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Brielle board approves variance for new 2½‑story home at 316½ Fisk Avenue with conditions
Summary
The Planning Board approved variance relief for Michael and Ellen Schneider to demolish an existing home and build a new 2½‑story dwelling (38.42 feet) on a flag lot at 316½ Fisk Avenue. Approval includes written conditions requiring easement documentation, DEP and Soil Conservation permits, revised plans, and screening for pool equipment.
The Brielle Planning Board voted March 11 to grant variance relief allowing Michael and Ellen Schneider to replace an existing frame dwelling at 316½ Fisk Avenue with a new 2½‑story home proposed at 38.42 feet in height.
The applicants acknowledged the lot is a flag lot with no frontage on a municipal roadway and will use an existing easement from Fisk Avenue for access. Architect Michael Melillo said the proposed house totals about 5,512 square feet of floor area (FAR 0.37), with six bedrooms, a lower level limited to non‑habitable storage and garage space, and rooftop mechanicals necessary because the parcel is in the flood hazard area. Engineer Nicholas DeCotiis testified that finished floor elevation will be 13 feet and described a six‑inlet stormwater system tied to a perforated discharge pipe approved by the DEP; he said Freehold Soil Conservation approval and DEP coastal zone approval had been received.
Planner Robert Hudak testified that, given the lot’s shape, existing easements and flood‑zone constraints, the application satisfies the C1 and C2 criteria under N.J.S.A. 40:55D‑70 for variance relief. He cited a 2018 Planning Board resolution approving a 38.42‑foot height for the property and neighborhood measurements that show similar elevated rooflines.
After questions from board members about emergency vehicle access, building coverage and screening for pool equipment, Board Attorney David Clark recited the approval conditions to be included in the written resolution. The conditions require, among other items, that the applicants: submit documentation of the driveway easement to the Board Secretary within 60 days; add a note to engineering plans locating pool equipment and submit revised plans within 60 days; place utility connections outside the roadway to avoid Fisk Avenue’s road‑opening moratorium; provide the NJDEP permit and Freehold Soil approval within 60 days; assure that no trees are removed without proper permits; and screen pool equipment to the satisfaction of the Board Engineer. The applicants agreed to these conditions.
The board adopted written findings concluding the benefits of the requested relief outweigh any detriment and that the application advances the Municipal Land Use Law’s purposes. The vote to approve was recorded in the minutes and the Resolution was adopted with the conditions noted.
The board carried stormwater calculations between hearings and the Board Engineer confirmed those calculations were satisfactory at the continued hearing. The approval includes a requirement to file revised plans (original plus four copies) within 60 days of the resolution’s adoption.
