West Orange Fourth Round HEFSP_adopted 111025_Appendices

WHEREAS, the Applicant presented the testimony of Brian Conway, a licensed professional landscape architect of the State of New Jersey, who was recognized by the Board as such, Mr. Conway presented the lighting plan, with fixtures that will match the ones used across the street at the Turtle Back Zoo, the Applicant was then granted a desi ign waiver for reduced lighting levels, Mr. Conway further testified about the landscaping plan, that the Applicant is adding landscaping to the riparian buffer of the Brook at the rear of the property, and will agree to clean up the area around the Brook of the current debris and litter, and that the Applicant will address all concerns addressed by Township Forrester, John Linson, to his satisfaction, as well as the Township Engineer Mr. Hess’ request for a shrub planting detail and a change from Green Vase Zeikova trees to a species on the West Orange approved species list, and indicated he will attempt to keep the corner landscaping as is; Mr. Conway further presented a shade study dated March 6, 2019, setting forth how adjoining properties will be impacted by sun and shade after the proposed project has been built, as measured at the summer and winter solstices; and WHEREAS, the Applicant presented the testimony of Laurence Appel, a licensed professional architect of the State of New Jersey, who was recognized by the Board as such, Mr. Appel presented the architectural plans for the apartment building, describing it as a luxury apartment building, he also presented the planned exterior materials, he further presented artist’s renderings of the buildings from several angles, which were done to scale imposed on photographs of the surrounding areas to demonstrate how the building will actually appear in its setting, he described the retail space at 1,900 square feet and that the building will have 70 apartment units, including 11 affordable units, 71 covered parking spaces, with a minimum of one assigned space per unit, and the additional surface parking,

he highlighted the outdoor and indoor amenity space for residents, that amenity space will only be for the use of the tenants and their guests and will not be available for rent by members of the public, he stated that the architectural details will appear on all four sides of the building, detailed the signage, discussed the den in some units, that without a door or a closet it is not intended to be used as a bedroom; Mr. Appel further testified about the new architectural plans modified during the hearing process that reduce the appearance of the building height by scaling back the upper story, and then detailed the changes that were made to the floor plans to accommodate this change which makes the building appear less tall, but while keeping the height the same; and WHEREAS, the Applicant presented testimony of Harold Maltz, a licensed Professional Engineer of the State of New Jersey with an emphasis in traffic engineering, who was recognized by the Board as an expert in the field of traffic engineering, he began his testimony by stating that despite the plan changes that had been presented during the course of the Application, the numbers and level of service set forth in his report of 11/5/18, with a revision date of 2/11/19 and his parking evaluation report of 2/12/19 remain applicable, he testified as to the adequacy of parking and about the traffic pattern for drop off of children to the day care center, and that he agrees with the design change to bar left hand turns out of the St. Cloud Avenue exit driveway; and WHEREAS, the Applicant presented the testimony of Phillip Abramson, a licensed Professional Planner of the State of New Jersey who was recognized by the Board as such, and Mr. Abramson outlined the Application from a planning prospective, noting that the location is ideal for this project because Northfield Avenue at that location is over 70 feet wide and is more like a state road than a county highway, that the availability of

the New York express busses across the street will allow dual income couples to live at the site with only one car; that the presence of Stagg field to the rear of the property adds an additional buffer to the single family homes, separated by the Rahway River and the other business on Northfield Avenue, such as a strip center, Dunkin Donuts, McDonald’s and a gas station further remove this site from any single family residential homes; he further testified that he concurs with Mr. Grygiel’s assessment of the variance required as outlined in Mr. Grygiel’s report of September 16, 2019, he emphasized that all of the uses proposed are permitted in this B-2 zone, the only variance requested with a higher burden of proof is the d(6) height variance, that in his opinion the site can accommodate the height without negative impact to the surrounding area, and that with the top floor scaled back it will reduce the perception of the height and existing trees will also help the building blend, that all the “c” variance are “c(2)” variances that can be granted because the design presents a better planning alternative, that the project includes an inherently beneficial use in the daycare center and the benefit of affordable units in the apartment building, that he does not see any negative impact and that adequate proofs have been established that the benefits outweigh the detriments for the grant of the requested d(6) and the “c(2) variances and that the Applicant has met the negative criteria in that the project will have little or no impact on surrounding area and will not be substantially detriment to the public good or Zone Plan; and WHEREAS, the Applicant offered the following Exhibits: A-1 Site Plan, Sheet 2, revision date 2/15/19: A-2 Site plan, Sheet 4, revision date 2/15/19, colorized; A-3 Map of Building heights dated 2/15/19:

A-4 Fire truck turning analysis dated 2/15/19; A-5 Garbage truck turning analysis dated 2/15/19; A-6 Drawing 5 of Landscape Plan, revision date 2/19/19; A-7 Shade study dated 12/15/19; A-8 Sheet A-4, Primrose School exterior elevations dated 11/15/18; A-9 Sheet A-1.4, Primrose School floor plans dated 11/15/18; A-10 Relocated Child care study 6/7/19; A-12 Material Board A-13 Artistic renderings (A-D); A-13-E Artistic Rendering; A-14 List of Projects completed by Harold Maltz, P.E.; A-18 Modified Site Plan dated A-19 8 pages of new architectural plans dated 9/4/19; A-20 Artist’s rendering, view F, dated 9/13/19; A-22 aerial photographs prepared by Mr. Abramson; WHEREAS, the Board considered the reports of Board Engineer, John Hess, PE, PP, CME, dated April 1, 2019, August 13, 2019 and September 13, 2019 and his testimony at the hearing on June 27, 2019 as well as the reports of Township Planner, Paul Grygiel dated March 6, 2019, August 12, 2019 and September 16, 2019. and his testimony at the hearing on June 27, 2019: and WHEREAS, the Board Members questioned the witnesses; and WHEREAS, the following persons questioned the Applicant’s witnesses:

Harvey Grossman, West Orange Public Advocate questioned Mr. Lanzafama about whether excavation would be needed for the parking garage and could the Applicant consider dropping the parking structure down into a basement area to reduce the overall height of the building, to which Mr. Lanzafama replied that same was not possible due to flood plain levels in the rear of the property; Sonia Cohenson, 322 St, Cloud Avenue, questioned Mr. Lanzafama; Charlotte Wescott, 346 St. Cloud Avenue, asked about the planned pedestrian route for children entering and exiting the day care center, as well as how many children will be enrolled and whether there will be parking spaces reserved for the vehicles of persons dropping off children at the daycare center, Ms. Wescott questioned Mr. Pavey about the capacity of the playground; Ms. Wescott asked why traffic counts were not done in the summer when the Turtle Back Zoo attendance is at its peak, to which Mr. Maltz replied that the Zoo hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. are outside the site’s peak traffic hours of 7:45 to 8:45 a.m. and 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., and that the daycare center is closed on the weekends when the Zoo has its highest number of visitors; Loren Svetivials, Prospect Avenue, asked about whether Stagg Field will be affected by shadows from the building; Robert Rashkes, asked Mr. Lanzafama how school busses will pick up and drop off the children that will live in the apartment building, and whether any air quality studies had been done; Mr. Rashkes asked Mr. Pavey about emergency lights in the childcare building; Mr, Rashkes questioned Mr. Conway about the location of the eleven trees that are being removed from the site and how shade from the proposed building will affect the Stagg field parking lot ; Mr, Rashkes asked Mr. Appel to describe the roof top amenities; Mr. Rashkes

questioned Mr. Maltz about Mr. Maltz’s opinion that the availability of the Park and Ride across the street will impact the car usage of the tenants and where will guests for any tenant parties park; Mr. Rashkes asked Mr. Appel if the new design presented by the Applicant would change the shade data and was told by Mr. Appel that it will not; Claire Silvestri, 20 Grandview Avenue, asked if any studies had been done to predict how many children will live at the new apartment building, and whether the garage parking will be assigned; Ms. Silvestri also asked Mr. Maltz to consider that the left turn from St. Cloud Avenue and in the side driveway from Northfield Avenue eastbound may be the most popular entrance to the site, to which Mr. Maltz replied that will not be a problem as there is room for three cars to queue on Northfield to make that turn; Soma Sinha, Schissel Court, questioned Mr. Pavey; Joel Goldstein, 299 St. Cloud Avenue asked Mr. Conway asked if the playground would be lighted, to which Mr. Conway responded that it would not; Mr. Goldstein asked Mr. Conway about the projected height of the new tree plantings on Northfield Avenue, to which Mr. Conway replied that the will grow to thirty to forty feet in height; Mr. Goldstein asked Mr. Appel asked about the location of the HVAC units, and whether units will all have washers and dryers, to which Mr. Appel responded in the affirmative; Mr. Goldstein questioned Mr. Maltz about adequate parking for tenant guests, asked him if had he considered the impact of the school busses at St. Cloud and cars dropping off children at St. Cloud school, to which Maltz replied there will be no impact because vehicles leaving the Applicant’s location will not be able to turn left onto St. Cloud Avenue, and further questioned Mr. Maltz on how the parking will accommodate all of the staff and drop-offs at the daycare center, Mr. Goldstein further requested that Mr. Maltz recommend that there

