The Zoo is again presenting piecemeal requests to the West Orange Planning Board on Wednesday September 5, 2018. 7:30pm. 66 Main Street, West Orange, New Jersey.

Otter Exhibit Renovation

New Parking Deck and Train Ride Depot

There is a new 5 level parking deck proposed on the location of the existing train house at Turtle Back Zoo to contain 516 parking spots in total. The new parking deck is expandable to a sixth level if need be. The new parking deck is south of the existing parking lot and approximately 80 feet to the east of the water line of the Orange Reservoir. The existing train maintenance building, a portion of the tracks for the Zoo train ride, 2 trash compactors and an number of metal storage containers are located on the site of the proposed parking deck.

The January 3rd 2018 Planning Board Resolution for the Turtle Back Zoo states that "the applicant should complete and submit a Master Plan for the Turtle Back Zoo before making any more capital improvements"

The county continues its drive for more and more visitors, despite West Orange residents’ wishes to not be overwhelmed by traffic. The below comment was posted on Essex County’s Facebook page on August 25, 2018.

“Thank you to our visitors for making this week the most successful in Turtle Back Zoo history! We welcomed 37,286 people this week and brought in $410,500 in revenue!”

Lastly, there are red dots on about 50 trees, presumably to come down for the proposed 6-story parking garage. It would be regrettable to keep cutting down West Orange’s trees and replacing them with cars and traffic.