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Hopatcong board conditionally approves narrower dock for Patrick Flynn
Summary
The Hopatcong Land Use Board voted to approve a replacement dock and a finger pier at 9 Oakdale Ave, requiring the applicant to reduce the main dock width so both side yards maintain a 10-foot well and to obtain required state permitting.
The Hopatcong Land Use Board on a voice and roll-call vote approved a conditional permit for a replacement dock and a finger pier at 9 Oakdale Ave, where the applicant said the existing crib-supported structure is about 60 years old and failing.
Patrick Flynn told the board the project would replace the existing single-width dock, extend slightly farther in places and add a finger pier to allow a third boat to be moored. “The cribs are 60 years old, and the dock is falling into the water,” Flynn said, explaining the need for replacement and additional mooring space.
Board members pressed Flynn on precise dimensions and neighbor clearance, repeatedly emphasizing a 10-foot side-yard/well separation. A board member said the borough prefers a 10-foot separation “because your neighbor’s property is there” and warned narrow wells can cause overlap into adjacent water space. Flynn agreed to narrow the main dock so the configuration would achieve 10-foot wells on both sides.
Members also noted that New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) flood-hazard rules changed recently; the board advised the applicant that the state’s permit-by-rule approach has been replaced by a permit-by-certification process and that the applicant must complete that state certification before final local sign-off. The board recorded that the replacement dock will therefore require a DEP permit-by-certification (EPC 5) and that certificate information should be provided to the board’s office prior to issuance of final permits.
The board opened the application to the public; no members of the public spoke. The board then moved and seconded a motion to approve the application subject to the conditions discussed — narrow the main dock so both side yards/wells measure at least 10 feet, maintain the finger pier as shown, and obtain the DEP permit-by-certification — and carried the motion by roll call.
The board’s approval was recorded as conditional on compliance with the side-yard dimensions and submission of the DEP certification; the applicant may return with any revised drawings or additional permitting documentation requested by the board or the borough’s engineering staff.
