Zoning Board of Adjustment - Regular Meeting

Okay. Please turn off all cell phones. The agenda of the Pumpkin Lake Zoning Board of Adjustments, August 25th, 2026. The following is the agenda of the regular meeting of the Pumpkin Lake Zoning Board of Adjustments. The meeting is to be held in the Municipal Building 25 Lenox Avenue on Tuesday, August 25th, 2026, beginning at 8 p.m. A written advance notice as required by NJSA 10-4-1 has been provided at the meeting at least 48 hours in advance of today, given the time, date, and location, and to the extent known at the time the agenda of the meeting. Such notice was stated that formal action may or may not be taken. This meeting will be video recorded and will be broadcast for later viewing for the public. Notice was posted on the bulletin board outside the office of the municipal clerk reserved for this and similar announcements. Provided to the record, the newspaper designated by the council and zoning board to receive such notices and filed with the borough clerk. Everyone please stand for Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance.

roll call please mr hunt here mr b here mr cost here mr bernstock mr rowan here mr fugula here mr davante here mr uh plow here miss hazelman here mayor sarah councilman cruz here mr berger i'm here

Okay, regular meeting minutes from July 28th, 2026. Everyone had an opportunity to read those minutes. Anybody have any changes to those minutes? No? Can I get a motion to accept those minutes? Motion.

I'll second.

I'll second. Roll call, please.

Mr. Hunt. Yes. Mr. B? Yes. Mr. Koss?

Yes.

Mr. Rowan? Yes. Mr. Fabula?

Yes.

Mr. Devante?

Yes.

Mr. Klaus?

Yes.

And Ms. Hazelman?

Yes.

Okay. We have some bills to pay. Can I get a motion to pay the bills?

I'll make a motion we pay the bills. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Nothing. Okay. Correspondence, we have none. We have two applicants tonight. We are going to switch the applicants around. We're going to hear the carried applicant first, and that is going to be BOA 26-03. That's carried over from our July meeting. Please come forward.

How are you?

I'm good. How are you? Okay, just as a reminder, you are sworn in from last meeting. Okay, so why don't you tell us why you're back today to present your revised plan.

Because you gentlemen asked me for a new service, so I contracted. I did it as fast as I could, but the company couldn't give it to me until nicely enough. Terry just put it back. I think you have a copy and she squeezed me in today.

Okay.

Does anyone have any questions for the applicant with the revised survey?

Okay.

I believe all the information that we asked for is now posted on to the new survey. So anybody have any questions regarding the changes? No? um okay uh so everyone is uh accepting this so what we're going to do is we're going to open it up to the public um to uh any questions on the new plan is now is the time to discuss and bring up any questions regarding that since i see no one coming forward i will now close that session Okay. At this point, can I get a motion to approve?

Yeah, I'll make a motion to approve based on the information that was provided and that clearly answers the questions that we had in the last one. Second. Motion to approve.

Mr. Hunt?

Yes.

Mr. Bate?

Yes.

Mr. Cross? Yes.

yes yes yes yes yes you're approved at the next meeting there will be a written resolution that will then be published in the paper and within 45 days of that if somebody that opposed it could challenge it theoretically they could challenge the bill turn but if you are willing to actually you're not Have you put in the generator? This originally started with the generator. We're not done yet. Yeah, we're not done yet. Yeah, everything's ready to go. Okay, because if you want to proceed with that construction, you can go to, yeah, you can, well, you have to go to the building department, get your permits. Oh, we didn't have the permits. Okay. We got all that. then you have functionally, since you're not putting up a fence, you're good. Theoretically, someone could challenge this approval and they could tear down your fence. You can judge the likelihood of that happening.

So the next meeting that you do, I have to come back?

No, no. You'll be provided a copy of it. Don't worry about that.

I thank you for switching me today. I know that I came late with a service, but thank you again. No, you're welcome. Thank you.

