July 31, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Franklin Lakes Builder seeks affordable housing use variance by Frank J. McMahon A builder has applied to the Franklin Lakes Zoning Board of Adjustment for a use variance to build multi- family housing, including some affordable housing units, on a 3.2-acre residential lot at 724 Franklin Avenue. The property is adjacent to Shirley Avenue and opposite Bender Court and Cherry Street. The public hearing application by ABJC Investments, LLC, a builder that is located at 799 Franklin Avenue, began July 10 and will continue at the board’s Aug. 1 meeting. The application does not include a complete site plan because the builder is asking the board to bifurcate the application. The first part would be the application for the use variance because multi-family use is not permit- ted in the property’s A-22.5 residential district. If the board grants the variance, the builder would prepare full site plans for the project and return to the zoning board at a future date. ABJC Investments is currently asking the board to grant a use variance to allow construction of two multi- family buildings containing 24 dwelling units that would include five low- and moderate-income units. Joseph Commorata, a principal of ABJC Investments, began his presentation to the board with an extensive review of the homes, and the types of homes his firm has built over the years. He emphasized the various ele- ments and the details that exist in the homes his firm builds. He acknowledged, however, that the buildings he is proposing for this site will not have all those elements and details. He also compared his proposed project to several other multi-family developments in the borough, point- ing out that his proposed project would have 24 units at 7.6 units per acre, while the Mill Pond housing complex on Old Mill Road has 100 units at 8.13 units per acre, and the Excelsior housing project recently approved on Colonial Road will have 89 units or 6.4 units per acre and the Horizon Senior Living complex on Franklin Avenue has 120 units at 14.8 units per acre, and all three of those housing projects back up onto either a railroad or a high- way. Asked what effect his proposed housing project would have on the borough’s school system, Commorata advised that he has been advised that the population of the borough’s school district is expected to experience a “huge decline” and he said he will provide a report to the board that shows that the school district will have to consider consolidating some of the schools due to that decline in students. Commorata said he has not decided yet whether the units in his project will be leased or sold, but he said there would be no noticeable difference in appearance of the units from the outside. David Hals, a civil engineer hired by Commorata, advised that the site would have 46 nine by 18 parking spaces, including two with Americans with Disabilities Act access, one in front of each building, with a 24-foot drive aisle that would be wider at the entrance and exit areas and emergency vehicles would not be restricted onsite. Hals said there would be water and gas service avail- able and electric utility poles at the front of the site but underground onsite, and the site would not have a septic system. Instead, there would be an internal sanitary sewer system that would pump sewage up to the new sewer line being installed by the Northwest Bergen Utility Author- ity near Pulis Avenue. He also told the board the project would meet all of the storm water management regula- tions and the drainage on the site would not aggravate the current conditions. Based on the preliminary plans for the project an existing detached garage, shed, barbecue, and existing driveway would be removed. All of those elements are existing non-conformities. Another variance would be required because the lot coverage of the proposed project would be 24.68 percent, while 20 percent is allowable in this zone for lots that do not contain a pool. Commorata had previously asked the borough council to rezone the property from an A-22.5 residential zone to a LB-1 limited business zone in order to permit the con- struction of a residential style office building on the lot. The ordinance was sent to the planning board to determine its consistency with the borough’s master plan, but after a lengthy discussion at a special meeting of the planning board concerning the pros and cons of the rezoning ordinance, the board, in a tie vote, effectively denied a motion to find the rezoning consistent with the master plan. The board did not recommend the rezoning to the council, and the council ultimately decided not to adopt the rezoning ordinance.