Board of Adjustment — March 3, 2026

The Board of Adjustment’s minutes of this regular meeting, approved at its April 15 meeting, are on the Township’s Documents-On-Demand portal, linked from its Agendas/Minutes page, in the Board of Adjustment minutes folder. Chairman Andersen called the meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. Present were Chairman Andersen, Vice Chair Walch, Larry Fox, Michael Cuttitta, Richard Albanese, Art Quade, Kenneth Iselin and Vicki Cook, with Township Engineer Doug Ball and Board Attorney Christopher Sobieski. Michael Pappas and Sean Sullivan were absent. No members of the public were present.

976 Old York Road garage (Case No. 2025-010 AHV)

Applicants: Daniel and Noelani Diemicke. Property: Block 73, Lot 1.13, 976 Old York Road. Mr. Sobieski found the application sufficient as to content and timeliness of service and publication and swore in the witnesses. One exhibit was marked: A1, a photo of bicycles stored on the second floor of the existing garage.

Mr. Diemicke said the property has a house with a two-car garage and a one-car-sized shed, which had been moved toward the back of the lot to make room for a new garage. The applicants proposed a two-story detached garage, 24 by 36 feet and 18 feet high. He said the first floor would store two of their four cars and lawn equipment, and the second floor would store bicycles that they clean and restore and then give to a charity, usually once a year; the bikes are now stored in the shed, the existing garage and around the driveway and yard. He said a second reason was to keep the cars in a garage to deter theft.

In response to Board members’ questions, the applicants said the shed would stay, the new garage would be 25 feet from the property line, it would be unfinished with no plumbing, and its outside lights would be motion-activated. They said they need the height to hang the bikes and work beneath them, and that they expect to store about 400 to 500 bikes by year’s end; asked whether the bikes could be donated sooner, they said no, because about 90% go to their main nonprofit’s once-a-year event.

Mr. Fox said he appreciates the charity work but does not believe it is a good enough reason for a variance to build a larger building and add to the property’s floor area. Mr. Ball said the proposed garage is 1,728 square feet and the existing shed 240 square feet, together 1,968 square feet of accessory floor area, which is more than half the 1,246-square-foot floor area of the principal building; even without the shed, a floor-area variance would still be needed, in addition to the height variance.

Mr. Ball suggested relocating the garage close to the house and connecting the two with a breezeway, so that it becomes part of the principal building and the variances are no longer needed. The applicants agreed to redesign the project with the garage about 10 feet from the house and a breezeway between them, without blocking access to the existing garage. Mr. Sobieski advised them to submit revised plans for the Township Engineer to confirm that no variance relief is needed; if none is needed, the applicants would send a letter withdrawing the application and he would prepare a resolution reflecting the withdrawal.

On motion of Vice Chair Walch, seconded by Mr. Cuttitta, the Board unanimously voted to carry the application to April 15, 2026, with no further notice required.

Other business

The minutes of the January 6, 2026 reorganization and regular meeting were approved with corrections on motion of Vice Chair Walch, seconded by Mr. Albanese. Recorded vote: 6–0 (Ayes: Chairman Andersen, Vice Chair Walch, Larry Fox, Richard Albanese, Art Quade and Kenneth Iselin; Michael Cuttitta and Vicki Cook not eligible). There were no resolutions to memorialize and no other business; the communication was the November/December 2025 issue of The NJ Planner.

Eight claims totaling $4,745.00 were approved on motion of Mr. Albanese, seconded by Ms. Cook: invoices from Savo, Schalk, Gillespie, Warner for the Sempre Property Group, 50 Meister and Diemicke matters and general services, and from Kyle, McManus Associates and McDonough & Rea Associates for the Sempre Property Group matter. Recorded vote: 7–0 (Ayes as listed: Chairman Andersen, Vice Chair Walch, Larry Fox, Michael Cuttitta, Richard Albanese, Art Quade and Kenneth Iselin).

Mr. Ball went over the schedule of meetings and explained the application to be heard. Board members welcomed Ms. Cook to the Board. Mr. Cuttitta asked to revisit moving the meeting time from 7:30 to 7:00 p.m.; the majority wanted to keep 7:30 p.m. The Board adjourned at 8:07 p.m.

See land-use board applications.

Records

• Minutes and agenda: Agendas/Minutes page of the Township’s website, which links its Documents-On-Demand portal (Board of Adjustment folder)
• Meeting video on the Township’s Granicus archive