Planning & Zoning: January 14, 2024

P&Z
Appeal related to property located at 93 East 19th Street ...

At the January 14, 2025, meeting of the Avalon Planning and Zoning Board, the Board heard an application by a home owner appealing the issuance of a building permit to an adjacent property owner.

The property involved, whose owner is J3LLC, is located at 93 East19th Street.  It is an ocean-front lot whose East property line, like several other properties in the area, extends well into the dunes.  Next to the buildable part of the property is a strip of land parallel to the ocean.  This strip was once designated as a street, but the Borough has since vacated it.  The Borough does retain an easement on the strip for utility and for maintenance. The issued building permit allows a three-foot extension of a cantilevered second floor deck over that strip of land.  It is this extension which Applicant contends should not have been approved.

At the very outset of the hearing, J3LLC’s attorney sought to have the application dismissed on the grounds that Applicant failed to file his appeal within the twenty-day period from notice of the permit as required by law.  In support of this position, J3LLC showed that Applicant had knowledge of a much earlier building plan that showed the cantilevered deck.  That plan was subsequently modified for other reasons.

The applicant’s position was that his appeal was timely since it was based on notices of a later allowed building plan.

After considerable discussion, the Board concluded that the twenty-day period for appeal could begin only from the time in which Applicant knew of the issuance of the permit.  Hence, Applicant was allowed to proceed with presenting his case for why the subject permit should not have been issued.

Applicant’s testimony was basically that his and other homes similarly situated did not extend into the vacated area and that when he built his house a former Borough Zoning Official told him he could not build in that strip.

The opposing position was that under the current zoning regulation pertaining to the subject property, the deck extension is compliant with the setback requirements and no error occurred in issuing the permit.

The Board concluded that the permit was properly issued, and the appeal was denied.

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