Great job. Good luck with your project. Thank you very much. This is an individual follow-up.

Okay, so at this point, what we're going to do is I'm going to recluse myself from this section since I know the applicants. So, Frank, it's going to take over.

The chair is going to step down from the dais and leave the room. The record board will reflect. So, Michael and Chelsea, Martina, come on down. Please remain standing. Raise your right hand. State your name, left to right. Michael Martino.

Chelsea Martino.

Do you swear or affirm the testimony you'll give this evening before this board will be the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God.

I believe two setbacks. So if you wouldn't mind just telling us a little bit about your project and why you believe that it's necessary to have those variances.

application. My name is Chelsea Martino and this is my husband, Michael. We're both lifelong residents of Compton Lakes and surrounded by lots of family in town. We have been working for the better part of the last year to build our dream home at 120 Compton Ave. We've driven by recently and you might have noticed that the front is a little bit of an eyesore where the stairs are. I think the real dream is to have a front porch, a covered front porch. it currently we are have a non-conforming setback already so our front stairs already go out to 26.3 feet and so we're seeking relief of the 30 foot front yard variance in addition our house is also non-conforming on the left side it's already at 7.9 instead of the 10 foot setback requirement for the side So the relief for the front would be on both the front and the side. However, we're not going to be extending any further beyond the existing nonconforming use. Essentially, we just want to expand where the landing of the front stairs is. So just a horizontal extension of what's already there, which we believe would improve the the curb appeal of the front of the house both of our neighbors have beautiful covered front porches and so we'd really like to align with the look and feel of the rest of the neighborhood In the backyard, we are seeking relief to build a covered pavilion in the backyard. And again, it's the same issue with the side. We're seeking relief from the 10-foot setback requirement on the side. We'd really like for it to run alongside of the house at that 7.9 feet. Right now, we can't do it off the other side of the house because our driveway runs there. We have two sheds right now, proposed knocking down the one shed and putting up the backyard pavilion in its place. There's also, if you see on the survey, a big patio in the middle so that we could open up the yard for the kids to play. We'd just like to kind of move everything in line with the house, but we then have the big front yard.

Wow, that was very clear, Joe. I didn't know you would say it so well.

You can represent me next time.

Does any of the board members have any questions of the application?

Well, I actually drove by before. Nobody was home. But it's a beautiful project.

Yes, it is.

Any other comments or questions?

It's very close to the house. It's going to be dug in like a permanent structure.

Permanent structure. anyone else questions comments i certainly know the higgins would be happy with what they're seeing here we've promised them a tour once everything is done so did you say the shed is moving we're going to be uh yeah knocking down the there's two sheds right now one is kind of at the foot of the driveway the other is really off the back of the house, and that one is decrepit and falling down anyway, so that would get knocked down.

The one on the train called Frame Shed, that's the one getting knocked down? No, the one in the gray where it says Proposed to Billion. Oh, it's in the theme.

Oh, okay.

I mean, it's pretty cut and dry here. Is anyone... I like it.

I'm just curious, the runoff from the pavilion, because it's a larger structure, is that going to impact the neighbor on the other side of the driveway? Is there a water flow problem or anything like that? Because that's a big, you're sending it all off, like a gutter type of thing.

Yeah, we are working with an engineer and a general contractor to ensure that the design is going to minimize any impact to the neighbors. We are planning to put a formal group and gutter on the structure so that it'll run off in a way that is going to not interfere with their property.

That's my only concern is the gutter runoff. If there's gutters, because it's not, it then performs divots, which could run into the play of our lovely, you know, town, into the neighbors and flood that side. Okay.

All right. No other comments from the board? I will open this to the public then. Any questions of the public? All right, seeing none, I'll close that. So I believe that we're talking about some very minor things. There's no major changes that take place. This has been this way for probably 50 plus years. It's definitely an improvement in terms of structure. I've seen a lot of work on it, as I'm sure. And I think the neighbors will be happy. I'm making a motion to approve.

