Planning Board Approves Minor Subdivision of 364 Ridgewood Avenue Over Neighbors' Objections About Carriage House Setback

At its January 18, 2017 organizational meeting, the Glen Ridge Planning Board re-elected Mason as Chair and Mehrotra as Vice Chair, confirmed committee appointments, adopted its bylaws, and set its 2017 meeting schedule before turning to the night's substantive business.

The Board heard a minor subdivision application from Mark and Jonathan Clemente, Executors of the Estates of Dr. & Mrs. Clemente, to split the family's property at 364 Ridgewood Avenue into two lots. Surveyor Paul Anderson testified that both new lots would meet the ordinance's frontage and size requirements, and argued that a pre-existing setback shortfall on the property's carriage house (2.2 feet from the rear line versus the 3-foot requirement) was a de minimis, unaffected nonconformity. Four neighbors spoke against the application: Michael Quinn of 350 Ridgewood Avenue disputed that the variance was truly de minimis; Peter Porcelli of 159 Sherman Avenue and Kenn Kakosian of 163 Sherman Avenue said the new construction and lot scale would harm their properties; and Ashish Parmar of 359 Ridgewood Avenue raised similar neighborhood-impact concerns. The Board found the application met the code's criteria and approved it unanimously, subject to the Borough Engineer's conditions.

During general public comment afterward, a resident asked why public notice was even required for the application if state law effectively obligated the Board to approve it once the criteria were met.