November 30, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Mahwah Skytop site construction to begin in spring by Frank J. McMahon Construction of the cul-de-sac that will provide access to five new homes in Mahwah between Skytop Drive and Wyckoff Avenue is expected to begin in the spring. The subdivision plan approved by the township’s planning board in 2010 calls for eight lots, including one fully-developed lot on Skytop with a cul-de-sac access to the subdivision from Skytop south of the elbow turn. Six lots will have frontage on the cul-desac and two will continue to have frontage on Wyckoff Avenue. Division Place, the strip of land on the northern edge of the property, will be located at the rear of the new lots that will front on the cul-de-sac. Each of the lots will contain a newly-constructed dwelling, except for the existing lot on Skytop Drive at the beginning of the cul-de-sac and the northernmost lot on Wyckoff Avenue where the existing house will remain. According to the approved plans, a house and several other structures on the other lot fronting on Wyckoff Avenue will be removed, in favor of a new structure. Robert Inglima, the attorney for the property owners, recently returned to the planning board to ask for an extension of time to begin construction until the end of 2012, although he estimated that the cul-de-sac would most likely be constructed in April or May of 2012. Inglima explained that, since the board granted approval for the project, his client has received the endorsement of the Northwest Bergen Utilities Authority for the installation of a sanitary sewer to serve six of the lots in the subdivision and all the requirements of the township’s utility engineer and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have been satisfied. The process of obtaining all the approvals from Bergen County is expected to be completed in December. Inglima informed the board that the owners of property are all members of the George and Deborah Kayal family and that ownership is being reorganized for tax purposes into an organization known as Kayal Realty, LLC, which will take title to all the lots on the cul-desac. Mahwah Planning Board Attorney Peter Scandariato said he was not aware that the township code concerning variances granted by a planning board required such an extension of time, but said he saw no harm in granting the Inglima’s request, and the board voted unanimously to do so. When the subdivision was approved, the board granted variances for two lots with deficient lot depth and variances for two lots with deficient frontage. It also added a condition that a homeowners’ association be created to maintain the water quality retention basin proposed for the site, and for making a monetary contribution to the township’s sidewalk bank, for the eventual extension of the water line serving the site, and to install a fence around the water retention basin if it deemed necessary. During the public hearings on the application, the plans were changed several times to meet the concerns expressed by board members and some neighbors. The board also voiced concern about the water pressure that would be provided to the area because it would be below the 750 gallons per minute required by the state’s Residential Site Improvement Standards. The planners voted unanimously to approve the subdivision after Michael McGowan, the professional engineer for the property owners, clarified certain aspects of the RSIS requirement and the benefits that a new proposed water line would provide to the area. McGowan explained to the board that, according to the RSIS, if the surrounding water service infrastructure is not adequate, the RSIS does not require the applicant to improve the water system off site. He pointed out, however, that his clients have agreed to increase the size of the water line to be installed on the site from six to eight inches and to extend it to Wyckoff Avenue where it can be connected to the township’s water system in the future when the municipality extends its sewer and water lines to the Wyckoff border. When that water line is eventually looped to the existing water line on Wyckoff Avenue, McGowan said the water pressure would increase to 670 gpm and his clients have agreed to pay for the piping and materials needed to connect the water line to the Mahwah water system. Meanwhile, the existing fire flow will not be diminished and a new fire hydrant will be installed on Wyckoff Avenue.