Uh, I'd like to call to order the uh regular meeting of the Mars Township Board of Adjustment for June 23rd, 2025. The legal notice required in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act has been satisfied in a statement certifying same will be executed. Please join me in
the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Miss Santiago, roll call. Mr. Trackbert,
I'm sorry, Mr. Trackumber here. Mr. Goldberg here. Miss Polara here. Miss Simmons here. Mr. Binois here. Mr. Kramer here. Mr. Woodford here. Mr. Boy here. And Mr. Ola here. and Santiago
here. Okay. The first item of business is the resolution uh BA-08-25 SLOC acquisitions. Mr. Elder. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a memorializing resolution for the application filed by
Slock Acquisitions LLC to apply to the board for final major subdivision approval for property at 9 Spring Brook Road. that final is in full conformance with the preliminary major subdivision approval previously granted by this
board. Um so it was as reflected in the resolution it was the application was granted subject to uh the conditions you see here which essentially carry forward any remaining conditions from the preliminary. Okay. Thank you. Any
questions about the resolution? If not, I'll entertain a motion to approve the resolution. Motion to approve. Second. Thank you, Miss Santiago. Roll call. Mr. Goldberg. Yes.
Mr. Trackenberg. Yes. Mr. Venmo. Yes. Mr. Kramer. Yes. Mr. Woodford. Yes. So move. Okay. Next, we're moving on to the public hearings. Uh we're going to jump out of order and take um the BA-17-23
the uh Euing application. Mr. Yes. So Mr. Chairman, as the board's aware, not all the parties who had to be at this hearing for Mr. Euing's application were available this evening. So um we are going to adjourn this
matter this evening. Um, we just check that uh we have time from the applicant to hear the application through July 31st. Um, I know from speaking with Mr. Brady that he is not available at the July
meeting. Um, so um, since we only have time to hear it through July 31st, I'm going to suggest that we schedule it for the July meeting date, which is July 28th. Um and during that time I'll get a further extension from Mr. Brady and
we'll then at the July meeting we will um reschedu this for the August 25th hearing. Okay. And if we do not get an extension from Mr. Brady, then we would I would recommend to the board that we dismiss the application
without prejudice. And all he would need is a letter to the board to ask for reinstatement. Correct. Okay. Any questions, board members? Just to comment, I will miss the 25th of August. Okay. I'm going to be in Tampa. August.
August 25th. Yeah. Not that that should hinder us, but I am one of the This is I think you want people who've heard the whole case. Somehow I think you'll be able to read a transcript and catch up. I think I can
too. Just going on past history. I'm just saying there is no transcript because it wasn't and you'd have to watch a movie. Okay, moving on. The next application is
BA-09-25. Miss Santiago. Yes, Mr. Chairman. This is BA-9-25. Peter and Christine Kungquist. Block 8502, lot 4, 9, Windy, 7, Windy Way in the RA15 zone for section C.
Applicant proposes. Applicant proposes the construction of a second story addition creating a sideyard setback of 15.1 ft where 20 ft is required. Applicant will also seek a variance for a non-conforming structure.
Okay. Can I have your appearances, please? Your names. Okay. Krunquist. My wife. This is our architect. Okay. Then
are the two of you going to testify? Yes. Okay. So, and this is Okay. So, would the two of you then please stand? Raise your right hand. You solemnly swear that the testimony you will give to this board will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help your God. Okay. And just for the
record again, if you would give us your names and you spell your last name, please. A r. Okay, got it. Make yourself comfortable. I will when we get to I don't know how we're doing this. If you're going to
testify first. Oh, yeah. I just, you know, we're the property owners. Uh, you know, we moved in in 1994. Uh, raised our kids there schools and, uh, somehow our kids are
back. A little more room again. They're a little bit bigger now, you know. And uh so in going through the uh I I guess this process, we have found out that our home with where it's built, we want to
just go straight up. We need uh this set back uh ruin. And we looked at, you know, a few variations uh without going for that. It it didn't look conforming with the neighborhood.
