Welcome to tonight's meeting of the zoning board of adjustment of the township of union which is being held pursuant to the open public meeting law C231 laws of New Jersey dated 1975. Notice of this meeting was advertised in the local source, the newspaper of
record, and notice has been posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building adjacent to the municipal clerk's office. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Wy >> here. >> Miss Martins >> here. >> Mr. Bentega >> here. Miss Scott >> here.
>> Mr. McNeel >> here. >> Miss Little >> here. >> Mr. Graves >> here. >> Miss Ricketts is absent. Mr. Champion >> here. There being a quorum present, this meeting is now declared open. At this time, I'll entertain a motion for the approval of the minutes from our January
21st meeting. I have a motion and a second. >> Mr. Chairman, I move that the meeting minutes January 22nd, 2026 be approved as written and dispensed for meeting. >> Can I have a second? >> Second.
>> All in favor? I >> opposed. So moved. >> Are there any communications? >> Uh there are no communications, Mr. Chairman. >> Hearing none, we'll continue with the meeting. Our first order of business this evening will be the adoption of a
resolution for calendar number 3469 USA Concession Enterprises LLC. Location is 1160 Springfield Road, block 3401, lot 8. applicant wished to add a wholesale retail to an existing warehouse
distribution center. You've all had a chance to read the resolution. At this time, are there any board members that would like to comment, make changes, or modifications to this resolution as it has been written?
Hearing none, may I have a motion and a second to adopt the resolution? >> Mr. Chairman, I move that this board adopt the resolution as written and accurately memorializing the previous findings of this board. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Wy, >> yes.
>> Mr. Bentega, >> yes. >> Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. McNeel, >> yes. >> Mr. Champion, >> yes. >> Our next order of business will be a continued hearing. It's calendar number 3466 310 Carnegie
Place, JL LLC. Location is 310 Carnegie Place, block 5811, lot 10. Applicant wishes to construct a two family dwelling. Counselor. >> Good evening, Tamman and members of the board. Natasha Montalvo with Hill
offices of Driver Bomb Warap. Um, we are here today continuing our hearing from October 15th of last year. We presented uh an application to construct a two family residential build building. However, our application back in
October. Um the height of the dwelling was the height of the proposed dwelling was uh 32 feet which um is not permitted in the zone and not and it's also a D6 height variant. Since then we we've
received your guys's feedback. We have revised the application and the plans to lower the roof um to 26.8 feet which the permitted height in the zone is 27 ft. We now meet the height requirement. we
no longer need a D6 height variance and um with that change we do need a new variance for the the roof pitch um cuz now to meet the 27T roof uh 27T height requirement in order to meet that we
kind of had to kind of do a small a flat roof with a little tiny pitch our architect will get to that but we do not meet the required pitch requirement so we're going to be seeking a variance for that. Um other than that, we are still
seeking to construct the two family house. Again, the existing um non-conformities for the for the property is the minimum lot size, which is 5,000 ft is required for the zone and the existing and proposed lot size is
3,931 ft. Um also the minimum lot diff depth required for the zone is 100 feet and it's existing and proposed is 70.2 and we are continuing our variance well we're seeking still the variance for the
net maximum number of stories where two is provided as is permitted in the zone and due to the how the building height is calculated and stories is calculated we are technically at three stories. Um, these are all bulk C variances. Again,
the changes we made is we eliminated the D6 height variance and brought the building height down to 26.8 ft, which is within the 27 ft um requirement, the height requirement. Um, that is a summary of what has changed. Um, if
there are no further preliminary questions, I can call up our architect to go over the height changes. Just for the record, I marked the revisions. A6 is the revised site plan uh from the engineer which was dated
through December 4th of 2025. It's two sheets and A7 is the architectural updates. Uh also dated through December 4th, 2025. That consists of five sheets. So A6 and A7 we did A1's rate five at the original hearing date.
>> Thank you. Can I uh the witness swear or affirm that the testimony you're going to give this evening is the truth and the whole truth? >> Yes. >> And for the record, just state and spell your name with your affiliation. >> Sure. Uh first name is Paulo P A U L O. Last name Dantis D an A N T A S and I am
the owner of Dantis Grant Architecture. >> And you were qualified and testified at the first hearing that we had in October. Correct. >> That's correct. >> Any changes in your credentials from the time that you testified at that time for your expertise? >> Okay. So noted for the record. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Can you take us through the changes on
the height? >> Sure. Um just briefly um all the floor plans and um and also the the layout of not only the ground floor, first floor where the kitchen and living area is um along with the second floor with all the
bedrooms and the bathrooms has not been altered. Uh the majority of the alteration in order to reduce um has been in a couple components. One of um many you could see visually, the other ones is just more um structural
components. Uh what we did is we took the roof line and we kind of sloped it to the side. They gave us the less slope. Uh so we sloped it. Um the right unit will slope to the right, the left unit will slope to the left. We'll have a gutter system. And this roof pitch
will be a low pitch roof. Uh it will be about a/ an inch to an inch on 12. Um that's what we call anything from a rubber um membrane to um um a metal roofing could be u associated with that
uh pitch. Um along with that also the elevations has altered a little bit. I think we we took the building and we accommodated with the topography of the terrain. So we let it go a little bit how it slopes towards the right uh on the front elevation to actually see it a
little bit. So we we stepped it but it it goes with the terrain. Um along with that what we decided to do is we had to do a couple structural calculations go back um and we started determining actual calculations that would hold up not only the roof snow rain and all
these other elements and we started reducing these 12 13 inches into more accommodation like 9 in. So as we kept reducing uh per floor per roof we we gained about six or seven in also took a
block uh from the garage um coordinated a couple garage uh with the garage consultants uh for clearance. So we accommodated not only the garage height garage um door height but also all the structural components in order to uh
make sure that we reach the the 27 foot height that is u required. All right. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> I have no further questions. >> Are there any board members that would like to question Mr. Dante's testimony?
