20231024 - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes

VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

Meeting Minutes

October 24, 2023

           

 

Opening:

 

The public meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Village of Ridgewood was called to order at 7:38 p.m.

 

Present:  Greg Brown, Matthew Bandelt (arrive 8:00 p.m.), Gary Negrycz, Jonathan Papietro, Michael Pickholz, Jason Curreri and Harold Maxwell were present. Also present were Bruce Whitaker, Board Attorney; John Barree, Village Planner; Christopher Rutishauser, Village Engineer; Brian Intindola, Traffic Expert, and Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary.

 

Absent:  Diana Ruhl, and Jamie Fox

 

Minutes:          The minutes from October 10, 2023 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.

 

Resolution Memorialization: The following resolutions were memorialized:

-        Bazuro, 224 South Maple Avenue

-        Feddock, 162 Hope Street

 

Public Hearings:

 

Mr. Brown announced that the Hugo and Hayley Rodriguez, 60 South Murray, application was carried to December 12, 2023 without further notice.

 

LES DANN, LLC – An application for preliminary and final major site plan approval, expansion of a nonconforming use variance approval, and use variance approval for the construction of an auto body shop, which will serve as the principal use at 246-264 South Broad Street, Block 3905, Lots 12, 13 and 14, in an R-3 Zone. (Continued from August 8, 2023; Carried from October 10, 2023 without further notice)

 

Mark Semeraro, Esq., was present on behalf of the applicant and said they had 3 witnesses available to testify at this meeting.

 

Mr. Whitaker addressed the Board regarding the application for certification of non-conformity stating that the applicant needs to prove to the Board that the use pre-existed the ordinance that created requirements that no longer permitted the use. The Board then needs to approve or not approve a certificate of non-conformity.

 

Robert Inglima, Jr., Esq., was present on behalf of the objector, Religious Society of Friends, Ridgewood Friends Meeting, Friends Nursery School. Mr. Inglima asked Mr. Semeraro if the request for non-conforming use certification was only for lots 12 and 14. Mr. Semeraro said that was correct.

 

Karl Montick, Jr., 2800 Spring Meadows Drive, Boseman, Montana, was sworn. Mr. Montick previously operated Ridgewood Vehicle, Inc., located at 246 S. Broad Street, and Ridgewood Auto Body, located at 264 S. Broad Street. Mr. Montick’s father owned 246 S. Broad Street and his grandfather owned 264 S. Broad Street. Mr. Montick started working for those businesses in the 1960s when he was in high school. Mr. Montick stated that at some point his father, Karl Montick, Sr., bought 264 S. Broad Street and continued operating an auto body business on the property.

 

Mr. Montick described the use of the properties and where vehicles, parts and machinery were stored at the back of the lots. Mr. Montick testified that body painting was done.

 

Mr. Montick stated that Ridgewood Auto Body, and then Barry’s Auto Body were operated by tenants.

 

Mr. Bandelt arrived at the meeting at 8:00 p.m.

 

Mr. Montick testified that he continued to work at the business during summers during college and when he would return for visits and that around 1985 he returned to work full time in a managerial position. Mr. Montick stated that at no time did the auto body operation stop at 246 S. Broad Street or 264 S. Broad Street. Mr. Montick stated that at one time his father applied to Zoning Board to put up additional buildings but the request was eventually withdrawn. Mr. Montick officially took ownership of the properties in 1988.

 

Mr. Montick stated that other vehicles were stored on the properties beginning in the late 1990s. Mr. Montick acquired 256 S. Broad Street in 2000, but it was not used for the auto body business, the rear of the property was used to access both 246 and 264 S. Broad Street.

 

Mr. Montick was shown the earlier photo exhibits and he described what was in them.

 

Mr. Semeraro distributed a photo packet which Mr. Inglima objected to.

 

Mr. Inglima cross-examined Mr. Montick. Mr. Inglima asked if Mr. Montick, Sr., was the first operator of Ridgewood Auto Body and what the prior use was on the property. Mr. Montick didn’t know.

 

Mr. Inglima submitted a copy of the survey of the properties with the buildings highlighted and asked Mr. Montick to identify the buildings and when they were built. Mr. Montick was not sure when they were built, but identified the buildings. Mr. Montick said that lot #13 remained as a residential property which was rented out. The garage on lot #13 was used as storage for Ridgewood Vehicle.

 

Mr. Inglima asked about additional tenancies on the properties, such as MNK Landscaping and Rick’s Pool Service, who parked vehicles on the property. Mr. Montick said that a section of Lot #12 was used for trailer and equipment during the construction of West Bergen Mental Health.

 

Mr. Inglima asked about Ridgewood Taxi and when they leased Lot #14.

 

Mr. Inglima showed Mr. Montick the applicant’s photos and asked if they correctly represented the condition of the 3 lots when they were purchased by Les Dann, Inc. Mr. Montick stated that a few things had changed on the properties, such as different vehicles and equipment, but the condition was basically the same.

 

Mr. Inglima asked about the lease agreements with Barry’s Auto Body and E & J and who was responsible for maintenance of properties. Mr. Inglima asked about the sale of the properties.

 

There were no questions from the public for Mr. Montick.

 

Mr. Whitaker asked about the Ridgewood Taxi use of the site and if tow trucks came to the site.

 

Alex Saavedra, 259 Union Street, Hackensack, was sworn and his credentials as a licensed private investigator accepted. Mr. Saavedra described his process for getting information, which was primarily from the library and archives. Copies of newspaper articles and Sanborn maps were shown and marked as Exhibits A-50 through A-65. Mr. Saavedra testified that these documents showed that the property located at 264 S. Broad Street had been used for auto body repair since during the 1930s. Mr. Saavedra showed copies of newspaper ads and articles, marked as Exhibits A-65 through A-70, showed that the property located at 246 S. Broad Street had been used for auto body repair since the 1960s.

 

Mr. Inglima cross-examined Mr. Saavedra, asking if he personally visited the library and searched the records, and asked what terms he used in his search. Mr. Saavedra said he did the search himself, but did not keep the list of terms. Mr. Inglima asked if the articles shown were all that were available. Mr. Saavedra said there may be more, but that he did not exclude anything specific. Mr. Inglima asked if any other searches were made, or if an OPRA request was made to any government offices. Mr. Saavedra said he did make an OPRA request but that no documents were able to be found as some records had been lost in flooding.

 

Mr. Inglima objected to Mr. Saavedra’s entire testimony, stating that it was a selective source of information.

 

There were no questions from the public.

 

There were no questions from the Board.

 

The hearing was carried to January 23, 2024 without further notice.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 10:46 p.m.

 

 

Minutes submitted by:  Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary

 

Date Approved:           November 28, 2023