Ltr to Board Secretary 3 10 25

Jamilet Baquerizo Vite, Secretary West Orange Township Planning Board March 10, 2025 Page 8 (after also changing the slope, length, and conditions of the drainage channel) and the proposed installation of an Outlet Control Structure that will not reduce the volume or spread of the harmful outflow into Llewellyn Park. It appears that the Applicant’s plans and demolition or construction work may have interfered with the Planning Board’s prior directive via Resolution Condition (PB 98-11) that Crystal Lake (as successor to Highview at West Orange LLC) “provide protection for runoff or drainage into Llewellyn Park”. This Resolution condition does not insulate the Applicant from complying with the Ordinance, including its Stormwater Management and Steep Slope Ordinances. It is also disturbing that the Applicant’s recently submitted geotechnical report (as appropriately requested by the Board) identifies shallow bedrock encumbering the proposed stormwater detention area, but there was no testing as to the permeability of the rock (i.e. basin flood tests). Since the Applicant had cleared woods and other areas that cannot be categorized as “previously developed” under the State’s stormwater rules, it is required to provide groundwater recharge if possible. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether groundwater recharge is possible since the Applicant failed to undertake a thorough soil and bedrock permeability investigation. Further, the Applicant’s stormwater design remains deficient under State regulations for failure to analyze the Property’s stormwater conditions as of 2004 (when the State’s stormwater regulations went into effect), when the current house and garage at the Property did not even exist at that time. For all the reasons set forth above, the Application remains deficient, incomplete and incapable of being comprehensively reviewed (let alone be approved) by this Board until the Applicant provides the further information noted above and applies to the Board for all required land development permits and approvals, including steep slope variance relief. Accordingly, the scheduled March 12, 2025 hearing on the Application must be postponed. We understand the engineers for the Applicant, the Board, the Township, Llewellyn Park, and the Crystal Lake Association met last week to discuss the Application and to evaluate the current site conditions and prior site

gineers for the Applicant, the Board, the Township, Llewellyn Park, and the Crystal Lake Association met last week to discuss the Application and to evaluate the current site conditions and prior site alterations. We believe that certain remedial action and stormwater management design revisions were suggested at the meeting as required to avoid or minimize further environmental damage and harm to Llewellyn Park and the adjacent property owners, and to comply with the Ordinance (including its Storm Water Management Regulations and Steep Slope Regulations) and applicable NJDEP regulations. Adjourning the March 12, 2025 hearing on the Application will also presumably provide all stakeholders (the Applicant, Board, Township, Llewellyn Park, Crystal Lake Association, and neighboring property owners including the owner of 42 Eagle Ridge Way) the time and opportunity to evaluate the issues and proposals raised in that meeting and in this correspondence so to hopefully achieve a comprehensive resolution acceptable to all stakeholders. Should the Board consider approving the Application (as amended) once the Applicant provides all of the necessary information and formally requests all required relief, any such approval would need to be conditioned upon the Applicant complying with its legal obligations to: (1) obtain all required NJDEP and Township approvals to restore the drainage ditch watercourse