2026 03 06 Justifications Memo_470 Eagle Rock AvenueWORev4

JUSTIFICATIONS OF VARIANCES DR Project no.:12210-001 PROPOSED MIXED COMMERICAL DEVELOPMENT Rev. March 06, 2026 470 EAGLE ROCK AVENUE (BLOCK 153, LOT 38) TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE, ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY Page 7 of 15 Minimum Lot Area for Drive-Up Window: §25-11.14.j of the West Orange Zoning Code requires that; “Any restaurant [containing a drive-up window] must be situated on property consisting of five (5) or more acres and provide ample queuing to ensure that no waiting vehicles are in or on a public thoroughfare or street.” The subject property has a total lot area of 1.05 acres and therefore requires relief from the lot area minimum specific to the drive-through operation. The proposed project complies with the remaining 10 criteria in this section of the code. Dresdner Robin conducted a GIS analysis of West Orange parcels and found that only 27 106 parcels in the Township borders meet this lot area criteria in terms of size alone. We then analyzed the eligible properties for underlying zoning districts to identify sites that permit restaurant, fast food, and retail units, specifically the B-1, B-2, R-G, O-R and P-C Districts. Only two This analysis identified 9 parcels that make the minimum lot area of 5 acres are zoned for uses that would allow a drive-up window such as a bank, pharmacy, or fast-food use (encompassing a range of full food menu such as a McDonalds to beverage-oriented restaurants such as Starbucks). Of the 9 eligible parcels, 3 are located in the B-2 zone, which is the only district where fast food drive-up windows in particular are (conditionally) permitted, leaving eligible parcels in the Township with a path to fast-food drive-up implementation without a d(1) use variance. Parcel #13 identified in the Table 1 on page 8 of this report is already developed as a garden apartment complex (aka: Westmill Gardens) which has no existing retail or restaurant uses. The only other remaining eligible parcel as-of-right in the Township is Parcel 4, (aka: the Whole Foods Plaza at 235 Prospect Avenue) which is located directly across Eagle Rock Avenue from the subject property. Given the proximity and identical contextual physical conditions (outside of lot area), the proposed use is appropriate along the Eagle Rock Avenue corridor and appropriateness is not solely defined in terms of welfare, safety, and intent of zone plan by lot area. It should

of lot area), the proposed use is appropriate along the Eagle Rock Avenue corridor and appropriateness is not solely defined in terms of welfare, safety, and intent of zone plan by lot area. It should also be noted that this provision renders many existing businesses providing drive-up windows within the Township as non-conforming, including the Provident Bank (Block 153.14 Lots 31, 32, 33) located 1 parcel east of the subject property and the CVS (Tax Block 153.16, Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 25, 26, 27) located 3 parcels west of the subject property. -------SEE TABLE 1 ON FOLLOWING PAGE----- **Version 4.0 of this report provides an update to this analysis based on updated data available through the State’s GIS Office as of January 2026. Methodology for the analysis remains the same, but additional parcels have been identified due to more complete datasets.