9 12 24 West Orange BOA ZB 24 06 PSEG Full size Transcript

Page 91 1 picture of the entrance that you were just referring 2 to. 3 THE WITNESS: In the simula -- in the 4 renderings? 5 MS. RUDIN: Yes. It is on the first side 6 road coming down Mount Pleasant Avenue after the 7 corner of Prospect. 8 THE WITNESS: This one? Sorry, say that 9 again. 10 MS. PORTER: The other one, Mr. Blake, 11 directly in front of the Mount Pleasant entrance. 12 THE WITNESS: Oh, wait. Am I on the wrong 13 sheet? That's the Mount Pleasant entrance, the one 14 that -- 15 MS. RUDIN: The one that -- the first 16 one -- 17 (Unintelligible cross talk; reporter 18 requests one speaker.) 19 THE WITNESS: This is the new entrance or 20 the reconfigured entrance. 21 BOARD SECRETARY: Excuse me. Could 22 Ms. Rudin please state her address on the record, 23 please? 24 MS. RUDIN: Woodland Avenue in West 25 Orange.

Page 92 1 BOARD SECRETARY: Thank you. 2 MS. RUDIN: So this first entrance you are 3 reconfiguring. Is that correct? 4 THE WITNESS: Yes, that is correct. 5 MS. RUDIN: And the reason you're 6 reconfiguring it is so that there can be a turn from 7 the right lane directly into that driveway? 8 THE WITNESS: Correct. It provides better 9 access turning in this way; or, if you were driving 10 westbound, you could turn in as well. 11 MS. RUDIN: Correct. But there are two 12 other entrances to this substation, correct? 13 THE WITNESS: Yes, that is correct. 14 MS. RUDIN: So isn't it possible to leave 15 the entrance exactly the way it is and have the 16 trucks or the utility vehicles enter in if they 17 are -- into a different entrance instead of widening 18 this one, which will negatively impact so many of 19 the trees that are right around there, including 20 trees that would be considered on the New Jersey big 21 tree list? 22 THE WITNESS: The curb cut is almost -- 23 MS. RUDIN: You have two other entrances. 24 THE WITNESS: Yeah, but the curb cut -- 25 MS. RUDIN: Can't the truck either --

Page 93 1 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Let him answer 2 the question. 3 THE WITNESS: The curb cut is basically 4 identical to the existing one. We're just rotating 5 it so that it's perpendicular with Mount Pleasant 6 Avenue. 7 MS. RUDIN: Right. And is it possible to 8 just leave it the way it is? Because you have two 9 other places to enter and not make the curb cut 10 wider by -- 11 THE WITNESS: We're not making it -- 12 MS. RUDIN: -- enlarging -- 13 THE WITNESS: We're not making it wider. 14 It's pretty close to what is currently there. I 15 don't know the exact footage, but the entrance 16 drive has no effect on the tree removal. What is 17 causing the tree removal is the bioretention 18 basins. 19 MS. RUDIN: There's no bioretention right 20 in that area, is there? 21 THE WITNESS: Yes, there's -- 22 MS. PORTER: Yes. 23 THE WITNESS: There's two. There's one 24 right here, this crosshatching; and then there's 25 another one, this crosshatching. And that was

Page 94 1 another reason for straightening the road, is it 2 allowed us to capture stormwater runoff from various 3 portions of the station. 4 MS. RUDIN: How many stormwater basins are 5 on-site right now? 6 THE WITNESS: There are several that are 7 associated with the upgrades that were done over 8 here several years ago. I don't know how many there 9 are. I'm going to guess three or four. It's kind 10 of a cascading bioretention. I did not do that 11 design, so I don't -- I haven't studied it to the 12 extent possible. 13 MS. RUDIN: And isn't it true that by 14 removing the trees, you are increasing the need for 15 the bioretention basins? 16 THE WITNESS: That's not how N.J.A.C. 7:8 17 describes green infrastructure. 18 MS. RUDIN: How are you meeting NJ green 19 infrastructure by removing trees? 20 THE WITNESS: N.J.A.C.'s requirements is 21 to provide a green infrastructure BMP, which is the 22 best management practice. It doesn't say anything 23 about preserving trees. It does say that you have 24 to put in a BMP to address stormwater management to 25 meet their requirements.

Page 95 1 One of the -- 2 MS. RUDIN: What is a BMP? 3 THE WITNESS: It's a best management 4 practice. It's what the N.J.A.C. code provides. 5 MS. RUDIN: So this -- 6 THE WITNESS: It gives you various 7 options -- 8 MS. RUDIN: -- pertains only to stormwater 9 management. 10 THE WITNESS: Correct. 11 MS. RUDIN: Even though we know that trees 12 maintain millions of gallons of water, you're 13 removing trees and then increasing the stormwater 14 management. 15 MS. PORTER: Objection. This is a 16 comment. And he specifically addressed the question 17 three times in relation to the bioretention and its 18 purpose and what statutory requirement it's 19 fulfilling. 20 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Ms. Rudin, I 21 concur. Are you a detention basin expert? 22 MS. RUDIN: No, I'm a resident who's 23 concerned about maintaining trees. 24 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Okay. 25 MS. RUDIN: And I see a correlation

