Transcript for Piscataway Zoning meeting on April 10 2025
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Apr 10 2025 · Zoning
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Speaker 0Thank you. Good. Mr. Chairman
Speaker 1Will do zoning. Board of adjustment meeting will please come to order. Adequate notice this meeting was provided in the following ways. Notice published in the Coer News notice posted on the Boldin board of the Municipal Building Notice made available to the township clerk Notice sent to the COER News in the star ledger. Will the clerk please call the roll?
Speaker 0Mr. Weisman? Here. Mr. Tillery? Here. Mr. Patel? Here. Mr. Regio? Here. Mr. Blo. Mr. Mitterando? Here. Mr. Ellie here. And Chairman Cahill. Here.
Speaker 1Will everyone please stand for a salute to the flag allegiance in the United States of America. Okay. And to Republic for which it stands. One Nation under Individual Liberty Justice for all. Mr. Kinneally, are there any changes to agenda? Yes,
Speaker 3There are. The application of Kasim Badat Buckingham Drive is adjourned until May 8th, 2025. He must notice the application of Ronco development. 1 46 Hillside Avenue has been withdrawn and will not be heard. The application of Ronco development, one 60 Hillside Avenue has been withdrawn and will not be heard. Those are all the changes I have.
Speaker 1Thank you. Mr. Kinneally. Start off with number six, discussion. Do you have the particulars on this Mr. Kinneally? Yeah.
Speaker 3Is Mr. Garcia Rena present?
Speaker 4I'm, can you hear me?
Speaker 3Mr. Garcia? Rena, are you present?
Speaker 4Yes. Hello. Can you, can you hear me?
Speaker 3Yes, we can hear you. Now. You remain under oath. Under oath to tell the truth. Could you explain to the board what you would like to do here or why you are dissatisfied with the board's resolution?
Speaker 4Should I was here three months ago on February 27th. It was my mistake. I didn't understand something properly. I actually submitted a letter and photos with my, we'll call it appeal. I won't have an opportunity to read that letter first and then share my screen to demonstrate photos and explain my concern if I may.
Speaker 3Okay. The, the board has your letter and your photo.
Speaker 4I may read a letter for the record.
Speaker 3I'm having a little trouble understanding you. I don't know if the board can hear you or not.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's coming choppy. It's coming across a little choppy.
Speaker 3Mr. Garcia, if you wanna share your screen and, and explain how you are dissatisfied. Go ahead.
Speaker 4Can you, can you hear me a little better now?
Speaker 3A little bit. I can hear you. You're still a little choppy.
Speaker 4Okay. My apologies. I can try connecting on my phone real quick.
Speaker 3Actually, this is be, this is the best that it's been, so give that a try.
Speaker 4Okay. I'm gonna share my screen to reflect when wanted to bring to the board today. This is my service for my property. I'm arrested in, I own the property at 1600 West fourth Street. If you can see, this is the, the, the first building here in the front is the home, the backyard. It's limited because of the asphalt driveway, which is marked on the blue line. I can zoom in a little bit if, if need to. I think we can see it fine. Okay. The, the green line is where the current chain link fence is, which my intention is to repla was to replace with a six foot fence, which was approved. Thank you very much for that. And this was showing the, the space right here. The green space is sort of showing my, what my backyard would end up being the space of my backyard.
Speaker 4And these little green AEs were the landscaping that was requested to install. I was under the impression that this is what was approved for. It was my mistake. I, I listened back to the original board meeting and it was clearly a misunderstanding on my end. Jonathan was very clear with his words. The second image I wanted to share is what was approved. Ultimately, instead of being able to run the defense parallel to the street, I was requested to cut in through the yard to meet the corner of my home down here. I wanted to reflect some photos to show what that looks like in person. And I'll go through and I try to explain to the best of my ability. This is the backyard. You can see the chain link fence here on the right side and the corner of the driveway, the fence that was approved would come through the yard here, leaving a triangle space on the, on the side of my home blocked off.
Speaker 4I also have different angles. So this is from corner, oh, towards the garage corner. This out of the way, real quick. This is a photo from you could garage angle. So if you go stand on the other end of the fence of where it would've been, the approved line would be, would require me to bring the fence to the corner of my property here with, as you can see, my rear door. It, it's, it seems very, a very tight space. This, this yard, this piece of yard is very important to me because it would allow me to really have a yard. Otherwise very limited space. So I just wanted to show what it would look like from the other end.
