December 11, 2024 Planning Board Special Meeting Transcript - WEHI

01/08/2025 12:06:06 PM Page 61 to 64 of 100 16 of 38 sheets 61 MS. McGOVERN: The PowerPoint?1 MR. AFRAN: Looks like a PowerPoint. Most2 things are PowerPoint's nowadays. It looks like it.3 THE WITNESS: It's a PowerPoint if I did it.4 MR. AFRAN: I have only one page I want to5 show the witness.6 MR. PLOCKER: What's the date on this? Is7 it just 2023 --8 MR. AFRAN: No, it says May 10, 2023.9 THE WITNESS: I'd like to help. I think the10 Mayor asked for public presentation.11 MR. AFRAN: That's exactly what it says.12 MS. McGOVERN: You only have one page?13 MR. AFRAN: I'm just going to ask a question14 on one page.15 MS. McGOVERN: So what are we marking as16 O-4? The page or the whole PowerPoint?17 MR. AFRAN: Let's mark the cover and page18 I'm directing him to.19 MS. McGOVERN: Okay. Identify that?20 MR. AFRAN: Which is the cover. I read21 that, I'll do it one more time.22 MS. McGOVERN: Oh, okay. I see. That was23 West Essex Highlands Affordable Housing 2023, Public24 Information Session, May 10, 2023 was the page that you25 62 were looking at?1 MR. AFRAN: It's the cover of the document.2 MS. McGOVERN: Oh, that's the cover. And3 what's the page you're referencing?4 MR. AFRAN: The page I'm referencing --5 MS. McGOVERN: Hopefully it's numbered.6 MR. AFRAN: The page I'm referencing in the7 upper left corner it says, A Site Plan History Spanning8 20 Years. Efforts to Protect the Forest. Under that it9 says, year 2007 plan = single family homes. Site fully10 developed. That's a description.11 MS. McGOVERN: 2007 plan?12 MR. AFRAN: Yes.13 MS. McGOVERN: Okay.14 MR. AFRAN: And I'm just showing this15 witness one page.16 MR. PLOCKER: Just for the record, Mr.17 Bagoff -- Chairman Bagoff. Mr. Afran can provide18 whatever he's marking as the exhibit, which is the cover19 page and the particular page he's referring to. If he20 could just disseminate that after the hearings over at21 some point via e-mail so we all have the exhibit.22 MR. AFRAN: Of course.23 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Okay. Thank you, Mr.24 Afran. Thank you, Mr. Plocker.25 63 So I don't mean to crowd you. I'm standing next1 Q. to the witness. This is a 2007 development plan for2 this project, for this property, correct?3 Yes.4 A. That was in your May 10, 2023 report which you5 Q. gave in terms of the general discussions?6 Yes.7 A. Okay. Thank you.8 Q. So at the time you prepared your tree report in9 this case, you were

es.4 A. That was in your May 10, 2023 report which you5 Q. gave in terms of the general discussions?6 Yes.7 A. Okay. Thank you.8 Q. So at the time you prepared your tree report in9 this case, you were well aware that the developer had10 actually produced plans for a single family home project11 in 2007, is that fair to say?12 Yes.13 A. And in spite of that when you did your tree14 Q. report you did not bother to ask the developer for15 copies of the reports they did on the tree survey at16 that time?17 Number one, I did not see the entire application,18 A. so, no, I wouldn't have asked for those plans because I19 was advised those plans were no longer valid. So20 therefore to refer to them was meaningless. I did look21 at the one drawing just to show the differential between22 high density housing and that type of plan.23 Well, you knew that in any development plan24 Q. there'd have to be a tree removal plan proposed, right?25 64 There had to be something proposed, but I don't1 A. know how far along that whole set went. I never saw the2 entire set of drawings.3 So even though you were aware of a 20074 Q. submission you did not ask for a tree study that was5 produced by the developer at that time, is that correct?6 No, because I wouldn't have taken anything7 A. provided by the developer at all. I was asked to do an8 independent study. So I wouldn't want to see prior9 because it would have been prejudiced.10 Wouldn't want to be prejudiced by other11 Q. information?12 Correct.13 A. MR. AFRAN: We're getting close to the end.14 You would agree that under the ordinance, tree15 Q. ordinance in effect today in West Orange, there actually16 has to be a tree plan identifying each tree and it's17 species within the exact location that is to be18 destroyed?19 I'm not certain what ordinance is currently in20 A. effect in West Orange. I know there was a discussion of21 a new tree ordinance some year -- a year ago, I believe.22 Within the last year. I don't know what ordinance is23 currently the effect in West Orange.24 You haven't read the latest ordinance, is that25 Q.