess we could, as you know, we were
just talking about what else could we do to this. We could actually delete the front porch and save some building coverage, but I think the front porch probably really is helpful to the house. The if I come up to my second floor, it's the same thing.
We've pulled away, you know, all of this mass as we went around the building. And I I think that my revised summary attachment F, which is the one that um
that we typed up the second page, is actually a pretty good summary of all of this, right? We took the sideyard set back to 18 high. It is actually is the same side combined. We eliminated
side set back above 18. We reduced on the one side and actually corrected on the other side. Lot coverage we reduced. Building coverage we reduced and the Fred reduced. Okay. If I keep going a little bit, I'd
like to take you to the next page. I'll be done in like five minutes. This is uh a lot that's extremely undersized, right? It's really uh the zoning is a 14,000 foot lot or 14,500
and it's only a 10,000t lot. And it's also true that all the lots are about that in this zone. Okay, I'm not trying to say that this is a peculiar situation down there. But all of those all of this um
this reduced build or this reduced lot area has really affected all of our coverages and affects our setbacks. And I think we have scaled it down and instead of making a full two-story building, we really have a one-story building where
we have the ability to dormer to keep the building itself massed down. We deleted the dormers that were up on the third floor, which uh my owner really wanted for office space on the third floor, but we deleted them so that we could really bring the bulk and mass of
the building down. So, I think we've actually addressed it. The problem with lot coverage with this site is that it's got a detached garage and the detached garage is in the rear of the property and I have a kind of a long driveway and
that's how my lot coverage gets banged up here to 3 point I think it's 3.69 or 369 square ft. That could be corrected a little bit. You know, we could reduce the existing
kind of car and a half garage. It's a sort of a 18 foot wide garage. We could reduce it to 13 feet and pick up about that 160 square feet that were over on building
coverage and also over on F. I think we'd have about a 10- foot F variance and also it would reduce our lock coverage, but um
I don't know. It seems to me that it's a nice place to be able to put bicycles and stuff into the garage and maybe get at least a car into the garage at the same time. This garage isn't big enough to fit two cars. And if I make the garage smaller, I'm just going to end up
probably with my client putting a shed in later or something or leaving the cars outside so that all the the junk can go in the garage. And in a lot of ways, I kind of feel that the garage is a better location for all
of this junk than having it just sitting outside, right? So, I would I think that the variance is relatively minor and the garages detach from the building. So, it doesn't add to the building's bulk even though it gives me the F that we're just
about over in this case. And it pushes me over on building coverage and um lot coverage. And that's uh everything I have for you tonight. I think we tried really hard. We went through a whole series of push back and
forth to try to pull this thing down to get it to the point where it seemed reasonable. Thank you. Do I have any um questions from board members? Yeah. So, uh Tim, last time I think a number of us had expressed some concerns
about the depth um of the house um in particular in relation to the house next door. Um and I think you said you you trim some off the back. So just help help us to understand what the depth looks like. How does it compare in relation to I think I think that um Rob
had asked for some information about the depth of the property relative to other houses in the neighborhood. I don't know if you have that or not. We don't have a lot of information on the neighborhood, but I will say just looking at the neighborhood, I went back through it today. There hasn't been a
lot of work in this neighborhood. Most of the elm work has occurred on the north side of um of Wyoming. So, um when I look at the houses there, there has there really hasn't been a lot
of of work done. We pulled our building back four feet and we pulled it in on the right in left side and we scaled the massing of the building to crank it up so it wouldn't be a long
kind of railroad car look like the one that's immediately to the right. That's the way we handled it. But um this project done from the street look
really no real change to the streetscape. You when I go back and look at the went down the street today. I took a couple of pictures which I can pass around if you'd like to see. I have three photos. I took one at the top in the middle and
below. And it's um it's pretty hard to see into the depth of the lot really. Okay. So it do so how does this proposed um structure compared to the house next to it? It's about 8 ft shorter than the house
next door. Previously it was 4T shorter and now it's another four feet shorter. Okay. And it's lower. Okay. Thanks. It also isn't a straight line. It pulls in twice as we go back. Yep. Okay. Thanks.
When you What side? I just want And talk about the I'm talking about the right side. Now, when you look at the house when when when you say it's 8 ft shorter, you're less in depth in total length in total depth. If I was I if I was back on the house next door. Okay,
I got it. So, it's 8 feet shorter in depth than the adjacent house next door. Yes. Thank you. And that house is the house on the right, Tim, we're talking about. Yes. Okay. Yes. Quick question. Uh, can you talk to me about the front porch? You've got sort
of a gazebo. I don't know what to call it that that currently in. We took that away. So that's going away because you have you have superimposed here. Yeah, because that's the demo layer, right? Okay. But all right. But the porch in terms of F
is contributing still continuing to contribute to the F. The porch isn't in F. It's in building coverage and lot coverage. But since it's open, it doesn't count for F. Okay. So, just building coverage. Yeah. But the We removed that. There's like a little building in front
now. A little octagon building. I don't know if you saw it. We removed that building and you can kind of see it dotted there. We removed it and put this porch on the front. the the um completed it would be the porch like
that on the front of the building. It's about it's about 16 and a half ft long and 5t deep at that point. If I ask one more question. Yeah. How will this house be any taller than the other houses in the neighborhood? It does. I thought there actually has been
some work in the neighborhood when I drove through. There's two houses down. a little bit, but I mean it's not that crazy amount of work that you see on the other side. So, in terms of height, completed height if you No, this is in scale to the neighborhood. Everything is we're not raising the roof. We actually have left the existing ridge. Okay.
And it's not taller. Um it's in the house, right? It's in scale to neighborhood now. question. So you've given um you know you helped us very well in terms of understanding from the previous variants to today's variance just in terms of numbers you're talking about 638
square ft going down to 369 and lot coverage and similarly for building coverage and if you could just you know if you have that handy in terms of where is that reduction coming you said the back is being reduced by 4T so how much square footage is that and then you're adding
in the front so you just you know tie it I'm going to do it for building coverage. So, I'm going to do it on the um my BOA12 sheet, right? Because it's the footprint really. So,
on the rear, that's the four feet going across the back. Then we come this way. It's five feet for that length. So this one, I don't know. I could tell you how big footage wise they are, but I'd have
to kind of figure it. That's what we reduced. And then on the left side or the the right side, I'm sorry. We pulled it in like a foot, stepped it, then came to the old line and then
stopped it sort of about 2 and 1/2 ft short before we got back to where we were. So, we took out all of the space between the heavy line and the build and the building exterior skin line.