Speaker 4As, as this is the fence that I was requesting to replace. So this would be the line that would, there's still, as you can see on the other side of the fence, there's a lot of room for landscaping. There's significant space on this side as well. And I, this is the angle from the side of the house comes from the garage. So the fence, this red line is shown what the fence was required to be, which would come across the yard and have my gardening stuff here. My intention was to bring the fence down and then cut in with a gate to be able to access my, my yard from, from this side of the street. And also to not block my hose and have that be outside of my property. Technically, I like to have that in my yard because I'm planning on, you know, putting grass and taking, renewing the entire backyard. This, this spring and, and this green line will be my intention with the gate being this part and then running back to the garage.
Speaker 4This is a closer look at this house, at the side of the house. As you can see, the original fence is back here. The original demand was to bring the fence to this corner, just to kinda show all the space that I'd be losing. And the last photo, actually not here. Okay. The last photo I wanted to show is a further angle from the side of the house. My intention was to put the gate up and bring the fence all the way, run it parallel to the sidewalk and to the street. As you can see here, there's more than enough space for the landscaping. The fence that was approved would cut across here through the middle of my yard. And you can see the driveway here. It would pretty much take away for the only yard that I have. So I'm really trying to demonstrate my concerns and hope that the board can understand my, you know, my desire to have some privacy. I'm, I'm not sure if you guys had a chance to read the letter, but I kind of go in detail there. I read it over. There was some grammar, some misspelled, so I apologize for that. But that's really it. I just wanted to come back and hope to be able to demonstrate my intention.
Speaker 4That was it.
Speaker 1Okay. Thank you for your testimony. If we were to, Jonathan, are you there sir?
Speaker 5Yeah. The only thing I'd add to this chairman is the proposed adjustment will not impact the side triangle. That's the only thing that I'd like to, I'd like to highlight,
Speaker 1Put it on the record. Okay. Fair enough. Let me ask you a question. Jim does, does these new, does he have to reapply or do we have to hear a new side effect? No,
Speaker 3Hi. His approval had a condition and the condition was that he relocate the fence as recommended. He's here seeking relief of a condition of approval. If the board sees fit to give him relief, then I would just provide an amended resolution.
Speaker 1Okay. Thank you. Alright, any other members of the board have any questions or comments? Hearing none, I'm gonna open it to the public. Anyone in the public have any questions or comments?
Speaker 0No. One chairman.
Speaker 1Okay. I'm gonna make a motion to give him the relief that he seeks. Can I get a second? I'll second it. Thank you. Co the roll.
Speaker 0Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. Reggio?
Speaker 1Yes.
Speaker 0Mr. Mitterando? Yes. Mr. Elli? Yes. And Chairman Cahill?
Speaker 1Yes.
Speaker 3Mr. Garcia. Rena, I'll prepare a new resolution which we will adopt at our next meeting.
Speaker 0Thank you. You cut out again.
Speaker 1Time for a new headset. Thank you. Thank you. Good luck. Good luck.
Speaker 0Have a good night. Thank you.
Speaker 1Okay, let's move on to item number 7 25 dash ZB dash 13 V. Carlos Serrano.
Speaker 0That's not right.
Speaker 3Is Carlos Serrano present?
Speaker 6No, I'm, I'm his wife.
Speaker 3Okay. Could I have your name please?
Speaker 6Geraldine Bonilla.
Speaker 3Could you raise your right in hand? I need to swear you in. Do you swear that the testimony you're about to give should be the truth?
Speaker 6Yes.
Speaker 3And you can put your hand down, explain it to the board, what you'd like to do here.
Speaker 6What's going on? It was when I purchased my house, I wanted a fence and then I just contact someone and then he came and he did the labor and I put the request first. I put the request into the board and they approved it. But when I give him the papers, he put the fence. But by the time that I noticed, he, I just saw that he put, well, I didn't even notice. We, we, my husband is, he worked for the board, so he said that he was supposed to bring the fence five feet in because he was too much out. It was five feet out. So when we was trying to contact the person that did the labor over here from the fence, he, he wasn't picking up the phone anymore.
Speaker 1Oh, geez. Sorry about that.
Speaker 6Yeah, so I was like, kind of like, what should I do? And we start getting information that we can apply for these variants and that's what we did.
Speaker 3Okay. Have you seen the Piscataway staff report of March 20th, 2025?
Speaker 6No, not yet.
Speaker 0Yes, Carlos had it.
Speaker 6Carlos had it. Okay.
Speaker 1Okay. Well, per let's, perhaps Mr. Mizrahi could shed some light on the testimony. Yes,
Speaker 5Certainly. So just to, just to reiterate, the fence is five feet over the setback line, which was made clear in the testimony. Thank you for that. The condition of approval would be that a landscape buffer would have to be installed on the fence along Dryden Street on the outside of the fence, just because it's a tall white vinyl fence. We'd want to buffer that visually with evergreen shrubs. So I can work with, I can work with yourself or Carlos on the species and the, the size of the material. And that would be the condition of approval if you, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1Would you agree to that, ma'am?
