Summit zoning board approves renovation and second‑story addition at 83 West End with conditions

The Summit Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 7-0 on May 5 to approve an application by 83 West End Ave, LLC to renovate and raise the existing Cape Cod‑style house at 83 West End Avenue, including a second‑story addition and garage modifications, granting relief for several existing nonconforming setbacks and other technical variances.

Board members approved the application after testimony from the applicant’s developer, engineers, architect and environmental consultant and after conditions were added on stormwater, riparian setbacks and exterior materials.

The applicant’s developer, Denise Bonfiglio, told the board the project “is to improve the existing home by upgrading and modernizing it and improving the layout so the home can have function in a way that better meets the contemporary needs of today’s family.” She said the team “are not improving beyond the current foundation.”

Civil engineer William (Bill) Hollows told the board the project will add 93 square feet of impervious surface overall and that the new roof leaders will be tied into existing pipes that discharge at the top of the stream bank behind the property. “Our increase in impervious coverage is 93 square feet,” he said, and added that the project’s additional runoff is below the local threshold that would automatically trigger a dry‑well or similar stormwater system (300 square feet).

Environmental consultant John Peel of PK Environmental said the small watercourse behind the property is a regulated state open water with a 50‑foot riparian buffer, but that the contributing drainage area at the site is under 50 acres. “As such, NJDEP does not regulate a flood hazard area” for this creek and the project can proceed under a NJDEP “permit by rule,” Peel testified. The board required that the applicant confirm any state-level approvals in writing before a building permit is issued.

Neighbors questioned runoff and flood‑zone status during public comment. Resident Elizabeth Wynne said she believed properties along the stream were mapped into a federal flood zone in a prior FEMA update; the applicant’s environmental witness noted that FEMA determinations and NJDEP flood hazard rules are separate systems and said the property’s drainage area keeps it outside NJDEP flood‑hazard regulation.

After deliberation the board attached five conditions to approval including: compliance with the board engineer’s review; replacement of a deteriorated fence on the property line with 85 West End; additional arborvitae screening for that neighbor if feasible; plan revisions and certification that no disturbance will occur within 25 feet of the top of bank of the stream; and confirmation prior to building permit that no NJDEP approval is required for the new 93 square feet of coverage — or, if NJDEP requires approval, that the applicant revise plans to add on‑site stormwater management to accommodate the coverage.

The board also asked the applicant to address siding and front‑façade material comments from the Historic Preservation Committee; the applicant agreed to revise materials to horizontal siding or shingles on the front and garage side.

The board’s vote was unanimous: Malay, Steiner, Nelson, Yuko, Chifo, Feskins and Vice Chair Miriam Mazon all voted yes.

The board record shows the approval was granted as a c‑variance on the basis of the lot’s narrow width, the site topography and the presence of an existing lawful nonconforming structure. Building permits and final engineering reviews remain required, and the board retained oversight on the specified stormwater and riparian conditions.