REGULAR
MEETING
Municipal Bldg
530 West Hill Road Glen
The Regular Meeting of the
Lebanon Township Board of Adjustment was called to order at 7:32 p.m. by
Chairman Bruce Terzuolo. Present
were: Mr. Kozlowski, Mr. MacQueen, Mr. Perry, Mr. Nagie, Mr.
Eberle, 1st. Alternate Machauer, 2nd Alternate Maurizio,
Attorney Gallina and Planner Bolan. Excused: Mr.
Abuchowski.
This meeting was noticed in
the “Annual Meeting Notice Schedule” adopted by this board on January 27, 2010,
mailed to the Hunterdon Review, Hunterdon County Democrat, Express Times,
Courier News, Star Ledger and posed on the bulletin in the
PRESENTATION OF MINUTES: January 27,
2010 Reorganization/Regular Meeting
Motion by Mr. Kozlowski and
seconded by Mr. Eberle to approve the minutes as corrected. Unanimously approved.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION:
a. Annual
Report 2009 – Planner Bolan
Planner Bolan reviewed for
the board the annual report that the MLUL requires the board to do on an annual
basis. Attached to the Annual Report is
the report submitted by Ms. Glashoff regarding the applications that are
approved and denied during the prior year.
Planner Bolan asked if the
extension period on applications been amended to request that an extension must
be made before the time period expires and if the extension is not requested
before the time lapses then the applicant must reapply. Attorney Gallina said he did not recall if
that amendment had been made and Ms. Glashoff stated that the board has
discussed it but nothing has been done.
During the board’s discussion, Attorney Gallina suggested that even with
the ordinance amendment, the resolutions should be very clear what happens if
you don’t get back in for an extension.
Attorney Gallina said he will put together an amendment to the ordinance
and put some wording together for the board to include in the resolutions.
Planner Bolan said in his
memo the board relies on the enforcement of certain conditions as an important
part of granting the variance, the board recommends diligent enforcement of
those conditions by the Zoning Officer and Construction Official. The Township needs to develop a better system
for the sharing of information and the tracking of application approvals.
Planner Bolan noted in
Section 400-10A(7) it refers to structures housing farm animals that the
setback is 100’ to any property line and 200’ from any residence on adjacent
property. In the R3 & R5 zone the
lot width is 250’. The recommendation
now is that the enhanced setbacks for structures housing farm animals be
eliminated and that structures used for farm animals be subject to the general
standards for principal and accessory buildings and structures.
Planner Bolan noted the
accessory apartment ordinance needs to be revised to include the specific date
of July 1, 1987 on which a structure must have been in existence for an
accessory apartment to be permitted in order to avoid confusion in the future. Planner Bolan also suggested that the
ordinance be amended to require the Natural Resource Conservation Service approvals
be in place prior to construction of pre-existing lots with slope constraints
and other environmental concerns. The
board asked who they were and Planner Bolan said that H.C. Soil Conservation
District had changed their name. The
name needs to be changed in our ordinance book.
Mr. Machauer asked if it were
improper to ask the Zoning Officer to share and track information on
applications that have been denied by the board. Ms. Glashoff informed the board since she
knew what Mr. Machauer was referring to and that an application was given out
and the applicant has retained an attorney, but nothing has been filed as yet. The board asked that Ms. Glashoff speak to
the Zoning Officer on this matter.
b. Question on Taxes being current with ongoing public
hearings – Attorney Gallina
Chairman Terzuolo said there
has been concern with applications before the board and taxes are delinquent
and Attorney Gallina was asked to check into whether we can require that taxes
are keep current. Attorney Gallina
handed out to the board a copy of his letter regarding taxes being
current. Attorney Gallina informed the
board that in researching the law, an applicant may be
required to have taxes paid
to date in order for an application to be heard, but cannot require
February 24, 2010
Page 2
proof of taxes paid to date
for continuation of public hearings.
Attorney Gallina quoted the N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65h from the MLUL. Attorney Gallina stated that if taxes are not
current at the conclusion of a public hearing, the board can make as a
condition of approval that taxes must be paid and current before the application
is finalized.
c. Proper Procedures to follow
Mr. Maurizio asked to have
proper procedures on the agenda to clarify certain items. For an example, he did not know that he was
unable to second motion as an alternate.