Speaker 6Okay. Yes. Sounds good to me.
Speaker 1Okay. Good. Any other members of the board have any questions or comments? Hearing none, I'm gonna open it to the public. Anyone in the public portion have any questions or comments about this application?
Speaker 0No. One chairman.
Speaker 1Okay. Close the public portion. I'd make a motion to approve this application. I'll second it. Call the roll please.
Speaker 0Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. Regio? Yes. Mr. Mitterando? Yes. Mr. Ellie? Yes. And Chairman Cahill?
Speaker 1Yes.
Speaker 3Your application's been approved with that one condition? We'll memorialize it in our next, in a written document in our next meeting, and we'll mail that to you. Good luck. Thank
Speaker 6You. Thank you very much all
Speaker 1Have a good night, ma'am. Good night. You too. Let's move on to item number nine, which is 25 dash zb dash 12 V. Rebecca McCarthy.
Speaker 3Is Ms. McCarthy present?
Speaker 7Yes, I am.
Speaker 3Ms. McCarthy, I need to swear you in. Could you raise your right hand? Sure. Do you swear that testimony you're about to give should be the truth?
Speaker 7Yes, sir.
Speaker 3Your name and address, please?
Speaker 7Rebecca McCarthy, 37 Carlton Avenue. Piscataway.
Speaker 3Thank you. Could you explain to the board why you're here?
Speaker 7Sure. Thank you so much for your time and good evening to you all. I thank you for this opportunity to come before this board to ask for relief. So, like I said, my name is Rebecca McCarthy and I live at this address, 37 Carlton Avenue for the past 25 years. And I am formally here to request a variance, allowing me to keep my existing fence that is located by Summit Street, which I now learn that Summit Street is a front yard. I live here for 25 years and I always just thought it was my side yard, backyard. But I, I, I now learn, and I have, I have accepted that per the zoning and rule, it is considered a front yard. So that's not negotiate. That's, I'm not here to negotiate the term. Anyway, I, I, I thi this fence is very unique for several reasons.
Speaker 7The position this fence has been in place for, well, where it's at now behind the tree has been for three years. But prior to that, it was before the, the tree, I believe you have pictures. It was before the tree for about 20 years. For as long as I live here, it was before the tree I, three years ago, I moved it behind the tree. And I'll explain why a little later. But this fence extends from my backyard into cement street, which I, I consider to be my side yard. Forgive me if I say side yard because I've been saying it for 25 years, but it's really now known as the front yard. Anyway, the, the fence extended back there. This fence, it does not obstruct our visibility for neither drivers nor pedestrians. It is not a blind spot. Spot. Cars can freely go and come as they like, not, it's not in hindering anything.
Speaker 7It is positioned at the end at a discontinued sidewalk. So in other words, it does not interfere with anyone walking publicly because the sidewalk stops right by the fence, as you can see in the picture. Okay. The fence also blends with the aesthetics of the neighborhood, not too chicken. The way you bought yesterday, oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed No, go ahead. Go ahead maam. Okay. The fence also blend with the, a statistics of the, the neighborhood. And no one has, has complained the closest, my closest neighbor actually, you know, like the fence that is there, the, the, she said, you know, she, our kids come over and play their kids. My neighbor kids come over and play. But anyway, there is, like I said, no blind spot. And I mean, if for any reason public work need to do something and my fence is in the way, I'll be happy to remove, to lift it up and let them do their work if that ever get to that point.
Speaker 7So anyway, this fence serves several important purpose for my family. The most important purposes fence serve for my family is my grandchildren who frequently play and swing in the backyard. And that was a reason why I, I, I moved it behind the tree is because there's a tree in that little area and they climb the tree, they swing on the tree. They, you know, just, it, it's just their little safe zone that they do out there. And the fence acts as a protective barrier preventing them from accidentally running into the street or, you know, throwing a ball over a lower fence or just do something to keep them unsafe. So what I noticed when the fence was before is that they would go open the, the gate and go behind when the fence was before the tree, I meant they would open the gate and go behind the, the, the, the outside of the gate and climb on the tree and play on the tree.
