Town reports in the Archives are arranged chronologically.

Discussion on Wetlands Included in Review of Plans for Athletic Fields--Chatham Township (January 16, 2001)

On January 16, Chatham Township Planning Board Chair Martha Hellriegel said that Oak Knoll School's plans for athletic fields off Green Village Road were under review by Marshall Frost, the consulting engineer for the Planning Board.

Oak Knoll had applied to the DEP for a permit to fill in what seemed to be "isolated" wetlands. But the DEP has determined that the wetlands are not isolated and is discussing possible solutions with the school. It is relatively easy to get a permit to fill isolated wetlands. Wetlands interconnected with other wetlands are protected much more carefully by the DEP.

The most recent plan for the fields is changed slightly from the one submitted last July. The number of softball diamonds is reduced from two to one. A full sized track encircling a soccer field now replaces tennis courts. The number of parking spaces went down from 74 spaces to 60.

The only buildings proposed for the 13.4-acre tract, are a 1,200 square foot pavilion for use as an office and restrooms, and a 1,800 square foot covered shelter. The school, based in Summit, has only one non-regulation field on its 7-acre campus, and says it needs the space for its field hockey, soccer, lacrosse and softball teams. Bettina Hummerstone, Head of the school, said Oak Knoll still anticipates sharing the fields in some way with Chatham Township.

Jockey Hollow Top VI to Remain Open Space (Morris Township, Nov 3, 2000)

by Delia Smith

On November 3, 2000, Mayor Richard A. Watson announced that the Township of Morris had agreed in principle to purchase and permanently protect as open space a steeply sloping 58.2-acre tract of land on the western side of Route 202 in the southern portion of the township. The site, known as Jockey Hollow Top VI, is the township's largest vacant tract and had been the subject of ongoing hearings in which developer Harvey Caplan requested variances from the township's steep slope and tree cutting ordinances to build 24 homes on the property.

In a letter to support the acquisition, the Ten Towns Great Swamp Watershed Management Committee said, "The Jockey Hollow tract is one of the most environmentally sensitive parcels of land in the watershed." The Great Swamp Watershed Association had listed the property as the most critical land acquisition to be made in the Great Swamp watershed.

Protection of this steeply sloped property as open space will protect refuge water quality. The site lies immediately above headwaters for Great Brook, which is a prime feeder stream for the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Other supporters of the acquisition include the National Park Service, Harding Township, and Morris Land Conservancy.

Funding for the $1.7 million purchase of the property will come primarily from grants from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program and Morris Township's Open Space Trust. The Great Swamp Watershed Association is applying for a Green Acres Program grant to be applied towards the purchase price.

Sterling Townhouse Proposal Faces Storm Water Problems (Chatham Twp.)

On December 18th, the Chatham Township Planning Board discussed the storm water management plan for Sterling Properties' proposed 56-unit "Rose Valley" townhouse project on the former Tublitz estate near the corner of Shunpike and Green Village Roads.

Rocco Palmieri, engineer for Sterling Properties, said that Sterling's stormwater management plan would reduce the stormwater runoff from the 30-acre site by 25 percent, and that Sterling would comply with the township's stormwater management plan and Department of Environmental Protection regulations on wetlands, streams and ponds.

But two major problems with excessive runoff from neighboring properties still have to be dealt with. The adjacent development on Rachel Avenue in Madison has a drainage system that dumps water onto the Sterling properties site via a cement headwall. This storm sewer outlet has created a huge erosion problem on the Sterling land. In addition, sheets of rainwater flow from the Madison Golf Club onto the lower lying Sterling tract.

Another water problem is presented by the existing earthen dam that now creates a pond on the property from a small stream. The dam will have to be reinforced and classified by the DEP for flooding hazard. If the DEP labels the dam Class 2, it will need a larger area for flood storage and the number of townhouse units will have to be reduced from 56 to 54.

Over the past four years, Sterling has reduced the number of proposed townhouses from 122, to 96 to the present 56. They have also significantly reduced the number of variances required, especially height variances and steep slopes variances. The size of the individual townhouses, however, has grown with the reduction of the number of units proposed. At the Planning Board meeting on December 18, Mr. Palmieri said that the 56 individual townhouse buildings were larger than the original 122 units proposed in 1997, but that the total impervious coverage was less. Mr. Palmieri promised to deliver to the Board exact numbers on the net gain or loss in building size.

Kessler Site in Chatham Township Leaking MTBE and Benzene into Groundwater

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recently notified Chatham Township that the carcinogenic petrochemicals MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) and benzene have been seeping into the groundwater and migrating from the construction site of the Kessler Assisted Living Facility on Southern Boulevard near Hickory Tree Mall in Chatham Township.

The DEP's Bureau of Underground Storage Tanks stated in a letter that Hickory Tree Garage, the former occupant of the Kessler site and the party responsible for the clean up, has not met the conditions of the Remedial Action Workplan that the DEP had approved in 1997. Specifically, Hickory Tree Garage "failed to initiate" the required "monthly sampling of effluent discharge and quarterly reporting" of results from groundwater test wells set up on and off the site.

Despite problems with monthly sampling, existing data supplied to the DEP show that a plume of MTBE extends at least as far as a monitoring well across the street from the Kessler Site and behind the Chatham Hill Apartments. MTBE, a gasoline additive that is now being phased out because of its danger to the drinking water supply, has been found at levels above the NJDEP Groundwater Quality Standards since the first reading from this well in July 1999.

To delineate the extent of migration of MTBE, the DEP in a letter dated January 2000 required Hickory Tree Garage to establish a new monitoring well downgradient from the monitoring well behind the apartments. In August, the DEP repeated the request, stating it "reserves the right to implement full enforcement measures."

So far, Hickory Tree Garage has not established this well, but in October it's environmental engineering firm, Resource Control Corporation of Rancocas, NJ, promised that it would install a well down gradient from the well behind the apartments by December 30, 2000.

Groundwater monitoring data that Hickory Tree Garage supplied to NJDEP in recent years indicate that MTBE has been found at high levels in a monitoring well at the edge of the property bordering Southern Boulevard since monitoring records began in 1995. Benzene has been recorded at dangerous levels at a monitoring well just across Southern Boulevard since 1996. On site, both these chemicals have been found at unacceptable levels in ground water monitoring wells at various times in the past several years.

It is likely that construction activities have increased the flow of hazardous chemicals to downstream neighbors. Kessler received final site plan approval for its project in July 1999, and subsequently the readings at the monitoring well behind the apartments registered MTBE levels at two and three times the pre-construction reading.

If MTBE is traveling downgradient of the apartments, it enters the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, placing at potential risk plants, wildlife and visitors in the Refuge. In addition, it raises the specter of contaminated public drinking water. MTBE has proven resistant to removal from drinking water. The Great Swamp is the headwaters of the Passaic River, which is a source of drinking water for customers of the New Jersey American Water Company. New Jersey American Water Company serves Chatham Township residents, including Kessler's eventual tenants.

Resource Control Corporation, in a Groundwater Quality and Remedial Action Progress Report for the Hickory Tree Garage/Kessler property, reported to the DEP that building contractors for Kessler have "destroyed or otherwise made non-accessible" four groundwater quality monitoring wells on the site.

Despite this loss, Kessler is continuing with construction, and expects to be finished by spring 2001. Ms. Marianne Langan of Kessler Assisted Living Residence I, Juniper Partners, Montclair, NJ, has received copies of correspondence between the DEP and Hickory Tree Garage.

Bernards Township Task Force Recommends Deer Harvest (November 9, 2000)

On Thursday, November 9, after 18 months of study, the Deer Task Force presented its recommendations to the Bernards Township Committee. After investigating a number of lethal and non-lethal options, the group chose a five year program of controlled harvesting, utilizing a professional harvesting firm, which would use shotguns and special soft lead slugs to harvest deer from stands over baited sites.

The Task Force chair, Dr. William Darrow, cited risk of Lyme Disease, destruction of forest undergrowth, increase in automobile-deer accidents, and damage to gardens as reasons for their recommendations. Police reports show 235 documented fatalities of deer in 1999 on local roads, plus about 100 more on the interstates within the township.

Current estimates of the herd in the Township are between 1600 and 2400. By the fifth year of the harvest, a targeted maintenance level of deer should be reached. The Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge has a similar program, which is now at its target population. The Passaic River forms a natural barrier between the Refuge and the Township, so deer from the Township have not moved into the less populated Refuge in any significant numbers.

Committeewoman Diana Boquist expressed concerns that deer from other neighboring towns may move into the Township, but the consensus of the committee was to move ahead with a decision, and a resolution endorsing the Task Force plan was passed. Public comments were restricted to township residents, and three residents spoke in favor. One woman from Florham Park was not permitted to speak.

The Task Force will immediately move ahead with completing the necessary state application. No new township ordinance will be required to allow the planned harvest, which is expected to begin in December 2001. An ordinance will be drafted to create a standing Wildlife Committee to replace the temporary Task Force.