No, we did nothing really. nothing to the front. So all that accounts for the reduction from 391 to 166 for the building coverage about 225 square ft. Yes, that's 225 square. That's 225T.
All of that. Okay. Yes. 391 to 166. You know f in terms of f it sort of gets doubled because of the second floor right so the reduction gets doubled there there was a um existing on the
building back on my BOA12 sheet there's a little octagon entry area that's enclosed that's enclosed. We've removed that area. It was was added at some point in time. You know, it was not original. We removed
that area and but then we came and put a front porch in. And I really wanted the front porch because I wanted it to center on this gable that we did so that the building would mass to be more like
that 22 foot width and then the side would sort of recess as like the rendering does. I should that's what we're trying to do. recess this and pull that as the primary elevation
that gets in the building. The front porch is in building coverage. Yes. The reduction must be more than 2.5. No, that was there before in my in the first scheme. So I haven't touched it. So
one more a couple more questions. So there's a patio on grade in addition to a wood deck. There's two sort of extensions exterior extensions. So just a question. That's a question. Is there no a patio on grade and a wood deck? We don't have a patio on grade.
Oh, because it looks like here there may be some old patio. You see 12? Yeah. Let me just look. Show me what you see. Well, I guess I'm wrong. We changed the wood deck to a patio. That's what we did, right? We Yeah, because I can see
now we have the steps. We We had a deck last time and now we made it a patio. Okay. So, there is no deck. There's no way any longer. Okay. Because I was going to say there's an easy way to take some of your coverage, but there's still coverage for because this wood deck here that's shown
on BOA1 is now a patio. Oh, no. We called it a wood p a new patio. Then to the left, maybe that's existing site plan. Oh, that's existing. It's an existing wood deck that we're turning. Okay. Okay. So,
we're removing the wood deck and lowering it down to be a patio. Okay. And is is the patio going to be bigger than the deck? The patio is actually a little smaller because we thought the existing patio or we thought the existing deck was too big. Okay. I could probably tell you.
I'm just looking for some feet for you to decrease some of these. it the the if I wanted to get more footage, it'd probably be best out of the garage. Really? I think really if that's important to us. Well, what's the square footage of the
proposed patio in the rear 176? Okay. And the existing deck is 230. Yeah, the existing deck is 230. Thank you. Anyone else with questions from the
board? Anyone in the audience who has any questions of this applicant or architect? Anyone in the audience who has any comments? I don't see anyone. So, I'm going to close the public portion.
Board members, what do you think? Let let me just remind the board that um there's an F variance here that requires five affirmative votes. So, my recommendation would be to to take two separate votes. One for the F variance and one for the balance of the uh of the
bulk variances. Thank you. I can speak to my opinion. Um, thank you to the applicants for listening to what our requests were, our concerns. Um, I think you gave the application a, you
know, a a decent haircut, um, reducing the bulk, you know, making appropriate revisions. Um, and I appreciate the revised application. Um, I also, you know, weighed your testimony on what you're saying about reducing the garage, uh, you know, shed versus not. Um, I
think based on its location, where it is, and, you know, to the testimony of, you know, the opportunity for shelter it provides for those materials, I I wouldn't advise reducing it in size, but obviously would be curious how my fellow board members feel. So, I like the
application uh, as it's been revised. Yeah, I agree. I feel like you've taken on board a lot of the stuff that was said and when I look at the the drawings now and I look at the sizing on some of the things that remain, I don't feel like they can be squeezed much more. Um,
so I I I think you've done a good job taking things into account. Did have one quick question. Has anything been said to the next door neighbors? Have you done anything to talk to the neighbors about what's going on? And I'm particularly sensitive to this because
57 is going to have things going on on both sides of them. Yeah, we have a track with both sides and 10,000 coming and the reason why we do that. Have you done that or are you planning
to? I did that. Okay. Did you show them plans? Uh, no I did not. 57 is to the left. Then 59. Those people I I could go on. uh just uh agree with
my fellow board members here uh in terms of uh the comments uh that were you know rendered have been taken into account and I'd just add that uh based on the testimony that this is a 10,000 square ft property versus a 14 12 which is for
the zone u seems that that would seem to be a hardship although you did mention that it's not peculiar to this property it's probably more widespread but still it is lower than what's in the zone and it's significantly lower and uh I think the numbers which are at this point uh
invariance clearly but a much lower number but if you kind of extrapolate that for what could have been had the property been right sized for the zone uh most of these would probably disappear so I would be supportive of the application based on the revised numbers
um I'm going to agree with everything my colleagues have said so far this is a very skinny lot and the houses are really close together so I appreciate that you have been modest in your uh revised uh proposal. So, I would be in favor of this application. Yeah, I look I I do appreciate the
changes were made that were made. I I I still am a little bit concerned about the the depth of the house and it's not um this property's uh owner's fault that the next door is also uh goes pretty far back. I'm a little worried about what
would happen in this neighborhood, but um uh you know where you'd get some some tunnel-like view down the down the sides of the houses. I do appreciate that the changes that were made to the to to the plans that would um at least not make it
um kind of like a a block wall uh going back. Um but it is it is a concern to me. I um you know, I think I could support it, but I'm I'm a little bit troubled by that. Um, does someone want to make a motion? Oh, yeah. First, we're let's let's start
with um with the um the F. Would someone like to make a motion? This is again this requires five affirmative votes out of seven. And and who is is there anyone not eligible? Uh everyone will vote except for
Stephen. Okay, thank you. That'll be our seven. I'll move to approve the F variance. Do we have a second? Great. Shandro Horjani, yes. David Bradford, yes. Gary Rosen, yes.
Regina Truit, yes. Beth Saul, yes. Joseph Cfield, yes. Jessica Glenn, yes. Okay. Okay. And then for the remaining variances, do I have a motion?
Motion to approve. Second. Shandrew Harjani. Yes. David Bradford. Yes. Gary Rosen. Yes. Regina Truit. Yes. Beth Zol. Yes. Joseph Kfield. Yes. Jessica Glatt. Yes. Thank you.
Congratulations. Thank you. Thanks. These are yours. Right side. Okay. Um, next up we have right around the corner,
uh, calendar 4035, uh,-25 and the property location is 59 Elm Street. That's like Yeah, it's like we're going to blow it up as much as we can. Uh yeah, you know, we're going to we're
going to take a one minute or two minute break. I have a question. What they do if they wanted to talk to All right. Power trial run. Yep. We're good. We're good. He was concerned about how they were
going to feel nervous. You know what's happen? Thank you. Are you all able to see this or should we bring it a little bit closer too? I think everyone can see it. I can't believe
I was I was told there are a bunch of squeaks to Yeah, this is all plugging in It's not that exciting. It's not exciting. Yep. I have one of those, too.