be a “Don’t Block the Box” sign installed at St. Cloud and Northfield Avenue, to which Mr. Maltz indicated he would support; Mr. Goldstein also asked if the building will interfere with the cellular antennae located on Stagg field; Ken Alper, Collamore Terrace, asked about the St. Cloud driveway which will be ingress only; Lauren Koch, 19 Sheridan Avenue, asked if there will be parking rules for the daycare center, a restriction on use of the lot by commuters and otherwise asked Mr. Maltz the basis for his numbers of expected trips and needed parking for the site: Andrea Schoenberger, 39 Oak Crest Road asked if the parking counts included providing for the day care center staff and indicated that she was concerned about an increased school population if Application is granted; Christine Bosco, 4 Mason Place asked Mr, Maltz if Sheridan Avenue had been studied, to which Mr. Maltz replied it had been but that information is now moot because there will be no exit onto St. Cloud Avenue; Ms. Bosco asked Mr. Appel about the affordable units that will be provided in the apartment building, and asked Mr. Maltz about fire hydrants; Scott Dias asked Mr. Appel about the height of the apartment building and asked Mr. Lanzafama about the driveways into and out of the site and asked if a wetlands assessment had been done; Jean Goldstein, 299 St. Cloud Avenue questioned Mr. Maltz; Harvey Montague, 29 Boland Drive asked about the materials to be used on the apartment house;

Beverly Reilly, 56 Lennox Terrace asked Mr, Abramson how this project could be seen as a benefit when there is already so much traffic in the morning on St, Cloud Avenue; and WHEREAS, the following persons commented upon the Application: Robert Rashkes, 35 Oak Crest Road, testified he was concerned about traffic, the fact that the Applicant had not detailed how school busses would pick up children living in the new apartment building , questioned whether the parking will be sufficient and about shade on Stagg Field; and Joel Goldstein, 299 St. Cloud Avenue testified that no matter how attractive the building may be, it is too large for the area, and that he was also concerned about traffic and parking and that he does not believe that the assumptions made by the traffic expert about one car families, the time it will take for daycare drop off, and the amount of cars visiting the retail space were reasonable; and Beverly Reilly 56 Lennox Terrace, testified the building height is excessive for the neighborhood, she is concerned with increased traffic, and what she believes will be inadequate parking for the daycare staff and the teachers at St. Cloud school, and believes the ingress and egress from the site may be dangerous; and Jean Goldstein, 299 St, Cloud Avenue, testified the building is too much for the area, that there is nothing this large on Northfield Avenue, and that traffic impacts were not adequately addressed; and Charlotte Wescott testified that St. Cloud school is overcrowded now, this project will make it worse and the traffic situation in the mornings and afternoons at the school will only become worse; and

Claire Silvestre, 20 Grandview Avenue, testified that she disagrees with the planner that the project will benefit the public, admitting that the hotel is not an attractive use but a dense mixed use with such lot coverage is not in the best interest of the community, that traffic expert’s assumptions were not accurate concerning the duration of park cars during drop off times, which will affect the adequacy of parking, and that the building is too large for the space; and Christine Bosco, 4 Mason Place, testified that this project will be detrimental to the St. Cloud area in terms of traffic and congestion, that the building is too large and will block the sun and view of the mountains to the neighborhood in the late afternoon, that the apartment building will add more children to the schools system, does not fit the character of the neighborhood and there are better uses for this property; and Scott Dias, 272 St. Cloud Avenue testified that the scope and size of the building will hurt the fabric of the neighborhood, and that the Board should see the traffic on St. Cloud Avenue at the start and end of the school day; and WHEREAS, all the facts and data contained in the submitted Application and all facts and testimony adduced at the public Hearing on said Application are incorporated herein as Findings of Facts of this Board as if set forth at length herein and made a part hereof; and WHEREAS, THE BOARD HAVING MADE THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS: A. The Applicant is the owner of 555 Northfield Avenue, West Orange, New Jersey, 07052, being Block 168, Lot 26 and Lot 28 on the Tax Map of the Township of West Orange and located in the B-2 zone.

B, The Applicant seeks Preliminary and Final Site Plan approval and requires (1) a “d” 6 height variance for 62.8 feet when 35 feet is the maximum height permitted (2) a “c” variance for 5 stories when only 2 % stories are permitted; (3) a“c” variance for a 2.56 foot front yard setback when a 30 foot setback is required; (4) a “c’” variance for 49% building coverage when 40% is the maximum allowed; (5) a “c” variance for lot coverage of 77.43% when 60% is the maximum allowed; (6) a “c” variance for a 1 foot setback of an accessory structure from the property line when a 5 foot setback is required; (7) a “c” variance for an accessory use in the parking areas in the front and side yards which is not permitted; (8) a “c” variance for a five foot setback of an accessory structure and a parking area to a residential zone when a 10 foot setback is required; (9) a “c” variance for a six foot PVC privacy fence in a front yard which is not permitted; (10) a “c” variance for five signs when only one is permitted; (11) a “c” variance for a 1.6 foot projection of a fagade sign when | foot is the maximum projection allowed; and (12) a “c” variance for a five foot setback of a monument sign from the property line when a 10 foot setback is required, a waiver of the filing of an Environmental Impact Statement and a waiver from sections 28 and 31 of the checklist requirements for Site Plan Approval all to build a mixed use apartment building, retail space and childcare center. C. The Applicant accommodated the Board’s concern about building height and mass by scaling down the top floor and addressed the Board’s concern about the location of the daycare playground and re-oriented the daycare building.