Didn't look good. Uh so we've come up and Dana has come up with some very nice uh plans to make it look very nice for our neighborhood. We love the neighborhoods. We want to stay. Have you talked to any of your neighbors concerning the application? All of them.
And what do they all say? All given us the thumbs up and and the pats on the back. So everybody's happy. Uh they're they're happy to have a stay. Uh and so yes, that was the first thing we did. Okay. Thank you. Board members, any questions?
No. Not this time. Not yet. Okay. So, Miss Naperano, would you just review for the board your um educational background and professional licenses? Yes. So, I have a bachelor's of architecture from NJT. I was licensed to
practice architecture in New Jersey since I've been since 2013 and my license is in good standing. I have testified before uh several boards in this area, most recently New Province last week, Milbourne, Chboro,
Township, and other boards in the area, and it's been accepted as an expert at those. Great. We'll accept you as an expert. Thank you. Please proceed. So, I'm going to give you an overview of the project just to kind of walk you through the design. I know you've had a
chance to sit with plans and look through everything. I just want to walk you through it and then walk you through everything. I I need you to use the microphone so we'll go pick you up. There's a handheld mic. You can I think there's one the handheld figure. I think Sonia's
tracking it down. I can try and sit because of my hand. You can use I'll try I will do my best. Um okay. So, the the Krunquist residence is uh located at 7
Windingway uh block 8502, lot 4. It's a colonial style ranch home built around 1955. The lot area is 19,432 ft where 15,000 is required. It's on a corner lot and there is a fence that
runs sort of from the front of their house along the property line which is the neighbor's fence and there's some vegetation along the back of the property. Um so what we're proposing to do is to add a second story addition over the existing house. So um that is
the area that's shaded here. Um that's essentially the what's triggering the need for relief because we're building over the existing footprint. So when looking at the first floor plan, so again it's a ranch house. So over the years it's expanded
towards the back. It's expanded a little bit towards the left behind the garage. Um, it didn't really resolve what the issues are now that our client explained that, you know, we're running out of room for the kids that are coming back. So, we basically were looking at putting
a second story on for two bedrooms and a new primary suite, which would open up the ability to have an on suite downstairs, as well as maintaining at least one bedroom on the first floor. um they're looking to convert this
smaller smallest bedroom into perhaps an office space that would be accessible from the foyer, but otherwise there's no changes to the first floor. We're not changing any of the windows. We're not looking to make any changes other than putting a stair in that would go above the stair that stacks down to the
basement. So, in looking at the first floor again, only changes our new stair that goes up to the second floor doors to turn this into an office that's more connected with the rest of the first floor. And we're removing a brick planter at the front of the house, refurbishing the front porch, and adding
a port to go there. So, one thing that the front of the house was lacking. Um the second floor again um it's kind of driven by the the layout of the current house where circulation needed to be um placement of the rooms were kind of
dictated in that way and trying to create something that works for this family as well as future families in the house at a later date. So the primary suite is loaded to the right side of the house with the bathroom towards the back. All the plumbing is essentially at the back of the house. So we're keeping
it all at the back of the house. So, the primary bathroom's near the back. We're moving the laundry room up from the basement to the second floor, which is very desirable. If you look at a lot of new builds, you're finding that they're at least on the first floor, often times up on the second floor. So, we've accomplished that, and it's big enough
that grown people can all share that laundry room without being on top of one another. Um, two bedrooms on the left side of the house and a hall bath for those two bedrooms to share. Um, so that's essentially the extent of the work on the upper level. So the layout
of the house, because of how it sort of creates an L-shape over the main body of the house, this is really where we were looking at adding, we didn't want to touch the tray ceiling that was in the family room. And there's some level changes and ceiling changes on this side that kind of made us stay away from that
side. It just didn't make a lot of sense for adding above that. So that kind of drove the shape and the appearance of the house. So what we're looking at on the bottom here, I should mention we're referring to all the V drawings that you have in your package. This is just a