No. No. I We couldn't afford the quazar. It's definitely over in West Orange. We had more options. We We We went to Corvettes and we got what we got. Corvettes. We were two guys. Two guys. Oh, that that's big time.
That was field trip time. Yeah. Two guys is great. What was that? City bridge. Wood. Yeah. Target
there. It's lit up now. Have you been to Louis lately? No. Really? I was just curious. Is Spencer still going on there? Oh yeah.
We got to go just to say what was the name of the pizza place right next door. There was one. Ky. Yeah. KB Toy and Hobby. That's where I got asked Rockets. Yeah. You do that too. Damn right.
All right. Are we back up? Yeah. All right, everyone on the board good to start. Oh, no. Did that just go off? It just Yeah. Okay. You need to log in and we'll make make sure that every once in a while you'll
move the track. That's a nice plan. Hold on. Hold on. You need like four caff permits. We're putting We're putting in a small pool. Um who's doing the ocean for
We're ready to start with We're We're set. Awesome. Well, good evening and uh thank you very much for your time. Uh my name is Jean Super. This is my wife, Ireina. and we lived uh at 59th Street since basically our kids right before they
started kindergarten. Uh and they just graduated from uh fifth grade in uh in Washington school and this community has really felt like it feels like home for us. Um we love our house and our neighborhood and we want to stay here
long term. Uh and we're here tonight because we want to ask for a modest update. Uh and uh in order to support how our family is really growing and evolving, we have to we have just three bedrooms and our
family has grown to five people since Ireina's widowed aunt now lives with us. Um both Ireina and I work from home from home full-time and right now she's working out of mudroom and I I have a
desk set up in uh on our front porch. Um, and we're true true story. Uh, uh, so we're requesting a modest addition to create space for the proper office uh, and an extra bedroom. Uh, we've kept the
design respectful um, to the home's original character, which we actually really appreciated. We're actually, it turns out, we're the second family that owned this house. It was built in 19 1925 and it's been in the original
family since that time. Um so uh we spoken to our immediate neighbors and everyone we've talked to is supportive of this uh small uh extension. And uh we're actually also in speaking
with our architect uh reducing the lot coverage and using permeable materials that Daniel is going to talk about to help manage runoff. Okay. So we hope to continue growing here as a family and really appreciate your consideration here tonight.
Okay. Um Mr. Super. So what we're going to do is you start giving some testimony after your introduction without being sworn. So, anyone you going to testify tonight too? Maybe. Maybe. All right, you're all in. Raise your right hand. Do you saw me swear or
affirm the testimony you're going to give tonight or have given tonight to this point? Yes. Is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Okay. So, one at a time, state your name and address. 59 Street
Jean Super 59 Elm Street. Same location. Daniel just just Okay. Thank you. I swear. All right. Okay. So, who's are you going to be testifying to? So, so let's let's first uh get your uh
credentials. Give us your uh affiliation, areas of expertise, and licenses in the field of architecture. Great. Uh well, I've been practicing since uh 2001. So that's um good 24 years residential architecture primarily
uh in Short Hills and and the surrounding neighborhoods. I've appeared before this board um numerous times and my license is current and still in good standing. Thank you. Qualifications have been accepted.
Thank you. Uh so like we got an opportunity to say that I I think it's a modest addition. What we're planning on doing is adding six feet to the front of the home. And so I'll take you through the plans, but um the interesting thing
is we do not need a front yard setback variance because the other homes are even as a result of this still going to be a little bit closer to the street than us. Um, and then again the existing architectural style of this home in the 1920s uh looks like a one and a half
story style home. We're going to I use that as inspiration. We're going to pull almost the same aesthetic character and feel that you you see today just six feet out. Um, we are located in R5 zone and like the previous application
they're all slightly undersized lots. We're the shaded area at 59. We're actually 7,500 square feet lot size where the 14,500 is is the minimum required. Also 75 ft
is the minimum width where it's 50 ft. So 25 ft efficient width and there are four variances associated with this application. sideyard setback, but on the left side, which is interesting for us because on the left side, um, well,
the home that it would be affected by us is facing Wyoming. And so there's about 150 ft from our left side to uh the property on Wyoming. So that's the good news. The on the right side, we've got a open ample space. We do not need a
variance for the right side of of the property. Um you could see from the survey, we're talking about the side. Um it's this uh dotted line that is vertical on the property. So uh a third of the house is already in violation. So
it's an existing nonconformity that we're looking to expand uh on for the sideyard setback. The other variance is building coverage, lot coverage, and F. And I'll touch on those in a moment. I'll just like to show you the plans really quickly.
So the ask is to expand the family room six feet to towards the front to relocate the front porch. So we maintain that because they love that space. Create a small foyer mudroom vestibule. So about 4T
4 and 1/2 ft for to just pull the door a little bit from the staircase and give Irene a small office on the on the first floor. That's the extent of of the first floor edition. The second floor, well, in addition to adding, we have
these uh well, it was a three-bedroom, two- bath house. I guess the bedrooms didn't have any closet, so we're looking to steal some space to add the closets in the back bedrooms. Take the bedroom number three, modify it so we can get a hallway that'll take us to the primary
bedroom. our primary bedroom although it looks big in plan I think because the other rooms are small. It's 13 and a half by 13 and a half. So modest size but still nice size uh bedroom. And then the office to the
left will also function as their closet. So it won't be like ideal but it was great for them. We didn't need a certainly a closet that big. So they're going to have a little desk in the front window and they'll they'll share a a closet in the bathroom. it was existing.
So that's the extent of the project and then I'll just show you architecturally how it kind of comes together. I think more exciting than that is maybe looking at so these are pictures photographs that you do have of the existing front of the house. Uh so we see the front porch and we have these
two gables that look like um one and a half stories and um we proposed something similar. Again, we're just going to come six feet forward. So the we're matching the roof lines, the style, the the vernacular
that exists. So very comfortable. It'll sit very comfortably on the lot. Um, so one of the things that let me talk about lot coverage. So one of the things that we were existing non-conforming and lot coverage we were pretty big.
