July 30, 2024 Planning Board Special Meeting Transcript - WEHI

54 (Pages 210 to 213) Page 210 1 MR. LATERZA: Okay. Well, I actually 2 live in Verona, but I'm north of there, so a couple 3 of quick questions about fire. Was any sort of -- 4 this is a sizable project. Was any sort of impact 5 study done about what the requirements of a major 6 fire would be, not just of West Orange Fire 7 Department but also of the surrounding fire 8 departments? 9 MR. ANDERSON: I'm not aware of a 10 study of that nature. 11 MR. LATERZA: Well, the next closest 12 -- there's one small fire department in West Orange 13 that's near this project, the next closest is 14 Verona, which is a volunteer fire department. Has 15 Verona been involved with any conversations whether 16 they have the capacity to assist in a large-scale 17 fire in a project of this size? 18 MR. ANDERSON: It's not something I'm 19 familiar with, it's not an engineering comment, 20 really. 21 MR. LATERZA: Okay. Thank you. 22 That's it. 23 MR. ANDERSON: Thank you. 24 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Thank you, sir. 25 Please state your name and spell your last name, Page 211 1 sir. 2 MR. KNIGHTS: Yes. Orin Knights, 3 K-N-I-G-H-T-S, Knights. 4 (Court reporter asks Mr. Knights to re-state 5 his first name.) 6 MR. KNIGHTS: Orin. 7 COURT REPORTER: Thank you. 8 MR. KNIGHTS: Orin, O-R-I-N. 9 COURT REPORTER: Thank you. 10 MR. KNIGHTS: I have a question to 11 ask. I'm trying to get some clarification as far as 12 the blasting. Now, is this blasting going to be by 13 machinery or by dynamite? 14 MR. ANDERSON: That was what I was 15 saying before, they'll have to look and see the 16 consistency of the rock before they determine what 17 they need to remove the rock. 18 MR. KNIGHTS: Okay, has there been a 19 study on the effects of the homes around the area as 20 far as the foundations of your homes? Because in my 21 house, I already have a crack in the wall, so with 22 the blasting, I'm quite sure many homes around here 23 might be affected by it, depending on if you're 24 going to be using dynamite, so that's something that 25 you should let us know about. Page 212 1 The other question that I have, if 2 there is an "emergency" emergency in this small 3 area, do you have an estimate of how many fire 4 trucks, ambulances and police cars can actually fit 5 in this small area? 6 MR. ANDERSON: I -- I -- there's room 7 for a -- there's a long roadway and there's room for 8 a lot of emergency vehicles. How

ucks, ambulances and police cars can actually fit 5 in this small area? 6 MR. ANDERSON: I -- I -- there's room 7 for a -- there's a long roadway and there's room for 8 a lot of emergency vehicles. How they would 9 delegate emergency vehicles, how many they'd have, I 10 don't know. 11 MR. KNIGHTS: Okay. Well, that's my 12 two questions, but the most important question is 13 about the dynamiting and the effects it's going to 14 have on the homes. 15 MR. ANDERSON: So that is something 16 that I believe you file a pre-blast survey before 17 you do the actual construction and they do -- and 18 they basically inspect the adjacent homes to make 19 sure that the blasting does not do additional damage 20 to the -- so -- 21 MR. KNIGHTS: So if it does damage, I 22 can come to you guys for repairs, right? 23 MR. ANDERSON: To the blaster, yeah. 24 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Thank you, sir. 25 Yes, sir, state your name and spell your last name, Page 213 1 please, for the record. 2 MR. DAVIS: My name is Edward Davis, 3 I'm the mayor of Essex Fells. 4 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Welcome. 5 MR. DAVIS: Thank you for the 6 opportunity to address the Board. I appreciate all 7 your service. Mayor and Council President, I 8 appreciate your comments on behalf of not just West 9 Orange but all your neighboring towns. 10 I want to follow up on a question from 11 a gentleman who spoke a few questions ago and that's 12 on the restrictions relating to the development of 13 the other 85 to 90 acres, right? Because a key part 14 of the settlement agreement, as you testified, is 15 you're only developing 27 acres, the rest of it is 16 preserved, for lack of a better term. 17 Mr. Chairman, you mentioned a minute 18 ago with the testimony that the enforcement 19 mechanism for that is a deed restriction in favor of 20 the Township of West Orange. 21 MR. ANDERSON: Yes, I believe so. 22 MR. DAVIS: Okay, so that effectively 23 means you're evaluating this application, yes, on 24 its face, but in five years, if the applicant wants 25 to put up another building or West Orange wants to