BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
DEMAREST, N.J. — More than 100 residents from Demarest and neighboring Alpine filled the Jan. 16 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting to question a proposal by New York-based developer Karp Alpine LLC to build a 149-unit assisted living facility on 4.88 acres on Hillside Avenue that overlaps both communities.
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While the bulk of the proposed facility lies in Demarest, approximately a half acre is in Alpine, said Karp Alpine attorney John Schepisi.
Schepisi said Karp Alpine is proposing a 151,195-square-foot assisted living facility that straddles the border of Demarest and Alpine, and not far from Cresskill. The proposed facility would stand 51 feet tall at its highest point and encompasses land at 375 Hillside Ave. in Demarest and 395 Hillside Ave. in Alpine, around the Academy of the Holy Angels.
Variances needed
The developer is requesting three use variances to construct the facility in an area zoned for single-family homes, including variances for height, minimum lot frontage, maximum livable floor area, minimum front yard setback, maximum number of families per building, maximum building coverage, fence height and parking spaces.
The facility includes 120 assisted living units and 29 memory care units for patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia, said Schepesi. It also includes 72 parking spaces.
Three attorneys oppose
Three attorneys opposing the facility appeared at the initial hearing: two attorneys representing separate groups of mostly Demarest homeowners, along with Alpine’s Borough Attorney Russell R. Huntington.
Much of the meeting’s hour-long discussion between attorneys, including Zoning Board Attorney Mark D. Madaio, focused on what was needed for the application to be considered “complete” before possible consideration at the Feb. 20 meeting.
Madaio said attorneys agreed the developer needs to provide a site plan application, subdivision application, soil movement on-site calculations, traffic report, architectural plans, nearby cross-section views, and updated plans incorporating recent engineering requirements.
He said required changes must be submitted by Feb. 10.
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Lawyers oppose; mayor listens
Two attorneys representing homeowners opposing the facility’s construction: Matthew Capizzi of Capizzi Law Offices and John J. Lamb of Beattie Padovano, LLC, questioned procedural concerns and application requirements, said Madaio.
Capizzi said he represents approximately 20 homeowners in Demarest, Alpine and Cresskill who oppose the project. He said the project is “out of character,” requires multiple variances, and “is slated to take place in a fully developed single-family neighborhood.”
Lamb said he represented eight homeowners on Academy Lane, an adjacent road where the applicant has proposed a driveway.
Lamb said the Academy Estates Community Association has “restrictions on its land” and “will not give permission” to build a driveway onto Academy Lane.
He said variances being asked for by the applicant were “grossly excessive.”
“At issue is access onto Academy Lane over a parcel commonly referred to as ‘Entrance Area’ to the Academy Estates Community,” states its Oct. 11, 2017 letter to the zoning board.
The letter states that the eight-home subdivision has been maintaining the entrance area at the sole cost and expense of its members for more than 25 years, and “one of the major objectives” of its nonprofit community association is to make sure the entrance on Academy Lane is “preserved.”
Lamb said the developer will not be given permission to build an access driveway to Academy Lane.
Cywinski ‘there to listen’
Demarest Mayor Raymond Cywinski attended Jan. 16 and said he was glad that residents from different areas of the borough were at the meeting.
“I saw so many different residents from all parts of Demarest there and that was great,” he said, adding the turnout shows that concern is community-wide.
Cywinski said while the first meeting dealt mostly with needed proposal requirements and proper notifications, he found it informative.
“I was there to listen to this because this could eventually come back to us and I wanted to be aware of all the [community] concerns,” he said.
While Cywinski cannot speak publicly about the proposal, he said he kept close count of “a standing room only crowd” that showed up that night. He said he counted about 115 attendees, just below the room capacity of 125.
He said there was “some disagreement” among attorneys when the topic of an assisted living facility representing “an inherently beneficial use” was briefly raised by the applicant’s attorney.
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Alpine opposed
Voicing its opposition, Huntington sent a letter in November to the zoning board listing four objections.
“The development is completely out of character with the neighborhood and inconsistent with the Zone Plan and Master Plan,” wrote Huntington.
“The development is grossly oversized for the size of the lot,” he continued, stating the “proposed 51 feet [height] is excessive and will loom over the surrounding properties.” Huntington concluded: “The site will generate an inappropriate quantum of traffic for the location.”
Alpine Mayor Paul Tomasko, who attended the Jan. 16 meeting, said the capacity crowd that jammed the borough hall meeting room “was indicative of the fact this is far more than a NIMBY [not in my back yard] issue.”
Tomasko said the proposed development “will generate an inappropriate amount of traffic” for the location on Hillside Avenue, an east-west county road.
Tomasko said should the facility be approved Demarest it would need to come before the Alpine zoning board for approval. He said the proposal’s discussion had been postponed three previous times and said the proposal “is completely inconsistent” with the neighborhoods in Demarest and Alpine.
He said other “commercially zoned” areas would be more compatible.
“You have to have it where it is zoned for it and this is not it,” noted Tomasko.
Site selection
Schepisi said the selected site “was demographically suited for this type of use” and was also based upon access to “arterial roads” such as Hillside Avenue.
“There are no assisted living facilities in this immediate area, and there is a definitely a need for a high-end assisted living complex,” he said.
If all application requirements are met before next meeting, Madaio said the applicant may present professional or expert testimony on Feb. 20.