Existing is 3,626 and we've made a 300 as a result of all this. We still made a 300 foot uh reduction in our lot coverage and we did that by removing by removing the front walkway which we
actually have two of them. We have one on the left side. Sorry, it's very faint. Um, one on the left side that most people take when they park on the street, they'll they'll travel up this this walkway. Um, they don't need this one. So, we decided,
okay, we could eliminate the stairs and the front walkway, save some lock coverage, and then since they do not use the garage to park a car that often. So, we will eliminate all that black top and we're going to introduce a permeable, it's not even a
paver, it's a permeable hexagon plastic device uh that I spoke to Martha, she they love this material. I I meant to get some cooler images of it, but it's basically like a a black mesh, honeycomb mesh that you could infill it with soil
and you could go grass and drive on it. So, that'll be if and when we ever need to access the garage for a car, you could. But in the meantime, we'll get back the improper coverage. We'll pick up some backyard space. So, it'll take it be a positive for them and and for
the neighbors and certainly for our variance application. Building coverage, again, an existing non-conforming situation. Currently, the house is at 1,578 square ft of building coverage.
Proposed, we're going to increase it by 187 square ft of building coverage. Brings us to 23.3%. allowed is uh 18% 1,350. So at the end of the day at the the
property be up 400 ft over what's allowed. But one of the things we try to do on building coverage and all the other variances as a matter of fact is try to keep it within the R six criteria as as a guide for us. So uh we're at
23.3% and the R six is 23%. So, I felt like, well, that's a reasonable place to be. And as a result of the building coverage, 125 square feet is the front porch. So, again, that's to promote the
aesthetic character, obviously, the all the benefits of having a front porch, you know, the neighborhood security and temporary offices out there. Um, then we get to F. That one is
proposed is 2,681. Maximum allowed is 2,250 and that's at 30%. We're seeking 35.7%. Um, and then the R six is the 35%. So,
um, we felt comfortable kind of using the R six as our guide. And really quickly, I'd like to just show you because I think it's what makes this this property unique and special and and I feel like the variances certainly the
property can handle the additional F and all the other variances that go with it specifically because how it's cited. So again, three of the adjoining neighbors all face Wyoming, so their properties were very well hidden from them. And because
we haven't encroached any further on the neighbor on Elm, I feel like that's a positive. And so a little bit of the streetscape, so we'll fit I mean I I think at the end of it you no one will really notice like what happened here.
Um and then Hey Dan, are these Yes, sir. Are these all No, this is a new slide, right? Okay. Thank you. So, why don't we Is this one Is this one sheet or is this multiple sheets?
There's two sheets attached to this. Okay. So, well, I thought that you have this one, right? I did colorize it a little bit. Just Why don't we Yeah. Scroll down, please. Any anything that we that is not in the application packet. Okay. Let's mark.
Okay. Okay. So, is it solely comprised of this uh photo board? Yeah, photo board. So, we're going to call it A1. Okay.
Photo board of photo four photographs. And did you take those photographs? Three of those I took. One is a Zillow image. Okay. The one the three that you took, when did you take them? Last week. Okay. And they accurately depict the conditions that you saw with your own
two eyes. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Uh and the bottom right picture, this is from the standing at Wyoming looking down Elm and uh you can't see uh the Supra's house at
all. It's very well screened. Um, so again, no negative impact to the neighbor neighborhood that promotes uh updates to modernize the house. I didn't see any. Why don't you can you show on the bottom right hand photo where the house is
cited? Approximately. I wish I could since you can't see it. It's probably back to show some relevancy to the photo. This line somewhere back in there. Where? Where? Oh, sorry. This black line, I think if it was
to be to be seen, it'd be back here. Yeah. If I look at um Yeah, I think behind the actually Yeah, right. right right at this where the these mature trees, these arborites end. I think that's the
beginning of of the front. Yeah. Thank you. So, just lovely things I could say about the addition. Um, update and modernize the home. I think it uh
will certainly enhance the streetscape, not take away. We get to reduce lot coverage. It already has mature every green screening. The front yard seck will still be beyond the average. So um being
very sensitive to to the neighbors and that would like again we were sensitive to design to the criteria of an R six. So um we feel like the the house could and the property could handle the additional massing and we won't change the height. So it's
currently 32 ft to the peak. It'll stay 32 ft and that's our application. Any questions from the board, Dan? So, so you mentioned that the house is going to come out about six feet closer to the curb. Yes.
And that the average in the neighborhood is um uh has a smaller setback. Um the house next to it to the to the right, which is probably about to get construction and stereo. How does that
how does the setback compare to that house? Uh the 57 is at 32.8, so we're going to be at 33.1, so we'll still be um well farther back, but not not much. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay, got it. Um just in in in the current formation of the house, how many bedrooms and baths? Thank you. Uh upstairs there's three bedrooms, two baths. Yeah. So then we'll have four bedrooms, two baths.
Okay. Yeah. All right. Great. Thank you. Uh just following up on Gary's. How did you arrive at the setbacks for the um down the block? Um we did a couple things. One, we take uh we stand at the curb with a laser and then I walk you
walk each house at the curb and then I subtract the the right of way line from that. So make this be the average. GS. Are doesn't a surveyor usually do that? Surveyors can't do that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, are you allowed to do that? Yeah. I mean,
use mine. Yours is mine. This That's mine. Yeah. Turn yours off. There you go. Thank you. Sure. Thank you for taking care of that. Sounds like a spaceship. When you measure to the curb line though, we're looking for boundary though, right? Yes. So, then there's the the right of way line. So, everybody has the same
right away line. So once I uh get this house as a from the curb once I establish like the dimension from right 59 then I make the subtraction. So I do the same deduction for everybody. So you have a plus minus distance in
that uh within inches. Yeah. Okay. Not feet. Sure. So uh before proceeding forward uh we had lengthy conversation with Stephen and
Tan the neighbors from 57 were close uh we help each other during hurricanes and power outage etc. So, um, I had probably, you know, a 30 minute plus conversation with Stephen to make sure that and we roped off the area just he
asked me questions. Uh, I basically detailed everything. Uh, I offered to show the plans to him and asked is there any concerns whatsoever? His answer was no. So, and that's a neighbor. It's 57.
57. Yes. That's your guy David. Yeah. Obviously, you know, it's really important to us to make sure that we continue to stay good neighbors. I also talked to the neighbors neighbors on Wyoming and then the neighbors across the street from us as well.
He's on the other side. Any other questions? Quickly, could you tell me a little bit more about the driveway, the mesh that's going to go on the driveway? And does that if with you using this substance, does that take it out of building coverage or f any of the coverages that you were getting?
