The Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a pool application at 107 Harding Road on May 21, but not before the review process surfaced several improvements built without permits and a driveway that had grown large enough to push the property's impervious coverage above the Township maximum.[1]

The applicants, who purchased the property in August 2020, are seeking to install a 12-by-24-foot in-ground pool in the rear yard, replacing an existing above-ground hot tub. The pool would be placed centrally in the rear yard, 11.9 feet from the side property line, 23.9 feet from the rear line, and more than 12 feet from the detached garage — all within required setbacks. The primary variance is for accessory structure coverage: the property's detached garage alone already accounts for approximately 4.9 percent of the 5 percent the ordinance allows for accessory structures, meaning virtually any additional accessory improvement on this lot requires variance relief. The proposed pool would raise total accessory coverage to 8.7 percent.[2]

Engineer Kiersten Osterkorn, appearing on behalf of the applicants, noted that the property carries several pre-existing nonconformities: lot area of 11,745 square feet where 15,000 is required, frontage of 81 feet where 100 is required, and a west side yard setback of 10.5 feet where 20 feet is required under the Township's enhanced standard. All of those conditions predate the current owners.

The permit questions arose when Township Engineer Mark DiGennaro's office reviewed the 2019 approval documents and found a series of discrepancies with existing conditions. The driveway had been enlarged by approximately 1,046 square feet since the prior approval, raising impervious coverage from the approved 36.2 percent to an existing 44.4 percent — above the 41.5 percent maximum. A white vinyl privacy fence had been installed with no permit on file. And a portico on the property is classified as an accessory structure; no permit record exists for it either.[3]

Attorney Jared Geist, appearing on behalf of the applicants, said his clients were not involved in any prior applications or approvals. They purchased the home during the COVID period, and the driveway configuration was already in place when they bought it in August 2020, he said. The fence was installed by a contractor who represented that all necessary permits had been obtained. The applicants themselves installed the portico and acknowledged it may require a permit. No neighbors offered public comment.

Board attorney Tom Garlick placed five conditions on the record before the vote: obtain all necessary permits for the existing portico; obtain permits for the pool-compliant fence; address the increase in impervious coverage through additional stormwater management measures; revise the stormwater management design to account for the difference between the previously approved 36.2 percent impervious coverage and the existing 44.4 percent; and install any necessary drainage improvements, berms, curbing, or similar measures to ensure that runoff from the driveway and improved areas does not reach neighboring properties.[4]

Mr. Lombardo made the motion to approve with the stated conditions. Mr. Quinn seconded. The board voted 6-0 in favor: Mr. Quinn, Mr. Veskov, Mr. Hubert, Mr. Lombardo, Vice Chairman Tanis, and Chairman Borst.