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Applicants told to revise pool plan at 33 Highlands Ave.; board asks for rotation and drainage details, carries hearing to Dec. 17
Summary
The Board of Adjustment heard an application to install a 14-by-33-foot pool at 33 Highlands Avenue. The board asked the applicants to provide a revised layout (rotating the pool parallel to the house where feasible), move equipment away from the neighbor, and submit stormwater calculations; the matter was carried to Dec. 17.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — Applicants seeking a variance to install an inground pool at 33 Highlands Avenue told the Board of Adjustment on Nov. 10 they had reduced the planned impervious coverage and incorporated a dry well for stormwater management, but the board asked for a revised layout and technical confirmation before a final decision.
The applicant’s father testified through translator Bernardo Brian P., explaining the proposed 14-by-33-foot fiberglass pool had been designed to minimize impacts on neighbors and to preserve existing fencing and mature landscaping. He said the lot is undersized for the S-120 zone (the lot is 18,400 sq. ft. vs. 22,000 sq. ft. required) and that the applicant revised plans to reduce impervious coverage from an earlier 37% to a plan showing roughly 35.4% after mitigation adjustments.
Town engineer Michael Disco and several board members questioned whether rotating the pool so it is parallel to the house would both increase setbacks from neighbors and reduce impervious coverage. Disco noted the county- and township-level design-storm assumptions and asked for a drainage-volume calculation that demonstrates the proposed dry well provides the required storage. Board members also flagged the pool equipment pad’s proximity to the property line — as little as three feet in plan — and asked the applicants to move equipment away from the neighboring property where feasible.
The board reviewed available permit history and found a prior closed permit to abandon an old pool but limited documentation about how that closure was performed; members urged the applicants to confirm what is under the yard before final construction because subsurface conditions could affect siting and drainage solutions.
The board voted to carry application 2025-24 to the Dec. 17 meeting and directed the applicants to return with a revised site plan showing the rotated orientation (or a clear technical justification why rotation is infeasible), relocation of equipment away from the property line when practicable, and engineering calculations for the proposed dry well or other mitigation.
No variance was granted or denied on Nov. 10; the matter remains pending and is scheduled for Dec. 17.
