Attorney asks zoning board to carry Hamburg Turnpike use-variance application to July

Douglas Doyle, an attorney appearing for the applicant, asked the Pompton Lakes Zoning Board of Adjustment on June 24 to carry the application for a proposed use variance at a Hamburg Turnpike property to the July meeting because the tenant and the applicant’s technical team were not present. “I’m gonna use this opportunity with the absence of the tenant to ask 2 things,” Doyle said, asking the board to deem the application complete and to continue the hearing one month so he could return with the tenant, an engineer and a planner.

The board confirmed the application had been noticed and agreed that the matter could be carried without additional notice to the board’s July meeting; members identified the continuation date as the fourth Tuesday in July (July 22, 2025). Board members and the board attorney discussed that some boards request a planner or professional testimony to determine whether an activity constitutes a use variance or fits within a permitted use definition; Doyle said he would return prepared to address those points.

Why it matters: The board must resolve whether the first-floor use proposed for the property qualifies as a permitted commercial utility storage use or requires a use variance, and whether any site or bulk conditions are warranted. The applicant’s absence limited the hearing to procedural steps, so no substantive testimony by the tenant or technical witnesses was taken.

Next step: The application will return to the board on July 22, 2025, when Doyle expects to appear with the tenant, engineer and planner to present testimony and respond to the board’s questions.