November 6, 2024 Planning Board Regular Meeting Minutes

MINUTES TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE PLANNING BOARD MEETING November 6, 2024 7:30 P.M. The Township of West Orange Planning Board held its regular meeting on November 6, 2024 at 7:30 P.M. via virtual ZOOM videoconference. Chairman Bagoff called the meeting to order at approximately 7:30 P.M. He announced that notification of the meeting was given to the Township Clerk, and posted on the Township Bulletin Board, sent to the West Orange Chronicle and the Star Ledger, and posted on the Township’s website calendar. This meeting has been properly noticed to the public in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. No new matters will start after 10:30 P.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE * Chairman Bagoff requested all persons stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. ANNOUNCEMENTS ¢ The next Planning Board regular meeting will be held Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 7:30 P.M. ROLL CALL PRESE) Dr. Robert Bagoff; Mr. Jerry Guarino; Mr. Ken Alper; Mr. John Cardoza; Mayor Susan McCartney; Mr. Peter Smeraldo; Council president Bill Rutherford; Ms. Lori Kapferer ABSENT: Mr. Lee Klein; Mr. Christopher Morgan, Sr.; Mr. William Wilkes; ALSO PRESENT: Diana P. McGovern, Esq., Planning Board Attorney; Gerry Haizel, Consulting Town Planner; Mr. John Hess, Board Engineer; Zayibeth Carballo, Town Engineer Jamilet Baquerizo Vite, Planning Board Secretary MINUTES & RESOLUTIONS SWEARING IN ¢ The Township Professional(s) sworn in. APPLICATIONS

PB-24-18 Essex County/Turtle Back Zoo Block: 163 Lot: 1 Zone: R-1 560 Northfield Avenue The applicant, Essex County, proposes to make renovations to an existing deck pathway system for the Australian Outback Exhibit at the Turtle Back Zoo. PRESENTATION The attorney, Mark Fleder, introduced the landscape architect, Michael Piga. The landscape architect Mr. Michael Piga entered on the record, he was sworn under oath and his credentials were accepted by the board. He testified to the following: Mr. Piga intends to enlarge it to accommodate larger strollers and everything of that nature. The boardwalk will be handicap accessible, ADA compliant. It will allow people to go from a lower portion of the zoo up to the petting zoo. The project will not involve any enlargement of the buildings or structures. There will be some trees removed, but they will be replacing them. There are 9 trees to be removed and 9 trees will be installed in their place. Mr. Piga displays the current boardwalk system but states the area is congested and does not meet ADA compliance. The boardwalk will be kept in the same location but they will be making it wider. Currently it is 5 feet wide, now they are attempting to make it 10 feet wider. All boardwalk area will be ADA compliant. A secondary decking connected to the boardwalk will allow people to stop and look at the Australian animals. There is a connection to the existing prehistoric playground. They will be keeping the plaza area but upgrading it to allow the new boardwalk to go into the exhibit and opening it up. Other landscaping will be installed to compliment the Australian outback, such as different types of trees to blend in with the Australian outback aspect. It will take 5 months to complete the project. BOARD QUESTIONS Mr. Guarino asked if is there is going to be a change in the type of material that they will be using in the new boardwalk layout. The architect said no; right now, they have tracks as a boardwalk and they will put track in its place. Mr. Guarino asked are they moving the trees into a new place or replacing the trees with 9 new trees. The architect said 9 new trees. Mr. Guarino asked will the trees be well grown and be able to survive the upcoming weather changes. The architect answer in the affirmative. Mr. Guarino asked is there any railings around the walkway. The architect said yes,

e trees be well grown and be able to survive the upcoming weather changes. The architect answer in the affirmative. Mr. Guarino asked is there any railings around the walkway. The architect said yes, there is a railing and it is ADA compliant and has the graspable handrail. Mr. Guarino asked how many entrances are there. The architect said the access points are one from the main pathway, a second one up in the petting zoo area and one into the actual Australian outback. These pathways all convene in the plaza area. Lastly, there is an access point that goes into the prehistoric playground. Mr. Guarino asked if there will be any lighting on the walkway. The architect said no; he said that there was no lighting intended and there was no lighting there before. Mayor McCartney asked is it possible to relocate the trees if they are healthy trees. The

