This Month's Minutes

Minutes Open Session
Allamuchy Land Use Board February 24, 2011

   The Allamuchy Township Land Use Board held their regular meeting on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at the Municipal Building.  The meeting was called to order at 7:39 p.m., by Vice Chairman Gibbs and she led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance.     

STATEMENT:  Board Secretary Alfia Schemm announced that adequate notice for this meeting has been provided according to the Open Public Meetings Act.

ROLL CALL:
    PRESENT:    Cristianna Gibbs, Jeff McDonnell, Robert Hunt, Tim Stuy, Adam Baker,
                           and Robert Resker.
    ABSENT:      Mayor James Cote, Peter Bolten, Stacy Bockbrader, Michael Sloane, and
                           Suzanne Chamberlin.
    ALSO PRESENT:  Board Attorney Roger Thomas, Board Cindy Coppola, Board
                          Engineer Paul Niehoff, and Board Secretary Alfia Schemm.     

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
   Vice Chairwoman Gibbs stated that she is not aware of any announcements for this evening.    

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
   The minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 27, 2011 were distributed prior to the meeting.  Mr. Resker made the motion to adopt the minutes.  Motion seconded by Mr. Stuy.  In a voice vote, all were in favor, except for Mr. McDonnell, who was not present at the January meeting and he abstained. 

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:
   Ms. Gibbs opened the meeting to the public for non-agenda items.  With their no public comment, the meeting was closed to the public.   

OLD BUSINESS:
   #09-007 Polowy Stone, Block 201, Lot 39
   Ms. Gibbs asked Board Attorney Thomas to summarize the status of this matter, what is to be accomplished this evening, and those Board Members eligible to vote.  Board Attorney Thomas reviewed the ongoing multiple faceted application.  He stated that the Board has determined that there is a pre-existing non-conforming use and at the August meeting the Board ended with the cross-examination of both Andrew and Stephen Polowy.  He stated that Attorney Michael Selvaggi, who was representing an objector, is no longer going to participate in this matter.  He stated that Planner Steck is present this evening to present additional planning testimony.  He stated that the Board still needs to determine what the pre-existing non-conforming use is, whether there has been an expansion of the pre-existing non-conforming use, and the impact of the subdivision, if any.  He stated that the Board would need to grant a variance if they determined that an expansion has occurred.   He stated that only four Board Members are eligible to vote this evening and the remaining Board Members would need to listen to the testimony of missed meetings to be eligible to vote on this matter.  He stated that he understands that Attorney Nicholson has a conflict with the March 24th Board Meeting. 
 
   Debra Nicholson, Esq. was present on behalf of the Applicant and she reviewed the Board Members that are eligible to participate and the conflict that she has with the March Board meeting. 

   Stephen Polowy acknowledged that he was still under oath. With the Board having no questions of Mr. Polowy, the hearing was opened to the public. With there being no public questions for Mr. Polowy, the hearing was closed to the public for questions of Mr. Polowy.  

   Peter Steck acknowledged that he was still under oath.  Attorney Nicholson summarized that the Board will need to make a determination to the extent of the
pre-existing non-conforming use, has there been an expansion, and the impact of the subdivision.  She stated that if there has been an expansion, what proofs are necessary to make this application eligible for the Board to grant variance relief.  She summarized the testimony provided in regards to the operation.  She stated that they have provided testimony from 15 witnesses as to the level of activity that has historically occurred at the site.  She stated that testimony has been provided in regards to the improvements to Kasper Road and the Applicants willingness to voluntarily restrict some of their activities.  Planner Steck stated that there are several dates that are important to the application, one of them being November 19, 1967, which was when the first Township Zoning Ordinance was adopted.  He stated that the first issue is to determine what was going on, on the subject property that would be by right allowed to continue.  He stated that then some events occurred after that time and were parts of the use abandoned or did the Applicant expand parts of the use.  He stated that there was a stone supply business that was integrated into the farming business.  Some of the stone was taken from the property and some of the stone was imported.  He stated that in the early days the equipment and vehicles were shared and there was an overlap of both the farming and stone activities.  He stated that modifications are allowed with pre-existing
non-conforming uses and that business fluctuations do not constitute an expansion, as some uses fluctuate with the economy and the season.   He reviewed various case law and the slow and gradual change to the Polowy operation and the changes and activities that took place on the property.  He then went on to review the present operation of the business. He stated that he thinks that the application can be approved without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial impairment to the zone plan and zoning ordinance.  He stated that the Applicant has made concessions and the Board could find there are special reasons and the negative criteria could be satisfied for granting the D-2 variance.  He reviewed the onsite and offsite traffic circulation of the business vehicles. The Board and the Applicant reviewed the proposal and lot coverage.

