July 18, 2013

licant stated that there will not be any increase in the intensity of the use. He said there have not been any prior complaints so he is not concerned. Mr. Neuer stated that he is concerned about the health factors of the dog feces and the run-off. Mr. Russo stated that there was testimony that when the dogs are taken out the feces is removed immediately. Mr. Neuer said that the applicant should consider some filtration system for this. Mr. Russo said that he is not concerned about that.

Mr. Steinhart asked Mr. Boorady the maximum capacity of animals; Mr. Boorady replied 53. Ms. Weiss asked Mr. Boorady how many animals are in the hospital now; he stated there are not that many there now. He said the capacity is 53 animals and it will be 53 animals after the application. Mr. Grygiel questioned the debris in the rear of the property and asked if it will be cleaned up; Mr. Williams said the debris is from hurricane Sandy and it will be cleaned up. Mr. Grygiel suggested the debris is to be cleaned up as a condition of approval. Mr. Neuer asked Mr. Williams if the property will be cleaned up before the next Zoning Board meeting; Mr. Williams replied no. Mr. Neuer said that he is concerned about the unsightly conditions. Mr. Williams said that they will clean it up as soon as practicable. Chairwoman Gabry asked if any members of the public had any questions for Mr. Boorady; seeing none, Mr. Boorady was excused, Mr. Williams called his next witness. James P. Cutillo approached the podium and was sworn under oath. Mr. Cutillo detailed his educational and professional background as a licensed Architect in the State of New Jersey. He said that he has worked on similar types of projects. Chairwoman Gabry accepted Mr. Cutillo as an expert in Architecture. Mr. Cutilio presented the Elevations and Floor Plan. Chairwoman Gabry noted for the record that the Elevations Plan dated 6/10/13 was pre-marked as Exhibit A-4 for identification and the Floor Plan dated 3/11/13 was pre-marked as Exhibit A-5 for identification. Mr. Cutillo stated that they are proposing a small addition to the front of the building and a larger addition to the rear of the building. He said that the proposed sidewalk will run along the side of the building and continue to the front of the building to enter. Mr. Cutillo said that they are proposing two-tone beige stucco on the exterior of the building with natural stone. He said the roof will be a bronze color metal roof and the logo on the exterior will be that of a dog and cat. Ms. Weiss asked Mr. Cutillo ifthe hospital only handles dogs and cats. Mr. Cutillo said the hospital handles primarily dogs and cats with an occasional bird and a reptile. Mr. Neuer said that his concern is that there are no more than 53 animals boarding at one time but there is nothing on the plans to show that. Mr. Williams said that some of the

l bird and a reptile. Mr. Neuer said that his concern is that there are no more than 53 animals boarding at one time but there is nothing on the plans to show that. Mr. Williams said that some of the cages can be stacked. Mr. Neuer asked Mr. Williams if the cages can be moved around; Mr. Williams said that he has a witness that can answer that question. Mr. Williams asked Mr, Cutillo to point out where the access to the outside fenced in area is on the plans; Mr. Cutillo referred to the plans showing the door that goes out into the fenced in area in the new addition.

