Somerset council revokes portion of driveway variance after neighbors say work encroached on shared easement

The Somerset Town Council voted 4–1 on Nov. 18, 2024 to revoke the portion of a variance that allowed a driveway apron to expand to 25 feet at 4815 Cumberland Avenue, after finding required paperwork had not been returned and neighbors complained the work disturbed their hardscape.

The council’s move targets the specific variance authorizing the extra five-foot wings beyond the town’s 20-foot apron standard. Town attorney Jeffrey (counsel) told the council that the permit issued before a required public right-of-way use agreement and a water drainage maintenance plan were returned, and that "the variance could be deemed void for failure to comply with that condition precedent." The council then instructed the applicant either to restore the apron to its prior condition or to submit a new application within 30 days and to return the drainage agreement.

Why it matters: The dispute centers on whether the reference point for the variance was the town’s 20-foot apron standard or the actual preexisting apron on the site (which neighbors and a site survey indicated was about 14 feet). Neighbors said the new concrete encroached into an area they had used and improved, removing decorative stones and changing the driveway edge; they urged restoration. The town must balance property rights, public right-of-way authority, and the procedural conditions the council set when it approved the variance.

Neighbors Russell (owner of 4813) and Jamie Kaplan testified that they understood any widening would occur primarily on the applicant’s side and that they were not properly notified when concrete work proceeded. Russell said, "We came home, and it was done," describing an email notice that did not give them the chance to be present. Kaplan and other neighbors asked the council to require restoration of their hardscape if it was disturbed.

Applicant David Kelly told the council he built to the town standard after consulting with the town engineer and that he did not intentionally take three extra feet of property from neighbors. In rebuttal he said the assertion of a three-foot encroachment was "just not true" and pointed to before-and-after photos he said show the work began at the prior seam and that two stones were retained and repositioned.

Council members debated whether the unsigned right-of-way use agreement was part of the variance condition. The town attorney pointed to the variance grant language requiring that the applicant and adjoining neighbors execute a public right-of-way use agreement "before the town manager issues a building permit." Several councilors said that because that condition was not met, the part of the variance allowing the wider apron had not been lawfully executed.

The motion the council approved directed the applicant to either remove the recent apron work and restore the prior condition or, within 30 days, seek council approval for a new configuration negotiated with the neighbors and to submit the required water drainage inspection and maintenance agreement. The council voted 4–1 in favor of the motion; one council member opposed, saying the written application appeared to describe wings on both sides and that the applicant had constructed what was described in the August filing.

Next steps: The applicant has 30 days to submit an amended application or begin restoration; the council will consider any new proposal or evidence, including whether an agreement with neighbors can be reached. If the applicant fails to comply, the town may pursue enforcement actions available under the variance and permit process. The 30-day appeal period for any formal decision noted in prior hearings remains part of the administrative record.

Reporting note: Direct quotes and attributions in this story come from the hearing transcript. The town’s apron standard (20 feet), the applicant’s variance to 25 feet, the measured existing apron width (about 14 feet as shown in the site survey), and the council’s motion and vote were recorded in the public hearing held Nov. 18, 2024.