architect said no; the trees in the area, specifically the American Beeches, do not take well to any type of disturbance around them. They will be replacing the trees with Willows, Oaks, and Honey Locust trees. These will be compatible to the area. e Mayor McCartney asked if widening the boardwalk will change the drainage. The architect said it does not. ¢ Council president Rutherford asked is there any additional lighting in the area that allows the boardwalk to be illuminated at night. The architect said to his knowledge there isn’t any lighting on the pathway so they typically don’t use it during the night. ¢ Council president. Rutherford asked if they are willing to replace more than 9 trees. The architect said he will have to speak with the county. ¢ Council president Rutherford asked about the additional planting in the area. The architect said there will be grasses along the walkway. They are trying to the match the plants that are similar to an Australian landscape. ¢ Council president. Rutherford asked are any of the tree species that are being planted invasive. The architect said no. ¢ Chairman Bagoff asked if the 9 trees that are being removed dead, dying or healthy ones. The architect said that a couple of them are in an ok shape and for the rest of them, it doesn’t matter because if they do any movement around them, they will eventually die. e Ms. Kapferer asked if the trees will be planted in the same general area of the Australian Outback. The architect said yes. ¢ Ms. Kapferer asked if they are increasing the impervious surface to the newer walkways. The architect said no this is not considered an increase in impervious. e Mayor McCartney asked if they are replacing any of the trees with additional Beech trees due to the Beech tree disease. The architect said they are not coming back with Beeches; they are coming back with Willow Oaks and Honey Locust. Willow Oaks have very little disease and looking at the habits of the plants and trying to make them work with the Australian Outback theme. ¢ Chairman. Bagoff asked will the county and the zoo agree to replace the trees in accordance with the updated West Orange Tree Replacement Ordinance. Mr. Fleder said the ordinance doesn’t apply on county property, but will take it under advisement. NO PROFESSIONALS QUESTIONS PUBLIC QUESTIONS ¢ Robert Rashkes at 45 Oak Crest Road asked what

nance. Mr. Fleder said the ordinance doesn’t apply on county property, but will take it under advisement. NO PROFESSIONALS QUESTIONS PUBLIC QUESTIONS ¢ Robert Rashkes at 45 Oak Crest Road asked what type of seating they will be using and is it ADA friendly. The architect said seating will be benches that are typically found throughout the county and its parks and it is ADA compliant. GENERAL DISCUSSION PUBLIC COMMENT Motion: Chairman Bagoff Second: Council president Rutherford Alper: Y Morgan: -_ Bagoff: Y Rutherford: x

Cardoza (Alt.2): Y Smeraldo: Wi Guarino: Y Wilkes: = Kapferer: Y Klein: = Mayor McCartney: Y ORDINANCE REVIEW 2870-24-Amending-and-Supplementing-Chapter-25-Section-29-of-the-Township-of- West-Orange-Municipal-Code-Stormwater-Mgmt-RedLined CME-Associates---Review-of-Ordinance-2870-24 The township’s consulting planner, Mr. Haizel, recommended that state regulations should be included in the plan. In his opinion the ordinance is consistent with the master plan. The board engineer, Mr. Hess, commented that all municipalities are required to adopted the state regulations to facilitate that the DEP publish a model stormwater ordinance in the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual. Mr. Hess reviewed the proposed ordinance against the model ordinance and found that it is consistent. The only changes he recommended is to include section numbers, so it fits into the West Orange ordinance and also to include the proper references to the County of Essex register of deeds and mortgages. Motion: Charmain Bagoff Second: Mr. Guarino Alper: Y Morgan: -- Bagoff: bd Rutherford: Y Cardoza (Alt.2): Y Smeraldo: y Guarino: Y Wilkes: --- Kapferer: Y Klein: —_ Mayor McCartney: Y PB-24-15 3135WO, LLC Block: 141 Lot: 1 Zone: B-1 31-35 Harrison Avenue The applicant proposes to expand their printing and embroidery business, Uptown Printing, LLC., by constructing a one-story, 2,130-SF addition to the rear of an existing

commercial building. The addition will include a new entry on the western frontage, enclosed by an overhead door, for the purpose of receiving deliveries, and shipping orders. (Applicant has requested to be adjourned to the December 4, 2024 Planning Board regular meeting without further notice.) PB-24-06 410 Main St Holding LLC Block: 113 Lot: 262, 264 & 308 410 Main Street Applicant is proposing a 3-story mixed use development with 12 residential dwelling units above, ground floor parking and commercial space. PRESENTATION On behalf of the applicant the attorney, Benjamin Wine, reviewed some of the highlights from the beginning to where they are today. They enhanced the facade along Main Street and on Park Drive north to create a more traditional look. They added brick, canopy styles over the windows as well as a cast stone banding to pick up the elements along Main Street. It was indicated from the board that they would like to see some type of depth to the building so they added awnings to the storefront to create a neighborhood walkable feel that exists in Main Street. The applicant was able to add a green roof to the property. Initially, Mr. Wine had a concern that it required some type of bulk head to be created to walk up and service the green roof. However, upon a conversation with the architect, who was able to indicate that is not the case, they can do it by roof hatch ultimately providing maintenance to the green roof without having to add an inch to the building. After taking Mr. Haizel suggestion to relocate the trash room along Main Street and the residential lobby, they were able to pick up another parking space inside the building. They went from 13 parking spaces to 14 parking spaces. Mr. Wine confirmed that the bathroom area in the commercial area is ADA compliant. They were able to add exterior lighting fixtures to the building, specifically along the rear walk for safety and security. They were able to do that without creating any additional spillage to any of the neighboring properties. There were concerns about the noise level and lighting of the warning signals for the pedestrians for crossing to ensue traffic safety when vehicles are entering and exiting the garage. Mr. Wine states there are multiple products that allows you to calibrate and control the lighting and the audio effect of the warning signs. The project