Page 96 1 between removing trees and increasing retention 2 basins and that's why I'm asking the questions. I'm 3 obviously not an expert. 4 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Go ahead. 5 MS. RUDIN: I'd like to ask -- 6 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Thirty seconds 7 more on yours. Go ahead. 8 MS. RUDIN: Mr. Ricci spoke very well 9 about the fence, and you testified that the fence is 10 not in good shape. 11 Do you know how long wrought iron can 12 last? 13 THE WITNESS: I do not know how long 14 wrought iron can last. 15 MS. RUDIN: Okay. Are you aware that 16 wrought iron can be repaired? And wouldn't that be 17 considered a best management practice, to repair 18 what exists rather than replace? The most common 19 damage of wrought iron is obviously rust, but rust 20 can be removed on-site and repaired. Wouldn't that 21 be considered a best practice? 22 THE WITNESS: That's not in the realm of 23 my expertise. Best management practices is a 24 stormwater management feature. With regards to the 25 fence, the reason for the fence replacement is to

Page 97 1 provide an updated fence that meets PSE&G's safety 2 standards. 3 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Okay. Next. 4 Next resident. Megan? 5 MEETING MODERATOR: Yes, I'm sorry. Yes. 6 We have Sally Malanga. Please state your name and 7 address for the record. 8 MS. MALANGA: Sally Malanga, Ridge Road. 9 Mr. Blake, would it be fair to say that 10 when residents drive by the PSE&G facility on Mount 11 Pleasant, they see a parklike setting filled with 12 large trees? 13 THE WITNESS: That's an opinion that I 14 don't have because I've never driven by the site. 15 MS. MALANGA: Would it be fair to say that 16 if it -- since we are residents and we do consider 17 it a parklike setting, that that setting is to be 18 clear-cut based on the tree cutting plan? 19 MS. PORTER: This is outside the scope of 20 this particular witness. We specifically indicated 21 the landscape architect would address specifically 22 the tree removal and replacement. Other than what 23 this particular witness testified to, which is 24 specifically the removal in connection with where 25 the equipment is situated or the basin, that is his

Page 98 1 limited testimony and that is the basis of any 2 questions. 3 Beyond that I would have to object. And 4 it is being deferred properly to our tree expert, 5 the landscape architect. 6 MS. MALANGA: Are you aware that on 7 November 17th, 2023, the president and CEO of PSE&G, 8 Ralph LaRossa, stated in a press release "This 9 year's sustainability report continues to show that 10 we are engaged in the fight against climate change 11 and taking action to mitigate the existing impacts. 12 PSE&G is focused on promoting and enhancing 13 biodiversity through natural resource conservation 14 and we can continue to be part of the fabric of our 15 community for generations to come, as we have been 16 for 120 years and counting"? 17 How can this project better comply with 18 the mission of PSE&G mitigating climate charge and 19 having respect for the community? 20 MS. PORTER: I object entirely to this 21 statement. It's being used in a biased manner 22 completely with respect to this application when, in 23 fact, it's specifically obviously directed in terms 24 of the tree removal. 25 And the applicant has stated multiple

Page 99 1 times on the record, and it will be stated by our 2 tree expert again in full detail, that we not only 3 comply with the existing tree replacement 4 ordinance, but also the new ordinance that went 5 into effect. We are proposing the equivalent of 351 6 new trees in connection with this proposal. 7 So to make a statement that this 8 application is not in compliance with the goals 9 and objectives of PSE&G's mission is entirely 10 false. 11 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Ms. Malanga, 12 ask the next question. 13 MS. MALANGA: Ms. Porter, why are you 14 arguing with a resident who lives half a mile from 15 this site? 16 MR. FISHER: That's really not a 17 question -- 18 MS. PORTER: Ms. Malanga was asking 19 questions that are irrelevant to the proceeding. 20 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Ms. Malanga, 21 you stated what -- I concur with Ms. Porter. 22 PSE&G's chairman's statement, I'm not going to speak 23 for him, versus specific work sites have to be 24 mitigated. 25 So ask the next question.

Page 100 1 MS. MALANGA: Right. There's a 2 contradiction between what the experts are actually 3 doing here and what the mission is of the entire 4 corporation. I think that should be brought to the 5 attention -- 6 MS. PORTER: Objection. 7 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: That's -- 8 That's not relevant here. Go ahead. It's 9 specifically regard -- related to this application. 10 PSE&G is not on -- is not -- it's not part of the 11 mission statement. They also have a mission 12 statement on providing electricity. So ask the next 13 question. 14 MS. MALANGA: The 8-foot fence, is it not 15 a detriment to the character of the neighborhood? 16 THE WITNESS: That's an opinion. And I'm 17 not here -- I'm here to testify on stormwater 18 management design and how we developed the site. 19 MS. MALANGA: Okay. Well, Mr. Blake, I 20 hope you all just keep in mind the current issues in 21 West Orange: Loss of tree canopy and extensive 22 flooding. 23 Thank you very much. 24 ACTING CHAIR SCHWARZBAUM: Next resident. 25 MEETING MODERATOR: Yes. We have no more