Minutes: September 9, 2015

Mr. Theobald called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.

Statement of Compliance

Pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this regular meeting has been provided to the public and the press on January 21, 2015 by delivering to the press such notice and posting same at the municipal building and has been filed with the office of the Township Clerk.

Salute to the Flag

Mr. Theobald advised that Mr. Spoerl, Mr. Tadrick, Mr. Hack and Mayor Marotta will not be attending and had called to inform the board as such.

Public Participation

Open Meeting to the Public for Items Other than Those Listed on the Agenda

No member of the public came forward.

Close Meeting to the Public

Public Hearings

LU#10-14-7: Daniel & Margaret Borstad - Block 231, Lot 26 & 27, - Lot Line Relocation - Request for Extension of Approval

Attorney Joanne Sorrentino came forward on behalf of her clients to request an extension of the above resolution which was adopted and memorialized in 2014 and provided for a minor subdivision of a lot line adjustment.

Land use board attorney Mr. Glenn Kienz questioned why it wasn’t perfected within the allotted time, to which Ms. Sorrentino stated that Mr. Borstad was having major health issues and that nothing on the property or the zoning had changed. She added that there were a few typos on the deeds that had been addressed.

No members of the board had any questions. Mr. Kienz advised that they could adopt a memorializing resolution to grant the re-approval/extension for 190 days.

Meeting was open to the public.

No one from the public wished to speak.

Meeting was closed to the public.

Motion: A motion was made by Ms. Paladini to approve the above resolution. Ms. Cocula seconded the motion. ROLL CALL: WEXLER - Y, RIZZUTO - Y, THEOBALD - Y, COCULA - Y, PALADINI - Y, NIEVES - Y, RAPERTO -Y. PASSED

LU# 6-15-7: Joel Schlesinger - Block 20, Lot 22.10, - Variance for a Pool and Cabana within the Front Yard

Mr. Schlesinger came forward and was sworn in by the land use board attorney Mr. Glenn Kienz. Mr. Schlesinger stated that he is currently in the process of building a house, but the way the property and house are configured, the rear yard actually faces the street which is against code and is why he is seeking a variance for a pool and cabana.

Mr. Schlesinger distributed copies of the plans to the board which were labeled exhibit A1, noting that these were the same plans that the board had reviewed already. Mr. Stoner requested that he hold up the plans to demonstrate the terrain of the property and the driveway configuration. Mr. Schlesinger discussed that the property was in a Highland zone and it was taking about a year to get through the rules of Highland Preservation, and that he had prior approval.

Mr. Kienz asked for clarification on what specific variances they were looking to obtain. Mr. Stoner replied that they would need a variance for accessory structures in the front yard of the house.

Mr. Schlesinger explained that, because of the slope of the land and the woodline they could not put the pool and cabana in the back of the house, nor would that be aesthetically pleasing. He further explained that the lot is 65 feet above the road and 260 feet back from the road, so no neighbors would be able to see the pool or cabana from the road. Mr. Theobald stated that since the neighbors would not be able to see it from the road and Mr. Schlesinger was the only one that was able to see it, he did not see an issue. Mr. Theobald then asked for questions from the professionals and the board. There were no questions from the professionals or the board.

Meeting was open to the public.

No one from the public wished to speak.

Meeting was closed to the public.

Motion: A motion was made by Ms. Paladini to approve the above resolution. Ms. Cocula seconded the motion. ROLL CALL: WEXLER - Y, RIZZUTO - Y, THEOBALD - Y, COCULA - Y, PALADINI - Y, ROLANDO - Y, NIEVES -Y, RAPERTO - Y. PASSED

LU# 6-15-5: MNA Vernon Realty, LLC - Block 141, Lot 10.02, 10.04, & 10.05, - Preliminary and Final Site Plan with Variances for a Taco Bell Restaurant

Board member Kristi Raperto stepped down.

Attorney David Wallace came forward for the applicant.

Mr. Wallace mentioned a letter that they had received from the HPC and questioned whether there may be a conflict because of Ms. Paladini’s position on the land use board and with the HPC. It was determined that because Ms. Paladini is the secretary and not a voting member of the board that it was not a conflict.

Mr. Wallace submitted plans dated May 29, 2015 - August 31, 2015 for the board’s review. Mr. Wallace began discussing the driveway and the fact that the last plan submitted had a shared driveway with Mr. Baldwin’s house and Dunkin’ Donuts. The DOT was not in favor of this because it was shared with a residential property. The new plan features a single access driveway. This plan proposes an underground drainage system in the rear of property, and recharge system. Once they close on the property, they will do soil logs to determine permeability of soil. Sanitary sewer connects to the sewer that runs out of the back and water and gas lines will run up through Route 94.