Mr. Williams referred to #11 in Omland Engineering’s memo dated July 12, 2013 regarding the location of the HVAC equipment. Mr. Russo asked him to identify the locations of the HVAC equipment on the plans; Mr. Cutillo said they are only shown on the elevations and that the screening materials will be similar to the materials on the facade. Mr. Neuer asked Mr. Cutillo if the covered portico is for vehicles; he replied no. Mr. Cutillo said the portico is for the pedestrians. Mr. Grygiel stated that the portico was included in the building coverage. Mr. Grossman asked Mr. Cutillo if they presently house reptiles at the facility and if so, what kind of reptiles. Mr. Cutillo said that another witness can answer that later. Mr. Grossman asked Mr. Cutillo if they will house horses at the facility; he replied no. Chairwoman Gabry told Mr. Cutillo that she would like to see the plans cleaned up a little so that they are more accurate. She referred to the dimension line and said that the plans should indicate that it ts the outdoor area. Chairwoman Gabry said that the plans should also note that the new vestibule area is 72 square feet; Mr, Cutillo said that it is already noted on the plans. Mr. Russo asked the Board members if they wanted any indication of the color of the signage on the plans. Mr. Williams said that he will bring a witness up to describe the color. There were no further questions for Mr. Cutillo from the Board or the Professionals. Chairwoman Gabry asked if there were any members of the public who had any questions for Mr. Cutillo; secing none, Mr. Cutillo was excused. Chairwoman Gabry called for a recess at 9:35 pm. Chairwoman Gabry called the meeting back to order at 9:46 pm. Dr. Donald Bruno approached the podium and was sworn under oath. Dr. Bruno stated that he is the owner of the hospital. He stated that 90% of his patients are dogs and cats and sometimes rabbits. Mr. Williams asked Dr. Bruno if they take snakes or rodents as patients; he replied never, Dr. Bruno stated that there are 53 modular cages. He said that the cages cannot be specified exactly on the drawings because they are modular. Dr, Bruno described the dog runs. Chairwoman Gabry asked Dr. Bruno if the dog runs are inside the building; Dr. Bruno replied yes. Mr. Steinhart asked Dr. Bruno to describe a dog run. Dr. Bruno said a dog run is two adjacent big cages

hairwoman Gabry asked Dr. Bruno if the dog runs are inside the building; Dr. Bruno replied yes. Mr. Steinhart asked Dr. Bruno to describe a dog run. Dr. Bruno said a dog run is two adjacent big cages extending from the floor to the ceiling. He said they are used for the larger dogs.

Chairwoman Gabry stated that was not was said before; she said that it was described as one big cage where the dogs will run. Mr. Williams said that there are six (6) cages. Mr. Neuer stated that Chairwoman Gabry counted 33 cages on the drawing. Dr. Bruno said that the cages are stacked and it all depends on how big the cages are. Mr. Neuer asked Dr. Bruno if they rearrange the cages; Dr. Bruno said no that the cages are permanent. Mr. Neuer asked if the Board could get a drawing to show this. Mr. Williams stated that this area will be limited to 53 patients and that the applicant should not have to show everything interior. He said that they will note on the plans that there will be 53 cages to use. Mr. Cutillo stated that the testimony is that they wil! only have 53 patients. He said that they do not really know exactly how the cages will be set up yet because they need someone to come in and design it. Mr. Neuer stated that he has a concern about safety. He said that none of the testimony, so far, has anything to do with safety and how they would get the animals out in an emergency. Mr. Neuer said that he cannot approve this application. with what they are showing the Board tonight. He said that they are talking about living animals and the Board needs to see how the animals are going to be caged. Mr. Williams said the cages are going to be on top of each other. Ms. Weiss suggested that the applicant provide two renderings that will show how this will be done. Mr. Neuer said that, in the event something goes wrong, it would be up to the Police or Fire Department to get the animals out of the facility without a floor plan. He said that he is in favor of the application but he would need more. Ms. Weiss stated that she does not agree with Mr. Neuer on this because it has nothing to do with what they are voting on; she said they are voting on the variances. Mr. Neuer said that there is always a safety concern. He said his concern is if the hospital catches on fire and there are 53 dogs and cats all over the place and there is not a floor plan the safety of the animals will be in jeopardy. Mr. Neuer read from NJSA 40:55D-2b, the Municipal Land Use Law which is reproduced in the 2013 edition of the New Jersey Zoning and Land Use Administration book co- authored by William M. Cox and Stuart R. Koenig regarding safety as one of the purposes of that Law.

ich is reproduced in the 2013 edition of the New Jersey Zoning and Land Use Administration book co- authored by William M. Cox and Stuart R. Koenig regarding safety as one of the purposes of that Law. He said that the safety of the animal’s welfare is important and an appropriate area of inquiry for this Board when voting on variances. Mr. Cutillo stated that if any alarm does go off, central station will call the Police Department. He said if the Police require a floor plan to be on file then they will have to have one. Dr. Bruno stated that they are licensed in the State of New Jersey and meet every standard. Mr. Merklinger asked Dr. Bruno how they arrived at 53 patients; Dr. Bruno said that they currently have 53 and have no desire to expand that number. 10

