02160322 - Zoning Board of Adjustment - Minutes

VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

Meeting Minutes

MARCH 22, 2016

Opening:

The regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Village of Ridgewood was called to order at 7:37p.m.

Present:       Chairman Torielli, Hans-Jurgen Lehmann, Gary Negrycz, Jeffrey Voigt, Sergio Alegre, Alyssa Matthews and Ines Bunza. Also present were Joseph Cerame, Esq., substituting for Bruce Whitaker, Esq., Board Attorney and Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary.

Absent:         Diana Ruhl, Greg Brown

Non-agenda items:

            Board member comments: There were no comments at this time.

            Members of the public comments: There were no comments at this time.

New Business:

KURT HEDDEN – An application to permit the construction of a one-story and two-story addition which will result in a side yard setback of 9.98 feet, where 10 feet is the minimum required; coverage by above-grade structures of 32%, where 25% is the maximum permitted; coverage by improvements of 48%, where 45% is the maximum permitted and Gross Building Area of 43%/2,122 square feet where 35%/2,856 square feet is the maximum permitted at 24 Ethelbert Place, Block 2209, Lot 10, in an R-3 Zone. (Carried from March 8, 2016) Kurt Hedden and Peter Cooper, Architect, were sworn. Mr. Cooper described the existing conditions, the property and what was being proposed. Mr. Cooper explained the hardship due to an undersized lot. Two sheets of photos were distributed and marked as Exhibits A-1 and A-2 and a list of lot sizes in the area was marked as Exhibit A-3. Mr. Cooper presented a tax map and photos which were marked as Exhibit A-4. The Board members had questions regarding an inconsistency between the site plan and the floor plan. Mr. Cooper said that the zoning chart is accurate. The Board members had questions about the third floor and the distance between the principal dwelling and the garage. Board members questioned the size of the addition on the existing lot, the number of variances being requested and the possibility of reducing the addition. Mr. Cooper explained the hardship created by the undersized nature of the lot in the R-3 zone. There were no questions from the public.

Jane Rymer, 20 Ethelbert Place, was sworn and stated that the proposed addition is next door to her property and that it does not fit in the neighborhood and asked the Board to deny the application.

Nilay Donmez, 28 Ethelbert Place, was sworn and distributed a sheet showing  

the gross building area of other Ethlebert Place homes, which was marked as Exhibit O-1. Ms. Dommez explained why she is opposed to this application.

Yusuf Donmez, 28 Ethelbert Place, was sworn and submitted three photos, which were marked as Exhibit O-2. Mr. Donmez read from a statement explaining why he is opposed to this application.

Robert Marshall, 319 Walthery Avenue, was sworn and read a statement that he had previously been a Village employee and member of the Planning Board and explained that he was opposed to this application as it exceeds many of the regulations of the Village Code.

Vince Welcome, 34 Ethelbert Place, was sworn and explained why he is opposed to this application.

Gail Cutler, 11 Ethelbert Place, was sworn and explained why she is against this application.

Mr. Cooper and Mr. Hedden responded that due to the overwhelming sense of community objection, they are not sure how to go forward. The hearing was carried to May 10, 2016 without further notice.

Old Business:

GLOBAL SIGNAL ACQUISITIONS II, LLC, NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC (AT&T), NEW YORK SMSA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP d/b/a VERIZON WIRELESS, SPRINT SPECTRUM REALTY COMPANY, L.P. and T-MOBIL NORTHEAST LLC – An application to replace the existing 120’ tower with a 130’ tree pole with a total height of 135’ and equipment at the base of the tower which will result in conditional use variances for side yard setbacks, rear yard setbacks, tree pole height variance, and side yard setback variance for the equipment at 601 Franklin Turnpike, Block 4703, Lot 17, in an OB-2 zone. (Cont. from July 28, 2015). Dr. Bruce Eisenstein, Board Radio Frequency Engineer, was sworn. Judith Fairweather, Esq., was present on behalf of all the applicants. David Soloway, Esq., was present on behalf of Verizon. Ms. Fairweather explained the revisions submitted since the July meeting. Daniel Penesso, Radio Frequency Engineer on behalf of AT&T, was previously sworn. Mr. Penesso testified as to why the water tank on East Saddle River Road would not provide the coverage needed and that the height of the proposed tower is necessary to cover the gap area. A map, titled AT&T Composite Coverage, Water Tank Height at 86 Feet, was distributed and marked as Exhibit A-7. Mr. Penesso explained the map and how the network works. Dr. Eisenstein asked about the frequency. Board members had questions regarding frequency and coverage.

Glenn Pierson, Radio Frequency Engineer on behalf of Verizon, was previously sworn. Mr. Pierson provided up-to-date capacity charts, which were marked as Exhibit A-8, at the request of the Board, and explained the data provided. There were no questions from the Board. Dr. Eisenstein asked if Mr. Pierson if he had done drive tests that verify the gap in coverage and if anything had changed. Mr.  

Pierson said he had and that nothing had changed regarding the gap in coverage.

Public questions: David Lengan, 415 Ponfield Place, asked about the frequencies and the gap in coverage.

Reeves Whitney, civil engineer, was sworn and his credentials as a civil engineer were accepted. Mr. Reeves testified regarding the changes in the plans, revised to March 1, 2016, and marked as Exhibits A-9 (Sheet Z03) and A-10 (Sheet Z04), stating that the compound area would be 20 feet by 20 feet and the monopine height was increased to 136 feet.

Frank Degenova, project manager with Crown Castle, was sworn. Mr. Degenova testified regarding the questions the Board had concerning the tree pole, such as branches falling off, icing and discoloration. Mr. Degenova described the maintenance of the poles and the types of incidences that occur. The Board members had questions regarding the design of the different models and asked for more detail regarding the monitoring system. Board members asked which of the three models provided the best coverage for liability, safety, maintenance and life span. Mr. Degenova stated that the monopole gives the carriers the greatest flexibility to evolve the technology.

Public questions: Diane Haderthauer, 470 Albin Court, asked about the class B and class C incidents reported and could they go back to 2001 and get that information. Mr. Degenova said he could get the data from the last five years.

David Marks, 485 Franklin Turnpike, asked about incidences of fire in monopoles. Mr. Degenova explained that contractors sometimes torch a hole in the pole to put their coax in the pole, but this particular structure would already have ports in place. Mr. Marks asked about the protocol about dealing with bird nests in the tree towers. Mr. Degenova stated that they shut down the towers with active bird nests.

Jim Dowling, Professional Planner, was sworn. Mr. Dowllng presented an aerial map which was marked as Exhibit A-10 and described the area of the proposed tower. Mr. Dowling showed a series of photographs from different viewpoints in the area, which was marked as Exhibit A-11. The photos showed the existing view and the view with the proposed tower. Mr. Dowling described each set of photos in detail. The Board members asked about seeing photos of what it would look like during the winter months.

Public questions: David Marks asked Mr. Dowling to look into the distance and view from another property.

Diane Haderthauer, 470 Albin Court, and Ronald Weglinski, 480 Albin Court, said that they could see the existing tower clearly from their properties.

Ms. Fairweather stated that the applicant would give an extension of the time limitation. Dr. Eisenstein was excused. The hearing was carried to May 24, 2016.

Resolution memorialization: The following resolutions were memorialized:    

-       Merlino, 372 Wastena Terrace

-       Kim/Kwak, 291 Highland Avenue

-       Gidich, 584 Cliff Street

-       Capital One Bank, 10 Godwin Avenue

Meeting was adjourned at 10:44 p.m.

Minutes submitted by: Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary

Date Approved:        April 25, 2017