Following a lengthy hearing Wednesday before the township's Zoning Board of Adjustment, the board voted against approving zoning variances that would allow the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church to build a larger home for a new pastor in the place of a 100-year-old manse, located across the street from the Liberty Corner Elementary School.

ADDED: "The church is just weighing all their options of what they want to do," said local attorney Vincent Bisogno, who has been representing Liberty Corner Presbyterian, also located on Church Street.

At least 15 neighbors appeared before the board asking that the church seek an alternative to demolishing the vacant 1,500-square-foot house they said had been occupied by a previous pastor as recently as about two years ago. The church's application asked for zoning variances to construct a new four-bedroom home of about 3,300 square feet at 58 Church St. on a lot of a little less than an acre.

"You can build new homes in any community," said neighbor Sharon DeFeo, a neighbor next door to the church-owned manse. "But you cannot re-build old homes."

The house, along with others of varying ages and styles on Church Street is in an historic district on both national and state registers.

Even so, Bisogno said that as th property owner, Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church is not required under current zoning laws to seek permission to demolish an old structure, even in an historic district. Moreover, he said the church had chosen instead to meet with neighbors and members of the Somerset Hills Historical Society to discuss the plans, and had approached the zoning board prior to demolition.

Bisogno and other experts for the church had advised demolishing the old manse, which architect William Auld testified on Wednesday had many deficiencies by modern standards, including narrow and steep staircases, low ceilings and even charred beams in the interior walls.

The new pastor's family, when they move to Liberty Corner, would include an older woman who has difficulty with mobility, the church's representatives said.

The church's representatives presented the board with drawings for a new home with an exterior they said is similar to a version of the manse in a photograph from about 1900 to 1920. But as it stands now, Bisogno said the home may be old, but is without significant architectural or historic distinctions.

The church's application was needed because township zoning laws require variances for new structures that would be placed on the same spot as old homes that predate Planning Boards and zoning ordinances, Bisogno acknowledged. Most of those old homes do not meet current zoning standards, he said. However, new construction must meet those standards.

The zoning variances would be required because of such issues as a slightly undersized lot and the front width of the property, which is 100 feet, compared with the 200 feet required by ordinance, Bisogno said. On Thursday afternoon, he said the board had discussed moving up the home closer to the road, which would have required another variance, to make it consistent with other homes in the neighborhood.

Even though a permit is not required for demolition, Board Member Jeffrey Plaza and others pointed out that the township's Master Plan and zoning ordinances discourage the destruction of historic homes within the district. "I think we established that demolition should be avoided where preservation is possible," he said during the meeting, prior to the board's 6-1 vote to deny the application.

The neighbors said the manse is in the very heart of their historic village. A few speakers, including Keri Samuels, also of Church Street, asked that the existing home might be renovated with an addition, or else the church build on other property, possibly on Lyons Road.

Bisogno said a church-owned lot on Lyons Road is not buildable because it is part of the church's main property, and is used in calculations for acceptable lot coverage on that property.

The Basking Ridge Patch will add to this story as more information is available.