Zoning Board of Adjustment — January 13, 2026

Reorganization

Board Attorney Richard Oller called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and swore in Christine Henderson-Rose, James Franco, Johanna Wiseman and Anthony Mignella. All eleven members were present: John Kulak, James Weideli, Andrew Fresco, Pushpavati Amin, John Gayeski, Claudio Vescio, James Franco, Christine Henderson-Rose, Johanna Wiseman, John Colucci and Anthony Mignella. The agenda lists the terms: Franco and Henderson-Rose as regular members to Dec. 31, 2029; Wiseman (Alternate 1) and Mignella (Alternate 4) to Dec. 31, 2027; Vescio (Alternate 2) and Colucci (Alternate 3) to Dec. 31, 2026.

• John Kulak was elected chairman (motion Fresco, second Weideli; ayes Kulak, Weideli, Amin, Franco, Fresco, Henderson-Rose and Gayeski). James Weideli was elected vice chairman, Andrew Fresco board secretary and Land Use Administrator Nancy Probst assistant board secretary.
• Appointed for 2026: Richard Oller as Board Attorney, William Burr as Board Engineer, Katherine Sarmad as Board Planner, Maurice Rached of Colliers as consulting traffic engineer and Bruce Eisenstein as consulting radio frequency engineer. The Board did not appoint a conflict planner or engineer.
• The Board adopted its 2026 meeting dates and named the Courier News and Star-Ledger its official newspapers.

Regular meeting

Chairman Kulak welcomed the new members and gave an overview of the Board’s operations and goals.

Resolutions

• John Kwisnek, Jr., 1065 Carteret Road (Block 627 Lot 30): Chairman Kulak’s motion to adopt failed; on a motion by Weideli, seconded by Fresco, the resolution was adopted (ayes Weideli, Amin, Fresco and Gayeski; Kulak and Vescio abstained).

• 821 Bridgewater LLC and the JCC of Somerset, Hunterdon & Warren, Block 477 Lots 45 & 46, 821 and 831 Route 202-206. The agenda describes this application (#24-005-ZB) as a proposal for age-restricted townhomes with affordable units. Mr. Oller explained why the approvals were treated separately for voting:

  • JCC decision, approval of the use (D1) variance only: adopted (ayes Weideli, Amin, Fresco and Gayeski; Kulak and Vescio abstained).
  • 821 Bridgewater, denial: after Mr. Oller reviewed voting eligibility “given a number of dissenting votes on the application,” adopted (ayes Weideli and Fresco; Kulak, Amin, Vescio and Gayeski abstained).

  See land use applications.

• Minutes of Dec. 10, 2024 (ayes Kulak, Weideli, Amin, Fresco and Vescio; Gayeski abstained) and May 27, 2025 (voice vote) were approved with revisions.

Hearing dates

Mr. Oller announced these hearings without further notice: 1200 Route 22 LLC on January 27; Bridgewater Storage LLC on January 27 at 7 p.m.; Rockland APV on February 10; and Café Emilia on February 24 at 7 p.m., provided that testimony about offsite parking at its last hearing would not trigger additional relief. He answered a question from Chairman Kulak about the time to act on Rockland APV “in light of their election to not to proceed previously.” The Land Use Administrator said no other scheduled application was under a statutory deadline. Ms. Sarmad gave a planning update.

Public comment

Council President Joan Geiger acknowledged the members’ service and spoke about the qualifications of the newly appointed members.

Records

• Minutes (township document page; approved October 13, 2026)
• Agenda (township document page)
• Video on the township’s YouTube channel (1:00:51). This page follows the Board’s minutes.