Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES Mahwah IV • October 3, 2012 Property owners must seek Highlands exemption by Frank J. McMahon The owners of a 3.39-acre landlocked property located west of Ramapo Valley Road in Mahwah recently learned they must obtain a determination from the Highlands Council as to whether the only access to their property is exempt from the Highlands Act regulations. The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act is a state law that was signed in August 2004 to preserve open space and protect the state’s natural resources, including water. The act documents the geographical boundary of the Highlands region and establishes two designated areas: a preservation area where development is restricted, and a planning area where development is permitted. Philip and Julia Filippone own the landlocked property, which is in the preservation area. The two have asked the Mahwah Board of Adjustment to determine if their property can be developed for a single family house. But their adjacent neighbor, James Venusti, objects to the development of the property and has been embroiled in a legal battle with the Filippones for many years over this matter. Another neighbor has also hired an attorney to oppose the development of the Filippone property. The Filippone property does not have any frontage on an improved street, but a 2007 court ruling granted the Filippones a 25-foot wide access easement for a 12-foot wide driveway that would extend over the Venusti property to Midvale Mountain Road, a private road that is reached from Glen Gray Road. During the recent continuation of the Filippones’ zoning board application, the board expected to hear testimony about an environmental impact study prepared by Matthew Fox, the Filippones’ professional civil engineer and land surveyor. However, the meeting was entirely devoted to a discussion and a debate over whether the zoning board could determine if the Filippones’ lot was exempt from the Highlands Act regulations. If the property is not eligible for a listed exemption from the Highlands Act regulations, they will require a Highlands Applicability Determination from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to obtain some relief to proceed with their development plans. Mahwah Township Engineer Michael Kelly testified that the Highlands Act does not address whether an off-site activity, such as the easement to provide access to the Filippones’ property, is exempt from the Highlands regulations. He said he was not comfortable making that determination. He recommended that the Filippones go the NJDEP for a decision. The ensuing discussion involved a difference of opinion about the definitions of a road and a driveway. Fox testified that the access is a driveway and not a road because, in order to be a road, it would have to be 40 feet wide and dedicated to the township. Zoning Board Attorney Ben Casio pointed out that part of this access is on the Venusti property, and the open question is whether an off-site driveway or road is entitled to a Highlands exemption. The board agreed that the Filippones should contact the Highlands Council to determine if the driveway they plan on the Venusti property is entitled to an exemption from the Highlands regulations. The board also agreed to carry the application to the Oct. 3 meeting, at which time the testimony on the environmental impact study will be heard. The Filippones won the right to the easement over the Venusti property in Superior Court in 2007, when Judge Robert P. Contillo found they were entitled it. The residents’ application came before the zoning board in 2009. The property owners sought approval to construct a single-family dwelling on their property with a driveway that extends across an easement over Venusti’s property to Midvale Mountain Road. After 11 months of testimony before the zoning board, Venusti’s attorney, Robert Zisgen raised a question about the validity of the legal notice the Filippones sent to the neighbors, and the board decided it did not have the jurisdiction to continue hearing the application because a proper notice was not sent to all the nearby residents as required by state law, including those who live on Midvale Mountain Road. Superior Court Judge Joseph S. Conte upheld that decision, and the Filippones were ordered to send the appropriate notice to all the neighbors who were entitled to receive it and to re-file an application with the zoning board. The public hearing had to be restarted from the beginning with all the testimony and evidence concerning the application being re-presented to the board. Recently, the matter was brought back into Superior Court by Zisgen, who asked Judge Contillo to prevent the Filippones from proceeding any further with their application before the zoning board because they had violated his time limit for getting a development approval that he set in 2007. Judge Contillo determined that the Filippones had made a diligent effort to get that approval, and he denied Zisgen’s motion. The Filippones then filed a new application, which is basically the same application that was previously before the board, but with some amendments. Before the board began to hear testimony on that application, both Zisgen and Ira Weiner, an attorney representing a resident of Fox River Crossing, a private road that is accessed from Midvale Mountain Road, objected to proceeding with the application before the board determined if the Filippones should have to provide a written environmental impact study of the property. The board agreed that a study should be completed. The report, which will be discussed this week, includes information about the slopes, drainage, and tree removal required to expand the pedestrian path, information about vegetation in the area, and whether any endangered species of animals have habitats in the area. The Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce will host a networking luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 16 from noon to 2 p.m. The event will be held at the Mason Jar at 219 Ramapo Valley Road in Mahwah. Members are invited to bring promotional material and literature for the media table. The luncheon is $35 for Chamber members and $50 for non-members. Advance registration is preferred; an additional $5 processing fee will be charged if paid the day of event. For reservations, visit mahwah.com or call (201) 529- Chamber hosts networking luncheon 5566. The Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce welcomes the following new members: Allied Printing Resource, Carlstadt; Avon, Mahwah; Forecast Trading Group, Suffern, New York; Fresh Maintenance, Mahwah; HYTORC, Mahwah; Marathon Energy Corp, Brooklyn, New York; Randy Neumann Wealth Management, Upper Saddle River; Saddle River Valley Lions Club, Saddle River; and Weber, Shapiro & Company LLP, Ramsey.