bigger version. So you've if you've looked through them, they should look familiar. So this is the current state of the house as it stands now. As you can see, we're not changing any of the windows or doors across the bottom here. It's identical. We're adding that second level up here as well as over the dining
room and kitchen portion here. So to make it give the appearance of a colonial style twostory home that perhaps always looked this way. So by taking that extra 5 ft which doesn't comply with the current required setback
for a two-story addition, we've been able to make this look like a house that should have always looked like this to start. Um, the other thing that we're doing is taking these garage windows, which are kind of low, which draws attention to the fact that this part of the house was done at a different time
and it's lower. We're raising those windows up to be even with that first floor level, and adding a little pop-up dormer here, which we think helps with the massing on the house to really make this feel like it's still part of this house once we add that second floor. And as far as aesthetics, we're adding some
architectural elements with the three dormers up in the attic, a roof plane that kind of runs across the front of the house to draw your eye away from the fact that these aren't all perfectly centered and they don't all perfectly match that, you know, perhaps if it was a new build, we might have had everything all neat and clean and
perfect, but we tried to maintain center lines and to have it look like they go together, but this helps kind of break the eye. Same thing here. Because this bay projects out, we're carrying that line across there as well. Um, as far as the closest point, so this would be the
side that is closest to the property line. We went very simple with this side. Didn't want to overdo it with windows. It's really just some narrow windows. These are each side of the bed. This one's in a toilet room. And just to keep it very simple, they're worried about their privacy. We're respectful of
the neighbors privacy, so we kept that pretty lowkey from this side. No changes to the first floor windows here. Um, and then the other from the rear, it's very straightforward. We've basically just added that second level. All the windows
are uniform. They're all in rooms that are have plumbing. So, they're all about the same size. So, that's the hall bathroom, the laundry room, and the primary bathroom. And then this is the window for that new bedroom on the back left corner. So, again, it's kind of just giving something for this one-story
piece to lay against rather than just a a series of roof lines. Um, and then from the other side, which is considered our other front yard, that from the streetscape kind of appears relatively unchanged other than
the new siding and new trim. This is the first piece of I'll call it the telescope which is above the dining room portion. And then beyond it is the the addition that projects out further. So, we felt that this this added a little bit of backdrop to this. It also cleaned up some uneven pitches and things that
went on when the house was originally constructed. Um, so although we're not doing much to this side, I think that this kind of creates a nice backdrop behind this piece. And this would be that dormer view. So it kind of helps make it feel a little bit bigger with relationship to the second story that
we're adding. So with regard to the variances and the reason we're here um we are required uh we're in the RA15 zone. The proposed work it results in a non-compliance with
the requirement for the sideyard setback and also for a non-conforming structure which requires a C variance. So, the existing setback on the right side to a one-story home complies with that 15 ft setback based on the permitted 5-ft
reduction. Now that we're adding that second story, we're required to be at 20 ft. The existing setback is 15.1 ft and the proposed is the same 15.1 ft. So with regard to the variance proofs,
um two standards for proof for a C variance are C1 and C2 criteria. C1 would be a classic hardship having to do with the physical qualities of the lot, the structure on the lot. C2 would be um being able to demonstrate that the
benefits would outweigh the detriments. So with regard to uh the positive criteria in my op opinion the variance can be granted in accordance with both C1 and C2 um the hardship due to the location of the arrangement of the house
on the lot is sort of the starting point. It's a corner lot so it requires deeper setbacks on the two sides that abut the street or the two uh edges that abut the street. So that automatically shifts the structure towards the the
sideyard that's opposite that other secondary front yard. Um the pre-existing dwelling again complies with that 5-ft reduction, but now that we're twotory, we're required to request a variance for that. Um the shape and
layout of the house also encourages the design to be placed on the on the house in a certain way so that it looks like it was always intended to be there. Uh we again we've designed it as a vertical expansion of the existing footprint. There's no increases in
