Franklin Lakes February 20, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Rezoning builder may now seek affordable housing by Frank J. McMahon A local builder who unsuccessfully sought to have a 3.2-acre residential lot at 724 Franklin Avenue rezoned from its existing A-22.5 residential zone to the LB1 limited business zone in order to permit construction of a residential style office building, may now seek approval to build affordable housing on the site. Joseph Commorata of ABJC Investments, LLC recently attended a Franklin Lakes Council work session and recounted how he presented his proposal for a professional office building to the council on multiple occasions and how the council introduced a rezoning ordinance that was sent to the planning board to determine its consistency with the borough’s master plan. But, after discussing the pros and cons, the planning board, in a tie vote, denied a motion to find the rezoning consistent with the master plan. The board did not recommend the rezoning of the property and, therefore, the council ultimately decided not to adopt the rezoning ordinance. Following the council’s vote, Commorata sent a letter to Mayor Frank Bivona expressing his disappointment that the council had decided not to rezone the property he has contracted to buy. He also expressed the opinion that the decision not to rezone his property was the result of poor communication between the council and the planning board. He claimed that, if the council and the board had heard all the testimony at all of their individual meetings, “the resulting disposition would have been dramatically different than what occurred.” Commorata advised the mayor that he obtained an extension of the contract he has with the heir and executrix of the estate of the owner of the property to pursue other options for development “in a fashion other than its current zoning.” He has discussed the merits of having a law firm represent his company in an application to the board of adjustment seeking affordable housing on the site. According to Commorata, that law firm feels the property is “certainly a candidate for affordable housing” and he stated they were confident that the site could provide the criteria creating a very strong argument that the site would be a benefit to the town. He added, however, that he was informed that once these types of actions are started, the courts would not look favorably on him if he were to then acquiesce from proposing an affordable housing use to a commercial use. Commorata acknowledged that affordable housing is a significantly more intense use of the property than a professional office building, and an office building would be a complement to the borough and would not represent a drain on the schools or the surrounding area. He emphasized that his intent is to create a project that complements the town, whether it is a residential affordable housing project or a small professional office building. He suggested that the governing body might want to reconsider his previous proposal, and said he hopes the matter will be resolved with what he believes is “a less intense use of the property and a better fit for the town.” At the work session, Bivona advised Commorata that the matter was on the agenda to be discussed in closed session that night, and it would be premature to respond to the request prior to the closed (continued on page 6) On Feb. 10, a resident of Valley View Drive North in Franklin Lakes reported discovering that during the previous night, possibly between 10 and 10:30 p.m., a rifle round had penetrated the house. The round appears to have been fired from a wooded area located to the rear of the Rifle round penetrates home property. The round entered the rear of the building and exited the front. There were no injuries. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department BCI processed the scene. Sergeant Carmine Pezzuti, Officer Robert Smith, and Detective Anthony Pacelli investigated.