Two rear-addition applications withdrawn after commission raises massing concerns

Two homeowners withdrew their applications at the Glen Ridge Historic Preservation Commission's October 6, 2022 meeting after commissioners raised concerns about how large their proposed additions would look. At 551 Belleville Avenue, owners Fara and Matthew Saathoff withdrew a two-story rear addition after commissioner Nicholas Colello and others said it would be visible from Sherman Avenue and roughly double the size of the house; the owners were invited to revise the design and return. At 30 Willow Street, owner Latoya Massey withdrew a two-story addition to a narrow, one-bedroom house after commissioners said the many roof bump-outs made the design visually problematic and no consensus could be reached on how to fix it.

On approved applications, the commission signed off on modified window openings on a 1980s addition at 155 Linden Avenue, with Vice Chair Dan McMahon recusing himself from that vote; a rear addition with a below-grade family room at 15 Forest Avenue, where commissioner Ginny Moriarty said the design initially read as "industrial" before conditions were added; and a second-story addition over a one-story wing at 80 Hawthorne Avenue, which several commissioners said was a well-executed design that improved the home's overall presence.

The meeting opened with a continuing-education presentation by commission consultant Margaret Hickey on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. In other business, the commission's November meeting was set to start at 7:00 p.m. instead of its usual time to accommodate a presentation on proposed ordinance changes, which the Borough Council was expected to take up at its December 2022 meeting.

What to watch

• The Borough Council's expected consideration of historic-district ordinance changes at its December 2022 meeting.
• Whether the owners of 551 Belleville Avenue and 30 Willow Street return with revised addition designs.