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Applicants seek variance to convert Merchantville office at 703 W. Maple Ave into four apartments; plans deemed incomplete
Summary
Applicants Vlad Kharkouer and Irina Golovashchuk, represented by attorney Joseph Threston, asked the Merchantville Joint Land Use Board to allow conversion of the ground-floor commercial space at 703 W. Maple Ave into two apartments, creating four units total; the board found submitted plans incomplete and the attorney requested postponement to the June 10 meeting to provide the missing materials.
Applicant Vlad Kharkouer, owner of Dartmouth Ave LLC, and co-applicant Irina Golovashchuk, represented by attorney Joseph Threston, presented Application JLUB 24-7 on May 13 seeking a use variance to convert the first-floor commercial space at 703 W. Maple Ave to residential use in the B-2 zone.
Kharkouer testified that squatters who had occupied the first floor have been removed and said he believes the space is not fit for commercial use. The proposal described in the application would create two apartments on the first floor — one one-bedroom and one two-bedroom — in addition to the two existing occupied apartments on the second floor, for four total dwelling units. The applicants reported there are currently three parking spaces on site and stated there is room for six, a point the board identified as requiring clarification and documentation.
Board members noted several deficiencies in the submission. The variance plan provided to the board lacked a formal site plan showing parking, trash collection and lighting; the submitted floor plan did not include measurements; and the application materials were described by the board as incomplete. The transcript records the board pointing to these missing elements as reasons more documentation is needed before the board can take substantive action on the variance request.
Attorney Joseph Threston asked the board to adjourn consideration of JLUB 24-7 and postpone the matter until the board's next meeting on June 10 so the applicants could supply the requested plans and measurements. The transcript records that request; it does not record a board vote on the postponement in the provided excerpt.
Separately, toward the close of the meeting, board member Haynes moved to adjourn the session and board member Lammey seconded the motion; the transcript records the motion and second but does not include a recorded vote tally or explicit outcome in the excerpt provided.
What happens next: The applicants requested a postponement to the June 10 meeting to provide a formal site plan and a measured floor plan; the board will have an opportunity to revisit JLUB 24-7 once the requested materials are submitted and placed on a future agenda.