coverage associated with the addition. We seek to maintain adequate light air open space both at the back and at the right side. Um, we've also been sensitive by placing windows on the side that were narrower, not as obtrusive,
even though that's their southern exposure. The thought was, it's the bedroom, we don't need that much light, but we'd like a little bit of light. So, keeping in mind privacy for the neighbor and still maintaining the natural light that you want to have inside of the bedroom. Um, there's no changes to the
doors and windows on the first floor. So, in our efforts to provide balance to the home, uh, we've used those architectural elements to add some interest, make it look like a nice traditional colonial style home. Uh,
we're designing a project that we feel is not only flexible for their current needs, but also for any future homeowners. And the feeling is that it's a better zoning alternative than full compliance because it represents an investment in the housing stock and
provides functional interior spaces and amenities that you would find in most new builds. Uh the project is a reasonable expansion that's designed to complement the style of the home. Um so we feel those are the positive criteria with regard to uh satisfying
negative criteria because we're required to do that as well. uh we feel that the variances can be granted without substantial detriment to the surrounding area or impair the intent of the the zone plan and zoning ordinance or the master plan. Uh the deviations aren't
substantial in context to the overall property. The property can certainly support the expansion and will not appear overdeveloped. That's due to its larger size than what's required for the zone. So this really doesn't overpower the lot in any way. Um, again, it's an investment in the neighborhood, which
would be a positive influence, I would imagine, for the surrounding area. Um, there's no significant impacts on the neighboring property or the township that would result from, uh, the variance given the conditions present on this property. Um, it complies with the
requirements for the RA 15 zone in all other areas with the exception of that setback. Um, it supports the intent of the master plan. So, it's a single family use. it's going to continue to be that use. Um, we're maintaining the character of the neighborhood and not
compromising the character. Um, and the addition is consistent with and complements the style of the existing home. Um, project will also comply with any necessary building code requirements that are set forth by the township. And based on that, in conclusion, I believe
the application meets the criteria and we respectfully ask you to consider granting the variance. Thank board members. Any questions? Mr. Chairman, I'd like to add that there have been a number of similar type improvements to houses in
the neighborhood over the past number of years. Right. So, this will sort of complement the ongoing construction. There's a huge house being built. I shouldn't say huge. There's a large house being built across the street. And there's been a number of improvements
along the line. And this, in my view, fits right in with a lot of other improvements going on in the neighborhood. Okay. So, you basically agree that C1 and C2 are both satisfied. Yes, I do. He's almost on a butter.
Almost what? I said you're almost on a butter. How many feet are you? No, I'm I'm over here. I know where you are. I didn't get a letter. 200. 20 ft. Yeah. Mr. Question, Mr. Chair, is there any um
plan to have any flood lights at the upper level of the house going into the back so that that would shine into your rear neighbors property? Thank you. I'm very satisfied with the presentation we created. Thank you very much. Classic
uh corner lot dilemma on a parcel that was cut into four corner lots. Right. You see this? I saw that. I've been in that street. A for a former chairman used to live right across the street. That's right.
Who does the town up in the corner? Kitchelling, right? I mean Kitchell and Madison. Yeah. So he was right right there in the neighborhood.
The license plate clear. one and level two board members. Oh, any members of the public wish to comment on this application or have any questions of any of the witnesses? Seeing none, hearing none, close the public portion.
Uh board members, may I have a motion? So, so moved to approve to approve. Um, thank you the application as presented and um, great appreciation to the architect for a very detailed presentation as well. Thank you so much
for that, Miss Santiago. Mr. Mr. Goldberg, yes. Mr. Trackenberg, yes. Miss Polaro, yes. Miss Simmons, yes. Mr. Benois, yes. Mr. Kramer, yes. Mr. Woodford. Yes. So move.
Thank you very much. So I'll have a resolution for you at the next meeting. Great. Thank you all. Thank you all. Good luck. Good luck. Good luck. Yeah. Good project. Okay. Is there any other matters we have to discuss? I don't think I don't have any. Anybody
else have anything to discuss? If not, anything to discuss? No. Okay. I would never take your time. Then I'll uh ask for a motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn.
Second. All right. All in favor? I. All opposed. Ajourned. Thank