Ridge Oak Settlement (Bernards Twp., November 9, 2000)

Despite objections from neighborhood residents, the Bernards Township Committee voted unanimously to approve a proposal to rezone the Ridge Oak assisted living facility site on Lindbergh Lane. Details of the new SH1 zone (Lindbergh tract) and the SH2 and SH3 zones (the current Ridge Oak Senior Housing) were revealed at the committee meeting on November 9, 2000. The new zoning was proposed as part of a settlement agreement with the Board of Trustees of Ridge Oak. Township Attorney John Belardo announced that Ridge Oak has now agreed to eliminate an assisted living facility as a permitted use in the proposed SH1 zone but commented that this new concession was not substantive since the original cap of 34,000 square feet would not have been financially viable.

A number of neighborhood residents expressed their opposition to the proposed rezoning due to concerns about traffic, lighting and building compatibility with existing homes. No plan has been presented by Ridge Oak, but a member of the Ridge Oak Board of Trustees stated their plan is to build rent subsidized housing for 48 seniors which would be two stories in height, and estimated it will take three years to complete the project.

One East Oak Street resident suggested that the traffic and parking problem of the new proposal could be greater than the original assisted living plan. Traffic issues, including street widening, will be addressed by the Planning Board at the time plans are submitted by Ridge Oak.

An attorney representing another neighborhood resident stated his client's opposition on the grounds that the the new zoning would constitute "spot zoning."

Belardo announced that the settlement stipulates that the zoning board approval of the previous Ridge Oak project will be voided, and the Federal lawsuits will be dismissed without prejudice if the proposed ordinance creating new SH zones is approved.

Committeeman William Holmes defended the settlement, saying it will probably save the township "a quarter million" dollars in legal fees.

Bernards Township Open Space Tax Passes (November 7, 2000)

The proposal to increase the open space tax in Bernards Township from 2 cents to 4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation passed in all 19 voting districts. In addition to doubling the rate, the tax will be extended from 2007 to 2017. Annual revenues from the tax are expected to increase from $775,000 to $1.55 million and will provide an additional $20 million through 2017.

Truce reached in tree dispute (Bernardsville, November 11, 2000)

A tentative settlement has been reached between Bernardsville and resident Alfred C. Eckert. Under the agreement, Eckert will drop his Superior Court case against the borough, and the borough would drop its municipal court case against him charging violation of the borough's tree-cutting ordinance.

On November 11, Bernardsville mayor Hugh Fenwick, Council President Jay Parsons and other town officials met on Eckert's estate to discuss plans to restore nine barren acres where Eckert had previously removed trees without a permit. Eckert flew in a landscape architect from England to discuss plans to create a proper British garden on the 9 bare acres. Borough officials were encouraged and "enthralled" by the plans.

Eckert also intends to present a new plan to the zoning board for a driveway on a still-treed part of his property. The new design will avoid removing any trees. His previous plan for a 900-foot driveway required removal of 27 trees.

Environmental Group Monitors Truck-Stop Runoff (Harding)

The Harding Township Environmental Commission (HTEC) is closely monitoring an Interstate 287 truck stop these days, studying an innovative underground system to remove oil and grit from stormwater runoff.

The system, called an oil/grit separator, was acquired with a $20,000 grant to the HTEC from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and installed by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation.

In use since September 1998, the system receives stormwater from the paved area of the truck stop, swirls it in a chamber to separate out the grit, then passes the water through a separator that allows the oil to float to the top while clearer water is discharged below. The clearer water is then purified by a sand filter.

The HTEC grant also provided for the acquisition of automated sampling equipment and for laboratory analysis of samples taken during heavy rains. The HTEC has monitored three significant storms since May 1999, with dramatic results. Samples of stormwater taken as it flows off the parking lot contain many suspended and settleable solids. After treatment in the oil/grit separator, levels of both sediment and petroleum hydrocarbons were reduced significantly - although visually, the water still appeared grayish rather than clear. After discharge from the sand filter, the water appeared to be virtually clear.

The larger significance of this project is that the two NJ agencies involved are eyeing the system for potential use at rest stops throughout the NJ interstate highway system. To that end, the DEP invited the HTEC to present the results of this project at a statewide meeting in June. The project won acclaim as an excellent example of how cooperative grants with environmental commissions can produce important results. In this case, a number of attendees expressed appreciation that they now had concrete data to help convince municipalities to require the use of sand filters for developments that include paved areas.

Township Committee Reviews Conditional Use Ordinance (Harding)

In June, the Township Committee held a public hearing at which it reviewed the Planning Board's recommendation to amend the Township's Conditional Use Ordinance. This recommendation addressed which Township roads were appropriate for conditional uses such as schools, nursing homes or churches; it was made as the first part of a complete review of the Ordinance undertaken by the Board.

The Township Committee approved the Planning Board's recommendation that conditional uses were appropriate only on collector county roads and state highways.

Update 300 Madison Ave (Madison, October 2000)

An Appeal of the Madison Zoning Board of Adjustment decision on 300 Madison Avenue has been filed by neighbor Tom Ruegg, of Kitchell Road, Harding Township. Ruegg's property adjoins 300 Madison. The appeal, which will be heard by Judge Stanton on November 10 will consider both the May 2000 decision which approved subdivision of the property as well as the June 1999 decision which gave relief from a 1985 resolution relating to the property. The 1985 resolution memorialized an agreement by the property owners that there be no further development and that the remaining property be preserved as open space. Theoretically, the ruling could reverse both recent actions by the Board.

Bernardsville tree-cutting case postponed (October 2000)

Bernardsville's municipal court case against Alfred C. Eckert, III of Ballantine Road has been postponed until November 20 at the request of attorneys for Eckert and the borough. Eckert has been charged with violation of the borough's tree protection ordinance due to work performed by a contractor last February. Thirty-six trees of four-inch diameter or greater were removed from the 8-acre lot by a landscape contractor as part of a massive garden restoration project.

An additional plan, to remove 27 trees from a Young Road parcel owned by Eckert, was rejected by the Shade Tree Commission last May. Eckert proposed removing the trees in order to make way for a new 900-foot driveway adjacent to a neighbor's property. The rejection was appealed before the Borough Council in June. The council denied the appeal but gave Eckert the option of bringing the driveway plan to the zoning board. If Eckert were to receive approval for the driveway from the zoning board, he could return to the council for a ruling on the tree-removal application. The Board of Adjustment began hearing the driveway proposal in October. Hill argued that the second driveway was necessary to allow an unfettered view of the grand gardens the Eckerts have planned, though some board members questioned what public good the driveway would serve. The hearing was not concluded on October 9, and will be continued on November 13.

Eckert, the chairman of the Florham Park-based GSC Partners, a $3 billion international investment firm, is the first borough resident ever to be cited under the 1992 tree-cutting ordinance which requires a permit to cut down more than 10 percent of trees on a tract. He faces a $1,000 fine and community service. Eckert said he has been advised that a permit was probably not necessary for what he did, and he says it is his right to do what he wants on his own property.

Eckert hired Princeton land-use attorney Henry Hill, and in July filed suit against the borough in state Superior Court, challenging the constitutionality of the borough's tree protection ordinance. That same month, he ran a full page ad in the local newspaper in which he stated: "The right to harvest and plant on one's own property is a basic right in the United States of America, inherent in fact in the ownership of property itself."

In 1993 Eckert and his wife Claire purchased the former Ballantine home, a 1902 Greek-Revival mansion, and 8 acres. Thirty additional acres, the Young Road parcel, were acquired later. Eckert commenced a massive renovation project to return the property to its original turn-of-the-century appearance. The original carriage house on the property, restored by the previous owner, was demolished early in the project. Eckert received a variance in 1999 to construct a 12-bay garage on the original parcel of property. The Eckerts have planted 300 new trees on the tract so far.

Eckert said, "I'm certainly not going to stop this until the town allows me to do what I want to do."

Somerset seeking parkland to north (Bernards Twp., Bernardsville, October 16, 2000)

Consultant John Madden, working for Somerset County's park commission, presented an updated open-space master plan at a meeting held at the Environmental Education Center of Lord Stirling Park on October 16. The broad-brush presentation was one of a series scheduled in the county. Madden has raised the acreage goal of his original 1994 open-space master plan from 10,500 to 20,500.

Madden stated that "there is a lack of county parkland historically in the northern end," which includes the Bernardsville and Bernards Township portions of the Great Swamp Watershed. Madden explained that the county is now trying new approaches, and that parcels are targeted nearby in wetlands along the Passaic River.

