December 16, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Mahwah Board approves certificate of non-conformity by Frank J. McMahon A developer’s plans to gut and reconstruct four buildings on a 3.5-acre lot on Stag Hill Road received the Mahwah Zoning Board’s vote of confidence when the board unanimously approved the issuance of a certificate of non-conformity for the four structures on the site. The property is located in the township’s R-40 zone, which limits structures on a lot to one single family house. There are four housing structures on this lot. Bruce Whitaker, the attorney for Richard Marchesi, the contract purchaser of the property, explained that the certificate of non-conformance was required from the zoning board because it had not been requested from the township within one year of the passage of the Municipal Land Use Law in 1976 as required by that legislation. He maintained that the buildings were all constructed before the township’s zoning ordinance was adopted, so a certificate of non-conformance was deserved even though it had not been requested within the state’s timeframe. Whitaker obtained testimony from a witness who lived across the street from the site in 1944, before the township’s zoning ordinance was adopted, and an architect who testified about the age of the buildings, and the potential purchaser of the property and tax and title documents showing the ownership of the property prior to the creation of the zoning ordinance. William Mann testified that he lived across the street from the site when he was nine years old and that the four buildings on the site existed at that time, which Whitaker pointed out was two years before the local zoning ordinance was adopted in 1946. Mann also testified that he knew the woman who owned the property at that time and that he and his grandfather worked on the property. Thomas Ashbahian, an architect and professional (continued on page 9) ������������������������������ ������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������� ������������������������� ����������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ��������������������������� ����������� ���������������������� Winter specials available now for a limited time only. Call Robin at 973-636-7000