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Bernardsville
10-Acre Zoning -
April 2002
The borough was sued in April by two
residents seeking to overturn the
new 10-acre zoning law. The new law was adopted in March with the
aim to conform with the New Jersey Development and Redevelopment Plan that
prohibits development in environmentally sensitive areas such as
steep slopes and wetlands. The suit alleges that the new law is "arbitrary, capricious,
unreasonable and not rationally related to a legitimate zoning purpose."
Ann Parsekian
Bernardsville
10-acre Zoning Approved - March 4, 2002
On March 4, 2002, the Bernardsville Borough Council adopted a law
that changes the minimum acreage for residential development in
environmentally sensitive areas from five to 10 acres. Opponents to
the law argued that the ordinance would prevent landowners from
selling subdivided land, would reduce land values, and would deny
the borough extra property taxes. Officials said that the ordinance
would ensure that developers do not carve up land in areas deemed
environmentally sensitive. GSWA's director Julia Somers commented
that the borough sits at the headwaters for both the Passaic and
Raritan watersheds and the area supplies water for millions of
people downstream.
Bernardsville Tree Dispute Settled
- Bernardsville, July, 2001
In July, Bernardsville settled its dispute with property owner Alfred C. Eckert III,
over the borough's tree-cutting ordinance. Eckert agreed to donate two trees to the
borough and both parties agreed to dismiss all litigation.
Last year Eckert was charged with violation of the borough's tree protection
ordinance after a contractor failed to obtain a permit prior to removing a
substantial number of trees from Eckert's estate. Eckert then filed suit in
State Superior Court challenging the constitutionality of the law.
Eckert claims that he has already planted hundreds of trees on his property and intends to plant 200 more.
The day before the settlement was announced, the borough council voted to
vacate a portion of Young's Road to help preserve the privacy at the rear of
Eckert's 38-acre estate. The Borough had sell the 1.7 acre portion of Young's Road to Eckert, but was unable to
prove ownership of the road. The borough's case was not considered to be strong enough to go to court to prove ownership. By vacating the
property, the borough relinquishes the public's right to use Young's Road, enabling Eckert to claim title. Eckert has been represented by noted land development lawyer Henry Hill.
Bernardsville: Borough Council Declines County
Planning Agreement -
February 2001
Fearing loss of home rule, Bernardsville council
members have continued to decline to sign the intermunicipal
planning agreement advocated by Somerset County. Only three municipalities have declined to sign: Bernardsville, Bernards
Township and Green Brook. Bernardsville officials have instead decided to write their own cooperative
planning pact and see if officials in Bernards Township will sign
it. The proposed pact will
promote communication between the borough and the township about
development projects with effects that span municipal boundaries.
Council members did not say whether they would seek planning
agreements with other neighboring municipalities.
Borough officials foresee several problems with the county's proposed plan. Borough Attorney John Pidgeon said
the county agreement contains notice requirements that exceed
those in New Jersey's Municipal Land Use Law. Councilman James
Williams said the document moves the county beyond the role of
facilitator. "First they say let us advise you, then it's let
us participate with you, and then it's let us tell you how it's
going to work."
Council members' concerns were raised recently when
a proposal to expand a parking lot on Route 22 in Bridgewater was
filed with the Bridgewater Planning Board. But on January 26, the
county's planning director sent a
letter to the Bridgewater planners saying the plan is contrary to
the direction the county and the Regional Center Partnership
envision for the Route 22 corridor, and suggesting the plan be
withdrawn until further studies of Route 22 can be completed by
NJDOT.
Bernardsville: Assisted Living Zoning
Parameters Lacking - January 2001
Zoning board members lamented the lack of
assisted living parameters in the current borough zoning law, in a
meeting in January between members of the Board of Adjustment, the
Borough Council and the Planning Board. Though changes in the
zoning law were discussed at the meeting, Borough Attorney John
Pidgeon said zoning parameters would be no guarantee against
assisted living-related litigation by future applicants. "If
we put standards into place, they will attack the standards."
