Home office approved after spirited session

Pediatric therapist offers occupational therapy to children with autism

BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

Apediatric therapist has received approval from the Marlboro Planning Board to use a portion of her home as an office to treat patients. The Planning Board approved the use in a 5-3 vote.

Voting in favor of the application were Larry Josephs, Gerald Bergh, Mark Barenburg, Josh Pollak and Syed Husain.

Marlboro Township Councilman Frank LaRocca, who sits on the board, Andrew Hegt, the mayor’s designee, and board alternate Andrew Pargament voted against the application, which sought a waiver of site plan approval.

The home on Burlington Drive is in Marlboro’s R-1.5 zone, which allows for home professional offices and home occupations as a conditional use. The application was free of variances and waivers.

Jyoti Dashore sought approval to use a sunroom in her home as an office for her occupational therapy practice treating young children who have autism.

Planning Board Attorney Michael W. Herbert said the children Dashore sees are expected to be between the ages of 6 months and 6 years of age.

The doctor will be treating one child per hour and expects on average to see between four and five patients a day during her operating hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The children’s parents will accompany them to the session and stay at the home during their child’s appointment.

Issues arose during the application’s previous hearing on Jan. 7 concerning the size of the area to be used as an office.

Architect Constantine Aravantinos supplied a new survey and floor plan for board members to examine. According to the new survey, about 500 square feet in the home would be used for office space, Aravantinos said.

Dashore said the sunroom was originally built for use by her parents when they visited from India. After some unfortunate circumstances that resulted in her family not being able to visit, Dashore said, she wanted to make an office inside that space.

Herbert steered board members away from questions pertaining to the sunroom addition since the application before the board pertained to whether Dashore’s planned home office met the requirements for the conditional use.

Questions were previously raised about a pathway the family had installed without a permit.

Dashore testified that she had not known at the time that a permit was needed and said she had been informed the pathway would be considered landscaping. Dashore said she has since received a permit from the zoning officer for the pathway.

Resident Patricia Korabiak said there is a serious need in the area for the type of service Dashore provides. She said since the use was so minimal, with possibly five patients visiting the home during an eight-hour day, she did not see any serious problems with the use.

Dashore’s neighbor, Edna Singer, voiced her concerns about having the therapist’s office next to her home. She had a list of items she wanted to see placed in the resolution if the board members decided to approve the application.

Singer wanted it stipulated in the resolution that Dashore would not be allowed to let her patients use any backyard facilities, including a swing set. She also requested that a fence be placed on the property due to her fears of Dashore’s clients walking onto her property.

“I think there must be a fence to divide the two properties to guarantee that no one will walk onto my property for the safety of my child, for the safety of my property. I don’t know who her clients are,” Singer said.

Singer went on to say she was unhappy with the sunroom addition that had been built on Dashore’s home because she believes that room provides a clear view into her kitchen and bathroom.

Attorney Salvatore Alfieri, representing the applicant, said if the board wanted a fence installed along the property line, Dashore would provide a solid white fence. The applicant also agreed to place plantings along the fence to add privacy to the property.

Singer continued with her requests, including no weekend or night hours for Dashore’s clients; no outdoor lighting; no signs advertising the office; no classes or group sessions; no patients over the age of 18; and no transportation of buses or ambulances.

Board members were not able to comply with Singer’s requests to prohibit patients over the age of 18, nor could they rule out the possibility that an ambulance might be needed at the home in the case of an emergency.

Singer also had concerns about noise. She said Dashore’s son was yelling in the family’s home and had awakened her (Singer) at about 8 a.m. one morning.

“The sounds of children laughing and playing at 8 a.m. on a Saturday is allowed by ordinance,” Herbert explained.

Singer said she understood that, but was concerned there could be excessive noise during Dashore’s business hours.

In response to that concern Singer was told that if noise was excessive a summons could be issued if a violation of Marlboro’s noise ordinance was determined to have occurred.

Resident Tony Corrao said the neighbors would not support Dashore’s business.

Pradip Sheth said using part of the home as office space goes against the fundamental reason why homeowners purchase a home in a development. He requested that a poll be conducted among the homeowners and that the results of such a poll be used to determine whether Dashore’s home office could be used.

Herbert explained that land use law does not allow for polls to be conducted and used in determining these types of situations.

Board Chairman Larry Josephs said, “We hear the residents of Wyncrest Manor loud and clear. This is not a popularity contest, this is state statute and municipal ordinance. That is the only thing we can make a determination on.”

Dashore’s husband, Alok, responded to the residents’ comments concerning his wife’s practice.

Dashore said he did not believe the home office would alter the neighborhood as much as some residents claimed it would, since it would not be a large business. He noted that what was being proposed was allowed by law.

While the board members deliberated the application it was made clear that Dashore would have a home office use which would only be valid while she resides at the home. If the family moves the use would no longer be allowed. The majority of Singer’s conditions, except those specifically identified, were included in the motion for approval.

In the end the board members voted 5-3 to approve the home office use for the pediatric therapist.

Contact Rebecca Morton at [email protected]