Landscaping Plan—Along Mr. Baldwin’s side of the property they are proposing a 6' high vinyl fence, and along the side that borders the HPC building the same fence, but with a height of only 4 feet. Mr. Rolando suggested that the fence be tan, not white, in keeping with the colors of the building and to be more aesthetically pleasing. It was agreed that the fence will be tan. There will be trees planted across frontage of the lot.

Lighting Plan—They had proposed 3 double fixtures along the frontage of site with single posts throughout the rest of property and wall sconces on the building itself. Plan includes 20 lights total which Mr. Stoner felt was far too many and suggested they could cut that number by half. The type and height were fine, but they need to reduce the number and submit and updated lighting plan.

Signs—The new plan removes the pylon sign and replaces it with a two column sign. The size of the menu board was discussed and it was stressed that the size was important so that people could easily read the menu board and therefore move the traffic more efficiently. After much discussion about the different sizes and numbers of signs, Ms. Katie-Rose Imbriano, LUB planner clarified and it was agreed that there are to be 2 ground signs (the monument and the menu board) and 3 walls signs. Both ground signs will require variances. The monument will need a sign area variance and the menu board requires a sign area variance as well as a 2nd ground sign variance. Also required will be variances for wall signs on two sides of the building and for 1 additional wall sign for a total of 4 sign variances.

Loading—It was determined that there is no designated loading area and that loading/unloading would need to occur close to the drive thru area using box trucks, not tractor trailers. Because of the configuration of the property, tractor trailers would not be able to turn around in the parking lot. Trucks would unload onto the walkway and deliveries would come through the front entrance. Because deliveries would take place before the restaurant opens, this would not be an issue with parking. Mr. Rolando discussed that Burger King has almost the identical setup and they had installed a “no tractor trailers” sign and he had never seen a problem.

Mr. Stoner discussed that the sidewalk pavers should match the ones being used by CVS. Also, regarding drainage, they are doing test holes to make sure we get required infiltration and just received information that they did not meet requirements for water control ordinance. Mr. Stoner added that they did address water quantity and he is satisfied with the design but we do need soil logs and infiltration tests to insure proper permeability. Perhaps some type of overflow pipe out of the system so that if it malfunctions it comes out at a higher level. They will also need a pretreatment siltation chamber to stop siltation that goes into the drainage system. A manhole with a trap was discussed by applicant. Also of concern was the possibility of tractor trailers backing out onto Route 94 and tying up traffic. Mr. Stoner suggested that we could put a decorative paver island with a mountable curb (Belgian block) and a “no tractor trailer” sign.

Mr. Rizzuto was very concerned about the traffic and added congestion to an already congested, high accident area, stating that there will now be 5 entranceways in an approximate 1/4 mile span. The applicant stated that because of the 35 mph speed limit in that area, they do meet DOT distance requirements.

Mr. Rizzuto again stressed that he wanted to insure that they don’t make another bad decision, citing the Appalachian Hotel and Dunkin’ Donuts, in favor of ratables, at the expense of safety.

Ms. Imbriano had concerns regarding the colors; in the architectural plans and the rendering the colors were not the same. Also, need to design an area for loading because there was no way to screen the loading area. Applicant stated they would have landscaping for screening purposes.

Mr. Staigar from Dynamic Traffic Engineering came forward and was sworn in.

Mr. Staigar stated that he had been studying the intersection by CVS for the past year and a half and had been doing traffic counts. His projections for traffic at peak hours were: Saturday lunch (heaviest) 60 customers per hour, weekday lunch 50 customers per hour and dinner 36 customers per hour. Of these numbers, half of that would be pass by traffic and the other half would be destination traffic so the actual increase would be 50% of the above numbers. Of these numbers, 60% was estimated to be drive thru with 40% being dine in customers.

The drive thru is designed to stack 6 to 7 cars with one car being serviced every 45 seconds. Mr. Staigar discussed the DOT levels of service on the left turn in being a level A and both the right and left turns out being level Cs. The DOT has predetermined service levels of 150 feet and the plan complies with that, we meet the criteria for a major access permit. Mr. Staigar also added that this would be a “non tractor trailer site” and that vendors would be notified to only deliver in box trucks.