Ridge Oak Settlement Plan (Bernards, October 10, 2000)

On October 10, the Bernards Township Committee approved a settlement which would shelve the Ridge Oak assisted living facility project and instead allow more senior citizen housing through a zoning change. If the zoning change is approved, Ridge Oak Inc. will drop its court-approved plan for a 54,620-square-foot, 66-bed facility on a 6.28-acre Lindbergh Lane site, next to the Ridge Oak senior housing complex. Under the settlement, any new structure on the site would be limited to 34,500 square feet, which would make an assisted living facility unfeasible according to Ridge Oak officials. Instead, Ridge Oak would seek to build congregate seniors housing. In exchange for the concession, the 20-acre Ridge Oak complex could expand by 60 units, to 308 and up to 48 of those units could be built on the Lindbergh Lane site. The remaining 12 units would be achieved by replacing existing structures within the complex.

Under the proposed zoning change, the Lindbergh Lane site and the Ridge Oak site would be rezoned from residential use to a new category to be called "senior housing" (SH) use. The Lindbergh Lane site would be rezoned SH-1 which would permit an assisted living facility or congregate residence. Up to eight beds or units per acre would be allowed. As a congregate residence, the building could have communal dining facilities and support services, but
adult day care centers and Alzheimer's assessment clinics would be prohibited.

The existing Ridge Oak complex would be split into an 8.7-acre SH-2 zone and a 10.9-acre SH-3 zone. Both zones would permit an assisted living facility or congregate residence of up to 45,000 square feet, but only if no other Ridge Oak structure exceeds 20,000 square feet. Both zones would also permit an adult day care center. Units could be added only by razing an existing building and replacing it with a bigger one, which "could well be 10 years out," according to Robert Boye, vice president of the Ridge Oak Board of Trustees

The proposed additional seniors housing would give the township extra credits toward its state-mandated affordable housing obligations, and that credit would enable the township to provide affordable housing funds to Ridge Oak.

Homeowners from the Lindbergh Lane neighborhood were noncommittal on the terms of the settlement. Township Attorney John Belardo said if the rezoning proposal is approved, any project proposed for the Lindbergh Lane site would still require a site plan approval from the Planning Board. Site-related issues, including environmental concerns, would be reviewed during that process. A public hearing on the rezoning proposal has been set for Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Homes proposed for former Fellowship Deaconry nursing home site (Bernards, October 2000)

The Bernards Township Planning Board has received an application to subdivide the Deaconry tract into seven lots which would all front a proposed 1,100-foot-long cul-de-sac. The 23.72 acre tract, located on Old Army Rd., is currently zoned R-1 for three-acre residential use. The application was submitted by Menza and Beissel Homes of Bernardsville, which is the contract purchaser for the property. A public hearing is scheduled for 7:30, Thursday, November 16.

In 1996 Spring Hill Manor had contracted to purchase the property and submitted a proposal to build an 83-bed nursing home. Residents opposed the idea contending the narrow, twisting, residential road was not safe for commercial traffic. After eight hearings, the application was denied.

Computer mapping program nears completion in Bernards (October 2000)

After more than six years of work, Bernards Township is on the verge of completing a computerized overlay of maps (Geographic Information System). In 1995, $120,000 was set aside for the GIS. $51,000 was spent on aerial mapping, and in September a $67,000 professional services contract was awarded to DesLauriers Municipal Solutions of Franklin, MA, to produce the GIS format.

The system, which should be completed by March or April, will show everything from sewer lines, steep slopes and wetlands to locations of gas lines and even homes with young children. The GIS will be helpful in emergency situations and will also be a useful planning tool. The information will be for municipal use only, and will be available on only six municipal computers.

Bernards seeks to double its open space tax (October 2000)

Last August, the Bernards Township Committee voted 3-2 to authorize a referendum to increase the municipal open space tax from 2 cents to 4 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation. The referendum will also ask voters this November to extend the life of the tax by 10 years.

The original tax was expected to raise about $7 million over 10 years. It was bonded upfront, and so far the township has spent $1.3 million to help purchase 119 acres owned by AT&T on Mountain Road, and $3.5 million to buy 36.5 acres on King George Road. Both of these purchases are in the southern portion of the township, outside of the Great Swamp Watershed.

Only about $2.2 million remains in the trust fund. The proposed tax increase would raise about $5.2 million over 7 years. The Open Space Advisory Committee has a list of prioritized tracts that would cost in the range of $15 million to $20 million.

The new proposal has raised a debate among the township committee members. Committee members Bill Allen and Diana Boquist voted against the referendum proposal, due to questions about what exactly open space is and an apparent lack of consensus in the community on open space objectives. Boquist does not favor raising open space taxes to acquire land for more athletic fields.

Mayor Gailanne Barth, who voted to authorize the referendum, said recent surveys of residents show the top priority is to acquire more open space. She said additional input will be sought after the election. Barth stated that the Open Space Advisory Committee has developed "a rigorous, disciplined game plan, so we're constantly looking at properties that meet a criteria that everyone agrees to." John Malay, chairman of the advisory committee, stressed that ball fields "are just one part of the equation."

Plans for a New School Go to Bd. of Adjustment (Harding Township, October 2000)

Plans for a new school to be built on Sand Spring Road opposite the Morris Animal Inn have been filed by representatives of the Darcy School for consideration by the Harding Township Board of Adjustment. As "Across the Watershed" went press, what is known is that the plans include removing the existing buildings, subdividing two residential lots off the rear of the property, and dedicating the remainder of the property for the school. Harding Township recently changed its conditional use ordinance to require schools be placed on county roads; Sand Spring Road is a local collector street, not a county road. There is active community opposition.

Residents to Get Referendum To Hike Open-Space funding (Harding Township, October 2000)

This November, Harding residents will have a chance to go to the polls to add further support to Harding's highly successful Open Space Trust Fund (HOST). Harding residents first approved a 2-cents- per- hundred-dollars of valuation in late1996. After developing a set of explicit criteria for open space acquisition in 1997, Harding's Open Space Trust Committee has been actively involved in pursuing several acquisitions with significant impact on maintaining Harding's rural character. Recognizing the increasing potential for development in the area, Harding citizens requested, by popular petition, the opportunity to vote this Fall for additional funding to support an even firmer approach to preserving open space. The referendum, if enacted, would give the Township Committee discretionary power to add up to 3 cents per hundred dollars of valuation to the current 2 cents. As is currently the case, the additional Open Space Trust Funds could only be used for the direct purchase of open space in the Township. To date, HOST has spent or has committed to spend $660,000 to purchase nearly 40 acres with an estimated market value of well over $4 million. The referendum has broad support from various community groups.

Proposed Development Warrants Close Scrutiny (Long Hill Township, October 2000)

The Long Hill Township Planning Board in August was reviewing a project that requires our close attention. The applicant is proposing to merge three parcels, extend a roadway from the Autumn Crest development (aka Einsiedler Estate), and add several houses to an area that contains steep slopes, upland wetlands, and mature woods. This is a parcel that ought to remain undeveloped, but if that proves to be impossible, local residents and Watershed Association members need to monitor the project closely to ensure that the project meets all of the no-net stormwater requirements of Long Hill's ordinance.

Long Hill Sewer Ban Points Up System Stresses

The Long Hill Township Committee voted to impose a voluntary sewer ban effective August 14. They expect this ban to be temporary, perhaps for a year, while attempts are made to resolve the problems with the sewage treatment plant.

The plant has been routinely exceeding its daily flow rating during rain events, leading to the suspicion that stormwater is entering into the system. No fines have been levied for either volume or untreated sewage, but NJDEP officials warn that the excess loadings will stress the system and cause early failure. An engineering firm is studying the situation.

While it is tempting to view a sewer ban as something positive, many residents fear that this attention to the limited capacity might trigger an application for expansion of the plant’s capacity. There is tremendous pressure for commercial development and redevelopment along Long Hill’s Valley Road corridor. The plant’s effluent enters the Passaic River below the Great Swamp watershed, but there are still many properties, private and commercial, within the watershed that lie within the plant’s service area.

Long Hill should certainly not be singled out in this regard, but this is yet another case of the failure to have a master plan in place that holds development within the boundaries of the infrastructure. This issue should be watched closely, because any future expansion would surely trigger the "need" for yet another round of development. It could, as the saying goes, be déjà vu all over again.

Council Moves to Reduce Shade Tree Authority Power (Madison, June 2000)

A move by the Borough Council to substantially reduce the power of the Shade Tree Authority has come under significant public scrutiny. A meeting in June of the Council at which the proposal was discussed was attended by nearly 100 Madison residents, all of whom were surprised and extremely concerned about the Council's proposed actions, as well as the lack of communication between the Mayor's office, the Shade Tree Authority and the public.

'Madison Matters' Update (October, 2000)

A group of concerned citizens from all over Madison has formed an organization called "Madison Matters." The organization came into existence earlier this year "to provide a counterweight to development pressures," according to its mission statement. "We are concerned about the special character of Madison—how it looks and feels – and about the average homeowner whose quality of life is threatened. And although change is inevitable, we believe we must not bequeath to future generations a Madison with significantly fewer open spaces, trees, and historic buildings."

The organization will monitor zoning variance applications, planning board cases and other land-use issues. Although not focused exclusively on the watershed, this group will be beneficial to GSWA in its tracking of Madison's zoning and planning.