Speaker 7And my oldest grandson said to me, why can't we just do this? And I said, no, it's unsafe because the street is right here and it's a main road. So I, you know, just thought, okay, why don't I just move the fence behind the tree? That way they could still enjoy it. I could still be in the house and I could peek through the window every now and then, and I don't have to, you know, be concerned about too much concern about their safety. So I moved the fence back there three years ago, and I'm actually happy that they're playing outside versus inside on their devices, on their tv that they actually found, that found a little safe zone right there. Moving the fence closer will prevent them from using the swing. Because the swing, I mean, we, we know the swing is swinging is a motion.
Speaker 7You go up and down and these kids, they get in there and they swing and they, you know, on the tree and they go out and their legs, they need space for the swinging motion and the legs to move. So that would really take that away from them. If I, if I have to move the swing in. And again, it would also take away the protective barrier. If I have to put it lower, then, you know, I would be worried about them throwing a ball over a small fence, scaling a small offense. I wouldn't be able to comfortable stay inside my house knowing that they are out there in the backyard playing. I call it a backyard, but you refer to it as a front yard, knowing that they're out there playing and you know, with a lower fence or knowing that they don't have the opportunity, they may not even wanna go in the backyard anymore.
Speaker 7If I remove that, that fence, because there's really nothing have a small backyard. There's really nothing for them to do out there other than that tree. It's their little safe zone. So the fence offers a reasonable level of privacy for, for me and my family without causing any disruption to neighbors or passersby or drivers. It does not pose a safety concern, like I said, for my neighbors or my driver or any drivers or anyone. I have no complaints in the three years in which defense was moved behind the tree. And of the 25 notice that I sent out, you know, to invite people to this. I don't know if anyone is here complaining. I guess we'll see if anyone complained, if anyone is here complaining that defense is causing a problem. But no one has verbally complained to me that it has caused a problem.
Speaker 7So in closing, and I just wanna say, I'm not here demanding. I'm not here, you know, saying you must do this. I'm here asking that you grant me this variance. You, you allow me to, I know that I am not, I am currently not within the zoning ordinances. So I'm not saying you must do this. I'm asking that you allow me to keep my fence the way it is. So I understand and I respect the zoning regulations in place. I do. And I appreciate the board's commitment to making, to maintaining the safety and the integrity of our community. I don't think you're here just because you're difficult or you just want me to suffer or take offense from my grandkids. I believe you're just doing your job and doing what need to be done. So I'm glad for this opportunity that I can come before you to make this request.
Speaker 7So I, I I thank you for this opportunity, but I wanna say, given that this fence does not create a blind spot, that it does not impact pedestrian access, it does not cause any harm or inconvenience to the public. I Kinneally request your consideration in granting me approval to retain this fence so that my grandchildren can continue to enjoy the tree in what they consider to be meme's park. These children said, I wanna go to meme's park, mema, can I go outside and play the park? It's only a small little backyard. They want, they call it a park. It means that much to them. And I will have some peace of mind knowing that they're there playing on that tree swinging as they would like. And I can at least be comfortable that the, the defense offers some, some sense of security while they're inside. Okay. So in, in making your decision, I ask that you consider the benefits that I just described of allowing me to keep the fence in its current location. And please, I ask, please allow my grandkids to have their little space.
Speaker 1I think we get a pretty good idea of what's going on.
Speaker 7Yeah.
Speaker 1Let's, let's get some other testimony in here. Jonathan, would you jump in for a minute?
Speaker 5Certainly. I'll, I'll add on to what, what Ms. McCarthy said. This does not impact the site triangle of the intersection. However, what we are asking, it's not even a full panel. It's a, it's a partial fence panel to allow some buffering to be installed. I'll also acknowledge that she mentioned that there hasn't been any negative comments in the three years it's been installed. So that would be the, that would be the extent of my comments and I'll, I'll defer to you, Mr. Chairman.
Speaker 1Will, will, the panel that you're at, we're asking for will that, how close will that get to the tree and the swinging motion that the kids will be playing? Do you know
Speaker 5From the photo? It, it, it appears to be less than six feet likely in the ballpark of four feet,
Speaker 1Ms. McCarthy, that should not make, if it's four to six feet, that should make much of a difference.
Speaker 7No, there would, there would.
Speaker 1The township requires 25 feet.
Speaker 7Yes. That's why I'm here. I I I understand that. Yes.
Speaker 1I, I think a four to six foot is a, is more than a compromise if, if it was right on top of the tree or where your grandchildren could possibly, you know, be obstructed from playing that area. But a four to six foot buffer is really not crazy. In fact, it's, it's on our behalf. It's, it's 19 feet off of what the requirement is. So
Speaker 7I
Speaker 1That's the only one. The one panel is all we're requiring.