Mr. Stoner discussed the stacking issue at the menu board and Mr. Staigar added that by the time you reach the 5th vehicle your order should be ready and that there was room for 7 vehicles before you back up into the parking spaces. Also noted was that, hypothetically, they could process 80 vehicles per hour, but based on the numbers, they would only have 36 going through. According to the traffic volume study it was determined that there would be 740 vehicles traveling in a SB direction and 532 traveling in a NB direction, noting that yes, cars would have to wait, but there would be gaps in the traffic.

Mr. Duncan Cameron, builder came forward and was sworn in.

Mr. Cameron said that he had not seen this rendering before and that he did not have the colors with him, but offered that they were all rich looking earth colors. In addition, they would be using Rosetta Stone and Hardy Plank in keeping with the feel of the community and that the roof and glass would be dark bronze. The ceilings will be 12' high. The meters will be in the rear and not visible from the street. Also addressed was the issue of noise from the menu board; Mr. Cameron stated that this was the most advanced and that because the speaker post was right next to the driver, it made for a minimum amount of noise.

Mr. Kienz and Ms. Imbriano both requested new architectural renderings with correct colors and a subcommittee was appointed for colors and appearance of the building. Subcommittee will consist of Ms. Cocula, Ms. Paladini, Ms. Caldwell and Mr. Theobald.

Meeting was open to the public.

Robert Baldwin came forward with concerns about the driveway and his ability to navigate right turn. Mr. Baldwin would like the plan modified so that there is a wider turn and more perpendicular. It was agreed that this must be included in the permit and will be part of condition of approval.

Meeting was closed to the public.

Mr. Theobald then discussed the HPC recommendation letter and that they shall be notified prior to any demolition so that photos may be taken. Mr. Kienz recommended that the board not be involved with any HPC recommendations.

The issue of shared parking with Dunkin’ Donuts came up and the owner of Taco Bell said they would be amenable to working out something in the future if they didn’t have to pay for it.

Mr. Kienz recommended the board consider granting preliminary site plan approval with all the variances sought and either withdraw final site plan approval at this time or carry it for an extended period of time so performance guarantees will not be necessary. This will save money as there are still so many open issues. No developer’s agreement will be needed.

Motion: Motion for Preliminary site plan approval with variances was made by Ms. Cocula. Mr. Rolando seconded the motion. ROLL CALL: WEXLER - Y, RIZZUTO - N, THEOBALD -Y, COCULA -Y, PALADINI -Y, ROLANDO -Y, NIEVES - Y. PASSED

LU# 6-15-8: Wilson Facility Management Services - Block 232, Lot 17 & 17.01, - Preliminary and Final Site Plan with Variances for Asphalt Maintenance Offices, Maintenance Facilities for Its Own Equipment and Outdoor Storage of Equipment

Councilmember Rizzuto stepped down from this application.

Attorney Ira Weiner of Beattie Padavano came forward on behalf of his client and explained that they were looking to rehab a building that is currently on one lot, and build another that is on the lot next to it.

Jeffrey Houser of Houser Engineering came forward and was sworn in. Mr. Houser distributed a color rendering of the lots (marked A1) Mr. Houser discussed that 50-60% of the property has steep slopes with grades over 50%. Lot 17.01 would have a building with 5900 sq. ft. which would consist of 4 garage bays and offices up front. Lot 17 would have 2400 sq. ft. of office space with 3500 sq. ft. garage space. There will be a separate entrance and exit for each and a common driveway around back and will be serviced by a common stormwater management system. Buildings will be serviced by a common septic system. This is considered single property because both lots have common owners. This will have to be deed restricted to make sure it’s common ownership for 99 years per county health dept. Each building will have its own well.

Landscape—There will be perennials and grasses throughout, shadetrees, and timber guiderails along frontage. Lighting will consist of 15' high poles with shoebox style lighting.

The board voted to take a 10 minute break at 9:20 p.m.

Mr. Houser submitted architectural rendering A2 and discussed the need for a sign variance—for location only (faces Rudetown Road). There are 5 signs total but this is the only one that needs a variance.

John Doyle of Wilson Facility Management Services came forward and was sworn in.

Mr. Doyle stated that their operations consisted of sealcoating and asphalt repair of commercial and residential driveways and that all products are non-hazardous and water soluble. Mr. Doyle stated that there would be four dump trucks and one large tandem parked in rear of facility in the fenced in area. They are also looking for a temporary use variance as they are looking to rent in the future.