Old Mill Manor, Inc.'s proposal for an assisted
living facility on a 1.5 acre site next to the Bernardsville Stone
Tavern was rejected in December 1999. Old Mill Manor, Inc. then
filed litigation in state Superior court and federal court. The
borough and applicant are currently attempting to finalize a
settlement which would result in a slightly downsized project of
50 to 60 units.
Truce reached in tree dispute
- Bernardsville, November 11, 2000
A tentative settlement has been reached between Bernardsville and resident Alfred C. Eckert. Under the agreement, Eckert will drop his Superior Court case against the borough, and the borough would drop its municipal court case against him charging violation of the borough's tree-cutting ordinance.
On November 11, Bernardsville mayor Hugh Fenwick, Council President Jay Parsons and other town officials met on Eckert's estate to discuss plans to restore nine barren acres where Eckert had previously removed trees without a permit. Eckert flew in a landscape architect from England to discuss plans to create a proper British garden on the 9 bare acres. Borough officials were encouraged and "enthralled" by the plans.
Eckert also intends to present a new plan to the zoning board for a driveway on a still-treed part of his property. The new design will avoid removing any trees. His previous plan for a 900-foot driveway required removal of 27 trees.
Bernardsville tree-cutting case postponed
- October 2000
Bernardsville's municipal court case against Alfred C. Eckert, III of Ballantine Road has been postponed until November 20 at the request of attorneys for Eckert and the borough. Eckert has been charged with violation of the borough's tree protection ordinance due to work performed by a contractor last February. Thirty-six trees of four-inch diameter or greater were removed from the 8-acre lot by a landscape contractor as part of a massive garden restoration project.
An additional plan, to remove 27 trees from a Young Road parcel owned by Eckert, was rejected by the Shade Tree Commission last May. Eckert proposed removing the trees in order to make way for a new 900-foot driveway adjacent to a neighbor's property. The rejection was appealed before the Borough Council in June. The council denied the appeal but gave Eckert the option of bringing the driveway plan to the zoning board. If Eckert were to receive approval for the driveway from the zoning board, he could return to the council for a ruling on the tree-removal application. The Board of Adjustment began hearing the driveway proposal in October. Hill argued that the second driveway was necessary to allow an unfettered view of the grand gardens the Eckerts have planned, though some board members questioned what public good the driveway would serve. The hearing was not concluded on October 9, and will be continued on November 13.
Eckert, the chairman of the Florham Park-based GSC Partners, a $3 billion international investment firm, is the first borough resident ever to be cited under the 1992 tree-cutting ordinance which requires a permit to cut down more than 10 percent of trees on a tract. He faces a $1,000 fine and community service. Eckert said he has been advised that a permit was probably not necessary for what he did, and he says it is his right to do what he wants on his own property.
Eckert hired Princeton land-use attorney Henry Hill, and in July filed suit against the borough in state Superior Court, challenging the constitutionality of the borough's tree protection ordinance. That same month, he ran a full page ad in the local newspaper in which he stated: "The right to harvest and plant on one's own property is a basic right in the United States of America, inherent in fact in the ownership of property itself."
In 1993 Eckert and his wife Claire purchased the former Ballantine home, a 1902 Greek-Revival mansion, and 8 acres. Thirty additional acres, the Young Road parcel, were acquired later. Eckert commenced a massive renovation project to return the property to its original turn-of-the-century appearance. The original carriage house on the property, restored by the previous owner, was demolished early in the project. Eckert received a variance in 1999 to construct a 12-bay garage on the original parcel of property. The Eckerts have planted 300 new trees on the tract so far.
Eckert said, "I'm certainly not going to stop this until the town allows me to do what I want to do."