To join Madison Matters, or for further information, call either Chris Hepburn at 973.966.0931 or Alice Wade at 973.966.1673.

New Master Plan in Bernardsville (September, 2000)

A new master plan which recommends doubling the minimum lot size in environmentally sensitive areas of the R-1 5-acre zone will be presented on September 28 at the Planning Board meeting. This document, prepared by planning consultant David Zimmerman, would be the first new master plan for Bernardsville since 1978. If the Planning Board approves the new master plan, the Borough Council must adopt the plan to make it law.

The plan recommends increasing the minimum lot size to 10 acres in undeveloped sections of the R-1 zone, mainly northern and western sections of the borough. Some portions of the zone are on steep slopes, drain into trout production waters and are served by narrow roads, according to the planner.

The new plan also recommends eliminating conditional uses such as conference or management centers, religious retreats or private schools from estates of 20 acres or more. Zimmerman wrote, "Several of these conditional uses, if developed as permitted, may have detrimental impacts upon their neighborhood."

Currently Bernardsville has more than 700 acres of open space, including municipal, county, federal and privately held lands. The plan suggests encouraging open space easements and dedications from private holdings. It also urges using the Bernardsville open space tax to obtain easements to create a pedestrian path linking major open space areas.

As of 1998, Bernardsville contained 2,779 housing units and had a full build out potential of 3,322 homes under the current zoning. Zimmerman rates the potential for more residential development in Bernardsville as modest. Most of the potential for development lies on Somerset Hills Country Club property and neighboring land.

As Bernards' Open Space Shrinks, Tax Must Expand (Bernards Twp., August 15, 2000)

On August 15, the Bernards Township Committee voted to authorize a referendum seeking voter approval in November to double the municipal open space tax. If approved, the open space tax would increase from its current level of 2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 4 cents. The current tax was approved in 1997 and is effective for 10 years, through 2007. The new referendum also will ask voters if they want to extend the open space tax by 10 years, through 2017.

Committee members Al LiCata, Gailanne Barth and Bill Holmes favor the referendum. LiCata stated there is a pressing need to buy land to provide enough ball fields for the youth population.

However, the referendum is opposed by Bill Allen and Diana Boquist. Boquist argued that people may not favor a tax increase to provide more ball fields. Allen stated that there is a need for clarity of open space priorities: "I can't say if it's the right amount of money. We need another year to determine ourselves what we need and what the public is willing to support, and then define a referendum that will nail that down."

Curbs Curbed (Bernards Twp., July, 2000)

In July, the Bernards Township Committee voted to cease its policy of surveying neighborhoods and providing curbs where they are wanted. The ruling came in response to a report by Bernards Township Engineer and Planner Peter Messina, who calculated that there are still 45 roads in the township without curbs in areas zoned for one acre or less. He said that if all were curbed as part of the township's 15-year road plan, the cost of the plan would increase by $6.6 million. Committeeman Bill Allen argued that residents in each neighborhood should be consulted and should be given the option to have curbs added. The plan was opposed by committee members William Holmes, Al LiCata and Diana Boquist.

Cutting Trees Results In Legal Thicket (Bernardsville, July, 2000)

In July, Bernardsville resident Alfred Eckert III filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Somerville challenging the borough's tree protection ordinance on constitutional grounds. Bernardsville's tree protection ordinance regulates the cutting of trees outside existing homes. Last February a contractor hired by Eckert didn't obtain a permit for removing at least 36 trees with a diameter of four inches or more. Charges were filed against Eckert by the borough, and in June borough officials denied Eckert a permit to remove 27 more trees to install a driveway. Eckert and his attorney Henry Hill are currently engaged in a war of words with Bernardsville Mayor Hugh Fenwick and television journalist Bill Moyers, who is a neighbor of Eckert.

Oak Knoll Considers Environmental Issues in Athletic Fields Plan ( Chatham Twp., July 17, 2000)

At the meeting of the Chatham Township Planning Board on July 17, the Oak Knoll School showed a new sensitivity to environmental issues in its design of proposed athletic fields off Green Village Road. The school's engineer, Stanley Omland, said that the development of 13.4 acres of open space into athletic fields would "respect" the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

The school is making an effort to reduce storm water run off by designing the irrigation and drainage systems of the fields into an "under drainage system, recharging surface water into the ground." In addition, the parking lot, rather than being an impervious blacktop, would be gravel.

Another example of this respect for the environment is that the school obtained from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) a Letter of Interpretation regarding wetlands for each of the five different parcels to be used for the facility. Olmland said that there is a small area of wetlands in the center of the complex that would be negatively impacted, but that he was "positive we will get the permits" from the DEP to build.

A tree survey presented at the meeting showed five specimen trees—three beeches, one red oak and one tulip.

Southern Boulevard School Water Drainage Plan OK'd (Chatham Twp., July 17, 2000)

On July 17, the Chatham Township Planning Board gave conditional approval to the Board of Education's drainage plan for its new addition at Southern Boulevard School. The roof drainage and groundwater plan is an infiltration-retention design, composed of dry wells and a retention basin. Conditions still to be met were additional borings for soil permeability and a maintenance plan for the retention basin. The retention basin will be built behind a new parking lot, which will replace an existing playground to the right of the school.

Kimmerle Associates seeks variance to build duplexes (Morris Township)

Kimmerle Associates has presented a plan to the Morris Township Board of Adjustment to build four duplexes (eight homes) on a one-acre site adjacent to the Spring Brook Condominiums on Mount Kemble Road. The site, which falls within the Great Swamp watershed, is occupied by a single-family home that Kimmerle claims is deteriorating. In seeking a variance to the zoning, Kimmerle has asked for the Board's approval by reasoning that dense housing on small acreage is happening all over.

Residents of the condominium association and certain Board members are concerned about setting a precedent, whereby landowners on Mt. Kemble might seek variances in the future to develop dense, condominium-like complexes on land zoned for one/two family homes. Space for parking and stormwater runoff are also concerns at the site.

Jockey Hollow Top Six draws concerns of engineer, geologist (Morris Township)

Harvey Caplan's Jockey Hollow Top Six development bid before the Morris Township Planning Board is about to come to a close. Soil destabilization pictures taken by Harding Township engineer Robert Fox unearthed evidence that soil erosion continues on the already developed Top Five section. Concerns of soil erosion on the yet undeveloped Top Six portion of the project are rooted in the fact that the slopes there are steeper than those of Top Five, and therefore less likely to be controllable.

Mr. Fox's review of the engineering study presented by Mr. Caplan's engineer, Robert Kirkpatrick, portrayed the plan as full of holes. Perhaps never before has there been such conflicting testimony between opposing engineers. Areas of conflict included the impact of development on stormwater and soil erosion; downstream effects; the efficacy of current engineering technologies for building on steep slopes; and the volume of stormwater that would leave the site after development and its potential for causing problems.

An earth-shattering historical review of the Ramapo Fault by geologist Ralph Costa of CH2M Hill, a Philadelphia firm with offices in Parsippany, also helped to shake up the possible approval of Caplan's present proposal.

According to Mr. Costa, the land that Top Six would be developed on falls near the Ramapo Fault line. As a result of previous tremors along the fault, the bedrock is fragmented. If disturbed, for example by blasting, the bedrock may exhibit stress failure, leading to seeps, landslides and subsequent soil erosion that are not presently evident.

One person can make a difference: A citizen shapes a board decision (Morris Township)

An example of how one person can make a difference occurred at a meeting in which representatives of the AT&T building off of James Street came before the Planning Board seeking variances for work to be performed on their parking lot, entrance and delivery area.

A citizen at the meeting raised concern about approximately 600 parked cars and the petrochemical pollution that might occur from run-off into a storm drain system that emptied into Great Brook - a feeder stream of Great Swamp. The Planning Board seeing some merit in the questioning, asked the Township engineer to work with the representatives to find a financially feasible solution to retrofitting the storm drains.

The result: Oil separators will be used to help prevent contamination of Great Brook from petrochemical run-off. The message: Get involved, become a swamp watcher in your town AND remember: Just as one picture tells a thousand words, so too can one person make a world of difference!

Sterling Properties Scales Down Townhouse Proposal to Fit Environmental and Building Ordinances (Chatham Twp.)

In July, Sterling Properties submitted another application before the Chatham Township Planning Board to develop thirty acres at the intersection of Shunpike and Green Village roads. This time Sterling proposes building 56 luxury townhouses on this land formerly known as the Tublitz property, a vast reduction from the 122-units it first proposed over three years ago.

The new proposed townhouse complex, called Rose Valle, also adheres more closely to the Township's building codes and environmental ordinances than Sterling's previous plans. Rose Valle would require no height variances, would involve much less construction on steep slopes, and would destroy fewer trees.

Over the past few years, neighbors and the vigilant Township Committee played a major role in scaling down the urbanization of this 30-acre wooded tract.

