The Planning Board wants more information before deciding on an appeal of a zoning violation by the owner and tenants of a single-family house where students of a local Orthodox Jewish school are living.

At a hearing on Sept. 26, former Zoning Officer Bob Francis testified that he issued a zoning violation in May to Paul Brottman, the owner of 53 North Rochdale Avenue. Mr. Francis said he took the action because 11 boys attending Yeshiva Me’On Hatorah, a school where Orthodox Jewish boys study the Torah, were living in the single-family house in what appeared to be a dormitory. The basis of the violation is that a dorm is not a permitted use in the residential/agricultural zone.

In a separate action earlier this month, the Planning Board ruled that the yeshiva, which operates out of a synagogue on Homestead Lane in a residential zone, is a violation of local law. The attorney for the yeshiva has said he will appeal that ruling.

Mr. Francis said Tuesday that he did not know the answers to several questions raised by Planning Board Attorney Michele Donato and members of the board about the circumstances of the boys’ occupancy of the building and their relationship to tenant Rabbi Yisroel Eisenberg, of the yeshiva. Ms. Donato said that information is crucial to the Planning Board’s decision. 

At her suggestion, the Planning Board will subpoena witnesses and documents to make the determination.

Mr. Francis said he received an anonymous complaint that the single-family house was being used as a dormitory.

When he arrived there, he said, he found 11 beds, one for each boy, and a 12th bed for a 25-year-old supervisor. But, upon questioning from Ms. Donato, he said he wasn’t sure how many rooms there are in the house.

Mr. Francis also told Ms. Donato and the board that he did not inquire whether the minors pay to live in the house, whether they stay there all week or go home on weekends, if their occupancy of the house is dependent on their status as students or about their relationship to the supervisor. He said he also did not know the boys’ ages and had not seen a copy of the lease.

Mr. Francis testified that Rabbi Eisenberg and Joshua Pruzansky, another yeshiva leader, told him the boys live at the house and go to the yeshiva during the day to study.

Mr. Francis said he also conferred with Borough Attorney Ira Karasick, who agreed with the violation notice. He said the ordinance defines a family as a group that would stay in a house for an “indefinite�? amount of time.

“No one there can be indefinite because after two years, or whatever, if they’re going to school here and if they graduate, they’re gone,�? he said. “Now that (family) unit that they started with is no longer a unit. It’s a completely different unit because you got somebody coming in and taking over where that person left.�?

Ms. Donato said she didn’t think the board had enough information to render a decision, especially given the definition of a family under state court decisions.

“It’s a very difficult decision because the court cases have essentially expanded the horizon of what constitutes a family, and they’ve done it over a course of years,�? she said. “There’s always little factual nuances, and that’s why I was hoping that we would have more information.�?

But Edward Liston, the attorney representing the yeshiva and Mr. Brottman, said he thought the board had all the information it needs, based on Mr. Francis’ testimony.

“I think that if he didn’t have enough information, he didn’t have enough information to make the ruling he made in the first place, and therefore, I think the board has to decide the case in my favor,�? he said.

But Ms. Donato said the decision is not based solely on what the zoning officer had on record when making the decision but rather on a complete set of information.

“The board’s just trying to get facts,�? she said.

Planning Board member James Alt said he wanted to know if the boys’ parents had signed contracts with the yeshiva, indicating the type of relationship between the two, in addition to legal documents such as the lease.

The board said it will subpoena Rabbi Eisenberg; Mr. Pruzansky; the 25-year-old supervisor living in the house; any contracts between parents and the yeshiva for living arrangements; the lease agreement; information about whether the students’ occupancy depends on their student status; insurance documents to see if the building is insured as a home or dormitory; and any document to determine if students pay board. Ms. Donato said she would try to determine if subpoenas are needed for any other information.
The hearing is scheduled to continue Nov. 20.

TMP