I'll make a motion we approve. I second it.

There you go. Is there a roll call? Yep.

Mr. Hunt? Oh, sorry.

Mr. B? Yes. Mr. Koss? Yes.

Mr. Robin?

Yes.

Mr. Kogula?

Yes.

Mr. Devante? Yes. Mr. Klaus? Yes. Ms. Hazelden? Yes.

And Mr. Hunt was recused, not abstained.

Yep.

There you go.

That's right. I've heard before that means, so next meeting, there'll be a written resolution that they'll adopt. It's going to have the specifics of saying exactly what the side yard and the front yard setback you're being approved for. That'll be voted on, and then that'll be published. And then theoretically, 45 days from there, somebody could challenge it. But if you need your permits, you can go to the building department and sign a waiver and say, I understand that this still may be a challenge, but you can get any permits that you need before the end of that 45 days.

So, we have to wait for the next meeting to get forth.

Um, that'd probably be best. You could go now because the operative action has been taken by the school. You've been given your work. You could go there and if they, you really need the permits and they want to confirm, um, they confirm with us that, in fact, you were approved with certain limitations. But as long as you wait, as long as you sign a waiver, um, you should be able to get your permits.

Okay, great. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Good luck with your project. Thank you. Someone want to get Willie?

My daughter is a lawyer

She got it out.

I agree. She was good. She's a good friend.

Good friend you have there. Everybody knows what you're doing.

Right here, back in.

Back in.

Okay. Okay. We don't have it.

So, Mike, do you have anything to add for open space reporting?

There's no new projects going in. Nothing's being done yet. The baseball field that we're planning. Is he coming back in?

I don't think there's anything.

I think they're doing one. There's a new project. Tomorrow. Let me just get the exact details down for you. Relatively quite summer. Yeah, for 519 Redblood Ave, Watermane and Laurel,

I just went over a couple of things. The basketball courts are being re-lined. I think that was complete. The pickleball courts are being cut up into the big tennis court. And the walking path is being fixed inside .

Can we take a back step there? So what's going on with the tennis courts?

we line the tennis courts that are there that are used by the high school to accommodate, I don't know, how many pickleball courts? I think you said five. Five.

And leave two full-size tennis courts for girls and boys tennis in the high school.

That's tough. The only problem that I have with that, I think, well, not really. I think just the general concern is that if you look at the turf field where it's lined for every sport, if you look at it, it can be very confusing if you're not familiar with that. So I think... We'll see how tennis season goes. My daughter plays tennis for the high school. So I'll get some feedback and see. But that was the only concern was the lining.

Do we know if any other towns do the same with the lining for all the courts?

I'm not sure. I haven't heard it blow up or anything.

Never heard of it. No, I've never heard of it. But again, most cases they expand. so we can't really add the driver.

I think there's courts in Wayne that are like that, that are going both ways.

Well, Wayne, you know, if you go by the Board of Ed office, you see across the street, that's their pickleball kind of area. They've done a really great job, but they have the property to do that. But to accommodate, this is all resident requests. This is the best that we can do. So we just have to be able to see how it is for the boys and girls tennis to see if there's any issues. Because you've got to remember, a lot of these games do not have officials. they're left up to the kids. So of course, if there's too close a line and you're looking at it from a distance, you may call it out, then it creates a problem. So especially for visitors, there's nothing more. Internally, you know, our kids will probably eventually become comfortable, but visitors may not be so keen. We just gotta wait.

And over the winter, they do it at Lincoln School. So Saturday mornings.

Yeah, we need a good chunk of them. That is not, you know, EPA and DEP.

When do we get DuPont? When do we get clean DuPont? In two years? Good luck.

The other thing was the new road going in, or the walking path, whatever you want to call it, at Hirschfield to connect.

That's not a bad thing.

