We were warned ahead of time that the zoning permit process for the City of Long Branch was a lengthy one especially if any variance relief was required.  There's even a message on the City of Long Branch website stating that there's a waiting list to appear before the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, but nothing was able to prepared us for the actual length of time required. In fact, at the time of this post, more than a year later we still don't have a zoning permit.

To help us navigate this process, we decided to hire the land-use and zoning attorney we spoke to during the due diligence period of our property purchase.  We closed on the property and formally took ownership April 12, 2017 and completed the schematic designs with the architects in the following 2 weeks.  With plans in hand and an attorney to guide us, we moved forward with the zoning process.

Step 1: Request for Zoning Permit Administratively

Hoping to avoid appearing before the board, we took great care in designing our house to met or improve upon the bulk variance relief previously granted by the board.  With that as our goal, our attorney submitted a letter to the Planning and Zoning Office requesting for a zoning permit the 1st of May. The Zoning Officer consulted with the Board Engineer and determined that the request would need to go before the board under 'Other Business' to determine if it can be handled administratively. The board only meets once a month and we were fortunate enough to have our matter added to the next board meeting on May 22nd.

The first small obstacle we faced was an escrow deficiency which should have been paid by the prior owner at closing. To stay on the scheduled board meeting, we agreed to pay the outstanding escrow. The amount was nominal so it wasn't worth chasing down the prior owner for.

At the May 22nd meeting, which we sat in on, the board decided that we would need to file an amended application and our case would need to be presented before them because there were significant objections to the prior application as they recalled.

Step 2: Filing the Amended Application

Obviously we were disappoint with the boards decision and we wanted to avoid the sizable cost of appearing on notice but it is what it is and we did budget for the cost. In this process, we quickly learned that nothing gets turned around in a few days, and honestly it continues to be a source of frustration for us.  Our lawyer submitted our amended application on June 1st and was advised that they're now scheduling cases for August or September (ugh). Two weeks later it was determined that the escrow needed to be replenished before the application could be reviewed and we sent out another check.

The board engineer reviewed our application on June 26 and it was deemed incomplete.  Based on the review, we needed to request additional variances because the entry landing fell within the front setback. Without going into too much detail, we did pour through the zoning codes during our design process and we believe our design satified the requirements for setback. The lesson learned here is that there's room for interpretation in the zoning codes and unfortunately we fell on the wrong side of their interpretation. We resubmitted the application on July 11 and it was deemed complete on August 10. We received notice that the meeting has been scheduled for October 23rd so we had a few months to prepare and wait.

Step 3: Notice of Meeting 

For public hearings, a meeting notice is required to be sent to all property owners within 200 feet and published in the Asbury Park Press 10 days prior to the hearing. For our property, that meant sending the notices by the way of certified mail return receipt requested (CMRRR) to 98 property owners based on the list supplied by the tax assessor - the most our attorney has ever had to send.


Step 4: The Meeting(s)

On the day of the hearing, accompanied by our attorney and team of architects, we made our case to the board. We weren't prepared for the level of formality of the meeting and in hindsight there were things we could have done better or changed. For better or worse, we were the last item on the agenda. Because the other cases ran over, we ran out of time and our matter was carried over to the next meeting on November 27th.  Here are a few lessons learned from the first meeting:

• The professionals testifying need to to be licensed in the State of New Jersey. If you're working with a team of architects, only the licensed individual(s) will be allowed to speak.
• All material referenced in the meeting must be recorded and submitted as evidence and should be stamped and sealed with the professional's NJ license number. It's best to have the materials numbered and submitted to the board in advance of the meeting. Ideally, no new material should be presented the day of the meeting and any presentation boards or charts should only be enlargements from the submitted package.
• Only individuals sworn in may speak and only one at at time to allow for transcription of the meeting. Individuals who will be speaking should be sworn in at the beginning otherwise it really disrupts the flow of the meeting.
• The Zoning Board of Adjustment is charged with assessing the impact to the neighbors and surrounding area. When seeking variance relief,  the board will look beyond zoning codes regulating items like lot coverage, setbacks, and habitable area, and review the structure holistically to determine if it has any negative impact to the zoning, masterplan or neighborhood and will require specific conditions to be met. In our case, this includes the type of lighting used on the building exterior, the specific use of the basement, location and visibility of solar panels and HVAC units, 'openness' of front entry railing, and size of the roof deck to name a few.

Although better prepared, our next meeting with the board was equally if not more grueling than the initial meeting.  We were the only item on the agenda and we took up the entire duration of the meeting. The level of detail in their questioning was eye opening. They must have raised every potential issue and possible deficiency with the plan and gave little to no acknowledgement of the green aspects of our design during the meeting. We didn't have a good feeling throughout the meeting and by the halfway mark we were concerned that our application would be rejected. Thankfully in the end the board voted in favor of our plan and our request for bulk variance relief - unanimously, no less, to our surprise.

Step 5: The Resolution

Two months later, the board voted on the resolution and our approval of bulk variance relief was memorialized on January 22, 2018. This was an enormous milestone. A major burden has been lifted and we felt confident enough to move forward with completing the building design and construction documents with our architects.

Step 6: Resolution Compliance

Even though we've received approval from the board, we still needed to complete resolution compliance before formally applying for a zoning permit. Our approval from the board is subject to all the conditions from the prior approved resolution and a few new ones. To satisfy some of the conditions, we needed to hire a professional engineer to provide the follow:

• A grading plan and stormwater management plan with detailed engineering calculations. If the plan alters the drainage pattern or is otherwise not satisfactory to both the Board Engineer and City Engineer, we would need to appear before the board again for further review - something we clearly needed to avoid. 
• Engineering plans depicting sight triangles for the property and driveway which conform to the American Association of State Highway and Transformation Officials (AASHTO) standards and guidelines, and are satisfactory in form and content to both the Board Engineer and Board Attorney.