STILLWATER TOWNSHIP
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
June 22, 2026 @ 7:00 pm
A REGULAR MEETING of the Stillwater Township Zoning Board of Adjustment was held on the above date and time. The meeting was called to order in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.
The flag was saluted, and roll call was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Lippencott, Mrs. Draghi, Mrs. Mountford, Mr. Wykoff, Mr. van der Haeghen, Mr. Kochenthal, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Bessler
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
ALSO PRESENT: William Haggerty, Esq., and Committeewoman Lisa Chammings
Swearing in of Board Members: None
Approval of Minutes:
Mr. van der Haeghen made the motion to approve the May 2026 minutes, seconded by Mr. Wykoff.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Abstained, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes.
Resolutions: None
Completeness:
– Nugent (940 Emmons Lane, Block 3602, Lot 13)
Mr. Kochenthal made a motion to deem the above matter complete, seconded by Mr. Doolittle.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Abstained, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes.
Hearings:
– Nugent (940 Emmons Lane, Block 3602, Lot 13)
The applicant Patrick Paul Nugent was sworn in by Mr. Haggerty and provided testimony. He would like to replace existing stairs on the lake side of his home. The existing stairs are 100 years old and have been rendered unsafe. The construction would include an 8×10 porch extension and a 6×4 stairwell configuration change which would trigger a zoning setback violation. Drawings were provided and reviewed by the Board members.
The matter was opened to the public at 7:11pm. There being no public comment, the matter was closed to the public.
Mrs. Mountford made a motion to approve the above application, seconded by Mr. van der Haeghen.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Abstained, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes.
Mr. Nuget made a request to waive the waiting time for the memorialized Resolution to immediately request building permits.
Mrs. Draghi made a motion to waive the waiting time for the memorialized Resolution, seconded by Mr. Doolittle.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Abstained, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes.
Bills:
Mr. van der Haeghen made a motion to pay the bills below, seconded by Mr. Wykoff:
VanCleef Engineering – General $160.00
VanCleef Engineering – DaSilva 3306/1 $1080.00
VanCleef Engineering – Kenefick 2101/6 $1328.00
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes.
Old/New Business:
Mr. Haggerty prepared a draft Ordinance excluding propane tanks and generators from the definition section of accessory structures.
Correspondence: None
Committee Liaison Report:
The liaison report was provided by Committeewoman Lisa Chammings:
– The Township Committee met on May 19, 2026, Habitat for Humanity did a presentation explaining the process of potentially obtaining donated property from the Township to work on the affordable housing obligations as well as find a family in need.
– Mayor Rumsey and Deputy Mayor Delaney attended breakfast with Commissioners to tour a Data Center which didn’t happen as the tour was already full. An Ordinance banning Data Centers was introduced and passed.
– Ordinance 2026-08 regarding Cannabis was voted down on June 16, 2026.
– The Tax Assessor, Penny Holenstein, will retire as of June 30, 2026 and be replaced by Scott Holzhauer.
– All 17 bids at the land sale auction were accepted.
– A Clean Communities grant was accepted in the amount of $19,000.00.
– Matt Lambert was appointed as CPWM Manager and Doug Vaughn as Assistant Supervisor.
– Lou Sylvestor organized a Memorial Day Celebration at Veterans Field on May 25th.
– Stillwater Day was held on June 6, 2026. Saffron Bessler was crowned Miss. Stillwater, Zoe Voris was crowned Junior Miss Stillwater, Damian Silva was Little Mister Stillwater, Adie Slade was crowned Little Miss Stillwater, and Hudson Castner Morgan was crowned Little Mr. Stillwater.
– The DPW is in the process of interviewing for an additional worker.
– On June 16th, a Resolution was passed to release the current shared service CPWM temporary employee.
– An Ordinance was introduced for Elizabethtown Gas to run their gas into Stillwater, beginning with Paulinskill Lake Community at some point in the future.
– A draft AirBnB Ordinance was introduced by the Planning Board for review and discussion.
Open to the Public:
The session was opened to the public at 7:26pm. There being no public comment, the public portion was closed.
Executive Session: None
Adjournment: With there being no further business, at 7:27pm, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting. With a voice vote, all were in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Penny Bair