Deer Park Application Denied (Chatham Township)

On June 15th, the Board of Adjustment of Chatham Township denied the use variances requested by Deer Park, L.L.C, to expand its offices and parking lot at 700 Shunpike Road. The Board found that the intensification of use in a residential zone was not warranted, despite Deer Park's promise to grant a conservation easement and adhere to the township's strict environmental codes when expanding the parking lot.

The medical technology business is located in a residential zone and has been permitted to operate there thanks to a conditional use variance given to former tenant Transworld Radio, a non-profit institution. The Board of Adjustment had ruled in 1990 that the office space on the property should consist of only the current office building, and not the two former residences on the property. In addition, the Board had limited the number of employees that use the parking lot to 65. In its most recent application, Deer Park asked to renovate the residences as office space, and to double the number of employees and parking spaces.

Update 144 Loantaka (Madison)

Scorched Earth: On Monday, May 15, just three weeks after the Planning Board denied an application for sub-division at 144 Loantaka Way, developer Joseph DeMarzo demolished a century old manor house on the property to prepare to construct one new home. Adding insult to injury to the hundreds of Madison residents who opposed the sub-division for both historical and environmental reasons, DeMarzo then removed numerous large trees from the property. Witnesses were dismayed that several trees were removed for no apparent reason, forever transforming the lot from wooded to nearly clear cut.

Update 300 Madison Ave (Madison)

The Madison Zoning Board of Adjustment voted on May 15 to allow subdivision and 15 related variances on the property at 300 Madison Avenue. Despite compelling testimony related to both planning and environmental issues and unanimous opposition by neighbors in attendance, the Madison Environmental Commission, and the Harding Township Engineer, the Board voted to approve the application, apparently agreeing with the applicant's view that development on the land is inevitable. In approving the application, several conditions were imposed on the applicant related to improving groundwater re-charge systems and increasing a conservation easement to include an existing natural depression which currently acts as a re-charge zone. These conditions came as a direct result of testimony presented at prior meetings by engineer and planner John Thonet, who spoke on behalf of opposing neighbors.

Ridge Oak Settlement Talks Held (Bernards Twp., June 15, 2000)

On June 7, the Bernards Township Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to appeal a ruling by the state Superior Court, which had overturned the Board's denial of Ridge Oak's proposed assisted living facility project.

The next day, June 8, members of the Township Committee met with Ridge Oak, Inc. Representatives, apparently in an effort to reach a settlement of the separate, federal suit against the township. This suit, which is also against the Board of Appeals, alleges discrimination against the handicapped, and claimed the township's zoning did not allow assisted living facilities.

However, in July 1999 the Township Committee adopted an ordinance to allow assisted living facilities in an R-6 3-acre zone. The Planning Board then approved plans for Sunrise Development to build an assisted living facility on King George Road [outside of the Great Swamp Watershed].

Residents of the neighborhood in which Ridge Oak proposes to construct their assisted living facility object to the size of the project. They said the facility would be wider than a football field and 27 times as large as the average house in the neighborhood.

Bernardsville Council Introduces New Monster House Ordinance (May 18, 2000)

A new floor area ratio (FAR) ordinance was introduced by the Bernardsville Borough Council. The new ordinance uses a sliding scale within six lot size ranges to determine the allowable floor area ratio for residential properties. Mayor Hugh Fenwick said the new ordinance is "slightly more generous" than the current "monster house" ordinance, which allows a maximum FAR of 5 percent (6,534 sq. ft.) in the 3-acre zone (130,680 sq. ft.). In December 1999, the Community Builders Association filed a lawsuit in connection with the existing law, contending it is too restrictive.

Under the new ordinance, lots of 50,000 to 150,000 sq. ft. have a base FAR of 6,000 sq. ft. plus 4 percent of lot area above 50,000 sq. ft., which would permit a FAR of about 9,227 sq. ft. for a 3-acre lot. The top lot size range of 150,000 sq. ft. and larger would allow for a 10,000 sq. ft. base FAR, plus 3 percent for the portion of the lot in excess of 150,000 sq. ft.

The new law also limits impervious surface to 1.5 times the permitted FAR, plus a driveway allowance of 14 times the existing or proposed front setback.

There will be a public hearing on June 19.

Acreage in Somerset Hills Eyed in County Parks Plan

On Thursday, June 8, the Somerset County Park Commission introduced an updated master plan, which includes more than 1,500 acres of land in the Somerset Hills proposed for open space and recreation. Included in the 1,500 acres are 279 acres adjacent to the Lord Stirling Park in Bernards Township. The master plan suggests that Lord Stirling Park be expanded "to ensure the integrity of the Passaic River watershed of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and to increase the opportunities for public recreation experiences in this area of Somerset County."

High Point Estates Sets High Standard for Development (Long Hill Twp., June 20, 1999)

The Long Hill Township planning board approved a plan to develop eight houses on what is perhaps the finest remaining parcel in Long Hill. The new homes, to be known as High Point Estates, will be built on heavily wooded three-acre lots along the mountain ridge of Long Hill Road, affording spectacular views that stretch some 20 to 30 miles to the north and south. That's the bad news. The good news is that the project is a model of developing with a lighter touch. The applicant, Michael Menza, worked closely with the Watershed Association, re-drawing the plans to meet virtually all of the goals of the Ten Towns model ordinance for stormwater! Steep slopes are being protected under Long Hill's strict ordinance, utilities will be placed under narrow, shared driveways, and with the exception of a 75-foot perimeter around each of the proposed houses, most of the remaining parcel will be protected by a conservation easement. A good community effort!

Another applicant proposed a single-home subdivision on Meyersville Road and was turned down by the planning board. The public raised issues of inadequate stormwater management, an oversized house for the neighborhood, and the fact that this would be a flag lot.

Oak Knoll School Seeks to Change Zoning for Green Village Road Fields (Chatham Twp.)

On April 27, representatives of the Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit asked the Township Committee about the possibility of changing the zoning for its 11-acre property off Green Village Road. Most of the land is zoned residential, with 5 acres zoned PI-2 commercial. Oak Knoll's attorney John W. Cooper of Cooper, Rose and English of Summit, said that recreation fields were a permitted conditional use in the residential zone, but not in the PI-2 zone.

Committeewoman Abigail Fair said that if recreation fields are not permitted in a PI-1 zone, it was an oversight in the recent revisions to the zoning in the master plan. The Township Committee told Oak Knoll that the issue would best be resolved by the Planning Board.

This rezoning discussion marks a turnaround from March, when the school announced it was giving up its plan to build athletic fields on the property and would sell the land. School officials had said then that there were too many building restrictions. The school had discussed with Chatham Township problems with traffic, noise pollution and storm water runoff.

Not only are Oak Knoll's athletic field plans rolling ahead again, it is now reportedly trying to acquire an adjoining residential lot of about 1.5 acres to bring the total sports complex area to 13 acres. The school intends to build a parking lot, and four athletic fields, two for softball, one for field hockey and one for soccer. An all-weather track would surround the soccer field.

Chatham Township Committee Debates Buying Wetlands as Open Space

On April 27, The Chatham Township Committee debated the merits of using the open space tax fund to purchase wetlands. The issue is whether the building restrictions in the NJ Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act would preserve wetlands as permanent open space even while the acreage is held by a private landowner.

Deputy Mayor Susan Hoag raised the issue in relation to prioritizing the properties up for acquisition by the township's open space fund. Mayor L. Thomas Patterson and Committeeman Fred Pocci voiced concern over buying wetlands that are "not developable."

Committeewoman Abigail Fair asserted that owners of wetlands properties do circumvent wetlands protections. She said, "a house is going up in Green Village on exceptional value wetlands, because the owner appealed."

Hoag added that buying wetlands is an efficient use of tax payers money, because they are priced more cheaply than non-wetlands.

Ridge Oak Assisted Living Approved For Bernards Township

On February 15, 2000 Superior Court Judge Robert E. Guterl issued an order reversing Bernards Township's Zoning Board's December 1998 denial of use and parking variances sought by Ridge Oak Assisted Living, Inc.

In December 1998, the Board had found that an assisted living facility is inherently beneficial, but denied Ridge Oak's application, which sought use and parking variances, preliminary and final site plan approval, and minor subdivision approval, by stating that the assisted living facility "does not automatically satisfy the negative criteria that address possible detrimental effects of the particular location of the proposed facility. . . .whether in particular instances the size, location and intensity of the proposed use serve the general public good or substantially impair the zone plan and zoning ordinance are separate issues..."

The Board argued that the size and intensity of the proposal in the Lindbergh Lane neighborhood was overwhelming. Houses in the neighborhood average in size from 1500 to 2000 sq. ft. The Board also pointed out the structure will compare in size to some of the Township's largest commercial buildings, and it will in fact contain other more commercial uses. In addition to the assisted living component, there will be a geriatric assessment clinic, the Visiting Nurse Association, and the Somerset Hills Adult Day Care Center.