Also, what questions are we allowed to ask to an applicant or a witness
during a public hearing. Attorney
Gallina said a board member can ask just about anything and if he or the
applicant’s attorney feels the question is irrelevant, the attorney will say
something. Regarding making motions,
voting Ms. Glashoff said either two regular members would have to be absent or
a regular member and the 1st
Alternative would have to be absent for the Alternate II to make a
motion and vote.
Attorney Gallina mentioned
the By-Laws, Ms. Glashoff will send copies to the board for review and see if
they need updating, since it has been awhile.
Chairman Terzuolo brought up the subject of when the board
deliberates. Each member has to give
there reasons for approval or denial and just not say they agree with one or
more of the other board members.
Chairman Terzuolo said each member has to articulate reasons during the
board’s deliberations. You can agree
with a board member’s comments but you have to add your own comments.
d. Have the Resolution
designating the Zoning Officer and/or Engineer to follow thru
on conditions that require professional review
and sign off.
Chairman Terzuolo said that in
speaking with Ms. Glashoff, she had suggested having it spelled out if a
professional needs to follow thru on a condition of approval. She also mentioned that the Zoning Officer
would prefer that it be spelled out if he is to follow up with a condition in
the resolution so there is no misunderstanding whose responsibility it is. Ms. Glashoff said in the Davara Resolution
from 1996 it states that the Zoning Officer will do no less then two
inspections during the year, but can do more if they feel it is necessary. The board discussed this issue at length.
e. Recommend
appointing a board member to review the bills before approval
Chairman Terzuolo asked about
this request. Ms. Glashoff informed the
board that at the Planning Board, the Board Secretary Mr. Gerlich reviews the
bills and makes the recommendation for approval. If there is a question on a specific bill,
Mr. Gerlich will ask the professional about the bill. Mr. MacQueen explained to
the board exactly how it works with the Planning Board. Motion by Mr. Maurizio and seconded by Mr.
Eberle to appoint Mr. Kozlowski to review the bills. Unanimously approved.
f. Anything
else the board wishes to discuss
Mr. Nagie mentioned the
meeting where the board went off on a tangent and ended up spending 2 hours on
an application that should not have taken more than 1 hour. This was regarding the wood burning
furnace. Also with the Transtar
application time was spend discussing the site plan instead of staying on track
with the Use Variance. Attorney Gallina
said the application started out with Use Variance and Site Plan before the
application was bifurcated. The board
discussed these two issues at length. At
the conclusion of the board’s discussion, Chairman Terzuolo asked for the
bills.
PRESENTATION OF BILLS:
a. John Gallina, Esq. $316.25 – Escrow (Transtar)
$201.25 – Phone confs.
w/Chair & Bd Sec. Mtg attendance 1/27
b. Michael Bolan, PP $127.80 – Attend Bd Mtg 1/27, review Annual Report
$511.20 – Escrow (Transtar)
Attend Mtg 7/8/09
$511.20 – Escrow (Transtar)
Attend Mtg 1/27/10
c. Bayer/Risse Engrs. $179.25 – Attend Reorg. Mtg 1/27/10
$537.75 – Escrow (Transtar) Attend Mtg 1/27/10, review
Transcripts, minutes, plans
Total: $2,384.70
Lebanon Township Board of Adjustment
February 24, 2010
Page 3
Ms. Glashoff informed the
board she had one additional bill to add.
The bill is from Attorney Gallina regarding Litigation in the amount of $1,897.50. This brings the grand total to $4,282.20. Motion by Mr. MacQueen and seconded by Mr.
Perry to approve the bills as amended.
Unanimously approved.
CORRESPONDENCE:
a. Zoning Law
1/25/2010
b. Law Bulletin
2/2010
Being no further business to
come before the board, nor comments from the public, motion by Mr. MacQueen and
seconded by Mr. Nagie to adjourn the meeting at 8:27 p.m. Unanimously approved.
_______________________________________
CHAIRMAN BRUCE TERZUOLO
___________________________________________
GAIL W. GLASHOFF, BOARD SECRETARY