Somerset seeking parkland to north
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Bernards Twp., Bernardsville, October 16, 2000
Consultant John Madden, working for Somerset County's park commission, presented an updated open-space master plan at a meeting held at the Environmental Education Center of Lord Stirling Park on October 16. The broad-brush presentation was one of a series scheduled in the county. Madden has raised the acreage goal of his original 1994 open-space master plan from 10,500 to 20,500.
Madden stated that "there is a lack of county parkland historically in the northern end," which includes the Bernardsville and Bernards Township portions of the Great Swamp Watershed. Madden explained that the county is now trying new approaches, and that parcels are targeted nearby in wetlands along the Passaic River.
New Master Plan in Bernardsville
- September, 2000
A new master plan which recommends doubling the minimum lot size in environmentally sensitive areas of the R-1 5-acre zone will be presented on September 28 at the Planning Board meeting. This document, prepared by planning consultant David Zimmerman, would be the first new master plan for Bernardsville since 1978. If the Planning Board approves the new master plan, the Borough Council must adopt the plan to make it law.
The plan recommends increasing the minimum lot size to 10 acres in undeveloped sections of the R-1 zone, mainly northern and western sections of the borough. Some portions of the zone are on steep slopes, drain into trout production waters and are served by narrow roads, according to the planner.
The new plan also recommends eliminating conditional uses such as conference or management centers, religious retreats or private schools from estates of 20 acres or more. Zimmerman wrote, "Several of these conditional uses, if developed as permitted, may have detrimental impacts upon their neighborhood."
Currently Bernardsville has more than 700 acres of open space, including municipal, county, federal and privately held lands. The plan suggests encouraging open space easements and dedications from private holdings. It also urges using the Bernardsville open space tax to obtain easements to create a pedestrian path linking major open space areas.
As of 1998, Bernardsville contained 2,779 housing units and had a full build out potential of 3,322 homes under the current zoning. Zimmerman rates the potential for more residential development in Bernardsville as modest. Most of the potential for development lies on Somerset Hills Country Club property and neighboring land.
Cutting Trees Results In Legal Thicket
- Bernardsville, July, 2000
In July, Bernardsville resident Alfred Eckert III filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Somerville challenging the borough's tree protection ordinance on constitutional grounds. Bernardsville's tree protection ordinance regulates the cutting of trees outside existing homes. Last February a contractor hired by Eckert didn't obtain a permit for removing at least 36 trees with a diameter of four inches or more. Charges were filed against Eckert by the borough, and in June borough officials denied Eckert a permit to remove 27 more trees to install a driveway. Eckert and his attorney Henry Hill are currently engaged in a war of words with Bernardsville Mayor Hugh Fenwick and television journalist Bill Moyers, who is a neighbor of Eckert.
Bernardsville Council Introduces New Monster House Ordinance
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May 18, 2000
A new floor area ratio (FAR) ordinance was introduced by the Bernardsville Borough Council. The new ordinance uses a sliding scale within six lot size ranges to determine the allowable floor area ratio for residential properties. Mayor Hugh Fenwick said the new ordinance is "slightly more generous" than the current "monster house" ordinance, which allows a maximum FAR of 5 percent (6,534 sq. ft.) in the 3-acre zone (130,680 sq. ft.). In December 1999, the Community Builders Association filed a lawsuit in connection with the existing law, contending it is too restrictive.
Under the new ordinance, lots of 50,000 to 150,000 sq. ft. have a base FAR of 6,000 sq. ft. plus 4 percent of lot area above 50,000 sq. ft., which would permit a FAR of about 9,227 sq. ft. for a 3-acre lot. The top lot size range of 150,000 sq. ft. and larger would allow for a 10,000 sq. ft. base FAR, plus 3 percent for the portion of the lot in excess of 150,000 sq. ft.
The new law also limits impervious surface to 1.5 times the permitted FAR, plus a driveway allowance of 14 times the existing or proposed front setback.
There will be a public hearing on June 19.
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