470 Eagle Planning Report 8 2 24

JUSTIFICATIONS OF VARIANCES DR Project no.:12210-001 PROPOSED MIXED COMMERICAL DEVELOPMENT August 02, 2024 470 EAGLE ROCK AVENUE (BLOCK 153, LOT 38) TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE, ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY Page 4 of 10 • The proposed fast-food restaurant complies with the front, side, and rear yard requirements for the B-2 District. Project complies. IV. VARIANCE JUSTIFICATION AND PROOFS D(3) Conditional Use Variance: The proposed project does not meet several of the conditional use requirements as outlined above. Accordingly, the project necessitates a conditional use variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D- 70.d(3). The Board of Adjustment has jurisdiction to grant such variance based on the proofs as established in Coventry Square vs. Westwood Zoning Board of Adjustment, 138NJ285(1994). The New Jersey Supreme Court noted that conditional uses, even when they do not meet with all of the requisite conditions, are nonetheless compatible uses in the zone. The burden of proof is related to whether the site can accommodate the problems or impacts associated with the use even though the conditions and ordinances established to address said impacts are not satisfied. The majority of the conditions not satisfied under the proposed development are from a metric standpoint, wherein the intent of the limitation or requirement are satisfied from an operational or site circulation standpoint despite a specific numerical threshold not being met. • Regarding condition 2, the intent of the ordinance seems to be to prevent a given corridor from being dominated by the fast-food use wherein regular curb cuts and heavier/irregular traffic flows associated with drive-thru functions may accumulate and result in collective negative impacts along the corridor as a whole. While there are other restaurants that meet the Town’s definition of fast-food within 500 feet of the subject property, neither of the noted uses have a drive-thru function and both are consolidated within one larger strip-mall property that is significantly set back from the right-of-way and has multiple access driveways along multiple corridors, therefore mitigating potential traffic implications that may arise from the proposed fast-food use. The project site is located a sufficient distance (approximately 386 feet) from the existing establishments and provides driveway access from the opposite side of the corridor,

proposed fast-food use. The project site is located a sufficient distance (approximately 386 feet) from the existing establishments and provides driveway access from the opposite side of the corridor, therefore no substantially negative impacts to overall corridor circulation are anticipated. Additionally, there are no other existing drive-thru uses within 1,000 feet of the site. • Similarly, condition 3 in the ordinance establishes a buffer between fast-food uses and residential zones in what is likely an effort to mitigate impacts of a higher-volume use on a nearby low-density residential zone. While the proposed project abuts a residential zone and use to the south and west (across Rosney Terrace), the project does not provide any curb cuts or access points on the Rosney Terrace right-of-way