   The hearing was then opened for questions of Planner Steck.

   Steve Haydu questioned the number of truck trips per day, the condition of Kasper Road, the hours of operation and the size of the trucks.  He submitted the following information, which was marked as an exhibit:
   O-17   Photocopy of a Truck
   O-18   Photocopy of a Truck    
   He asked if increasing the tonnage of the trucks used is considered an expansion. Planner Steck stated that he does feel that increasing the size of the truck is an expansion.
   
   James Rollo questioned the planning testimony provided by Planner Steck. 

   Ms. Gibbs asked if there was anyone else from the public wishing to question Planner Steck.  With there being no further questions, the hearing was closed to the public for questions of Planner Steck. 

   Attorney Nicholson stated that this now concludes their affirmative case. 

   The Board continued to discuss the proposal. Ms. Gibbs opened the hearing for general questions and comments.

   Steve Haydu was sworn in and he stated that he made a DVD back in April/May of 2010.  He stated that he would like to give the Board a visual display of what the neighbors put up with.  He described the size of the trucks and he played the DVD and he described the noise being generated from the equipment.  He also stated his concern over the safety of children who run or play on Kasper Road.  He stated his concern over the truck noise being generated early in the morning.  The DVD was marked as an exhibit:
   O-19  Haydu DVD
   He stated that he would also like to submit a letter that he wrote.  Attorney Nicholson objected to some of the legal opinions noted in the letter.  Mr. Haydu read the letter into the record and he displayed a photograph.  Attorney Nicholson objected to the photograph which she states is inaccurate.  Mr. Haydu also displayed a photograph was taken via BING Maps, approximately 5 years ago.  The following documents were marked as exhibit:
   O-20  Letter from Steve Haydu
   O-21  2 Photos displayed side by side
   Mr. Haydu continued to address his concern over the Polowy expansion.  He submitted a blow up of the BING photograph in O-21, which was marked as an exhibit:
   O-22   Blow up BING Photograph
   He described the photograph and he continued to state his concerns.

   Attorney Nicholson asked Mr. Haydu if he knew what the decibel levels were at his deck and whether he has any proof of the scientific decibel levels of the sound from his property. She also asked him about his neighborhood, the status of the Municipal Court Matter, and the legal and planning testimony that he provided.  Attorney Nicholson submitted the following documents, which were marked as an exhibit:
   A-11   Photograph of truck
   A-12   Photograph of truck
  Attorney Nicholson asked Mr. Haydu if he recognized the trucks in the photographs and whether they were taken at Mike Acquavella Coffee Mikes house and whether they are Coffee Mikes tractor trailer trucks. She asked if the trucks waking up him up in the middle of the night might be Coffee Mikes trucks and whether there are other trucks in the area. Mr. Haydu stated that he has never seen Coffee Mikes trucks before.  The Board asked if Mr. Haydu knew about the Polowy operation when he bought his house.    He stated that Polowy has run an illegal operation, for the past 40 years, because they never got the variance when they should have.  He stated that the Polowy business impacts the whole neighborhood, creates dust, creates noise, and wakes him up at 3 am in the morning. 

   James Rollo stated that the residents do have the right to present their experience to the Board.  He stated that he moved into the area in 2002.  He stated that there was an increase in truck activity for a number of years and he stated that it has dropped off recently.  He stated that he has not seen any factual hard evidence in reference to the trucks and he stated a concern over safety.  Attorney Nicholson asked if he has seen a decrease in the truck traffic.  Mr. Rollo stated that he has noticed less truck traffic since 2007.   Attorney Nicholson asked Mr. Rollo if he knew about the Polowy operation when he bought his home.  She also asked him if he is aware of the farms in the area.  He stated that he was told about a quarrying operation and he is aware that there are cows in the area. 

   Nancy McGoldrick stated that she has lived in the area since 1994 and she was not informed of Polowy Stone and she stated that it was a smaller operation and she stated that she was a Realtor and she never informed anyone about Polowy Stone.   She stated that she was told that she would have a difficult time selling her home, because she would have to disclose her proximity to Polowy Stone.  Attorney Nicholson objected, stating that, that is hearsay. 

   The hearing was then closed to the public.

   Attorney Nicholson stated that she will save her summation for the next meeting.  The Board then went on to discuss the scheduling of the next hearing.  Board Attorney Thomas suggested the 5th Thursday, March 31st.   The Board was polled and it was agreed to reschedule the regular March meeting to that date.

   Board Attorney Thomas announced that the Polowy matter is being carried to March 31st, without any further public notice.  Attorney Nicholson asked that the Board Members listen to the audio of meetings missed so that there are 7 Board Members eligible to vote     
   
ADJOURNMENT:
   In a motion made and seconded the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted:

Alfia Schemm
Board Secretary