Uh, that reduced our lot coverage. It it reduced the lot coverage by making it this mesh. Yes. Do you have a photograph other, you know, before I came I I went online, but it what I do have is this black and white image. Um, yeah, we I could probably go on my search. It's
probably still there. Um but yeah, it's a honeycomb mesh. It's really cool. Um it's a black honeycomb mesh that's um about an inch tall and then you you could fill it in with top soil and growass. Okay. How is how is it affixed to the ground? What keeps it from
just set it sits right on the ground. Sits on the ground. It doesn't move and you won't slide off if there's like a big raintorm. I mean, I don't think I think if you use it a lot, you probably kill the grass and then you'd see the mesh. So I think it's it's it's more of a it's not a everyday let's use it every day
item. Um and also one one one of the things that's like where on the slope obviously so when there's significant rainfall there's water that runs both down street but also over the
backyard. So a big thing for us in doing this and all the consideration was, you know, how do we absorb a little bit more of this water already planted, you know, more than 15 trees on the property? Uh, and we thought, you know, we're kind of inspired if you've seen
like the, uh, what is it called when there's kind of like the bricks with some driveways, you know, have, you know, like either artificial turf in between the tracks or like the crisscross pavers with. So we're trying to do something like that but maybe a little bit more you know
effective and innovative. So that's how this idea came about. So we're really trying to make a little bit more positive impact when all this you know uh is happening and right now it's obviously just you know as black
whatever it is and it just runs down you know 57 55 and down the streets. Hopefully some of this will absorb Um, thanks for the testimony about the home is from 1925, I think you said. Um, I believe you're not in the Wyoming
Historic District. Um, but when you uh, I guess extend it forward, then it'll be those front windows and the look that will be replaced. But is the, you know, it's a little bit hard to tell and obviously the the renderings look, you know, more modern. Will the intention be to sort of keep it I don't know if
you're keeping it the same colors or not but um but just to keep it looking similar to the you know the look and feel today. Yeah. I think the only thing that we've lost was the exposed chimney from the front. Otherwise the uh proportions and
character uh stay um and that's why the front porch was also a very important um element to to to keep How do you maintain the um honeycomb situation? I think I know you've I mean
just like if it's like grass pave I mean we've seen some really poorly maintained grass pave around town. So like can you mow it or Yes, you're supposed to. Yeah. I think that's how you maintain it. I think if you use it a lot then that you'll kill the grass and you'll see the honey cold.
So, um I I don't think it's expected to be an active driveway. And so, for sure, for sure. I don't know how often he's ever pulled apart. Yeah. I don't think they pull a car back there once. Yeah. So, I was going to also ask then how how often are like do you not keep
the car parked in the garage? No, I I I parked the medium in there one time that I that I changed the oil during storm. Okay. Yeah, they never Yeah. So, I think it was um
Yes, it could be that or it could be maybe some cher tracks, but again I know when I I I showed this to because I didn't even know if it was an allowable substitution and when I showed it to Martha, she loved it. She thought it was she she you know, she really
liked that product. Any other questions from I'm gonna focus on that a little bit because my thought is you're on a slope and I'm worried about that mesh like sliding into your neighbor. Oh no, there's no like significant slope
to the right. Well, there are pavers like on the sides of the driveway. So from my understanding is that mesh is going to be a bit lower than those. So it gets kind of sandwiched and then the grass gets inside.
So, it can't like slide down because it can't go past this side. It's plastic. Yeah. I don't know. But I certainly I never used it before and I presented to Martha because I didn't know if he could get a credit for such a thing. And so I
don't have experience with, but she said that she loved it. So love with it. our intent. I wouldn't Yeah. And our intent so so there's um on both sides of the driveway there are the
pavers that go up about 4 in. Um so our intent is actually to keep those pavers. So even if there is like a lot of water, right, then my understanding like early on until the grass has an opportunity to
grow in those pavers are what's going to prevent anything, you know, kind of sliding away, but they will stabilize the unless I misunderstood something. I I never installed it. I I I didn't
even go deep dive like you're going into how do you install it and stabilize it. I don't know. But uh um that would be I guess a means and method kind of like I don't know if the manufacturer would give you some advice or not to say we
should secure this with like a real I don't know railroad tire something. I'm sure there's probably stakes like some a stake. I'm sure there's stakes that you know anchor it to the ground but again I don't know the means and methods. Right. Right. like a sunken cement or something underneath just a extra security that it wouldn't slide
off and some one of those bad storms like we had this afternoon. Have you given any thought um to if the property changes ownership and then someone is using that garage on a regular basis? No. Uh other than the next sensitive
thing would be okay. you can install like just where the tires would go. And we looked at that, but there's like this little curve uh to the to the to get in. It's not a straight shot. So, I was like, well, that will, you know, you had to like be super super careful. It's not a straight shot.
Um, you see the curve to it. So, I could do tire tracks here, but, you know, be like that would be a game. It wouldn't work out well. So, I figured let's just cover this whole area with this material. I mean, I think the
expectation, some people do, some people do pull them out, but most people don't. But I know I hadn't thought of that. Any other questions? I'm just This is probably stating the obvious, but the reason you're going with this mesh is so that you can not
add to your coverage. I just pushed them to say, "Look, let's get back. We don't We're going to ask gas ask. How do we get back?" So, obviously the the walkway was a nice idea. This was like a great idea. Yeah, it's a good compromise as long as it um stays. Would um let me ask
attorney, would someone they sell the house 25 years from now, could the new um owner pave that over without a variance? So, would they have to come to us? Would they even know they need a variance? um that's up to the board. In other
words, if the board stated hypothetically that they were granting a variance for lock coverage based in large part due to the testimony and the exhibit depect depicting this
rubberized mesh that allows grass to grow. uh based on the testimony that the area will be used infrequently that if that the board could impose a condition that should the property change hands in ownership that as to the lock coverage
variance that they'd have to return to the board and you know for an explanation as if they're going to change the the duration of the usage of that area it would be very totally uninforceable Could I just ask
are you I just answer I'm here to answer the questions. Are you adding any law coverage? Is there any additional law coverage? Yeah, with the addition in the front is okay.
No, we've reduced it a total of 297 square ft. Okay. Uh from what existed, but obviously I'm taking a credit for the driveway. I'm taking a credit for the front walkway. Okay.