>> Can you just clarify the uh the pitch uh variance that was because it's not referenced in college. >> So the requirement is a 5 on 12 pitch and we're looking for a half to inch uh pitch. >> What's the standard you're looking for?
>> Uh half to an inch. We're requiring. Yes. >> I know uh Collers does ask for a pre-construction meeting. That's part of their review. I think you committed to that last time. That >> remains because even the stories and two family there's certain safety criteria
that apply. So, it is what it is. I'll just note for the record that those will be addressed at the pre-construction meeting both with the architect and the township's professional. >> Correct. And uh while we're on the callers's letter real quick, um on the updated letter dated January 29th, 2026
um on the second page 2.3 and 2.4 um about the gas line and sanitary sewer. Yes, they will be separate for each unit. >> Okay, >> Mr. Dantes, it's Anthony. I have a quick question um regarding three stories. uh
sprinkler system needed in this. >> It will not be required. Well, what we'll probably do is use a construction type 5A uh where we have our primary and secondary structure rated um and then I'll work with the client with the duct systems and all that how to be properly
have the proper diffusers and whatnot. >> Okay. >> Any other board members that would like to question Mr. Dantes? Hearing none. Are there any members of the public that would like to question the testimony the witness has provided?
Hearing none, counselor, your next witness. >> Um, I I believe that is it. I do have my engineer here available to address any engineering comments. The main issue was the height. Um, on the engineering site plan, though, it was revised to reflect
the new height and some minor grade grading changes. Um but there is nothing major majorly changed on the site plan. >> Why don't we just swear him in just to authenticate his he did submit updated plans. I just want to get into the record the parking sufficiency in the
layout that nothing has changed. >> Can I just ask the witness to swear or affirm that the testimony you provide this evening is the truth and the whole truth? >> Yes. >> And for the record, state and spell your name with your affiliation. >> Kevin Fo. F U R A O. and I work for
Manta Design who prepared the plans. >> Fur AO. >> Yeah. F U R A O. >> And you didn't testify at the first hearing, but you're familiar with the plans, >> correct? >> Okay. >> I do have a P in New Jersey. And
>> yeah, would you say your credentials? >> Sure. I have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. I have over uh 12 years of experience in civil engineering and I have a current and professional engineering license in the state of New Jersey. The >> board will accept his credentials. >> Thank you.
>> As Natasha stated, uh the site plan besides the building height calculation and some minor grading changes that really the only thing that changed on the site plan, everything else stay the same and the engineering common letter will pretty much adhere too. >> Yeah, no problems. No problems complying
with the collier's letter and we meet the parking requirement as well. >> Yeah, there's a garage space and driveway space sufficient for both. >> Okay, I have no further questions.
>> Any board members with questions? >> I have a question. >> Miss Little, >> I have a question. If you go to the parking, um I understand that there is going to be a garage and a driveway.
>> Yeah, there's a there's a driveway leading to the garage, and it should be long enough to fit a car if need >> it should be, but >> yeah, it's it's 20 ft long, so it's more than enough room for a car. Usually 18 18 ft is usually the required minimum
>> for the length and width. >> I mean because you said you you took some uh square footage away from the garage. >> Oh, from the height of the garage. >> Just from the height. >> Yes. >> Just from the height. Yeah. The footprint stay the same. >> Okay. And we you do the the street is
very congested. Um I'm not sure if the owner is going to live in the building or not, but uh probably not. uh you wouldn't know. Um but uh parking is is it's limited on that street. So we
would encourage the owner to uh ask whomever purchases or buys this land to have the tenants park in the driveway because there is not enough space on that street.
Would you step forward? >> Would you state your name? >> Wait, let's wait for the engineer >> done before we put the owner on. >> Okay. >> Does the engineer doesn't have anything to elaborate on? >> Sorry. >> You want to defer to the the owner on response to that question?
>> I guess >> anyone else have any other questions of the engineer? >> No. Right. Okay. >> Okay. I'll call the applicant. >> Alan, go ahead and swear. >> Can I ask the applicant is is the owner the to swear or affirm that the
testimony you provide this evening is the truth and the whole truth. >> Yes. >> And for the record, just state and spell your name. >> Alan Rutan. A L. Ru Tan. >> R U >> T. >> Tan. >> And you're the owner?
