Board approves barn addition and 22% lot-coverage variance after historic-area debate

The Bernards Township Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to approve an application to add a 16-foot front addition to a historic barn to accommodate a two-car garage and a small upstairs studio. The applicant said the addition will help preserve the barn by making it usable and described plans to match the barn's vertical-board siding and to retain visible historic elements. The board and staff discussed setbacks, whether the proposed work increases the structure's nonconformity, and the lot-coverage implications of existing and proposed features.

A central technical dispute at the hearing concerned whether the property's gravity or segmental retaining walls should count in the town's lot-coverage calculation. Staff and several engineers explained that segmental walls with a compacted base or constructed as continuous surfaces are often treated as impervious because they displace ground and direct runoff, while loose-built stone piles that admit flow may be treated differently. The applicant's engineer estimated the walls contributed roughly 1.2% of coverage; board members agreed to count the walls as impervious for this application and to proceed with a practical coverage threshold.

Because counting the walls raised the calculated coverage from the plan's 20.49% to a level near the requested relief, the parties agreed to frame the relief as a 22% lot-coverage variance that included a 1.2% allowance attributable to the retaining walls. The applicant also agreed to replace two Bradford pears and add screening between the barn and the adjacent St. Mark's Chapel; the Environmental Commission and township memoranda were cited in the list of conditions.

Members of the public, including John Booth, a trustee with the local historical society, urged restraint and suggested a smaller addition or a different roofline to preserve the barn's historic viewscape; the applicant said the design was chosen to preserve the barn's frontal appearance while making the building usable and structurally safer. After deliberation, a board member moved to deem the application complete and asked the board attorney to draft a resolution memorializing approval under the board's findings; the motion passed on roll call. The resolution will include the agreed conditions on color/materials, stormwater management, tree replacement, and plan clarifications.