Sorry, I'm zooming. I'm going down the rabbit hole on this one. What is the lifetime of the of the plastic mesh? I don't I didn't do much. I know. That's why I'm asking. Does the manufacturer have a information about the lifetime of it? I could do some homework for you, but
again, all I did was say to Martha, "Would this work? Do you like it?" She said, "I love it." And so, here I am. But I I didn't go further than that. And the reason you don't just do grass is That's a good question. Um,
you would be able to drive on it, right? Would be able to drive on it, but I'm not sure how much you're going to be able to drive on. It depends on I think it's rated. I mean, it's definitely an approved It's not It's all here. Yeah, it's definitely an approved uh
surface for vehicles. Um, so obviously there's got to be a way to construct it that it doesn't move around. It's not temporary device. So I'm not sure how to ease your worries about it um other than you know
installed as per manufacturers guidelines. But to your point if someone wanted to um increase your previous coverage they'd have to ask but then you'd have a hard time saying need access right can I mean just
just bear with me. I your your detail shows how the this thing is installed. Yes. All right. So, it's installed over a compacted soil and then probably 6 in of 8 in of stone. So, it's probably knocked down there 3/4 in of everything else. I
mean, this is a pretty substantial thing. That's why you're able to drive a car on it. So, your detail does indicate how it's installed and it's pretty substantial. Thank you. Can can can I can I now he's he's allowed to make his
comments as a board member. Um couple questions. How many square feet is comprised of this mesh material? Knew you can ask me that. Okay. But I wasn't ready for you. I can tell you that in a minute. 373
square Okay. And it is intended to be used or intended to have vehicles go over it. Correct. Yes. If needed. When you say if needed.
Well, it's designed for vehicles. So, yes. Okay. Um and the car the garage can house at most one vehicle. Yes. Is it what are the dimensions of the garage
23 15 about 384 square ft. That's big. Um, so it has the ability to have two cars. No, no,
you couldn't fit two cars in there. One nice, not two. Okay. Um, This product is uh sorry I'm just going to ask a question. Is that okay Rob if I a question. Okay. I don't know if you were I don't want to cut you off. I'm just reading. You're thinking. Okay.
I mean this product is like has a patent and is is being sold and is it has installations, right? It's not like a brand new we're trying something out sold at Treps Marketplace, right? No, this is Yeah, it's approved for uh ve vehicular
access and driveway and parking. Okay. Yeah. And I mean, I'm seeing it's got load. It's got, you know, 58,000 pounds per square feet. you know, the honeycomb cell. Like, it it seems like the technology has got to be there. And the fact that it gets it gets embedded, there's soil in it, and then sod planted
on. It's not just like laying on top of the grass and waiting for the the the grass to grow in. It sounds like you you'll have to tear up the asphalt and actually plant it essentially, right? Okay. So, so, so one of reason I was just pausing there is that, you know,
the board could simply consider a variance for an additional what was it 300 and some odd square feet of imperous coverage, but grant it based on the representation of the applicant that they're going to install this this
honeycomb system, right? Or you could andor you could impose a condition that says that um you'll continue to have it installed for the its lifetime per the manufacturers's
recommendation that when it exceeds its useful life etc that you'll replace it. That's another way to do it. ask. Um first of all any other questions from board members. So this was uh the 373 square ft right?
Yes. And then your application basically the lot coverage is up by 297. So where's the difference? 77. No we reduced it 297. Reduction from existing to proposed is a less.
So this 373 counts towards that reduction. Yes. So, where is the difference between 297 and the 370? It's so all over the place. It's uh because we did an addition to the front. Um, you know, all
th this this box is basically new, right? So, this counts as building coverage and lot coverage. Uh, we had to account for this, but then we had to subtract out that. So, let me see if I have a table here. Yes, this is our uh
This is our table uh of what existing to propose and and we kind of so exactly where it is. We'd have to backtrack, but the garage stays the same. AC units stay the same. It's part of the overall
So as I'm seeing through line by line, it's sort of small changes in each of those line items. which is what is adding up to that difference. Yes. So if we add back in the three 373 we we come out to impervious
coverage of 372. Um then if we wanted to ask for the variance for the right you can ask for the variance for the differential but again mitigating condition would be that the applicants
representing that they're going to install this PA paper system. The other thing to keep in mind just in response to to Stephen's point, which is a good one, is that sometimes we impose conditions on approvals of variances because obviously first thing you're
trying to do is you're trying to mitigate any potential detrimental impact for granting the variance. That's number one. Number two is you have plenty of circumstances where you impose conditions and one of the reasons why
you want to impose a condition is that you're concerned about neighborhood impact. And guess what? If there is an impact, if the neighbor all of a sudden has a problem, for example, with runoff and they're like, "What's going on with my neighbor?" And you know, this is 20 years from now and they look up the
resolutions like, "Oh, wait a second. they were supposed to maintain this area and they didn't. And then that gives them, you know, in essence some good leverage to to seek an improvement to make things better for the neighborhood, which is what the goal is of the
condition or a goal of the condition. So anyway, down the rabbit hole again. Are you going to need a special contractor to put this in? I mean, not not that I've looked at the website or anything. Just wondering if you need a special contractor and drainage and all of that to make sure that it's and will our team
at the engineers and the drainage people all have a say so in this? Well, it'll definitely go to engineering for their review to determine if they want a grading permit, right? Or drainage issues to make sure that this because it is relatively new
materials for our township. I think they're probably going to look at ground disturbance more so than drainage. I don't know soil or anything. Yeah. So, will you need a will you need a special contractor for this construction of this?
Uh you would need someone who's got some experience for sure who's done this before. You have done it before. You I have not. You would want to hire someone who's done it before. Is it paid now? It is paid now. And there is there is a drain which we
intend to keep that is within I would say about 10 ft from the garage takes the run off onto the street. That is going to stay. Yes. Quite helpful.
Dan switching tax. I see you're also looking for a floor area ratio variance. We are. Um, obviously one of the attachments was your tax map. Was that one of your attachments in your thing or we have Well, yeah, you have to have a tax.
