Berkley Zoning Board Tables Generator Variance, Demands Contractor Appear

BERKLEY — April 8, 2024 — Berkley Zoning Board of Appeals tables generator variance, faulting absent contractor Flame Furnace. The board voted 5-2 at its April 8 meeting to table application PBA-0424, a non-use variance for a standby generator installed without a permit in the side yard of 1957 Edgewood Boulevard, continuing the matter to June to allow Flame Furnace — which did not attend — to appear and explain why rear-yard placement is impractical under manufacturer specifications. Property owner Roman Prescop told the board he had been repeatedly assured by the company that permitting was in order, saying "it wasn't until I received that letter six months later that I knew anything incorrect had happened." Member Steve Allen called the pattern of contractors installing first and seeking forgiveness second "the point of ridiculousness." In a unanimous separate action, the board approved a rules-of-procedure amendment that starts the 30-day circuit court appeal clock on the night a decision is signed, eliminating a lag of months when meeting minutes went unapproved between infrequent sessions.