470 Eagle Rock Avenue West Orange_Planning Report_12212022

470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ – Professional Planning Report 1 Professional Planning Report 470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ Block 153, Lot 38 Zoning District: General Business (B-2) Applicant: MPB Realty LLC Zoning Board of Adjustment Public Meeting Date: TBD Signed and Sealed by: ___________________________________ George Wheatle Williams NJ PP # 33L10054470 ___________________________ Steven Martini NJ PP # 33LI00633000 December 21, 2022

470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ – Professional Planning Report 2 Table of Contents Planning/Land Use Analysis .................................................................................................... 3 Project Location ............................................................................................................................... 3 Project Description .......................................................................................................................... 3 Surrounding Land Uses .................................................................................................................... 3 Zoning Designation and Analysis ...................................................................................................... 4 Relief Sought ................................................................................................................................... 6 Master Plan Review/Consistency ................................................................................................... 11 Proofs ............................................................................................................................................ 12

470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ – Professional Planning Report 3 Planning/Land Use Analysis Project Location: The project site is located at 470 Eagle Rock Avenue in the Township of West Orange, specifically along the western side of Eagle Rock Avenue (which is County Road). The project site consists of one tax lot: Lot 38, which contains approximately 45,713 square feet of land. A 1-story vacant commercial building stands on the property, which was most recently used as a free-standing restaurant surrounded by surface parking serving the restaurant. The property is located within the General Business District (B-2). (NOTE: Year built of the existing restaurant building is not noted in the Township tax records). Project Description: The proposed project involves the demolition of the existing one-story commercial/restaurant building and construction of two one-story, free-standing quick-serve restaurants (QSR). One of the proposed restaurants will be a Popeyes restaurant and the other is yet to be determined (‘fast food restaurant’). Both will contain drive-thru facilities. The proposed Popeyes restaurant will contain a floor area is approximately 2,537 square feet (with 706 square feet open to patrons) and a patron capacity of 42 seats and the proposed fast food restaurant will contain a gross floor area of approximately 2,800 square feet (with 675 square feet open to patrons) and a patron capacity of 30 seats. In total, 31 parking spaces will be provided on site. There will be two ingress/egress driveways. The westerly driveway will only permit a right turn for vehicles exiting the site. Each restaurant will have its own respective refuse/trash enclosure area, located at the southerly boundary of the site. Signage associated with each fast food restaurant is also proposed, including 1 freestanding sign and 5 building mounted signs for the Popeyes restaurant and 1 freestanding sign and 1 building mounted sign for the fast food restaurant. The applicant is requesting approvals for major site plan, Conditional Use variances and “C” variances. Surrounding Land Uses: Immediately north of the project site, across Eagle Road Avenue, is Mayfair Farms and its associated surface parking. Northeast is the strip commercial shopping center with a large surface parking area (containing a variety of retail tenants, such as Whole Foods, Staples, Dollar

ms and its associated surface parking. Northeast is the strip commercial shopping center with a large surface parking area (containing a variety of retail tenants, such as Whole Foods, Staples, Dollar Tree, Jersey Mikes and Chipotle. East of the project site, on the same side of Eagle Rock Avenue, is a one-story bank with drive-through facility. Abutting the project site to the south are single-family dwellings located on Rosney Terrace to the west and Fundus Road to the east. Residential dwellings are also located west of the project site, fronting along Eagle Rock Avenue.

