West Orange Nursing Home Proposal Back On Zoning Board Agenda

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Zoning Board of Adjustment is expected to circle back on a long-running application from a local nursing facility this week.

On Thursday, the zoning board is scheduled to discuss an application from Daughters of Israel Inc. The nonprofit is seeking multiple variances to redevelop their campus at 1155 Pleasant Valley Way into a “continuum of care community offering independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing components.”

Links to the site plan, environmental/traffic reports and other information from the application can be accessed at the board’s online agenda.

The April 20 zoning board meeting will take place at 8 p.m. See Zoom login information here.

Daughters of Israel President Jason Halper mentioned the expansion plans in a social media post last fall. Halper wrote:

“With the changing needs in the health care and senior living industry, I am excited to report that our plans to expand the services we provide to the community are moving forward. We have submitted an application for site plan approval to the West Orange Zoning Board of Adjustment, in which we are seeking approval of a new state-of-the-art campus that will be built at our existing location and will offer the highest level of services for all stages of care – from independent living, assisted living, assisted living memory care, and skilled nursing care. The redesigned campus will include private and formal dining rooms, a pub, a salon and spa, a wellness center, a theater, and other high-end services and amenities. This expansive redevelopment plan will consist of several buildings and will provide a continuum of care for our community that will allow Daughters to continue its mission for decades to come.”

But according to nonprofit advocacy group Our Green West Orange, the plan will be a “detriment to the public good.”

The group recently cited the following reasons for opposing the application:

• “Massive tree destruction”
• “Six years of noisy construction impacting residential neighborhood and forcing their most vulnerable elderly, ill, infirm or dementia patients to live on-site throughout construction”
• “Construction of 163 one-and-two-bedroom apartments (plus 24 assisted-living units) at market rate, while paying no taxes, as DOI is a nonprofit (DOI pays only $47,653.38 taxes on an 18-acre property for renting out space for a cell tower).”
• “High-rise construction out of sync with residential neighborhood character”
• “Increased traffic and congestion and a flawed traffic report”
• “Limited sustainability in design”
• “Decrease in accommodations for nursing and memory care in favor of luxury units”
• “Continuation of outdated model of care for skilled nursing”
• “This property is zoned for residential use and is already out of compliance with our town’s master plan”

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