SCOTCH PLAINS — The zoning board of adjustment last week unanimously approved an application to install a rear-yard deck on a house on Taylors Way.
Manan Modi and Harini Bupathi sought a variance for the 20-foot-by-20-foot deck, a portion of which will be closer to the rear property line than local setback regulations allow. Ms. Bupathi explained to the board at its meeting last Thursday that the property at 609 Taylors Way, located within a cul-de-sac off of Westfield Avenue, is irregularly-shaped and positioned at an angle. Granting the variance will allow the deck to be squared off.
Several questions were raised about various aspects of the deck. Mr. Modi and Ms. Bupathi said no gas hook-up or plumbing is planned, nor will there be any new lighting. Ms. Bupathi said several times that the purpose of the deck is solely for outdoor enjoyment, especially with a new baby on the way.
An extended discussion about the actual height of the deck arose after a question from a neighbor on Evergreen Avenue. Mr. Modi first said the deck would be about a foot below the doorway leading from the rear of the house. Another Evergreen Avenue neighbor expressed concern about the deck being too high and allowing his own privacy to be affected. It was then estimated that the footings for the deck would be three feet, but that was clarified to mean the footings would be three feet into the ground.
Board Vice-Chairman Dan Sullivan noted that the submitted renderings of the deck were hand-drawn and lacking in specific measurements of its height. “I’m not sure what it is,” he said. Ms. Bupathi again noted that the deck would be a “step down” from the back door. “As soon as you walk out, it’ll be a step down,” she said. Mr. Modi left the meeting to go outside and measure what the deck’s height would be, returning after a few minutes to report that it would be about three and a half feet above the ground.
Board Attorney Robert Pansulla reminded the board that, “we’re not here for a variance on the height of the deck.” After Board Chairman Craig Peskin suggested possibly planting shrubs at the rear of the property to shield the deck from the neighbors, board member Rich Rozycki said he did not think the deck height and the shrubs were relevant to the application, something with which fellow board member Talib Morgan agreed.