470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ – Professional Planning Report 4 Zoning Designation and Analysis The project site is located in the B-2 District (General Business). As noted in Section 25-7.1 of the Land Use Regulations, the following are the permitted principal uses, accessory uses and conditions uses of the B-2 District: a) Principal permitted uses: i. Retail store ii. Personal service store or studio iii. Office or office building iv. Business or vocational school v. Restaurant vi. Bar vii. Massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment b) Accessory uses: i. Required accessory parking ii. Private garage iii. Home occupation iv. Home professional office v. Signs vi. Vending machines a) Conditional uses: i. Motor vehicle fueling station ii. Theater iii. Public utility building or structure iv. Telephone exchange v. Senior citizens housing project vi. Hotel vii. Private club, other than a golf club viii. Video or amusement arcade ix. Fast food restaurant x. Commercial antenna To that end, the proposed fast food restaurant is a conditionally permitted use in the B-2 General Business District. The following are the conditions that shall be met per Section 25-24.2. b.2.(i) of the Township’s Land Use Regulations: A fast food restaurant shall be permitted in a B-1 or B-2 District as a conditional use if the following requirements are satisfied:

470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ – Professional Planning Report 5 (1) A site plan, prepared by a New Jersey licensed architect or engineer, shall be submitted to the Planning or Zoning Board, as required by this chapter and State law, and the plan shall show all standards, established herein for fast food restaurant operation as a conditional use, have been satisfied. (2) No part of any building or structure used as a fast food restaurant nor any driveway entrance or exit to or from the same shall be located within five hundred (500) feet of any line of any lot upon which is located another fast food restaurant. (3) No part of any building or structure used as a fast food restaurant shall be located within one thousand (1,000) feet of any residential district boundary line. (4) The minimum size for any lot upon which any fast food restaurant is located shall be thirty thousand (30,000) square feet, and the minimum street frontage of such lot shall be two hundred (200) feet. If a fast food restaurant is located on a corner lot, the minimum street frontage on each street shall be two hundred (200) feet. (5) Entrance and exit driveways to and from any lot upon which is located a fast food restaurant shall have an unrestricted width of not less than twenty-four (24) feet nor more than thirty (30) feet, shall be located not nearer than twenty (20) feet to any lot line and shall be so designed to avoid the need for any existing vehicle to back across or into any portion of a public sidewalk or street. (6) The minimum distance between driveways on a lot upon which is located a fast food restaurant shall be one hundred (100) feet, measured from the two (2) closest driveway curbs. (7) The minimum distance of any driveway into the street, of a lot upon which a fast food restaurant is located, from a street intersection shall be one hundred (100) feet, measured from the nearest end of the curb radius of the intersection to the nearest end of the curb radius of the driveway. (8) Lanes for automobile service windows of fast food restaurants shall be physically separated from the traffic circulation system on the site by concrete curbed and landscaped islands with a minimum width of five (5) feet for landscaping. The lanes shall permit the stacking of a minimum of ten (10) vehicles at one (1) time. (9) All fast food restaurants shall provide suitable

lands with a minimum width of five (5) feet for landscaping. The lanes shall permit the stacking of a minimum of ten (10) vehicles at one (1) time. (9) All fast food restaurants shall provide suitable areas for storage of trash, designed and constructed to allow no view of the trash storage from the street, to prevent trash from blowing around the site onto adjacent properties or public rights-of-way and to permit safe removal of trash. (10) All fast food restaurants shall provide parking (i) at a ratio of at least one (1) off-street parking space for every thirty (30) square feet in the entire establishment (kitchen, storage, etc.) or (ii) one (1) space for every three (3) seats, whichever is greater. (11) Any lot on which is located a fast food restaurant must comply with the front yard, side yard, and rear yard requirements for the B-1 or B-2 District in which the lot is located.

