Sparta zoning board approves front-yard setback variances for West Shore Trail property

The Sparta Township Zoning Board on a unanimous roll-call vote approved application 4-26 to allow front-yard setback variances at a West Shore Trail property identified in the record as Tax Lot 136, Block 4001.

The application, presented by planner and land surveyor Doug Dykstra on behalf of the applicants, was described as a front-left addition (reported in the record as 129 square feet) with a 90-square-foot covered stoop and adjustments to roof lines. The board’s motion (read into the record by the chair) granted variances for the dwelling front-yard setback (2.6 feet) and the pier front-yard setback (5.9 feet) while noting existing nonconformities on the property’s side-yard setbacks.

Dykstra said the house is oriented parallel to the lot sideline rather than the roadway, which makes a squared-off addition the most practicable design and avoids substantially greater site disturbance that would be required by alternatives into the rear yard. "We would easily triple that [site disturbance] if we go into the backyard," he said, arguing the proposed plan reduces overall disturbance and will encourage on-site parking instead of on-street parking.

Board engineer David, referring to a report dated 05/20/2026, recommended conditions the board adopted: adherence to all points in his report; preparation and submission of an as-built plan by a licensed New Jersey land surveyor upon project completion; and that the first-floor office not be converted into a bedroom in the future. David also recommended that the applicant grant a storm-drainage easement to the Lake Mohawk Country Club and that the board send correspondence urging the club to incorporate sediment-trapping features when reconstructing the roadway inlets.

The board’s discussion included confirmation from Dykstra that a Lake Mohawk Country Club trustees’ review of a similar proposal had occurred and that the applicant had trustee-level approval in principle. David noted an existing grate and an unclear outlet path for the current drain and said the proposed relocation and new inlet would make the drainage path explicit and avoid any proposed additions sitting over drainage infrastructure. He also confirmed that the project’s net impervious coverage (as described in his report) is 486 square feet, under the township’s 500-square-foot threshold requiring mitigation.

No members of the public spoke on the application during the public-comment portion of the hearing. After the second was recorded, the clerk read a roll call in which all named members present recorded affirmative votes; the chair instructed the board attorney to prepare a resolution memorializing the approval and its conditions. The applicant waived the right to a later written resolution and said he plans to begin contracting work after municipal approvals.

Next steps: the board attorney will draft the resolution reflecting the motion and conditions discussed; the applicant must provide an as-built survey upon completion and execute the drainage easement described in the board engineer’s recommendation.