Mr. Bullock said that there are certain things on the plans that are not clear. He said that the plans should be more detailed. Mr. Steinhart asked Dr. Bruno if they know definitely where the dog runs are going to be; Dr. Bruno replied yes. Mr. Steinhart said that under the law dogs are treated as property but he does not know if an evacuation plan is part of any animal hospitals design. Dr. Bruno said that they do not have an evacuation plan now and the code does not require one. Chairwoman Gabry asked Dr. Bruno to refer to the plans and show the Board where the dogs are going to be kept and where the cats are going to be kept; Dr. Bruno complied. Mr. Cutillo stated that the Fire Department is going to request a lock box and that they will comply with whatever the Fire Department wants. ‘There were no further questions for Dr. Bruno from the Board or the Professionals. Chairwoman Gabry asked if any members of the public had any questions for Dr. Bruno; seeing none, Dr. Bruno was excused. Mr. Williams called his next witness. Eileen F. Banyra approached the podium and was sworn under oath. Ms. Banya detailed her educational and professional background as a Professional Planner licensed in the State of New Jersey. She stated that she is Planning Director for three Municipalities and has worked on projects of similar size. Chairwoman Gabry accepted Ms. Banyra as an expert in Professional Planning. Ms. Banyra detailed the background of the animal hospital and stated that the smallest portion of their practice is the boarding. She said that the primary purpose of the improvements will be to modernize the facility with the electric service and wiring being upgraded, Ms. Banyra stated that there will be no increase in staffing or the number of patients. She referred to the area map, noting that the property is larger than any other property around it, and stated that you can barely see the facility now from Northfield Avenue. Ms. Banyra detailed all of the variances that they are requesting. She said that the “D” variance is for the non-conforming use and noted that the “D” variance for two uses has been eliminated because they are removing the house that is currently on the property. Ms. Banyra stated that this application meets all of the residential standards according to the Master Plan. She said that it is a very modest scale which does not

that is currently on the property. Ms. Banyra stated that this application meets all of the residential standards according to the Master Plan. She said that it is a very modest scale which does not conflict with the requirements in a residential zone and detailed the positive and negative criteria. 11

Mr. Banyra stated that the property was hit hard by different storms and now will be a good time to clean up this property. Ms. Banyra stated that the use is desirable and that the improvements to the site will maintain a residential feel. Mr. Neuer stated that Ms. Banyra’s report is the finest he has seen and he appreciates the effort that she put into it. Ms. Banyra stated that the animai hospital has never had 53 animals there at one time. She said that they only beard animals for their clients as a convenience. Ms. Banyra said that the applicant is in business for caring for animals and they care what happens to these animals. Mr, Bullock stated that it was never the Board’s intent to say that they did not care about the animals. Mr. Merklinger stated that Ms. Banyra addressed the variances and the Board is here to vote on them. There were no further questions for Ms. Banyra from the Board or the Professionals. Chairwoman Gabry asked if any members of the public had any questions for Ms. Banyra; secing none, Ms. Banyra was excused. Mr. Cutillo approached the podium and stated that there is no need to stack the cages more than two high. He said that the dog run cages are only one high and pointed them out on the plans. Mr. Cutillo also pointed out the small boarding area, the cat area and the hospital recovery area on the plans. He stated that the kennels should technically be called cages. Mr. Merklinger said that he would describe a dog run as a pen or similar to a horse stall. Mr. Neuer asked Mr. Cutillo the dimensions of the dog runs; Mr. Cutillo said they are 6’ x 4’ with a minimum of 8’ high. There were no further questions. No members of the public indicated a desire to address the Board or present evidence. Chairwoman Gabry declared the hearing closed. Mr. Williams requested to amend the application to include a side yard accessory use variance; Chairwoman Gabry accepted the amendment. Mr. Neuer said that he recognizes that the applicant has operated this facility for over ten years and made a motion to approve with the following recommended conditions: ¢ Anew kennel license will be required « Regular clean ups for dog walking « Fence shall have one finished side facing the neighboring properties 12