20220510 - Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes

VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

Meeting Minutes

May 10, 2022

Opening:

The public meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Village of Ridgewood was called to order at 7:48 p.m.

Present:  Greg Brown, Matthew Bandelt, Gary Negrycz, Diana Ruhl, Isaac Lebow, Jonathan Papietro, Jason Curreri and Harold Maxwell. Also present were Bruce Whitaker, Esq., Board Attorney; Chris Piersa, Village Engineer; Maryann Bucci-Carter, Village Planner and Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary.

Absent:  Michael Pickholz

Minutes:          The minutes from April 26, 2022 were adopted.

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.

Public hearings

Mr. Brown announced that the Michael and Stephanie Tesser, 380 Bedford Road, and the Nate and Kelly Hearn, 324 Beechwood Road, were carried to May 24, 2022 without further notice.

Resolution memorialization:   The following resolutions were memorialized:

-        Clifford, 318 Richards Road

-        Gnerre, 280 South Pleasant Avenue

Old Business:

OUTFRONT MEDIA LLC – An application for preliminary and final major site plan approval for the construction and operation of a single pole, double faced, digital multi-message advertising sign which is a prohibited use and will result in a second principal use; expansion of an existing non-conforming use and bulk variance relief at 500 Route 17 South, Block 4703, Lot 10, in the OB-2 Zone. (Carried from February 8, 2022 without further notice)

Lou D’Arminio, Esq., was present on behalf of Outfront Media, LLC.

Robert Inglima, Jr., Esq., was present on behalf of Bergen Convenience Flagship, Inc.

Douglas Standriff, Esq., was present on behalf of AK Realty LLC.

Jon Antal, General Manager of the New Jersey operation for Outfront Media, LLC, was previously sworn and continued his testimony with Exhibits A-9 a & b and Exhibits A-10 a & b which showed a rendering of the billboard on Route 17 from the northbound and southbound lanes. Exhibits A-11 a& b and Exhibit A-12 a & b showed the billboard on Route 17 in Maywood from the northbound and southbound lanes.

Board members asked about the distance from the roadway and the height for both the proposed sign and the Maywood sign and questioned why the Ridgewood sign is taller. Mr. Antal said the location and height is based on the individual lot and the proposed height of 39 feet is believed to be appropriate at that location. Board members asked if the location and height of the proposed sign is due to the agreement with Bergen Convenience Flagship, Inc. Mr. D’Arminio said that the proposed location is appropriate and also benefitted the property to the south.

There were no questions from the Board professionals.

Mr. Standriff distributed an aerial view photo which was marked as Object AK-1, and asked if the applicant considered that the location for the proposed sign was near a historic cemetery and across from a residential zone district. Mr. D’Arminio said that would be addressed by the planner.

Mr. Standriff showed Exhibit Object AK-4, a zoom of the applicant’s Exhibit A-4, to show how the sign may look from the second floor of 545 Route 17 South. Mr. D’Arminio questioned the accuracy of the simulation. Mr. Standriff showed more photos of what the sign may look like from various locations at 545 Route 17, asking Mr. Antal if he thought the sign would be visible from those locations. Mr. Antal said he believed they would see the pole, not the sign. Mr. D’Arminio had objections to the accuracy of many of the exhibits shown by Mr. Standriff.

Board members asked if the location of the simulations shown by Mr. Standriff were from 10 feet from the roadway or 30 feet from the roadway. Mr. Whitaker asked that the applicant’s engineer measure out what 30 feet would be and simulate that from the property line.

Questions from the public:

Denise Lima, 319 E. Glen Avenue, asked if there were any views of the signs closer than 500 feet. Mr. D’Arminio said there were not but they could check into it. Ms. Lima asked if Ridgewood had any authority in regards to the advertisements shown on the sign. Mr. Antal said that Ridgewood could reach out to them to change something, but Ridgewood would not control what is shown. Ms. Lima asked if any research was done on the amount of accidents on that stretch of highway. Mr. Antal said there was not.

Susan Knudsen, 120 Circle Avenue, asked at what point would someone with perfect vision clearly read the billboard. Mr. D’Arminio said another witness would answer that. Ms. Knudsen asked why the distance study was 750 and 500 feet. Mr. Antal stated that at 750 feet you see that something is coming up and at 500 feet you should be able to read it. Ms. Knudsen asked if homes within 500 feet should be able to read it then. Mr. Antal stated that different angles would affect the visibility of the message. Ms. Knudsen asked if there was any agreement, or if anyone had met with anyone from the Village regarding Ridgewood advertising. Mr. Antal said they have not.

Jacqueline Hone, 30 Carriage Lane, asked about the view from her residence across the highway and if any photos had been taken when the trees are bare. Mr. D’Arminio said there should be some. Ms. Hone asked about traffic studies, Mr. D’Arminio said someone else could answer that question. Ms. Hone asked for an explanation on ambient lighting, about the size and height of the sign, how many of this type of sign in New Jersey and where they are located. Ms. Hone asked for clarification of the setback of the Maywood sign in comparison to the proposed sign.

Salvo Infantino, 6 Betty Court, asked why the applicant’s simulation was more realistic than the objector’s simulation. Mr. D’Arminio said the engineer will answer that questions.

Patricia Infantino, 6 Betty Court, asked about the traffic on 17 North and the exit to West Saddle River Road and if the sign would be a distraction to drivers. Mr. D’Arminio said no traffic analysis was done.

Matthew Rossi, 516 West Saddle River Road, asked how long Mr. Antal has been doing this job and if he was familiar with any studies about depreciation of residential areas around these billboards. Mr. Antal said that has never come up. Mr. Rossi asked about their public service and impact to the community. Mr. D’Arminio said the planner will testify to that.

Mr. D’Arminio asked Mr. Antal about the zoning and where billboards could be located. Mr. Antal had testified that billboards can only be located in industrial and commercial areas and no state permit for a billboard could be obtained for a billboard in a residential area.

Board members asked if there were any rules on how far a residential zone has to be from a commercial zone to put up a billboard. Mr. D’Arminio said the NJDOT has no rules about that, but towns may.

Mr. Brown and Mr. Whitaker explained the hearing procedure to the public.

The hearing was carried to June 28, 2022 without further notice.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m.

Minutes submitted by:  Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary

Date Approved:           May 31, 2022