A lot of the trails that we have, too, have interconnections with other towns. I mean, if you go on the new trail that they built out that they have, collected by the Chihuahuas, the whole railroad tracks, I mean, there's always, in the summertime, you find it's great. It's really great. It's nice that we have that option here, that we can further extend a lot of our trails into other communities. It just makes you want to just remove the trails. So, yes.

They hired a local landscaper to do some more work on that. She was saying, Maria was saying, because the DPW is far too busy. It would only be between June and October.

We don't know if we currently have the right number of resources for the DPW. We do have a parks department, but again, I think You know, when you transition with one role, you wear another hat, and you wear another hat, and then you get a stretcher. So I don't know if we really have the adequate numbers, but a lot of that's going to be driven, obviously, by the budget, if we have it, especially the DPW. But it wouldn't surprise me if we have to accommodate, especially now we're getting into winter sports, enough winter ball, you'll see soccer, maybe some old fields, keeping up with it. But if they had another landscaper, so that would assume some offset some of that work.

Now, I don't think this is an open space project, but apparently the county is going to trim back trees along the lake, going towards the bridge, because if so...

I'm not aware of that. That's another one Maria was talking about, so... Yeah, I'm not aware. That's probably with the shape tree commission, so they probably... Supposedly the county is going to do it, so... Yeah, I'm pretty sure they may. Yeah, that may come up on the next council meeting, but I'm not aware of that. I haven't received any communication with anybody.

And then the other one was the new sidewalk project is being re-thunk for along that same spot, but on the other side of the street between Clara Hough, I mean, Chalin, and Jefferson, where there's no sidewalk on either side of the road. That project is being rediscussed, apparently.

Yeah, I haven't heard anything from Michael on that, but I'm not sure what the issues are with that, to be honest with you. I can't see the neighbors saying that. Go ahead. It's tough with sidewalks because we have a lot of areas that don't have sidewalks right now and a lot of the homes, you know, if they're first generation and second, that's all they know. But I don't know the reasonings for that. It's a lot of construction work to get it done.

I'm going to those apartments. There's parking slots that have to be moved in. Yeah. The one house right on the corner of Chainland and Lake Side. The fence is six inches from the curb. It's the guy's side yard.

And I can tell you that that's been there. I've been in this town now 30 plus years and that fence has been there the entire time.

That's like the only spot where you can't put one on the other side because the guardrail's there and the lake drops off.

I'll have a better update for you once we have the discussion. and what they plan on doing that will move forward because that's probably that would be uh open space marine and like i said that was nothing new so hopefully i got something more for you next month um pumpkin day is coming up right counseling yes favorite time of the year yes i think um There haven't really been any new updates. I don't have numbers on vendors. That's still early on because obviously we're starting to get more applications in.

Mike Chacatano told me they sold out the original 200 and more spots because people wanted it.

Oh, I can't wait to see where those spots are. They're going up on 32. They're going up on the Marinette.

That's fantastic. No, the Elks Club.

I know they just had a meeting yesterday. That's fantastic.

Well, that's awesome.

the elks club can get more people to go in and you know support that that's one of the things that i think they were looking at i remember having conversations with katherine they wanted to get down more towards the elks club yeah so by popular demand it's been expanded this year on the 25th anniversary yeah yeah it's a family favorite i mean i think you know put your show

That's where we are now.

The other day on Facebook, somebody's like, I heard Pompton Day is happening. Does anybody know where it is?

A lot of our local businesses, it's great for them. It's great exposure, obviously, because it's not just the residents. You get out-of-towners that are coming in as well. So it's great exposure for everybody in town.

It's from the morning to late-time fireworks. Fireworks.

Food trucks. Okay.

So we'll move on. Public discussion. I will open the meeting to the public for anything they'd like to talk about. And there is someone there, but he's not coming forward. But it's okay. So I will close that session. Can I get a motion for adjournment? So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you all.

Have a good night, everyone. I'm aware of.