In February Judge Guterl remanded the application back to the Zoning Board for adoption of a resolution approving the variances, subject to the imposition of reasonable conditions. He also required the Board to conduct a meeting to discuss proposed conditions with the applicant, but prohibited public comment at the meeting. The required meeting was held on March 16, 2000, with the resulting resolution adopted on April 5.

The approved assisted living facility will be a two-story, 54,620 sq. ft. building with a footprint of about 35,000 sq ft., which together with an additional 36,900 sq. ft. of impervious coverage for parking will equal approximately the size of a football field. The lot is approximately 7.07 acres (308,187 sq. ft.), of which 3.32 acres are largely wetlands. A condition added at the March 16th meeting requires that all wetlands and wetland transition areas will be protected by conservation easements.

Lindbergh Lane currently deadends at the proposed site, and is about 16 feet wide there. At the March 16 meeting it was agreed the street will be widened to 24', with curbing and sidewalk added, along with drainage improvements approved by the Township Engineer.

The published minutes of the March 16th meeting include a statement that the proceedings that evening will have no effect on any possible appeal to the Superior Court. So far no appeal has been filed, however an executive session of the Zoning Board - closed to the public - is set for April 19, and Ridge Oak will be discussed.

Update on 300 Madison Ave (Madison)

The special meeting to continue the application of Samuel Masucci for subdivision and 15 variances on 300 Madison Avenue was to take place on April 6. However, the applicant failed to submit revised site plans before the meeting and the Zoning Board adjourned the hearing until May 15. The applicant had been asked by the Borough Engineer to submit revised site plans to include Topographical details of the site. The Board wants to review the plans as well as provide them to the Environmental Commission for review and comment. 

Update on 144 Loantaka Way (Madison)

On April 4, the Planning Board heard testimony from Planner John Thonet, of Thonet Associates criticizing the proposed sub-division and variance application for 144 Loantaka Way submitted by builder Joseph DeMarzo. Thonet described the threat he saw to the R-1 zone, describing how more non-conforming subdivision applications could follow. Thonet also pointed out that, "Every single large lot in this zone has an historic structure on it", and reminded the Board that an applicant cannot be granted a variance when he/she has created their own "hardship". DeMarzo has claimed a hardship due to the fact that, if sub-divided, the resulting two lots would be too narrow to conform to the requirement for lot width in the R-1 zone. However, the existing lot fully conforms to the R-1 requirements. The lots only become non-conforming when the developer divides to get two from one.

The application has generated substantial public scrutiny of the Board and its proceedings. Over 100 residents have consistently attended meetings and the Mayor received over 350 letters opposing the application. The next meeting will be April 25 at 7:00 pm when the Board is expected to hear closing summations by attorneys representing opposing neighbors and the applicant as well as deliberate and vote on the application.

Madison Board of Adjustment Continues to Hear Testimony regarding 300 Madison Avenue

In March, neighbors of the proposed housing development at 300 Madison Avenue and the Great Swamp Watershed Association joined together at the Madison Board of Adjustment meeting to oppose developer Samuel Masucci's engineering and stormwater management plan.

Environmental engineer John Thonet testified on behalf of the opposition, providing a scathing review of the stormwater management plan and the site plan in general. Thonet cited numerous flaws in Masucci's stormwater management plan, developed by Engineer Richard Schommer, The problems include Schommer's plan to discharge polluted run-off directly into the soil of this prime aquifer recharge site, lack of complete topographical maps which would demonstrate the movement of stormwater in and around the site, and a proposed fill-in of an existing natural drainage depression.

In terms of preserving the town's historical and spacious residential character, Thonet pointed out to the board that it's desire to preserve the mansion by granting 15 variances for non-conforming lots adjacent to it would ultimately backfire because they would be encouraging the owner of the mansion to demolish it in favor of more non-conforming (but profitable) residential lots. Thonet termed the scheme "zoning by variance."

When the matter is continued on April 6, GSWA Attorney Dan Somers is representing the opposition, and will be cross examining the applicant's witnesses, who attempted to refute Thonet's findings.

Background on the development at 300 Madison Avenue:

In 1984, the Zoning Board of Adjustment of Madison approved the renovation of the former Enos Wilder mansion at 300 Madison Avenue into medical/professional offices. As part of the approval there was an agreement by the property owners that there be no further development and that the remaining property be preserved as open space.

Since that time the owner has attempted numerous changes to the property including the creation of a methadone clinic in 1990, a proposal for an 80-unit assisted living facility on approximately 3 undeveloped acres of the property in 1996, and a proposal for 7 single family homes in 1997. Each time neighbors organized successfully against this inappropriate development and the property has remained as it was in 1984.

In June of 1999, however, the Board released the owner from the restriction of "no further development" and opened the door to a developer, who has proposed dividing the property into 6 lots, retaining the office building and re-configured parking on one lot and building 5-single family homes on the remaining 5 lots.

Throughout the application process, the Madison Zoning Board has worked with the applicant to develop a site plan that is agreeable to both, but the result has been the need for 15 variances for the subject property, including numerous variances for lot size and width and a variance for impervious coverage (31% proposed vs. 20% allowable).

Builder Plans to Disturb Slopes, Trout Stream; Great Swamp Group Objects (Bernardsville)

A proposal has been made by Tanchak Holding Co. of Boonton to raze an existing house and shed on an 8.4 acre lot in Bernardsville, near the headwaters of the Passaic River, and construct a new 8,000 sq. ft. single-family home. A stream on the property is classified for trout production.

A variance is being sought because the builder proposes to exceed the maximum percentages of slope disturbances allowed under Bernardsville zoning.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association has submitted a report from John Thonet, a South Orange planner and engineer, which outlines environmental concerns. Thonet calculates that about 2.74 acres of the property would have to be cleared for construction of the house, lawns, 800 foot driveway, pavement and septic disposal fields.

Also objecting are the Bernardsville Environmental Commission and Shade Tree Committee. The Shade Tree Committee report states that the application would have "a significant negative impact" on the environment and would cause destruction of hundreds of hardwood trees. The Environmental Commission stated, "The steep slopes on this property should not be violated by variances."

Oak Knoll School to Sell Land in Chatham

Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit has decided to halt a plan to create athletic fields on a 12- acre site it purchased in 1998 and 1999 along Green Village Road in Chatham Township. The school is now looking to sell 5.2 acres that is zoned for commercial use and 6.2 acres that is zoned for single-family homes.

In June 1999, former Mayor Joseph Reilly had announced that the township was working out a mutually beneficial agreement with Oak Knoll to use the athletic fields when the school was not. The township saw the deal as a way of preserving open space, as well as increasing the number of playing fields available to township residents.

The school's board of trustees decided to abandon the deal, because the township's restrictions hindered the solution to the school's "pressing need for athletic fields." During the fall and winter, the township's Planning Board had asked Oak Knoll to adhere to the no net increase in storm water run off requirements, increased traffic along Green Village Road, and noise pollution. Any "no net increase" storm water management plan would have had to contend with the additional impervious coverage from new tennis courts and the school's plan to remove many mature trees.

Land Inventory Shows Open Space Shrank by One Third (Chatham Township)

One of the main findings in an update of Chatham Township's Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) is that during an approximately 20-year time frame, the amount of vacant land in the township shrank by one third, from 1195 acres in 1978 to 1260 acres in 1997.

Keith Savell, a past chairman of the Environmental Commission, presented the update of a 1974 document at the Township Committee Meeting on March 9.

The local boards and the Township Committee can use the information when considering development applications, creating regulations on storm water management, and writing environmental impact statements.

Deer Park Expansion, Feb 24, 2000 (Chatham Township)

Deer Park, L.L.C., appeared before the Chatham Township Board of Adjustment in December 1999 and Februrary, 2000 to request further use variances at its 15-acre, residentially zoned property at 700 Shunpike Road. Deer Park seeks to expand the parking lot from 65 to 149 spaces, be allowed to increase its number of employees from 65 to 130, and to use two existing residential "cottages," as offices. The cottages are used for storage now.

In 1990, the Board of Adjustment had granted a conditional institutional use variance for 700 Shunpike Road in the residential zone, so that Trans-World Radio, non-profit religious broadcasting service, could sell its international headquarters there.

Soon after, Magla Products bought the property. The zoning board ruled in 1990 that Magla could use the property for offices if it had no more than 65 employees on the premises at any time. It also set normal working hours from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In addition, the Board said that the two former homes on the property could be used only for residential purposes.

In 1998, KMI, a medical research and development company, bought the property. Then recently, Deer Park, L.L.C. bought KMI.

Over the past two years the Board of Adjustment has vetoed requests to expand existing buildings.

The latest revisions of the expansion plans pay more attention to environmental preservation. Deer Park attorney Richard Schuminski said his clients plan to survey all trees of at least six inches in diameter in the area that would be disturbed, and agreed to have a conservation easement. In addition, Deer Park has promised to conform to the township's strict storm water management codes, and soil erosion and sediment plans. In the parking lot expansion, 58 trees would be removed and replaced with 182 new trees.

