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United Water amends zoning application
(by Karen F. Mrnarevic - October 01, 2008)
Two weeks after the council of the Borough of Montvale unanimously adopted a new zoning ordinance to control the development and expansion of public utilities within the borough, United Water, which currently has an application for before the Zoning Board, has amended its proposed site plan to comply with the ordinance. United Water has applied for variances to construct a pumping station on a site within a residential zone on Hickory Hill Road, where the utility currently maintains a water storage tank.
Ordinance #2008-1291 declares development or expansion of utility facilities within residential zones to be a non-conforming use necessitating a use-variance, and also asserts that utilities must be insulated from adjacent or surrounding residential properties by a 70-foot buffer zone.
According to Daniel Gielchinsky, the attorney representing United Water in its application to the Zoning Board, “United Water amended its application and shifted the proposed booster [pumping] station to the west of the tank in a manner that ensured it would comply with the ordinance.” The amended application was prepared for the Zoning Board’s Sept. 23 hearing.
A review of the site plan shows that the 1,600 square-foot pumping station has been relocated from the east to the west side of the site’s existing water tank. Gielchinsky added, “We’ve revised the landscaping plans and submitted those in advance of last night’s [Sept. 23] hearing.” The 70-foot buffer required by the ordinance differs from a setback, as it would include plantings to visually shield adjacent properties from the pumping station.
Barry Shereck, an objector to United Water’s application said of the relocation of the pumping station, “I think the west side of the tank is a better place for it, but it doesn’t belong there.” He said he was able to find various faults with the amended site plan, and that he and his attorney plan on addressing them in subsequent hearings. Among the issues Shereck cited was the inclusion of dry wells to be constructed within the buffer area; the buffer area, he said, should be free of accessory structures or facilities.
Furthermore, he said, the west side of the water tank is a steeply graded area of the property “I think they are going to have a terrible problem with the slope,” said Shereck. “This is a very steep grade… If they are permitted to put dry wells in the buffer zone, [they] will catch some of the water, but there will be significant runoff onto adjacent property.”
While Shereck said that United Water appears confident that its application will be approved, this amended site plan indicate desperation. “I think it’s a last gasp effort for them to put it [the pumping station] there,” he said. “I think if they were really smart they would talk to the town about putting it somewhere where it is allowed.”
The next Zoning Board hearing of the plan is scheduled for Oct. 27.
Karen F. Mrnarevic's e-mail address is Mrnarevic@northjersey.com.
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