Planning Report Zinnia Health West Orange NJ

Planning Report – Zinnia Health November 8, 2024 33 Mount Pleasant Avenue, West Orange NJ John McDonough Associates, LLC Land Use Planning · Landscape Architecture 7 101 Gibraltar Drive, Suite 1A, Morris Plains, NJ 07950 · Phone: 973.222.6011 · Fax: 973.786.6537 Based on the above cases and excepts, the board may find that, if use relief is required, the use can be considered “inherently beneficial” and the simplified Sica standard may be applied in lieu of the more stringent Medici or Coventry standard. The court in House of Fire v. Clifton Bd. of Adj., 379 N.J. Super. 526, 535 (App. Div. 2005) clarified that when an application involves a conditional use that is also inherently beneficial, then the Sica standard should apply over Coventry. The board planner outlines the simplified 4-prong balancing test, below: 1. The board should identify the public interest at stake. 2. The Board should identify the detrimental effect that will ensue from the grant of the variance. 3. In some situations, the local board may reduce the detrimental effect by imposing reasonable conditions on the use. 4. The Board should then weigh the positive and negative criteria and determine whether, on balance, the grant of the variance would cause a substantial detriment to the public good. Based on all the information provided above and for all the same positive and negative reasons set forth elsewhere in this report, the four prongs of the Sica balancing test are met. Even if the more stringent Medici or Coventry standards are deemed to be required, those tests are also met. Conclusion The application is for adaptive reuse and conversion of a former nursing home to a mental health facility. The adaptive reuse will serve a beneficial purpose and have minimal if any impacts. The statutory criteria for grant of any or all relief are met, and approval is warranted.