Apple Tree Lane Neighbors Attend Zoning Hearing

A number of residents of Apple Tree Lane attended a public hearing at the Jan. 16 meeting of the Lower Saucon Township Zoning Hearing Board in order to question variances sought by George Petito, who said he has a signed agreement of sale to purchase a 2.8-acre property at 1817 Apple Tree Lane.

Petito came before the board seeking two different variances. One, for a six-foot fence, was unanimously approved by the board.

The maximum height for a fence in the R80 zoning district is ordinarily four feet, but Petito said he wants to install a taller fence in order to keep deer out of his yard.

He said the fence could be made of "wrought iron or aluminum" with brick pylons, but the final design has not yet been determined.

Petito cited two bouts of Lyme disease as his motivation for trying to keep deer off his property. Deer often carry ticks, which are transmitters of Lyme disease.

"(Lyme disease) is not something you play with," Petito said.

However, neighbor Beverly Eighmy questioned the potential effectiveness of a six-foot fence at keeping deer and ticks off Petito's property, as did attorney Walter Morrissey, who told the board he was there representing a group of neighbors.

"I've had Lyme disease four times," Eighmy said. It is her belief that ticks carrying the disease cannot be kept off a property with "any fence," she added.

Morrissey, who said his clients are "not very happy" with the proposed plans, characterized the neighborhood as an "open concept" area and said the fence would not be in keeping with that character.

"Have you been to California?" Petito subsequently asked Morrissey. "I think a six-foot (fence) is going to look better."

"I think you're going to find out that your neighbors disagree," Morrissey responded.

"I think that's abundantly clear," interjected board chairman Jason Banonis.

The other variance sought by Petito, which was for a required setback from a property line, was denied by a vote of 2-1, with board vice chairman Keith Easley voting in favor of granting the variance, and Banonis and Lachlan Peeke voting against doing so.

Board members Ted Griggs and Austin Kunsman were absent from the meeting.

The variance that was sought would have provided relief from a required 40-foot setback to allow for the construction of a garage 27 feet from the property line.

The proposed 3,098-square-foot garage would house his personal car collection, Petito said.

"I'm a car collector. It's my hobby," he told the board.

But neighbor Mike Gausling, whose property is to the north of the property Petito is in the process of purchasing, questioned whether such a variance could legally be granted for such a use.

Gausling said that under Pennsylvania zoning law Petito has to prove a hardship, and without title to the property he said that hardship does not exist.

Gausling suggested that Petito still has the option to buy a different property--and presumably one that would not require a variance in order to build his garage.

After neighbor Jacqueline DiSante asked Petito how he keeps deer off his current property, Petito told the board he felt under attack by the current residents.

"I really feel bad about this," he said. "You guys are looking to keep me out of a home."

DiSante's question was "irrelevant," he told the board.

"They have a right to ask you questions about what you're going to do," Banonis responded.

In addition to concerns about the proposed garage's proximity to the property line, Eighmy questioned how its construction--which would increase the amount of impervious surface on the lot--could affect drainage in the neighborhood.

"We have a very sensitive water system in that area," she said. "It's limestone, it's full of sinkholes...and the least disruption makes a difference in the flow across the property."

Worsening drainage could also exacerbate problems with the utilities in the Apple Tree Lane area, she added.

The utilities are buried and have been since the early 1970s, when the neighborhood was developed, Eighmy said.

Following two multi-day outages last year--in and --Eighmy said linemen who responded to the neighborhood told her that the existing buried equipment is "beyond its useful life."

Following the board's votes on the two variance requests, Petito questioned the decision to deny his request for the setback variance.

Board solicitor George Heitczman said the board did not have to explain its reasoning then and there, but added that a written opinion would be generated and made available.

In addition, he told Petito, "you will have your right to appeal."

The same right applies to the neighbors, some of whom expressed dissatisfaction over the board's decision to grant the variance request for the six-foot-tall fence.