April 30, 2025, Planning Board Special Meeting Transcript - WEHI

05/12/2025 02:23:28 PM Page 37 to 40 of 116 10 of 48 sheets 37 THE WITNESS: Everything's for sale all the1 time.2 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Mr. MacNeill, do you have3 any questions of Dr. DeVito.4 MR. MacNEILL: No, I do not have any5 questions.6 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: You have any questions,7 Mr. Haizel.8 MR. HAIZEL: Yes, I do. I am hoping I'm not9 asking the same question that's been posed before.10 THE WITNESS: That's fine.11 MR. HAIZEL: Looking at it from the opposite12 side, the other side, is there anything in the industry13 that's best practices so that say what we do now in14 design, green design, to help the, battle the impacts of15 global warming and warming climate change, is there16 anything on the building side in design that puts any17 sort of a dent in the impacts that the development in18 general could have?19 THE WITNESS: Well, that's not my field. I20 mean, obviously there are things that are done, right,21 to try to lessen the carbon footprint of the22 development, but I have no experience with any of that.23 All I am is a forest ecologist.24 MR. HAIZEL: Fair enough. Thank you.25 38 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Mr. Plocker, do you have1 any questions?2 MR. PLOCKER: Just a couple.3 Dr. DeVito, thank you very much for your4 testimony.5 THE WITNESS: You're welcome.6 MR. PLOCKER: I just have a couple of7 questions. From a ecological or forestry point of view,8 is there any portion of the West Orange ordinances that9 the application doesn't require?10 THE WITNESS: I'm not aware --11 MR. PLOCKER: That apply to this job.12 THE WITNESS: I am not aware of having to do13 with ordinances that there's anything that protects the14 species that are here, the trees that are here, the soil15 that's here. I do know that the West Orange Master Plan16 encourages the protection of biodiversity and natural17 resources, but I don't believe there's any ordinance18 that specifically, you know, is a pinch point, so to19 speak.20 MR. PLOCKER: And just since you referenced21 the West Orange Master Plan, do you know if this22 particular property is mentioned in the current West23 Orange Master Plan?24 THE WITNESS: I was told that it has been the25 39 target of, you know, aspirations to be preserved. I1 don't know if it's specific to block and lot or anything2 like that.3 MR. PLOCKER: So you have read the West4 Orange Master Plan about this property being zoned for5 this particular

o be preserved. I1 don't know if it's specific to block and lot or anything2 like that.3 MR. PLOCKER: So you have read the West4 Orange Master Plan about this property being zoned for5 this particular development?6 THE WITNESS: No, not zoned. No.7 MR. PLOCKER: Okay. Thank you.8 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Do any members of the9 public have any questions for Dr. DeVito on his10 testimony, please raise your hand, come up and be11 identified.12 Any members of the public have any13 questions? Please raise your hand and come up. You14 only have three minutes to ask questions. Got right15 ahead.16 THE PUBLIC: Victor Misarti, M-I-S-A-R-T-I.17 So I have a question about the deer fence. So my18 question is about the deer fence. Some other testimony19 was saying that this was unhealthy forest because20 there's only big trees and no small trees or no --21 THE WITNESS: That's not true. That's not22 true that there are no small trees. There are -- there23 is a very, very young age class that's rather sparse but24 there's lots of mid sized trees that are 30, 40, 5025 40 years old that are ready to fill canopy gaps as they1 form.2 THE PUBLIC: Great. So, thank you for3 clearing that up.4 So my question about deer fence is if the5 deer fence is excluding all the deer from eating smaller6 trees or something, like I don't know if you could7 address that. I don't really understand that.8 THE WITNESS: Deer fence -- I put up many9 deer fences, I put one in 30 years ago at Watchung10 Reservation and inside the deer fence there's a lot of11 species that have colonized that area because the deer12 can't get in and deer fences work in terms of allowing13 herbaceous plants and native shrubs like viburnums and I14 spice bush and witch hazel to be able to grow tall.15 Right now those species are there but they're browsed16 and they're tiny because they keep getting browsed and17 the deer fence would allow them to flush up and grow18 bigger, just like if you have fenced something in a19 vegetable garden. But in terms of trees, the deer fence20 would have to last, to make a difference, the deer fence21 would have to last for not just these trees but the sub22 canopy that's already there and the young trees that are23 30 or 40 years old they're not being bothered by the24 deer, they're going to grow up and fill the canopy. So25