Board Approves Front-Yard Setback Variance for Porch Addition at 29 Hillside Avenue

Glen Ridge's Board of Adjustment approved a variance at its June 11, 2015 meeting allowing Jonathan Jeffer to build an addition and front porch onto his single-family home at 29 Hillside Avenue, on the corner of Hillside Avenue and Washington Street. Architect Jacob Solomon told the board the project, aimed at making the split-level house more visually compatible with its neighbors, had already been reviewed and approved by Glen Ridge's Historic Preservation Commission. Only a small portion of the addition -- a covered porch section with a 22-foot setback -- would fall short of the 25-foot front-yard setback normally required, an encroachment Solomon called negligible against the visual improvement to the property. Jeffer told the board he had discussed the plans with his neighbors.

No members of the public spoke for or against the application, and the board voted unanimously to approve it. Earlier in the meeting, the board adopted its January 8, 2015 minutes, with members Berger and Johnson abstaining.