Allendale Land Use Board approves Calvary Lutheran changes but with conditions on fencing, lighting and trees

The Allendale Land Use Board on a winter evening approved, in part, a set of changes to the subdivision associated with Calvary Lutheran (applicant file 2024-18), voting to deny additional split-rail fencing and the proposed streetlights while keeping the sidewalk requirement and imposing conditions on tree replacement.

The board heard from applicant counsel John Vettery and engineer David Fantina, who described four relief requests tied to the previously approved subdivision: not constructing a sidewalk along Ivers Road adjacent to the detention basin, avoiding a split-rail fence on Lot 2.01, reducing additional plantings along Couch Court, and not installing a proposed streetlight at the cul-de-sac.

Why it matters: neighbors told the board the sidewalk would be a short, disconnected segment with unclear maintenance responsibility, the additional light was unwanted by residents, and several trees previously planted were in poor health. The applicant said much of the remaining obligations stemmed from prior conditions and from agency approvals (including a wetlands buffer requirement tied to NJDEP). The board balanced those public concerns against accessibility and safety points raised by some members about connecting to existing ADA ramps.

The engineer, David Fantina, described the grading and the exhibit revisions the applicant submitted and said that any agency (NJDEP or county) requirements would still govern final implementation. "If another regulatory agency says that we must do it, then we'll have to do it," Fantina told the board.

Neighbor Holly Goldberg told the board she installed fencing on her property for the safety of her grandchildren and questioned who would maintain a sidewalk or the detention basin if one were built. "If you put a sidewalk there, who's going to maintain it? Who's going to be shoveling it? Who's going to be responsible for the insurance of it now?" Goldberg said, adding that five existing trees around the basin were dying and that new plantings without irrigation would likely fail.

After questioning from board members and exchange with borough professionals about which obligations run with the land versus those that need separate agency sign-offs, a motion was made to approve the application in part: deny installation of the split-rail fence and the proposed streetlight, require the applicant to work with borough staff on replacing trees where practical or to contribute elsewhere if planting is infeasible, and retain the sidewalk obligation subject to clarification and final plan details. The motion was seconded and carried.

What happens next: the applicant will reflect the board's conditions in final plans and comply with any required outside-agency sign-offs before implementing items governed by NJDEP, county or other jurisdictions. The board recorded the partial approval in its meeting action.

Board action details: the board voted to approve the partial relief motion (motion and second recorded; roll-call votes were read and recorded by the chair). The board directed that tree replacement be coordinated with borough staff and that any agency-mandated fencing be implemented if later required by external reviewers.

The meeting then moved to the next agenda item.