Speaker 7I do, I do understand, sir, Mr. Cahill. But I do understand, and I do respect what you said, and I appreciate your comment, but the, I'm looking for the swing in motion. If it goes, if I take one, one panel out there, there will be a tree and it, the, the, they, they won't be able to do a swing in motion. They won't, they won't be able to play on it. And now I'm gonna have, you know, my grandkids not be able to swing because you can't swing without, you know, swinging motion. You can't swing without being able to, to, to move your, your, your legs and, yeah.
Speaker 1Gimme one second, Jim. What if we added a me memorandum? Is that possible?
Speaker 3A a condition of approval?
Speaker 1Yes.
Speaker 3What, what, what kind of a condition are you suggesting?
Speaker 1That we leave the fence where it is, but a, well, Jonathan, what, what, what would you suggest?
Speaker 5Could we, could we do a memorandum of restriction where if there's any need to access the, access the area, whether it's for a, a right of way, easement, temporary easement, anything like that? If there's any road reconstruction project going on, that the fence is the, the applicant's liable for the, the removal and reinstallation of the fence, if that makes
Speaker 3Sense. Yes. We could certainly make the memorandum of restriction a condition of approval.
Speaker 5So that would be an option to allow the fence to remain. And then should the fence need to be moved in the future that would allow that to happen?
Speaker 1I, I'd be in agreement to that too. Ms. McCarthy, do you understand?
Speaker 7Let, let, I believe what, what Mr. Jonathan just said yes. Is that he would, is suggesting that I could leave the fence, but if, for example, PSEG or whatever need to do something in that space, I would be responsible to pull the fence up and they could do whatever, whatever they need to do. And I would then put it back
Speaker 1At your responsibility. Exactly. Oh,
Speaker 7Sure. Oh, to, to allow my grandkid, if that, if that will save my grandkids space. Absolutely.
Speaker 1Ab let me find out if any of your neighbors are on, let me, let me open it to the, any of members of the board have any questions? Hearing none, I'm gonna take it to the public portion. Anyone in the public have any comments or questions about this application?
Speaker 0No one chairman.
Speaker 1Okay. Hold on just one second please. Would this, Jim, let me ask you a question. If we did give this the approval with the memorandum, would there be anything in terms of a deed restriction if she was goes to sell the house, would that have to remain in
Speaker 3Place? Well, the memo of restriction would follow the property. So if any future purchaser needed or, or was subject to PSEG roadwork,
Speaker 1They'd also
Speaker 3Be liable to move it.
Speaker 1Okay. Perfect. That's good. All my all in question. I'd make a motion to approve this application and give her the relief that she seeks the memorandum. Can I get a second? I a second? Okay. Hold the roll.
Speaker 0Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. Regio? Yes. Mr. Mitterando? Yes. Mr. Ellie? Yes. And Chairman Kay?
Speaker 1Yes.
Speaker 3Your application's been approved with that one condition, ma'am, we'll memorialize that at our next meeting and send that to you.
Speaker 7Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate it.
Speaker 1I hope your grandchildren enjoy that.
Speaker 7I thank you so much. I'll be so happy to give them this news. Thank you,
Speaker 1Ma'am. Have a great evening.
Speaker 7Thank you so much. Thank you.
Speaker 1Am I up to 12? Laura,
Speaker 7Can I leave or do I have to? You're
Speaker 1All done. No, go please. We have to be here. You don't.
Speaker 7Okay. Thank you. Thank
Speaker 0You. It's 12. Sean?
Speaker 1It's 12. Okay. Item number 12, adoption of the resolutions from the regular meeting of March 7th, 27th, 2025.
Speaker 3First resolution. Kevin Tova Reyes, which you voted to approve. Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. O'Reggio? Yes. Mr. Mitterando? Yes. Mr. Ali? Yes. Chairman Cahill? Yes. Final resolution? Manjit Bois Singh. This was the gas station convenience store, which you voted to approve. Mr. Weissman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. O'Reggio? Yes. Mr. Mitterando? Yes. Mr. Ali? Yes. Chairman Cahill? Yes. Those are all the resolutions for this evening.
Speaker 1Item number 13, adoption of the minutes from the regular meeting of March 27th, 2025. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Item
Speaker 0Number 14. Mr. Cahill, before you adjourn, a MR is on. He was postponed until May. I don't know why he's here. I just wanna let him know that he didn't have to be here this evening.
Speaker 1Okay. Okay. I Item number 14 is adjournment. All in favor say aye. Aye. Okay. Thanks again guys, for your volunteering and hard work. Appreciate you all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 3Have a good night everyone.
Speaker 1Have a good one. Bye-bye. Bye.