Yeah, but it's taken from the tax map, right? Yeah, that's the engineer provides. Yeah, but it just it shows that this lot is one of the smallest ones in the block. Right. That's what I was trying to get to. It absolutely is. I think there's one more smaller at the far end of the I don't even know if it was listed, but
bottom of Yeah. Yeah, the northeast corner of the block has a couple of small lots. We've worked with those before, but this is a very small lot. So, that would explain why with a modest addition, you're looking for a floor area ratio variance. And the hardship of the detached garage
being F building cover. Correct. A long driver to get there. Yes. Correct. Any more questions from the board? Any questions from the audience? Any comments from the audience? I'm going to close the public portion
because I don't see or hear anyone. Um, so can I get some comments from board members? Let me just remind everyone just like the last application that it was an F variance and so we'll be treating that separately and that requires five
affirmative votes. I'll go first, Jessica. Um, I like the fact that you're doing it in the front. That's where you've got the room. Um, I did see your desk when I went by the photo. Yeah, it's in the photo. Um,
I I think that we should do this with a condition that this that the piece of the driveway is being that the piece of the driveway that is currently impermeable when it's that it be removed and replaced with a per an a permeable
type of substitute and that it remain a permeable space going forward. I don't know about restricting it to this same technology is is the right answer because you know when whenever this wears out and all our
driveways wear out whatever it is um at that point there may be a better product around this might not be available anymore there's all sorts of stuff like that for reasons not to want it to be restricted to the particular product um but keeping it as permeable space I
think is the right way to go on Sure, I can go. Um, you know, I think I I really appreciate Thank you for um including the R six zone. I think that was actually probably the most helpful part of reviewing the application for me. Um, because the lot size, although in R5 really it's helpful to see how it
speaks, you know, if it were to be in an R six zone, which is, you know, sort of the adjacent zone, just downhill. Um, so that really helped me just sort of put it into context. Um, and yeah, I think um, you know, asking for the, you know,
the expanding the existing non-conforming, you know, sideyard setback is is what you're, you know, is is an acceptable, I guess, as acceptable as think something can be in my mind. So, um, yeah, I I like the application.
I'll go next, if that's okay. Um, the reason I mentioned floor area ratio is because we historic, well, not historically, but we are in the not in the habit of granting it without thinking about it because it really impacts the neighborhood moving forward. This is the second one that we've had in
Wyoming actually where the the lots are so small that whatever change you make dramatically impacts what we consider I believe what I consider a dramatic impact on the floor area ratio. Um, in this case it looks to be what you're doing is rather modest, but again
because you're on such a small lot, the impacts are great as far as coverage and especially floor area. That being said, I think it's actually tastefully done and designed. Uh, I could be supportive of the Floria ratio variance and the entire application. I agree with the comments of my
colleagues. I'm I'm not going to uh uh go any further. So, thanks. Nothing further to add. Oh, agree with that. I met the homeowner this afternoon when I got by. I was going to say, "I love your neighborhood. I think you've done a great job in modifying this property to
meet the homeowner's needs in a tasteful way that maintains the property itself and um the historic um relevance of it and also the neighborhood. So, kudos to you and kudos to coming up. I actually think this is a cool idea to maintain to get away with some coverage and still be
able to use that part of your property for your car. Thank you for going down the rabbit hole with me and maintaining it. There are in the website there are a lot of instructions about how to install it properly and I'm sure your contractor will consult that. I like the idea of having the condition of maintaining this
space as a permeable um space um in perpetuity to maintain the drainage there in that neighborhood. So I would be in favor of this application with that condition. Um so so I agree with my uh colleagues. I'll say when I first saw the ask for a
5.7% variance, you know, for floor area ratio um you know, especially given that we're just dealing with a similar ask, you know, originally um for a house on this street. I was like um but I think when you go over to the house and you see
what um you know where the um you know the increased square footage is coming from it it's really more about a number and a percentage than it is about over massing um where you know I'm concerned that this is going to affect the
character of the neighborhood. And then as Joe said, if you, you know, then um also factor in that this is like an extremely extremely undersized lot for the neighborhood, you know, it's kind of the perfect storm for why you would be coming before us, you know, to ask for
that, you know, the extent of that, you know, variance. Um, I do have some issues with the proposal. I I want to call it grass pave, but I know that it's not whatever it's called. Um we have we have approved um you know these these
kind of surfaces in the in the past. Obviously not this exact one if Martha is saying that it's you know brand new and she loves it. Um but you know I mean you can drive around town and they look they don't look so great. Um so I do
think that if we are going to approve this it would be important to um kind of craft the motion in a way that um you know that this has to be maintained. Um Ralph help me out here with what what else we could
I'm going to help out here. Thank you. So, you know, the one thing that you don't want to do, and the struggle with these proposals that are certainly well-intentioned always, and they do what you want them to do, which is to reduce impervious coverage, but what you don't want to have happen is
all of a sudden have applications coming in for the next five and 10 to 10 years where you have a detached garage and everyone wants to use this material for the entirety of their driveway. And it's not a 15 foot wide. I thought you said
15 foot long. That was my mistake. 15 foot wide garage, but it has a three or fourc car garage. And now you, you know, you have this material that you're, you know, potentially setting a precedent even though each application stands on its own. So I think here you have some
unique circumstances. You have only 373 square feet. It's towards the rear. you have David's condition um that it always maintained to be a permeable space uh in the future and you have representations
of the applicant for a onecar garage that it's used incredibly infrequently. So I think that all those items together um that would be included in the resolution um could certainly support a variance grant if you were so inclined
to do so. with those comments slashcond conditions. Really good point. Excellent. Okay. Well, with that being said, let's start um with the um F and would someone like to make a motion? Make a motion to approve the F component
of the application. I'll second. David Branford. Yes. Shandrew Horjani. Yes. Gary Rosen. Yes. Regina Truit. Yes. Beth Soul. Yes. Joseph Cfield. Yes. Jessica Glatt.
Yes. Um Okay. Would someone like to make a motion but with um some of the conditions that we have discussed for the uh remaining variances but you know
in particular uh with a lot coverage variance um and this material that's being used. So take a go at it. Motion to approve uh all the other uh variances other than the F.
Fair. with with the conditions with the conditions that we just talked about the ones that the the ones that were stated in the record just moments ago. Okay. As stated in the record moments
ago. I have a second. I'll second it. David Bradford. Yes. Shandrew Harjani. Yes. Gary Rosen. Yes. Regina Truit. Yes. Beth Zol. Yes. Joseph Kfield. Yes, Jessica Glatt.
Yes. Going to keep that desk. Yeah, I'm I'm going to let me just hang on one second. Let me just make an announcement. Okay, so the the next application is uh calendar 4036-25.
The location, property location is 45 Wordssworth Road. We have two uh board members who are going to be recusing for this. Joe Cfield and Beth Zall. Okay, you guys can Oh, you're not recusing. I thought you
were recusing. What? You're not within two feet. You're not within two feet. It's not a It's not a You're not within two. I'm not within. Then why are you recusing? Oh, I thought you were recusing. Okay, I might got that wrong then. Okay.
