November 10, 2025 Planning Board Special Meeting - WEHI Transcript

01/05/2026 03:19:18 PM Page 85 to 88 of 112 22 of 28 sheets 85 asked a question, we both got answers to our questions.1 MR. AFRAN: You asked about all the2 safeguards and I submit obviously not every single3 element of safeguard in every plan comes before a4 planning board.5 Would you agree, Mr. Kleinberg? That the6 Q. question whether a building can collapse or destabilize7 a slope if the displacement is improper is fundamental8 to the engineering?9 It's fundamental to the engineering to have the10 A. bearing capacity that the ground can handle including11 the effects of the slope and it's possible to do that,12 in my experience, for the building where it's located.13 In your experience for the building where this is14 Q. located?15 Yeah.16 A. You mean this building?17 Q. In this type of condition.18 A. In this type of condition?19 Q. Right.20 A. Is it considered fundamental to engineering of a21 Q. building in circumstances like this to know whether or22 not adequate displacement is in the plans, "yes" or23 "no"?24 Can you repeat the question.25 A. 86 MR. AFRAN: Would you, please.1 (The court reporter reads back the last question2 as requested.)3 I believe at this stage of design you can operate4 A. within an average area of building load as Langan did.5 My question was, my question was, is it6 Q. fundamental to engineering of a building in these7 circumstances to know in advance whether or not adequate8 displacement is built into the plans to avoid the risk9 of destabilization of the slope? Is that a fundamental10 engineering element.11 There are building codes that the designer12 A. eventually has to employ in order to get approval to13 build the building.14 Mr. Kleinberg, I am asking a very direct15 Q. question. In your opinion as a professional engineer is16 it a fundamental engineering question to know whether17 the plan will contain adequate displacement in18 circumstances where it is to be built on or near a slope19 that could cause destabilization. Is that a fundamental20 engineering element? That's my question.21 At this stage of design you don't need to know22 A. that.23 I am asking you a very simple question, it's a24 Q. yes or no question. Is it a fundamental engineering25 87 element to know in advance that the displacement1 necessary to avoid destabilization of the slope is built2 into the plan, "yes" or "no"? Is that a

or no question. Is it a fundamental engineering25 87 element to know in advance that the displacement1 necessary to avoid destabilization of the slope is built2 into the plan, "yes" or "no"? Is that a fundamental3 engineering element of a plan. That's my question.4 I'm not trying to avoid answering the question.5 A. I'm trying to figure out --6 Don't figure my question out. I am asking you a7 Q. question, I am cross-examining you, I have that right.8 Let me repeat it.9 I know that.10 A. I'm not trying to fight.11 Q. I am not trying to avoid anything.12 A. Let me rephrase it. Let me say it again directly13 Q. straight forward. Is it a fundamental engineering14 element of a plan to know there will be adequate15 displacement in circumstances where it is built on or16 near a slope that could be destabilized?17 At this stage of design you don't need to know18 A. every detail of the building. You need, I can tell you19 as an experienced engineer that it's doable in this20 case.21 Let me just ask it slightly different. Is22 Q. adequate displacement --23 What's displacement?24 A. I don't know what you see. You told me, don't25 Q. 88 worry about it. It's not like the trucks, because when1 they build it they're going to have all these2 foundations that will displace the weight. That's what3 you said.4 I was talking about people driving front-end --5 A. huge pieces of equipment back and forth willy-nilly6 across the slope and that should be avoided. I wasn't7 talking about the building.8 Yeah, I was and that's how we got into the9 Q. subject because you said, well, if you put this heavy10 earth moving machine that can destabilize the slope. So11 I said to you, very logically, if that could destabilize12 the slope can a very large structure of this nature, a13 very heavy structure also cause that destabilization.14 That's what I asked. And you said to me, no, because15 you have displacement.16 No, if it's properly designed, and it could be17 A. easily properly designed.18 Right. And we don't have that design in front of19 Q. us yet?20 No, because you would go through stages of21 A. design.22 Just answer yes for no, do we have the design in23 Q. front of, "yes" or "no"?24 MR. PLOCKER: Let him answer the question.25