Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • September 7, 2011 Mahwah Public hearing on landlocked property delayed anew by Frank J. McMahon An attorney’s objection has led to another delay in the Mahwah Zoning Board’s hearing of Philip and Julia Filippone’s plans to construct a single-family home off Midvale Mountain Road. The Filippones’ application seeks the board’s approval to develop their landlocked property, which is located in a wooded area west of the Ramapo River and Ramapo Valley Road near the Oakland border. The case has been postponed until Sept. 21. The delay was necessitated by an objection raised by Robert Zisgen, an attorney for James Venusti, who owns the adjacent property. The applicants would need to construct a driveway to their landlocked site through Venusti’s property on a 25-foot wide easement that leads to Midvale Mountain Road. Zisgen’s objection was that the notice the Filippones sent to the neighbors of the site was defective because it described the property as being approximately 4.09 acres when a previous court order prohibits the Filippones from stating that their property is anything but 3.39 acres and the change in acreage revises the lot coverage requirements. He also said the public notice does not mention that the Filippones’ lot does not abut a public street as required by state law. Matthew Fox, a professional engineer hired by the Filippones, explained to the board that the difference in lot area is related to a surveyor’s mistake when a previous subdivision was developed. When the map for that subdivision was filed, he said, the survey left the Filippones’ property short so that it overlaps the Venusti property. Zoning Board Chairman Charles Rabolli asked Township Engineer Michael Kelly to meet with Fox, get a survey of the property to show where it overlaps with the Venusti property, and file a report to the board with a copy to Zisgen. “We’ll offer an opinion,” Kelly told the board, “but we don’t have the jurisdiction to determine the size of the property.” Kelly said he would submit a report to the board to indicate if it is reasonable to say the land is 3.39 or 4.09 acres in size. Earlier in the meeting, and prior to Zisgen’s objection, the board addressed the issue of its jurisdiction in the application, which Zisgen previously challenged because all property owners within 200 feet of the Filippones’ property had not received proper notice of the application. Fox explained to the board how he determined all the properties that are within 200 feet of the subject property, including all the properties within 200 feet of Midvale Mountain Road, which is not a public street. He described how he personally visited Midvale Mountain Road to determine the addresses and block and lot numbers of all the properties on that road. He said notices were sent to property owners on Midvale Mountain Road and those on the 200-foot list that was supplied by the township’s tax assessor. Zisgen then agreed that all those property owners who should be notified about the application had been properly notified. The Filippones had sought a variance from the zoning board in 2009 to permit the construction of a single-family dwelling on their property with a driveway that extends across an easement over their neighbor’s property to Midvale Mountain Road. That public hearing had been under way for 11 months when it was terminated in March 2010. Reacting to an objection by Zisgen, the zoning board decided it did not have the jurisdiction to continue hearing the application because a proper notice had not been sent to all the nearby residents as required by state law, including those on Midvale Mountain Road. That decision led to the Filippones’ lawsuit against the Mahwah Board of Adjustment in April 2010 and the November 2010 ruling by Superior Court Judge Joseph S. Conte. Conte ruled that the Filippones’ notice was neither sufficient to give the public a reasonably accurate description of the proposed use of their property, nor was it sufficiently served upon all residents within 200 feet of the Filippones’ property, as well as the adjacent property, according to state law. Conte also ruled that the Filippones would have to send (continued on page 27) ������������������������������ $ ������������������������������� ���������������������������� �������������������������� ������������������������������ 35 � You’re Invited To Our Open House - Join Us Saturday, September 24th - 1 pm – 3 pm 100 Off Any Session Package when you sign up at our Open House! ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ������������������������������������� ��������� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ����������������� ������������������ BEFORE AFTER ������������� � �������������������������� � ���������� �� 3-16-11 pat/janine