Livingston planning board approves storage shed and setback variances for Across International at 111 Dorsa Avenue

The Livingston Planning Board voted to approve a preliminary and final site plan allowing Across International LLC to install a 960-square-foot metal storage shed at 111 Dorsa Avenue, granting variances for side and rear setbacks and waivers for an environmental-impact statement and stormwater management plan.

James Weber, attorney for the applicant, introduced the application and called Michael Lanzafama, a licensed professional engineer and planner, to give testimony. Lanzafama said the 24-by-40-foot prefabricated metal shed is intended to store wooden pallets, plywood and other packing materials so those items can be removed from interior space. “It’s only used for storage,” he said. He described the site as a commercial parcel in the limited industrial zone with loading bays and surrounding commercial uses.

Lanzafama testified the proposed shed requires two variances because it would be set 5 feet from both a side lot line and the rear lot line. He said the side-yard rule in the zone ordinarily requires a 40-foot setback from the principal building; the applicant seeks relief from that standard. For the rear-yard setback the ordinance requires a distance equal to the structure’s height (15 feet 8 inches); the applicant requests five feet, producing a rear-yard variance of about 10 feet 8 inches. He also said part of the property is in the mapped flood hazard area but that the shed’s finished elevation (testified as 178.33) would place it above the FEMA flood elevation cited in the record and that the structure would be mounted on piers with flood vents to allow flow in a flood event.

Board members and professionals questioned the proposal’s site plan impacts. Lanzafama said the shed’s placement requires reconfiguring the rear parking and loading aisles and would remove roughly nine parking spaces; the applicant provided testimony that existing aisle widths, stall dimensions and driveway width comply with the municipal standards. The board’s reviewer requested an updated plan delineating the flood hazard area; the applicant agreed to add that as a condition. The applicant also sought and the board accepted waivers for the environmental-impact statement and stormwater-management plan based on the materials submitted.

After closing the evidentiary record, a board member moved to approve the application subject to the conditions discussed (including revised drawings that show the flood-area delineation and any plan adjustments noted by staff). Another member seconded. In a roll-call vote the board recorded unanimous assent: Mr. Santo yes; Mr. Bhutani (recorded as “Batani” in the vote) yes; Mr. Ratner yes; Mr. Lewis yes; Mr. Duffford yes; Miss Bishnu yes; Miss Connor yes; and Chairman Fernandez yes. The motion carried.

The board’s approval requires the applicant to provide the revised drawings and to comply with the conditions discussed on the record. No public speakers appeared in opposition during the hearing, and the board closed the matter after the vote.