Okay. You too. I know. I know. I know. I know. It is. Yeah, that was no Only time
for emergency. That was the worst decision. you know, yeah. It's like, oh, it's great. And then you look around town and they're like, oh, we approve that. Like, it looks
You all set? Okay. That's the thing. Okay, we're going to get started. You could proceed. So, wait. First, should we Who do we want? Hold on. Just give me a second. Hang on.
Okay. So, who do we have here? We're not going to swear yet. Okay. Architect. You're the architect. Okay. And everyone intends to testify on some level maybe. Okay. Everyone raise their right hand.
You saw me. You saw me swear or affirm the testimony you're going to give tonight the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Okay. One one at a time. Name and address please. Thank you. So are we starting with you guys just giving a little introduction?
Yeah, we'll give introduction. Um so um thank you all for being here. Um, my name's We lived in uh short house for 10 11 years. Uh, when we started and bought the house, we
had two kids. We have a third and uh have a need to expand to it's a threebedroom right now. We really use another bedroom. So my old musician lovely child that'll be in the record by the way when
he looks at it 20 years from now. So we're looking to build over the garage and um for that extra bedroom. Um, and I I mean pull down a little wall in the kitchen, but for the most part, it's just this this one area we're
trying to keep really um tight with with what we want to do. I have spoken to my neighbors who live on that side where we're building. Um uh because right now we don't have any windows. Uh our bedroom is is above the
garage right now or like to the side and we have no windows there. Um building. They intentionally did not put windows there because um there isn't a lot of space and I talked to my neighbor and that was their only concern. Just as long as we're not looking each other's
bedroom, they were comfortable. So uh we have spoken to many of our neighbors, they're all fine with it. I think I was just concerned with um right next We we need to get your qualifications if if you're going to testify. Yes.
Okay. So, why don't you uh provide your um affiliation, areas of expertise, and licensing in the field of engineer of architecture, excuse me. Okay. I'm a registered architect in New York, New Jersey, Florida and I'm a junior
from Colombia from the country of Columbia as well. Uh I do have a lot of experience in residential, commercial and healthcare projects been working since 2022 in the in the states
usually in New York state. Now like we are like working five or six years ago in the US as well. And your license in New Jersey is in good standing. Yes, all of them. My license are in good standing.
Okay. Thank you. Okay. You can you can proceed. Okay. So, the whole variance is a the whole house compliance with all the requirements. The only thing is that the combined sideyard
is a is an existing that is not is in not compliance. And the whole idea is we are going to raise the second floor where we're going to extend the house. I'm going to show you the project. We just want to bring the pretty much the existing walls up to the
second floor in the in the garage. So we are doing some minorations inside the house area one partition on the first floor second floor as I said the whole idea is
the house right now the second floor stops here so that is just all over the area. So in that way we can move the primary bedroom used to be here. So we move it to the new section and create an extra bedroom on this side.
When we see the exterior elevations, you can see here the what we are demolishing. That is pretty much the roof of the garage. And what we are proposing is just extending the wall like going straight out. So the house is going to
be like we're gonna have more as a symmetry of the house instead of having like let's say like a scarf on this side. the house would have to have uh we consider that this is going to look way much better the house in the in the neighborhood as we said it's an
existing confirmed condition and it's just one wall as said we are not proposing any windows there is just towards the front so you're not going to be affecting the neighbor the neighbors a short thank you
presentation it's not that much of What we're asking for is just the combined as I said I can show you the so the
at the building wall where is the the combined sardars is we have a 35% require 95.9 I'm sorry 33.57 ft of combined side yards and the
existing is 32.9 we asking to maintain that any questions from board members. Yeah, the the um the construction over the existing building that existing the
garage existing building will support a second story because a lot of times a lot of times that's not the case. Um we need to open up the the ground to see what is the actual uh Yeah, because you might not have you might not have the right kind of foundation for for a second story. Okay.
So, you don't know that yet, right? Okay. I know that's a building department issue, but I know what you're saying. Just a a clarifying question. So, um and this is a twocar park garage, right? And how far on that side of the garage
is the neighbor's property? The distance this is the neighbors 14.33 to the sideyard. And this is Uh right now it's 16.74 and we are maintaining that 16.74. So it's 30 30 ft distance. Okay. And
without a window on that side as you mentioned. Gotcha. Gotcha. Thank you. Any other questions? Um, I'll put it on the record that there's no one in the audience to ask questions or give comments. Um, so I
think we can close the public portion and um Oh, are you here to give a comment? I'm so sorry. I thought you were with your Okay. Okay. Um, so I think we could close the public portion and move to our own comments. Um, I'm just going to start here by saying that,
you know, occasionally we get an application where it's like the house is literally asking for the work to be done. And I really do think that in this case aesthetically, like this house needs this done um for, you know, for
the balance. I think anyone who went out there to, you know, see the house, I think that this is going to be um, you know, a tremendous improvement. And actually when you put it up on the screen like that where you just do the little flip where you know where it just appears you're like oh that's that's the
way it should be. Um so you know I think that this is a you know a very reasonable ask. I'd be happy to um grant the request. So yeah I I totally agree with that and um I I just the house looks uh it's very pretty house but it's very out of balance right now on the right side. So,
you know, as as the chairperson says, I mean, this this house is asking for this application. So, uh I'm fully supportive and agree with the comments of my fellow board members. I think this is uh this is a good addition and uh also I think
the variance is uh very small. Uh so from that perspective too and plus the distance between the neighbor adjacent property is also fairly uh uh large. So I could be supportive as well. Just going to echo everything. Um, only thing I would add is there's actually a
house really close to yours that will be very similar to this. So, I think this fits completely in the neighborhood. Your modifications are great. Actually, I think the garage was probably added later if I had to guess to the original house because it really does look like Oh. Huh. Looks like Yeah. So, I agree this is a great application. I'd be in
support of it. I'd just say that the the neighborhood has several other houses that are basically the same structure and we may see them coming down the block after they see what what what you've done. Would someone like to make a motion?
Motion to approve. I'll second. David Bradford. Yes. Shandra Harjani. Yes. Gary Rosen. Yes. Regina Tru. Yes. Steve Cohen. Yes. Jessica Glette. Yes. Um again, there's no one in the audience
to um speak on any matters unrelated to, you know, the things that we've discussed at tonight's meeting. So, would someone like to make a motion to adjurnn? So, moved. All in favor? I Oh, that we got a second from Regina. All in favor. Great.
Happy 4th of July. Happy 4th of July. Happy 4th. So 12:50 in my mind.