vehicles are entering and exiting the garage. Mr. Wine states there are multiple products that allows you to calibrate and control the lighting and the audio effect of the warning signs. The project planner, Mallory Clark, entered on the record, she was sworn under oath and her credential was accepted by the board. She testified to the following: Within the B 2 zoning there is a permitted conditional use of mixed-use buildings There are 4 provisions that need to be met in order to comply with the conditional use and the applicant complies with all of these provisions. The first provision of the conditional use is that permitted ground uses are restricted to permitted principal uses of the B1 and B2 districts. The second provision is one or more dwelling units are permitted above the ground floor. They have 12 residential units proposed on floors 2 and 3. The third provision is access to upper floors shall be provided by means of separate entrance from the entrance provided for ground floor uses. This means that the commercial space and residential space need to have fully separated ingress and egress into the building and points of access. The applicant has an access to the commercial

space at the corner separated from the residential lobby that goes up to the upper floors. There is an additional residential access to the parking garage and connects them to the same lobby. The final provision is that the minimum lot area should be 5,000 square feet and minimum street frontage shall be 50 feet. The subject property has a lot area of 12,000 square feet and 140 feet of frontage along Main Street and approximately 84 and a half feet of frontage along Park Drive North. Ms. Clark explained that the B2 district permits more traditional commercial uses and is written from a bulk perspective to envision surface parking serving these commercial spaces. Due to the irregular shape of the lot in a corner configuration, it limits the available building envelope that is permitted within the ordinance. If they were to adhere to the B2 bulk regulations their buildable envelope on the site will be a little under 3,000 square feet. Ms. Clark compares the Downtown Redevelopment Plan Edison Mixed Residential Zone (E-MR) with their site. The requirement in E-MR zone is zero-foot front yard setback. Any other property line is considered a side yard so the required set back on all the other 3 property lines, if it were to be consistent with that zone, would be a 5 feet setback. That would leave a buildable envelope of about a little over 10,000 square feet. Once the coverage requirement is layered in, which would reduce the scale of the building, the maximum building foot print would be 7,100 square feet. Another comparison, Ms. Clark displayed, was the Central Valley Corridor Redevelopment Plan. This plan has a smaller scale of front yard setback of 7 feet, rear yard setback of 10 feet, side yard setback of 4 feet. Yield of building foot print once coverage limitations are overlaid on the site, is about 8,300 square feet. The zone permits a maximum building height in stories of 2 /% stories and the site has 3. Due to the sloping of the site, on Main Street they are at 3 stories which is low point of the site. At the rear of the site, they are at a 2 % story from a visual standpoint. They are seeking relief to the side yard setbacks where ten feet are required and they are at 5.22 feet. The upper floors are compliant for the setback requirement. Their front yard setback is proposed at 5 feet where a minimum of 30 is required and states this is due to

ired and they are at 5.22 feet. The upper floors are compliant for the setback requirement. Their front yard setback is proposed at 5 feet where a minimum of 30 is required and states this is due to the ordinance not fully contemplating the mixed-use typology. They are proposing about 1,600 square feet of green roof. Their requirement for the site is 25 parking spaces; 23 of those required spaces are associated with the residential use of the building and they have proposed 14 spaces within the project. They were able to secure an agreement with the church across the street to provide up to 10 parking spaces. The units will be restricted to one space on site. If they seek additional parking in each unit, they will be able to utilize the spaces across the street at the church. Additionally, there is a provision in the zoning code, 25-12.1.K, which allows the off- street parking facilities as required can be provided offsite for non residential uses in the B2 provided within a property that is within 250 feet of the principle building and they comply with this. They are advancing several goals and objectives of the 2019 master plan. The first being objective 9: to promote a desirable visual environment. Objective 11: to encourage economic redevelopment and rehabilitation in downtown and other commercial areas.