Zoning Board Meeting of 5/29

The Zoning Board heard testimony from the architect and engineer for the proposed assisted living facility.  After 3 hours, the meeting adjourned at 10 pm.  The next meeting will be 6/26 at 7 pm in the Courtroom of Borough Hall and will resume with questions from the public for the engineer.  In a strange departure, Mr. Milanese was allowed to testify in the last 5 minutes of the meeting that he has offered to move the Vanderbeck house to Fair Lawn property and to help clean up the site.  However, there was no time for questions, including:

Where would it be moved to?  The borough's property is protected by open space covenants and a building would not be a permitted use.

What would be the purpose of the house?  Why would Fair Lawn take on the responsiblity for another house, when they are not taking care of the one they already own?  (the Naugle House)

About 45 citizens from Fair Lawn and beyond attended the Zoning Board meeting.  See you again in June!

The History Back Ups

The History Back Ups had a planning meeting last evening, in preparation for the Fair Lawn Zoning Board meeting consideration of the development proposal for the Vanderbeck property.  Great ideas were shared and many points of view reflected on the negative side of building an assisted living facility at this location.

Walter Tuers brought a family Bible that had once belonged to his Vanderbeck ancestors, bringing history alive for those in attendance.

Walter Tuers displaying Bible

Vanderbeck Family Bible

The History Back Ups:  We have our backs up for history

Save the Naugle House--Again

The Borough of Fair Lawn owns the historic Naugle house.  However, they are not showing any inclination to respect or save it.  Would you put off this basic maintenance?  Even though it's an historic house, there is no excuse for hanging, deteriorating shutters, vines climbing the house, broken downspouts, and gutters full of leaves and growing trees.

Vanderbeck/Naugle Update

There will be a meeting this evening at the Fair Lawn Community Center at 7 pm re: the application to develop the 3 acre Vanderbeck property.  This is a planning meeting for those concerned about the development and the two historic houses affected.

For all the documents that the developer has filed with the Zoning Board, see this folder on dropbox.

Carefully review the traffic plan, the landscaping plans, and the elevations.  This beautiful piece of wooded property will be clear-cut and the Naugle house will be made an afterthought on a landscape of modern buildings, roads, and streetlights.  

See today's Bergen Record for an article:  Fate of Old House Rests with Proposal for Senior Complex

Leave your online comments or email a letter to the editor (LettersToTheEditor@northjersey.com).

The Bergen County Historical Society's latest email blast features the Vanderbeck and Naugle houses and the Preservation Committee endorses refusing the use variance for the Vanderbeck property.

Remember the fate of the Vanderbeck property will have major impacts on the residential neighborhood to the northwest of the property, the wildlife of the area, the viewshed from the Saddle River Park (Dunkerhook Area), and on the Naugle House--owned by the Borough of Fair Lawn.

Come to the planning meeting tonight and the Zoning Board Meeting on Thursday (5/29) at 7 pm at Fair Lawn Borough Hall.

Vanderbeck and Naugle Houses, Fair Lawn

Barrister Site Plan.  Notice Naugle house outline in the center, right.

Many advocates of history followed the fight to save the Zabriskie Tenant House on Dunkerhook Road in Paramus.  On the other side of the river, on Dunkerhook Road, are the Naugle House (owned by Fair Lawn) and the Vanderbeck Sr. house (owned by the estate of Henrietta Vanderplaat).  Barrister Land Development has proposed a 126-bed, 112,710 sq. ft. assisted living facility for the 3 acre sit of the Vanderbeck House, which would require the demolition of the house.  To do so will require a use variance (the zone is residential).  The hearing is at 7:00 pm at the Fair Lawn Municipal Building on May 29.

Naugle House

In addition to the impending loss of the Vanderbeck house, the Naugle House would be seriously affected.  A right-of-way easement across the Naugle House property runs within 10' of the house and will drastically change the setting, juxtaposing a road, sidewalks, and streetlights with the historic house, as well as endangering its stability.

The Fair Lawn Historic Preservation Commission will be making a report to the Zoning Board.  I have urged them to recommend denial of the use variance.

Refuse the use variance request.  To protect the Naugle house, which should be Fair Lawn's first priority, the Zoning Board should refuse the use variance request from Barrister for the assisted living facility in a residential zone. The negative effects (which will be weighed against the "beneficial" use of an assisted living facility) include increased run-off, exacerbation of flooding issues, light and noise pollution, increased traffic, possible road-widening and destruction of the setting for the Naugle house.

Make the Naugle house the first priority.  Proposed demolition of the Vanderbeck house by the developer is a smoke-screen issue, to get the the Historic Preservation Commission, the Zoning Board, and the town to  compromise to save the house (by moving it).  What is being compromised is the Naugle house that everyone worked so hard to save.

The Value of the property.  The true value of the property is what can be built on it within the present zoning restrictions.  It's backwards to say that the owner is entitled to build an assisted living facility because its the only way to to make the property worth $2,000,000.  The owner is not entitled to a property worth two million, but to get from his property the value it has in the zone to which has been assigned.

If there must be a Compromise  If the facility must be built, the easement for access should be moved from the north-south section of Dunkerhook Road to the east-west Dunkerhook Road (or Century Road extension).  This becomes feasible since the developer now owns additional frontage on east-west road and a two way entrance and exit could be constructed with additional land from the front of the Green Acres property. The present easement could be restored to Green Acres status, thereby keeping the total amount of Green Acres land the same.  Then there would be a small, but continuous, green space around the Naugle house, retaining a sense of place that is totally lost if the present easement is developed.

Our Power  A request that the use variance be denied, puts the Vanderbeck house in no more danger that presently exists.  It is in grave danger of being destroyed.  I fear that the citizens of Fair Lawn can do little to change that.  What we can do is be advocates for the Naugle house and the preservation of the area as a residential community within Fair Lawn.  If we can save the Vanderbeck house at the same time, that will be the bonus.

Too many compromises make a mockery of our history by leaving the Naugle House an afterthought on the landscape.