Boro concerned about possible boarding house

BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

SCOTT PILLING staff Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah, a school for high school-aged boys of the Jewish Orthodox faith, operates out of the Homestead Lane synagogue in Roosevelt. ROOSEVELT - The yeshiva students' use of a local residence has prompted questions from borough officials.

During its May 15 meeting, Borough Council members heard from Housing Officer Edward Goetzmann, who has looked into the use by Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah students of the house at 53 N. Rochdale Ave. The yeshiva is located in the borough on Homestead Lane.

Goetzmann said he recently received phone calls about the use of the North Rochdale property from Mayor Beth Battel and resident Bert Ellentuck, among others. He said he has seen yeshiva students traveling up and down Rochdale Avenue and going in and out of the house.

"There are more people there than there should be," he said.

Goetzmann said he has notified the property owner, Paul Brottman, who is in the hospital, about the matter.

"The question is, what is the building being used for?" Goetzmann asked.

Phone calls to Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah Vice President Josh Pruzansky went unanswered.

Goetzmann said Brottman had previously called him to say he had a new tenant who wanted to move into the home quickly.

An inspection of the home only turned up a few minor problems, none of which is dangerous, according to Goetzmann.

After inspecting the property, Goetzmann told Brottman he could issue a "permissible continuing occupancy" permit. He said he made it clear to Brottman and to Rabbi Yisroel Eisenberg, of the yeshiva, that the house is zoned as a single-family occupancy dwelling. He also said the rabbi is somehow related to the tenants.

According to Goetzmann, there are no sprinklers in the house. But if the house is being used as a boarding home, he said, it would need to have them.

Goetzmann also said the North Rochdale Avenue home had septic issues several years ago. At that time, Goetzmann - who was serving as the borough's zoning officer - received a complaint from then-Borough Administrator Harold Klein about the septic problems.

It was then that Goetzmann said he performed a standard sewage inspection by turning on all the faucets, flushing all the toilets and checking for good whirlpool action in the tub.

Although at the time the house passed the inspection, Goetzmann said he received a call from the tenant a week later, who complained of sewage backing up in the tub and toilet.

Brottman had the septic tank pumped. However, Goetzmann said, that action did little to help correct the situation and he contacted the Monmouth County Board of Health about the matter.

According to Goetzmann, Brottman had a bulldozer sent to the property to fix the septic issues. In the process of fixing the problems, he said, the bulldozer filled in some wetlands.

Councilman Jeff Ellentuck said all buildings must be up to code for their particular uses. He said that if appropriate, the borough could retract the continued permissible occupancy permit.

Ellentuck said the state issues certificates of occupancy and that if a property's use changes, a new certificate would have to be reissued.

He also said the residence may have changed from a single-family home into a house where 12-14 boys sleep each night. He said the state considers a boarding home any place where five unrelated persons over the age of 2 1/2 live together.

Battel said the idea of allowing people to rent out part of their homes had come up in discussion about the borough's Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) obligations, but the governing body decided against it.

"If we allowed a few people [to convert their homes], it would be unfair not to allow everyone [to do it]," she said.

Ellentuck said the borough does not have a general prohibition against boarding houses "if you can find the land appropriate to it."

Goetzmann said that nothing in the borough ordinances defines what a single-family home is. He said the council could therefore fall back on state statutes, which do provide a definition.

To make sure the ordinances are in order, Councilwoman Pat Moser said, "We need to get down to brass tacks."

Battel said the council would continue to discuss the issue at the June 5 meeting.