27 neighbors expressed opposition to the intensification of the commercial use in a petition to the Board of Adjustment in December. In apparent response, Deer Park now plans to keep night glare from the parking lot out of local residents' windows by constructing, a "solid wood" fence inside a border of foliage at both parking lots.

Schuminski pointed out at the February meeting that nine single-family homes could be built on the approximately 15-acre site. The Board discussed which would be worse, more traffic from the expanded business, or the possibly more intense use of the land from nine single-family homes

The Board of Adjustment heard the Deer Park case again on Thursday, March 16th

Township Open Space Tax Officially Hiked (Chatham Twp.)

On February 24, 2000 the Chatham Township Committee officially increased the open space tax from 1 cent to 2 cents per $100 of assessed value. Township voters had approved the increase in a referendum in November.

Deputy Mayor Susan Hoag said at the Township Committee meeting on Thursday, February 24, that the township is interested in buying conservation easements or fully purchasing between 25 and 30 properties. The properties would form links in the public greenway that is planned to run from the northern to southern borders of the township.

Chatham Township Improves Retaining Wall Requirements (Dec 2, 1999)

On December 2, the Chatham Township Committee passed an ordinance that tightens regulations on the construction of retaining walls. The new standards for outdoor walls and fences address public safety and the mitigation of problems with storm water runoff.

The part of the ordinance that relates most closely to the ecology of the watershed determines spacing of tiers in a tiered retaining wall. The "benches," which are the relatively flat areas between the tiered walls, must be properly graded to facilitate drainage.

Morris County Open Space Tax Raised (January 12, 2000)

On January 12, the Morris County Board of Freeholders unanimously approved a resolution raising the tax rate for county's Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund by half a cent. The hike brings the open space tax from 2.5 cents to 3 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Under the new rate, the owner of a $200,000 home in the county would be assessed $60 per year, $5 more than last year.

In 1999, the trust fund raised about $11.8 million and is expected to generate $14.5 million in 2000. The county could fund only 18 out of 32 requests for municipal open space projects last year.

Since its creation in November 1992, the Trust Fund has helped save about 6,000 acres in the county.

Township Agrees to Reserve Sewer Capacity for Reckson (Chatham Twp., December, 1999)

On December 2, 1999, Chatham Township's Mayor Joseph Reilly announced that the township finalized an agreement with Reckson Associates Realty Corp. to reserve sewer capacity for construction of up to 750,000 square feet of office space on Giralda Farms. The agreement replaces sewer reservation agreements drawn up in 1991 and 1994. The new deal shortens the reservation period, requires earlier submission of sewer connection fees, and clarifies donation of the 23-acre tract known as the Loantaka Moraine.

Negotiations between the township and real estate companies over the 133-acre Chatham portion of the office park started more than twenty years ago. The Madison portion of the 370-acre commercial zone already has been built upon or approved for construction. Giralda Farms currently houses several Fortune 100 companies, including Schering-Plough, American Home Products, Maersk International and Atlantic Mutual Insurance.

In the deal, the township will gain money and the deed to a 23-acre wooded tract of land from Reckson. The money would be $1.5 million over 8 years to reserve sewer capacity for Reckson, plus sewer connection fees ranging from $3 and $6 per square foot, a far higher price than cited in the township ordinances. In addition, Reckson would pay $180,000 to reimburse Chatham Township for funds it expended to transfer a part if its affordable housing quota to Newark.

The 23-acre piece of land that Reckson will deed to Chatham is known as the Loantaka Moraine. The township's Environmental Commission and the Planning Board have sought to acquire it since 1981, since it is mostly wetlands and is located between two pieces of county parks land in the Loantaka Brook Reservation. It would provide a key link in the township's greenway plan, a biking/walking path slated to extend from the Loantaka county park at the township's northern border to the Passaic River county park at its southern border.

What the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge stands to get from the deal is, of course, overall not beneficial. The main detrimental effects of building the offices are that the Swamp will drink in 75,000 gallons per day of treated sewer plant effluent that the new buildings will require. The ecology of the Refuge will also be hit with non-point source pollution from the hundreds of additional cars and sport utilities that will travel the roads in the watershed to reach the new office buildings. Non-point sources include air pollution and drippings of oil, anti-freeze and other petrochemicals that wash into storm sewers. Furthermore, the new employees eventually would create pressure to build more housing in the watershed.

Yet the twenty-year delay in building on Chatham's piece of the former Dodge Estate has allowed for growing ecological awareness on the part of the public and some remarkable pro-environment legislation. The primary safeguard for the Swamp is the recently enacted township ordinance requiring "no net increase" in storm water runoff from new development. Also important, the township persuaded Reckson to agree to pay it $1 million for two water-monitoring stations to ensure the relative purity of the water as it leaves the sewage plant and enters a tributary of the Great Swamp. Any leftover funds from the $1million would be put into the township Open Space Trust Fund.

A key stipulation of the contract between Chatham Township and Reckson is that the township must take necessary action to obtain a Discharge Allocation Certificate (DAC) from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for one million gallons per day at its sewer plant. Currently the township has permission to discharge only 775,000 million gallons per day, and is already running at or over that level. The plant at Tanglewood Lane was expanded a few years ago to 1 million gallons per day capacity, but does not have the go-ahead from the DEP to use its expanded capacity. A new office complex would need some of that additional capacity.

Previously, Prudential Realty, the owner of the property prior to May 1997, had taken the position that the township should receive payments to reserve sewer capacity only after the DAC was obtained. Now, Reckson has agreed to start making a series of these capacity reservation payments to Chatham Township immediately, with the first payment of $150,000 already made in December 1999.

If the DEP denies the certificate, the township will have to reimburse Reckson for any funds it paid to the township. Also, the deed to the Loantaka Moraine and the $180,000 reimbursement for the affordable housing allotment would fall through, since they will be given to Chatham only after the first final site plan approval.

FERC Denies Pipeline Construction (December 15, 1999)

In a 3-2 vote, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied the joint application by Transco, Independence Pipeline Company and ANR Pipeline Company to build a 622-mile pipeline from the Chicago area to New Jersey.

Conditions for future approval are that all three companies must have proven customers for the gas that would be pumped through the new lines, and that the companies meet a list of 100 environmental standards.

Of the three partners, only Transco has a 100 percent purchasing commitment from customers for the 700 million cubic feet of gas per day that would be pumped from the Midwest to New Jersey. The Commission stipulated that Independence Pipeline Co. and ANR Pipeline Co. must secure contracts with nonaffiliated companies for 35 percent of their total capacity to get initial approval, and 70 percent of total capacity in order for construction to begin.

The 100 environmental standards set up by FERC are groundbreaking in the U.S. energy business. The environmental safeguards include that each company must post $1 million in bonds to pay for environmental damage, that environmental contractors must monitor the construction, and that an appointed ombudsman must communicate with citizens affected by the digging and ongoing presence of the pipeline.

In New Jersey, the MarketLink pipeline is slated to affect 555 property owners, travel through 174 acres of wetlands and 34 parks. It would also be dug in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. [For the full story on the pipeline, click here.]

Lots for Two Old Houses Too Small for Two New Houses (Chatham Township, November 15, 1999)

At the Chatham Township Planning Board meeting on November 15, a proposal was presented to knock down two homes on two adjacent lots on Longwood Avenue and build two new houses. The problem is that the two lots total less than one acre, which means that the two new houses would each violate the half-acre zoning requirement of the recently-developed master plan. Furthermore, the width along the road of each new lot would be too small for the zoning. Currently, one of the two existing lots is larger than half an acre and the other is one third of an acre

A member of the audience at the Planning Board meeting pointed out that allowing rebuilding on undersized lots will start a precedent for violating the housing densities designated in the recently revamped master plan. The master plan deliberately increased mandatory lot sizes in many areas to keep population density and building density at an environmentally healthy minimum. Allowing undersized lots would increasingly urbanize Chatham, bringing more urban problems such as traffic congestion and increased stormwater runnoff into neighbors yards and ultimately into the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge.

Chatham Couple Donates 4.6 Acres as Public Open Space (November 11, 1999)

Lien Tran and her husband Nils Klarlund donated 4.6 acres of their property at 504 River Road to Chatham Township for use as public open space.

The land will provide one more link in the planned Heritage Greenway, a hiking/biking path that is to run from the Passaic River and then north, skirting Southern Boulevard, and connecting to the County-owned Loantaka bike path.

The couple said they were approached by a developer, and decided instead to preserve the land as open space in perpetuity. The Township Committee and the Open Space Committee recommended they consult James Wise of Morristown, an attorney who has experience in saving land from development.

The township will pay for some expenses, such as the title search and preparing paperwork required by the Planning Board.

Klarlund and Tran will keep one acre for their home. They will also be keeping the $1,000 in taxes that the donated land had been assessed each year.

