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Board of Adjustment approves D & C Honda parking expansion in Magnolia Ave Historic District with conditions
Summary
The Tenafly Board of Adjustment granted variances and approved a lot-line adjustment to allow D & C Honda to expand vehicle storage at 45 Magnolia Ave, subject to conditions including evergreen buffering, light shielding and future HPC review; the motion passed 5-0.
The Tenafly Board of Adjustment voted 5-0 on Jan. 20 to approve a lot-line adjustment and parking expansion for D & C Honda at 45 Magnolia Ave, a property located partly in the Magnolia Ave Historic District and split between R-9 residential and B-2 business zones. The motion was made by Mr. Cytryn and seconded by Mr. Friedman and included the conditions discussed during the meeting.
During deliberations board members cited both preservation concerns and the applicant’s mitigation commitments. "The applicant is a businessman whose business has been in Tenafly for over 90 years," Mr. Cytryn said in support of approval; Acting Chairperson Kominsky said his "biggest concern is the construction of a parking lot in a historic district" but indicated support given the proposed conditions.
The approval allows a lot-line adjustment between lot 6 (45 Magnolia Ave) and lot 16 (28 County Road) to create parking for new vehicles and relieve on-site parking constraints at the dealership. The applicant proposed parking improvements that include new drainage, light shielding and retaining walls; Mr. Hals, the temporary Acting Board Engineer, testified the plan includes about 30 parking spaces in the Magnolia Ave Historic District with additional spaces in the R-9 zone and that the grading disturbance to accommodate storage of new vehicles would be limited.
The Board recorded a roll-call vote of 5-0 in favor (Cytryn, Friedman, Callahan, Dr. Paskhover, Kominsky). The motion requires the applicant to follow through on mitigation measures discussed at the hearing — evergreen plantings at the top of the retaining wall, shielding for lighting to minimize spillover, and the required future submissions to the Tenafly Historic Preservation Committee (HPC) for Certificates of Appropriateness where borough code requires them.
