July 2, 2025 Planning Board Regular Meeting Minutes

of the issues that were that were raised by the board and members of the public, specifically the elevator, second means of egress from the third story, structural materials for the third floor, renderings of the building as proposed, the slope of the parking lot, the building height in relation to the surrounding buildings. The architect, Mr. Peist, is still under oath and testified to the following: There is no exterior lighting proposed at the rear of the building. The rear third-floor windows will have a privacy film installed and maintained as on the plans. A white roof is proposed and noted on the roof plan. HVAC units have been relocated and consolidated at the front of the building to reduce impact on neighbors. A sound insulation partition has been added as well. The second and third floor areas are 2,950 square feet per floor, which is below the 3,000 square foot threshold per floor requiring an elevator, so they do not require an elevator. Regarding the second means of egress, they have provided fire escapes as noted in the town ordinance. The 2 fire escapes replaced the previously existing ones that they have. These are code-compliant and do not trigger any new variances consistent with section 25-8.2 of the Township Code regarding permitted yard encroachments. Regarding third-floor structural material, the wall construction of the third floor will match the existing wall type of end thickness, so they're just matching what the second floor has. The original building was legally permitted on September 13th, 1977, under permit number 18859 and was completed and opened in 1979. Lastly, the renderings. Mr. Peist has provided an existing photograph and a proposed photograph of the exterior. BOARD QUESTIONS Mr. Alper asked about the renderings or calculations for the additional shade that would be thrown on the nearest properties with the taller building. Mr. Peist said he is not a shadow engineer and cannot provide expert testimony regarding shadows. A shadow study is not required under the West Orange code and is beyond the scope of this application. Mr. Noborine asked regarding fire escapes, will they be added or replaced. Mr. Peist said they would add the fire escapes on the side, meeting the regulations for the township. Chairman Bagoff asked, Is there any way to provide protection so there's no way for a person from the fire escape

they would add the fire escapes on the side, meeting the regulations for the township. Chairman Bagoff asked, Is there any way to provide protection so there's no way for a person from the fire escape to go backwards onto the other property. Mr. Peist said that they're far enough from the edge that it would be very difficult to. They would also talk to the township about specifics of the fire escapes, and would ask them if they have a preference in fire escapes. NO PROFESSIONALS QUESTIONS PUBLIC QUESTIONS Eric Buckley at 8 Edge Hill Court asked regarding the previous iterations of these drawings. It was stated that the total building area was 6,458, and so that would be equal to 3,229 square feet per floor. Mr. Peist said these drawings are meant for the planning board, it's not a full construction level plan review. Anne Hirsch at 12 Edge Hill Road asked about the fire escapes. The 2 fire escapes will be on the sides, which seems like a point for somebody who wants to go into the gated community without an invitation. But if they put it in the front, it would be less of a constant threat, why was that not considered? Mr. Peist said the fire escapes purely serve 9