470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ – Professional Planning Report 6 Relevant Zoning Ordinance Definitions (Section 25-4.b.): Fast food restaurant shall mean the retail sale of ready-to-eat foods and beverages for on and/or off premises consumption, whenever the foods and beverages are available upon a short waiting time, and orders are placed by the customer at a counter, and primarily served in or on disposable wrappers, containers or plates, and where there is a seating capacity of more than fifteen (15) individuals. This does not include restaurants which have "take-out" as accessory to a traditional restaurant. Lot coverage shall mean that portion of a lot which is covered by parking areas and any impervious surface including but not limited to principal and accessory, structures, driveways, patios, sidewalks, etc. Principal use shall mean the primary use and purpose of a lot or structure. Sign, façade shall mean a sign that is in any manner affixed to any exterior wall of a building or structure and that projects not more than eighteen (18) inches from the building or structure wall. Also includes signs affixed to architectural projections that project from a building provided the copy area of such signs remains on a parallel plane to the face of the building façade or to the face or faces of the architectural projection to which it is affixed. They shall advertise only the permitted use, products or services on the premises on which they are displayed. Sign, freestanding or pylon shall mean a sign principally supported by one or more columns, poles or braces placed in or upon the ground. Freestanding signs shall advertise only the permitted use, products or services conducted on the premises. Sign height measurement shall mean the vertical height of the background upon which the lettering, illustration or display is presented, including the supporting members of any sign. Relief Sought As noted on the application, the Applicant is requesting several variances as part of the application. The requested bulk and area and signage variances listed below and also noted in bold in the tables below (Table 1: Bulk and Area Regulations and Table 2: Signage Regulations). Additional variances ae also listed. • Maximum impervious coverage (60% is the maximum permitted and 71.2% is proposed) • Signage (Section 25-15.3.c.) o Freestanding sign: §

e 2: Signage Regulations). Additional variances ae also listed. • Maximum impervious coverage (60% is the maximum permitted and 71.2% is proposed) • Signage (Section 25-15.3.c.) o Freestanding sign: § Number of signs (1 is permitted, whereas 1 is proposed for the proposed Popeyes restaurant and 1 is proposed for the fast food restaurant) § Maximum sign height (16’ is the maximum permitted, whereas 20’ for the proposed Popeyes restaurant is proposed) § Maximum sign width (6’ is the maximum permitted, whereas 7.88’ is for the proposed Popeyes restaurant is proposed) o Building mounted sign: § Maximum number of façade signs (1 is the maximum permitted, whereas 5 is proposed)

470 Eagle Rock Avenue, Township of West Orange, NJ – Professional Planning Report 7 § Maximum façade area (15% of front wall area or 120 square feet, whichever is less [100 square feet], whereas 198.9 square feet is proposed) • Parking o Section 25-12.1.A: There shall be a five foot wide sidewalk at least five inches above the parking area level between any building and a parking area or drive used by the public. However, there is no sidewalk proposed between building and drive-thru lane. o Section 25-12.1.B: The entire perimeter of all parking areas and the edges of all entrance and exit drives shall be enclosed with a concrete or granite block curb at least six inches above the paving surface. Curbing shall not be less than five feet from any fence or screening nor less than five feet from any structure. However, there will be a concrete curb directly adjacent to proposed building at drive-thru window and a fence located 1.3’ from curb. o Section 25-12.1.L.: Off street parking may be placed in the side or rear yard only. However, parking is proposed in front yard. • Driveway o Section 25-12.1.I: Each entrance or exit from such parking area shall be at least fifty (50) feet from any residential district. However, the northwesterly access aisle proposed is 37.4’ from the adjacent residential zoning district (R-6). • General Requirements o Section 25-8.1.: No accessory uses shall be located within any minimum required front yard or side yard. However, refuse/trash enclosure are proposed to be located approximately 1.1’ from the rear property line. o Section 25-8.1B.: If any such accessory use is located in B district and a property line which is the district boundary line abuts a residential district, then the minimum required distance from such property line shall be ten feet. However, the proposed parking and trash enclosure are located within required front (30’) and side yard setbacks (10’ each side). • Buffer Requirements o Section 25-11.3.a.: Along any side or rear property line which is also the boundary line between a nonresidential district and a residential district or is contiguous to a residential use in a residential zone, a buffer strip shall be planted and maintained in perpetuity with trees and shrubbery of such sizes and densities as to adequately screen the buildings from such abutting residential district or use in a residential zone. The