Shade Tree: More Info Needed on Vista Landscaping

The Wyckoff Shade Tree Commission has begun examining landscaping plans for the proposed Vista independent senior living complex but will wait for further information before fully vetting the application.

The commission would like clarification on what trees will remain and which will be removed within the approximately 20 acres of woodlands on the Christian Health Care Center's 78-acre campus, where the estimated $100 million facility would be built.  

"It's difficult, as you can't tell exactly where the buildings will go," Chairman Mark Borst said at the commission's Tuesday meeting. 

Borst and commission member Glenn Sietsma recently did a walk through the woods at the center as part of the commission's duties in assisting the zoning Board of Adjustment's consideration of the application. Both said the review left them with as many questions as answers, and would like a representative of the application's engineering firm to join them on further tours through the site.

Borst instructed the commission's secretary, Elaine Booth, to draft a letter to Jerry Vogel, Christian Health Care's attorney, asking for clarification on the tree plans as well as further information on the exact footprint of the building.

Vogel, of the Hawthorne-based firm Jeffer, Hopkinson & Vogel, said Wednesday that the requests were "more than acceptable" and "not unexpected" as part of the complex hearing process to gain approvals for the Vista, which also faces Hawthorne review.

Christian Health Care is proposing a 258-unit complex of one- and two-bedroom units that would serve seniors who may not need continuing care but are seeking to leave behind the demands of home ownership. Residents would lease the units, which will be centered around a wide range of activities and services, including banking, restaurants, a wellness center, shops and more. 

The zoning board is the ultimate authority on the project but will consider the application in concert with the Shade Tree Commission and Design Review Board, which has already completed its review of the application. However, 86 of the planned units would be located in Hawthorne, as the targeted woodlands straddles the municipalities' border. Christian Health Care will seek Hawthorne approvals after the Wyckoff hearings are completed, and representatives have said the Vista wouldn't be constructed until 2014 at the earliest.

Landscaping plans for the Vista complex were filed months ago, although Vogel said he expects those to change pending Shade Tree review. The complex would be nestled in the woods, with a mix of trees, shrubs and plants surrounding the property as well as planned courtyards between the units. Many of those trees in the courtyards are pre-existing, although Shade Tree members wondered about the ability to construct around existing landscaping.

"For them to save those trees going in the courtyards, the amount of effort to do that is going to be huge," Borst said.

Township Committeeman Kevin Rooney, liaison to the Shade Tree Commission, told members they were within their authority to ask for specifics on exactly how existing trees will be preserved and to use their expertise to determine whether the center's landscaping plans are viable, including the introduction of new species of greenery.

The commission plans to take additional tours of the campus in groups of two before making any suggestions to the zoning board. Borst said he would expect to eventually testify before the board on the commission's findings.

However, until the commission gets more detailed information on exactly which trees will be removed and which will be preserved, its a "shot in the dark" to vet the application, Rooney said.

Vogel said he will be in attendance next Thursday, when the zoning board plans to discuss how the Christian Health Care Center application will proceed to hearings.

The Design Review Board recommended the application in July after three hearings where the size of the proposed Vista was discussed almost as much as the building's architecture and materials. Members found the planned residential-style look quite appealing but worried about the facility's impact on the township, although representatives said it would be largely unseen from passersby.

Many of the public's questions before the advisory bodies have centered on concerns out of their purview; the zoning board will consider the size, traffic flow, buffers, drainage, etc., with expert testimony expected to be offered by both Christian Health Care representatives and witnesses retained by the board.