Ms. Imbriano stated that while office use is permitted, storage is not permitted and would need a variance. Use variance will be for whole property and for storage. Only minor repairs and oil changes are to be done onsite. There are no floor drains.

Keenan Hughes, professional planner came forward and was sworn in. Mr. Hughes distributed photos (exhibit A3) of property and uses of surrounding areas. He stated that the surrounding areas are a mix of uses and that this use will not impact the surrounding uses and will conform and is appropriate for this area.

Mr. Glenn Gorlich, professional architect came forward and was sworn in. Mr. Stoner asked why there are differences in the architectural drawings. Mr. Gorlich explained that since the submission of the application the client had requested some more flexibility in the potential of splitting up the space, so two entrances were added at the center of the building. Mr. Stoner asked that the architectural drawings and site plan be updated.

Meeting was opened to the public.

No one from the public wished to speak.

Meeting was closed to the public.

Mr. Stoner added that the drainage system will need to be tied into the municipal drainage on Old Rudetown road and permission will be needed from the municipality.

Mr. Kienz suggested that the applicant ask for preliminary site plan approval and that final site plan be withdrawn for now.

Motion: Ms. Cocula made a motion to approve preliminary site plan with variances. Mr. Rolando seconded the motion. Roll Call: Wexler - Y, Theobald - Y, Cocula - Y, Paladini - Y, Rolando - Y, Nieves - Y, Raperto - Y. Passed

Resolutions

LU# 6-15-9: Sandra Kreutzer - Block 230.19, Lot 6, - Variance for Front Yard, Side Yard and Lot Coverage to Build a Garage and Family Room Addition

Eligible to vote: Theobald, Tadrick, Paladini, Rolando, Nieves, Raperto

Motion: Ms. Paladini made a motion to approve the resolution. Mr. Nieves seconded the motion. ROLL CALL: Theobald - Y, Paladini - Y, Rolando - Y, Nieves - Y, Raperto - Y. Passed

Resolution of Approval for a Modification and Elimination of a Non-Significant Conditions for First Hartford Realty Corporation.

Motion: Ms. Cocula made a motion to approve the resolution. Ms. Paladini seconded the motion. Roll Call: Cocula - Y, Paladini - Y. Passed

Land Use Board Discussion Items (action may or may not be taken)

None

Minutes

August 12, 2015: Regular Meeting Minutes (Rizzuto, Theobald, Tadrick, Paladini, Rolando, Nieves, Raperto)

Motion: A motion was made by Mr. Nieves to approve the 8/12/15 minutes. Ms. Paladini seconded the motion. Roll call: Theobald - Y, Paladini - Y, Rolando - Y, Nieves -Y, Raperto - Y. Passed

August 26, 2015: Regular Meeting Minutes (Marotta, Rizzuto, Spoerl, Tadrick Cocula, Paladini, Rolando)

Motion: Ms. Cocula made a motion to approve the 8/26/15 minutes. Mr. Nieves seconded the motion. All were in favor

Appendix A: Escrows, Board Fees, Bond Reductions and Escrow Closures

1. Board Fees
   1. Board Attorney: Glenn Kienz, Weiner Lesniak LLP
      1. Land Use Board Business: ($0)
   2. Board Planner: Jessica Caldwell, J. Caldwell & Associates
      1. Land Use Board Business: ($0)
   3. Board Engineer: Cory Stoner, Harold E. Pellow & Associates
      1. Land Use Board Business: Services through 7/22/15 ($673.75)
      2. Wilson Facility Mang.: LU# 6-15-8 - Services through 7/22/15 ($245.50)
      3. MNA Vernon Realty: LU# 6-15-5 - Services through 7/22/15 ($1,553.75)
      4. National Winter Act.: LU# 6-15-6 - Services through 7/27/15 ($2,475.13)
      5. KDC Solar: LU# 8-11-15 - Services through 7/23/15 ($245.00)
      6. First Hartford: LU# 5-14-4 - Services through 7/13/15 ($122.50)
   4. Board Recording Secretary: Colleen Ragnetti - ($105.00)

Motion: Ms. Paladini made a motion to approve the board fees. Ms. Wexler seconded the motion: All were in favor

2. Request for Escrows to be Closed
   1. None

Adjournment

Motion: Ms. Cocula made a motion to adjourn the LUB meeting at 10:29 p.m. Mr. Nieves seconded the motion. All were in favor.

These minutes were transcribed by Carole Baksa on October 5, 2015.