Proposed Ordinance to 'Facilitate' Rebuilding for Some

The Planning Board has recommended an ordinance to the township Committee that would allow residents living on an undersized lot in flood hazard areas to elevate without zoning board approval as long as they meet setback requirements.

The amendment, if approved by the Committee, would "facilitate" the rebuilding process for residents who have been significantly impacted by Hurricane Sandy, Director of Community Development John Curtin said at a regular Planning Board meeting Monday.

Residents living on undersized lots would be able to elevate their homes without zoning board approval as long as their plans meet setback regulations and do not require variances.

But to elevate a home that rises above 35 feet would still require a variance, although Curtin had recommended amending the current ordinance to permit structures in flood hazard areas to be built to a height of 38 feet.

“Because of the preliminary maps that we’re working with, especially in V Zones, people are required to raise their homes substantially,” Curtin said.

During a workshop in March, the zoning board recommended the township Committee allow residents on conforming lots to elevate their preexisting homes to as high as 38 feet. The new height is three feet higher than the township’s current height allowance, and is designed to meet new elevations dictated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Advisory Base Flood Elevation, or ABFE, maps.

That recommended ordinance would apply to residents in FEMA’s new A and V Zones, which are prone to significant flood damage during large storms, like Sandy. It would not, however, apply to new construction, properties on non-conforming lots, or homes that require setback variances.

Committeeman Gary Quinn was concerned about extending height regulations.

“I was in favor of moving from 35 to 38 early on but now I’m not so sure,” he said. “Houses are getting higher and higher and higher, and I’m thinking, from my own standpoint, if this is the best way to go.”

Residents who are elevating their home without making structural changes should be able to do so without approaching the zoning board, Quinn said. But those redesigning and rebuilding above 35 feet should have to go to the board to present the plans because they’re likely to need approval for variances anyway.

“The adjoining property has the right to know that somebody is going to be towering over where they are now,” he said.

If a homeowner is rebuilding their home and needs variances, neighboring property owners receive notification.

“Most of the houses that really stretch and really toyed with that 35 feet most are on the end of lagoons and on the bay and those are the areas that are in the V Zones,” Curtin said, adding that those homes have been minimally impacted by Sandy.

If those homes were to be elevated, they would likely even exceed 38 feet in height, Curtin said.

Planning Board member Josephine Whitleigh argued that residents demolishing their homes and rebuilding should be granted the same courtesy as those who are elevating.

“To me it just doesn’t make sense not to go to the board because they’re going to go to the board anyway,” Quinn said. “These are all pretty much undersized lots.”

Most of the homes along the township’s waterways are older properties built on smaller lots. Because the properties were built on small lots they’re often in violation of the township’s zoning ordinances. It wasn’t a problem until Sandy hit the New Jersey shore in late October and caused significant damage to many coastal communities.

There are hundreds of bungalows in Lacey Township that will have to be raised or eventually demolished, Curtin said.

“We’re in a different ball game than a lot of these waterfront towns,” Quinn said. Lacey received approximately 80 notices declaring homes more than 50 percent damaged whereas Berkeley has received more than 2,000.

The Planning Board tabled the ordinance that would allow residents to elevate homes to 38 feet without a variance.

Residents who are rebuilding a home that conforms to all setbacks and regulations can do so without going before the zoning board, although they still need a building permit, Quinn said.

In December, the Committee approved a policy that would allow damaged homes situated below the base flood elevation and located on a nonconforming lot to be restored, rebuilt or raised or demolished and rebuilt as long as they are replaced in a conforming location.

If the Committee votes in support of Monday’s recommendation, the ordinance would stand for two years from approval.

Mayor David Most affirmed that FEMA’s Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps are advisory and not yet regulatory, although the township did approve a first reading of an ordinance to adopt the maps in March.

“This is so dynamic and fluid that we don’t know where this is going to end up. If we vote for this now, it will be subject to change a couple months down the road,” he said.