>> Yes. >> And representative of the applicant? >> Yes. >> You didn't testify at the first hearing in October. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. >> You can go ahead and answer a question. >> So, the uh the street is a very narrow street. I'm aware of it and it's a
one-way street and I think my project it will help the neighborhood. We're going to take at least four cars out of the street. Right now, everybody pretty much parks on the street. the uh the structures there they really don't have
garages or or driveways in and you know to answer your question we are going to at least take four cars off the street u and I think it will contribute to the traffic it will help the traffic on the
street >> that's the four cars that are additional cars that are coming with the new construction >> that is correct >> not What's >> that? That is correct. Yes, that is correct. I mean, right now it's an empty lot.
>> Uh people are dumping trash on the lot. It's a eyesore. It's it's a liability as a property owner to me and it's I believe it's a liability to the town as well. We are not collecting any
taxes on it and it's sitting there and it's just being used as eyesore to the neighborhood and I think we will uh add value to to to the neighborhood and this is not my first rodeo. I've done similar
projects and I care with the product and I think it will be a a good addition to the to the neighborhood. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Was Was there a structure there? There was >> there. No, it was always been vacant. >> It's always been vacant. Okay. Cuz I had
>> it. It was a empty garage. >> A garage. I knew there was some kind of lapidated cuz I noted it. It wasn't a residence though. Okay. >> Yes, it was a garage. >> And just to understand the question and I'll note for the record, I'm just a board attorney. I don't vote. just the
encouragement from whoever your teny will be, whether you know you're going to rent or you're going to have ownership or you're going to be there or just the emphasis to have the habitants use the driveway and available on-site
parking because one of the recurring themes that you hear from the neighbors and dealing with the tight street and and the area and limited parking is people are parking in the street when they can even though they have spaces. Now, we can't make you do that, but as
long as we can note on the record the hope that there's going to be a cooperative effort >> absolutely >> from you. >> Absolutely. >> As the owner. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> Any any other board members would like to question the witness?
>> I just have a question. I mean, it's just do you plan on selling the property or do you No. >> So, you're going to keep the property? keep it as a rental propert >> because you it's a two family. That's correct. >> All right. And you have four spaces. >> That's correct. >> Because normally households have at least two cars.
>> Yes. >> Okay. And so that was the reason for the four. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Any other board questions? Any questions from the public? Hearing none. Councelor, would you like to sum up? >> Yes, please. Um, thank you, Alan. Thank
you. >> Um, as you heard, we we were back here in October with a plan that was exceeding the height requirement and required a D6 uh height variance. We came today meeting the height height
requirement slightly under at 26.8 ft. Um, we hope that this application gets approved as we um worked our best to meet that 27 height requirement which was a major issue. Um, again, we're here for uh construction of a two family home
and um with the variances stated and the testimony provided um we hope that this board approves this application. Thank you. >> At this time, I believe we can conference this uh tonight. Mr. Bengna, would you like to begin?
>> Yes, Mr. Chairman. Um like council said before this case was heard before after hearing the revised testimony tonight. Um, I believe the um the height requirement complies with the ordinance and uh I'll be voting yes tonight.
>> Miss Little, I know you can't vote. Um, but would you like to make any further comments? >> No, I'm fine. Thank you, >> Mr. Graves. >> I'll be voting yes. I think it'd be a benefit to the community. It was a
vacant lot and seement or actually was a garage. Okay. So, I'll be voting yes. >> Miss Martins. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I will be voting yes as well. I think this is a beautiful design. Um, it's a great addition to the site and um, you know,
complying with the height requirement as well. So, I'll be voting yes, >> Mr. Wy. >> Uh, yes, Mr. Chairman. Um, I'm going to vote yes for this project. I think it's uh a good project. It's getting rid of our eyes for sure. I'm familiar with
that street and far as with the parking. I think it will be good that he has the uh he has the driveway and the garage. So, I can't see it being a problem anymore with the prop with the parking situation. So, I'm voting yes.
>> Mr. Ricardo, you're not eligible to vote. So, uh Miss Scott, >> um good evening. Yes, I will be also voting yes. You know, coming back with a revised plan and you met the conditions that you needed to meet was the eyesore in the neighborhood. You're going to put something there. you're going to put it
back on the tax code. You mentioned that. Um and you know, so you bring some value back to the property. So I will also be voting yes. >> As for myself, uh based on the testimony and the witness's uh testimony, uh the variance I feel are justified, they show the property is well suited
for the proposed use. Applicant has now met both the height and the parking requirements and the proposed building will definitely enhance the neighborhood. So I too will be voting yes for this application. At this time I have a motion and a second
to grant the application. Mr. Chairman, I move that the board grant the variance is applicable to this application and that council is directed to prepare a resolution consistent with the board's decision. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Wy.
>> Yes. M. Martins, >> yes. >> Mr. Bentaga, >> yes. >> Miss Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Graves, >> yes. >> Mr. Champion, >> yes. >> March 4th, we'll put it on for the uh resolution. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There being no further business comment before the
board and then we adjourn. >> Second. All >> in favor? I