May 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING

STILLWATER TOWNSHIP
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
MAY 19, 2025 @ 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, Mr. Wykoff, Mrs. Mountford, Mr. van der Haeghen, Mr. Kochenthal, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Bessler

MEMBERS ABSENT: None

ALSO PRESENT: William Haggerty, Esq., Michael Vreeland, P.E., Deputy Mayor Vera Rumsey, and Committeewoman Dawn Delaney.

Swearing in of Board Members: None

Approval of Minutes:
April 28, 2025

Roll Call: Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Abstained, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Abstained

Resolutions:
– 901 Stillwater, LLC

Mr. Kochenthal made a motion to memorialize the above Resolution, seconded by Mrs. Mountford.
Roll Call: Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

– 931 Plymouth Lake Road

Mrs. Draghi made a motion to memorialize the above Resolution, seconded by Mrs. Mountford.
Roll Call: Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford- Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mr. Whykoff – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Abstained, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Abstained

Completeness:
– Carbone – 936 Cedar Drive – Block 4202, Lot 10

Mr. van der Haeghen made a motion to deem the application complete, seconded by Mr. Doolittle.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Abstained, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

– DaSilva – 932 Saddleback Road – Block 3306, Lot 1

Mr. van der Haeghen made a motion to deem the application complete, seconded by Mrs. Draghi.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

– Reimer – 903 McCain Lane – Block 2501, Lot 27

Mr. van der Haeghen made a motion to deem the application complete, seconded by Mr. Kochenthal.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

Hearings:
– Carbone – 936 Cedar Drive – Block 4202, Lot 10
The applicant, Steve Carbone, was sworn in by Mr. Haggerty and provided testimony. His application is requesting permission to place an addition on two (2) sides of an existing garage and to reconstruct the existing deck. His father, Jerard Carbone, was also sworn in to assist in describing the work to be completed.

The matter was opened to the public at 7:17pm. There being no public comment, the matter was closed to the public.

Mr. van der Haeghen made a motion to approve the application, seconded by Mrs. Draghi.
Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Abstained, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

Mr. Carbone also requested that the Board waive the waiting time for the memorialization of the Resolution so that he can request construction permits immediately.

Mr. Wykoff made a motion to waive the waiting time for the Resolution, seconded by Mr. van der Haeghen.
Roll Call: Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes. Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Abstained, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

– DaSilva – 932 Saddleback Road – Block 3306, Lot 1
Michael Selvaggi, Esquire appeared on behalf of the applicant. The applciation is in response to an appeal of the Zoning Officer’s March 20, 2025 violation letter. The property is being renovation and shall remain a single-family home. The violation indicated that the entire structure was taken down. Mr. Selvaggi advised that it in fact was not completely taken down, but was only taken down to the studs.

Mr. DaSilva’s architect, Rui Amaral, was sworn in by Mr. Haggerty. He testified concerning the plans he designed and advised that the home was very old and in need of major renovation. They would need to re-do most of the home, including the framing in order to keep the construction up to code.

Mr. Casio DaSilva was sworn in by Mr. Haggerty. He is the property owner as well as the contractor of this project. He testified that he re-framed the original outline of the house and increased the studs from 2×4 to 2×6 to be up to code. The original 2×4 framing remains. He advised that as he was ding demolition, he uncovered extreme damage and was forced to reinforce the home for safety purposes. In addition to reconstruction of the home, he intends to add a second story to the right side of the home. He showed the Board nineteen (19) photographs of the interior as well as some photographs of the exterior.

The hearing was opened to the public at 8:00pm. There being no public comment, the hearing was closed to the public.

Mrs. Mountford made a motion to deem the structure was not more than partially demolished, seconded by Mr. Wykoff.
Roll Call: Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

A second motion was made by Mrs. Mountford to approve the variance application for the vertical addition and the plans as presented, seconded by Mr. van der Haeghen.
Roll Call: Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

– Reimer – 903 McCain Lane – Block 2501, Lot 27
Joseph Paparo, Esquire appeared on behalf of the applicant and advised that the property has been owned by the Reimer family for decades. The D2 Use Variance request is for the renovation and expansion of the home.

Architect Daniel Fortunato was sworn in and gave testimony regarding the plans he drew to convert the existing one-story bungalow home by adding a second floor all of which would remain inside the existing floor plan.

Applicant’s Engineer/Planner, Chris Nusser, was sworn in and provided a plan overview in which he addressed the bullet points of the township engineer’s review letter. The variance requested is for minimum front yard setback, minimum side yard setback, and construction in a hydraulic sensitive area.

Applicant’s son, William Reimer, was sworn in and testified that the home has been owned and used by his family since 1919. The home was built somewhere between 1920 and 1930 and is used as a summer home.

The hearing was opened to the public at 8:56pm. Three (3) neighbors, Lawrence, Lockwood, and John Gray and Valerie Abrahams, all spoke in support of the application. The hearing was closed to the public at 8:59pm.

Mrs. Draghi made a motion to grant the variance relief sought, seconded by Mrs. Mountford.
Roll Call: Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

Mrs. Mountford made a motion to waive the waiting time for the Resolution, seconded by Mr. van der Haeghen.
Roll Call: Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

Bills:
Mr. van der Haeghen made a motion to pay the bills below and release the below escrow, seconded by Mr. Doolittle:

VanCleef Engineering – McEleney 3602/6     $76.00
Dolan & Dolan – General     $484.75
Dolan & Dolan – DaSilva 3306/1     $70.00
Doan & Dolan – Morrison 1102/25     $455.00
Dolan & Dolan – Reimer 2501/27     $131.25

Roll Call: Mr. van der Haeghen – Yes, Mr. Doolittle – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Draghi – Yes, Mrs. Mountford – Yes, Mr. Wykoff – Yes, Mr. Kochenthal – Yes, Mr. Bessler – Yes

Correspondence: None

Old/New Business:
Mrs. Mountford made a request to have documentation provided in a more timely fashion in order to properly review prior to the hearing date.

Executive Session: None

Open to the Public: 
The session was opened to the public at 9:04pm. There being no public comment, the session was closed to the public.

Committee Liaison Report:
The liaison report was provided by Deputy Mayor Vera Rumsey:
– There will be a land sale auction limited to contiguous property owners on June 4, 2025 at 3:00pm. Approximately 19 properties are on the list.

– Ordinance 2025-012 regarding the Community Center fees will be voted on at the next committee meeting.

– The committee is actively working on the Stillwater Bicentennial which will be held on June 7, 2025 beginning at 10:00am.

Adjournment: With there being no further business, at 9:08pm, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting. With a voice vote, all were in favor.

Respectfully submitted,
Penny Bair