The Livingston Planning Board, at its December 5 meeting, concluded hearings over 39 W. Northfield Associates, LLC’s application to construct a new two-story medical office building with added features like parking lot expansion, landscaping, lighting, and signage. However, the Board pushed back a vote on the application to January 16,2024, in order to draft and review a final resolution.This meeting marked the Board’s thirdhearing over the preliminary and final site plan, which was first presented on September 5 and revisited on October 17. During the previous meeting, architect Brian Conway had provided a revised version of the site plan, whose changes included moving a nearby fence, replacing local trees, and adjusting the parking lot to meet truck-turning requirements. Additionally, engineer Harold Maltz had broken down a traffic study report on the parking and discussed the size of the variance needed for construction. These plans were questioned by local residents, who feared that traffic overflow would impact the homes located behind 39 West Northfield Road.Signage and LightingFollowing opening remarks from attorney Jon Wyciskala on Tuesday evening, architect Lance Blake and engineer Michael Lanzafama presented the applicant’s final testimonies, with some input from landscape architect Brian Conway.Blake, during his testimony, presented floor plans of the 29’7” structure’s basement, first floor, exterior building color palette, and elevations from all four directions. Of these elevations, the north elevation faces West Northfield Road; the south faces the office’s main entrance and lobby; the west elevation faces Collins Terrace; and the east faces neighboring properties and the parking lot. On these proposed exteriors, an illuminated Summit Health sign and building identification sign would face north, while another Summit Health sign would be located on the west corner.Amonument sign would also be placed on the building’s corner.The Board members initially expressed concern over the need for both a monument sign and wall sign, as well as whether the sign, depending on how close it would be to the residential zone property line, would need to dim its lighting. They, along with attorney Melissa Cianci – representing multiple local residents – also questioned Blake and Wyciskala about the lighting and the number of interior exam rooms, which totaled 120 rooms, or 60 per floor. Additionally, the building would have five provider offices to accommodate ten cardiologists, though they wouldn’t be working simultaneously.Parking TestimonyLanzafama next broke down the variances requested for the medical office’s construction. These variances, he stated,