Two Chatham Township Properties to be Saved as Open Space with County Funds (November 10, 1999)

The Morris County Open Space Trust Fund has recommended that two properties in Chatham Township receive County funds to help save them as public open space. One property is a 10.9-acre tract on the south side of the Passaic River, and the other is a 10-acre property adjacent to the Green Village Post Office. Both would provide needed links in the community Heritage Greenway hiking/biking path that is slated to run from the county-owned Loantaka Brook Reservation south through Chatham to the Passaic River.

Chatham Township applied to the county to help purchase the Passiac River property. It will receive $81,000 from the County, with the rest of the $250,000 purchase price coming from the Township's Green Acres grant and its open space tax fund.

County funds to help buy the Green Village acreage will go to the Morris Land Conservancy, which applied for the funds in order to buy the property and hold it until the county park commission can acquire it to extend the Loantaka Brook Reservation. The Morris Land Conservancy will receive $100,000 from the Morris County Trust Fund. The Chatham Township Committee has committed $50,000 of the total $180,000 purchase price of the Green Village tract. The rest of the money will come from the township's Green Acres Grant and open space tax fund.

The Morris Land Conservancy is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to save open space. It often buys property at opportune moments and holds it for an interim period, until a government acquisition process can be completed.

Among those applications that the Trust Fund denied was the township's request to help save the 23.3-acre Fenske-Fornaro tract on Southern Boulevard, adjacent to the Nash Field extension property. It would also provide a link in the planned Heritage Greenway hiking/biking path. The Fornaro property is easily identified by the plant and produce stand currently operated there. The total purchase price of the Fenske and Fornaro properties is $950,000, more than double the price of the other two approved properties combined.

The Trust Fund judged 32 requests for funding to preserve 1,852 acres. There was only 6 million available to purchase $13.7 million worth of land. The County Board of Chosen Freeholders usually acts on the Trust Fund's recommendations without deliberating.

Chatham Votes to Raise the Open Space Tax (November 2, 1999)

On November 2, voters in Chatham Township approved a referendum to increase the open space tax from one cent to two cents per $100 of assessed value.

The tax increase will contribute an additional $125,000 per year to the Open Space Trust Fund, once the Township Committee passes the increase into law next year.

Last July, Committeewoman Susan Hoag estimated the open space tax had raised $372,000 since its inception two and a half years ago. The money is to be used to buy land or conservation easements. Usually the township applies for matching grants from the county or state to help make a purchase.

The vote on November 2 was fairly close, with 753 saying yes to the referendum, and 536 saying no. Only 19 percent of voters turned out for the election, with 1,356 of 6,990 registered voters going to the polls.

Sterling Trying Again for Townhouses (Chatham Twp., November 1, 1999)

According to Chatham Townshp Planning Board Chairman Richard Bradley, Sterling Properties is expected to present to the Chatham Township Planning Board a revised proposal to construct townhouses on the thirty-acre Tublitz property at the intersection of Shunpike and Green Village roads. Bradley made this annoucnement at the Board's meeting on Monday, Nov 1.

Sterling is said to be proposing 53 townhouses, a vast reduction from the 145-units it first proposed three years ago.

In 1997, Sterling received a use variance from the Board of Adjustment for up to 122 units. In conjunction with the site plan application, Sterling needed a very large number of variances, which the Board voted to approve.

The project was stopped, however, after a group of township residents appealed the Board's decision to the Township Committee. The citizens asserted that Sterling hadn't justified the inordinate number of D-class bulk variances needed. Bulk variances, which pertain to the measurements of a structure, become classified as use or D variances when their magnitude exceeds municipal building codes by a certain percentage.

The Township Committee upheld the appeal, thereby denying Sterling's application for D-variances. Sterling then appealed the denial in Superior Court in Morristown. The judge remanded the application back to the Board of Adjustment.

Sterling returned to the Board of Adjustment with a reduction in the number of units to 96, but with larger units so the impact to the site remained almost the same as it was for the 122-unit proposal. The Board of Adjustment and Sterling proceeded to discuss problems with the number of height variances required, construction on steep slopes, storm-water runoff, road widths, and traffic congestion.

Then unexpectedly, on May 29, 1999, Sterling Attorney Barry Osmun asked the Board of Adjustment for preliminary and final site approval before the controversies had been resolved. The Board of Adjustment was forced to vote to deny Sterling's application for the 96-unit complex.

Mansion and Mature Trees On the Brink (Madison, November 18, 1999)

On November 3, the Madison Planning Board considered the intitial application from Joseph DeMarzo to subdivide the lot at 144 Loantaka Way. The builder plans to make the current 50,000 sq ft R-1 lot into 2 R-1 lots, both of which would be 30' short of the minimum lot width requirement. The existing house is a 100+ year old mansion with some (limited) historic attributes. It would have to be torn down and DeMarzo would build 2 houses in its place, in the process bringing down numerous mature trees.

At the meeting, neighbors testified against the application. DeMarzo presented as evidence of "precedent" for such variances his own success at receiving such variances in the past. The Board will further consider granting a variance on Dec. 7

Halve the Lot, Double the Profit (Madison, November 2, 1999)

The Madison Planning Board will hear an application by developer Joseph DeMarzo to subdivide and receive variance approval for 144 Loantaka Way. DeMarzo seeks to divide the property into two new building lots by demolishing the existing structures (including an 1895-era brick mansion with purple puddingstone foundation) and erecting two new single-family homes.

Variances sought include minimum lot width and minimum area requirements. Although the proposed building plans do not appear to exceed impervious coverage limitations (20%), subdividing would likely destroy many large, mature trees which currently aid in absorption of stormwater run-off and provide a visual barrier to the Giralda Farms office complex and it's new Gale and Wentwoth development. Neighbors of the property are organizing to oppose the application.

Bernards Neighbors Say No to Costly Curbs in Survey (Bernards Twp., October 28, 1999)

Residents of three streets off North Finley are not interested in having Bernards Township add curbs to their streets, according to a survey authorized by the Township Committee. Forty homeowners were surveyed; 18 of the 22 responding to the survey did not want the curbs, while 4 did want them.

Township Engineer and Planner Peter Messina noted that adding the curbs would have required the roads to be widened from about 18 feet to 24 feet. Messina said that drainage problems on those streets would be addressed during resurfacing next year by adding catch basins and fixing drains.

Three residents in favor of curbing complained that the survey was unfair, saying that questions about widening the road, removing trees and bushes and the possibility of a $5,000 assessment were intimidating. One of the three pointed out that another Township road had been recently curbed without the residents being surveyed.

Bernardsville Enacts 'Monster House' Limits" (Bernardsville, October 21, 1999)

On October 18, 1999, the Bernardsville Borough Council adopted a so-called "monster house" ordinance which limits the square footage of houses built in 3 and 5 acres zones. The Council was urged by members of the Environmental Commission and Open Space Committee to enact the ordinance.

In a 3 acre zone, the maximum house size, including garage, would be 6,600 square feet; in a 5 acre zone, the maximum size would be 8,800 square feet. Existing houses are grandfathered, except if an application were made to build an addition or new garage.

Two Council members, Marie Flynn and James Williams, opposed the ordinance. Council supporters intend to push for a companion ordinance which would limit the amount of impervious surface on residential properties.

Assisted Living Hearing Continues (Bernardsville, October 14, 1999)

A plan for a 65-bed assisted living facility is being presented before the Bernardsville Board of Adjustment. Although the site, on Mill Street in the center of Bernardsville, is just outside the Great Swamp Watershed, it is interesting to note that this is the sixth assisted living or continuing care facility to be proposed within a 5 mile radius of the center of Basking Ridge.

The applicant is Old Mill Manor, Inc. The proposal requires seven variances. The 1.5 acre site is currently used for overflow parking at the Bernardsville Stone Tavern restaurant. No decision has been reached on the variance requests.

Town Still 'Fiddling' With Tree Protection (Bernards Twp., October 7, 1999)

The draft tree ordinance was withdrawn from formal presentation on September 28 after disagreements among the Bernards Township Committee members. Committee members could not agree on the role of a proposed tree protection committee. Committeeman Bill Allen favored a tree protection committee with advisory powers only, meaning such a committee could only "slow down," not prevent, someone cutting down a tree. Mayor Diana Boquist said it made no sense to have an advisory committee which could not enforce the ordinance. Committeewoman Gailanne Barth agreed with Mayor Boquist. Since two other committee members were absent, the Committee declined to vote on the introduction.

In a related item, the Bernards Twp. Environmental Commission, one of the original sponsors of a revised tree protection law, voted at its October meeting to remove any further discussion of the issue from its on-going agenda, citing lack of progress and lack of a consensus on the part of the town to enact any ordinance. One member was quoted as saying "We have spent over a year and a half working on this without result. It is time to move on. When the Commission first raised the issue, in response to a 10 Towns sample ordinance, there were many areas of the township in the early stages of sub-division applications -- including a large portion of The Hills. While this ordinance has gone through endless revisions, the applications have all been approved and The Hills is now being finished. Those trees are gone forever."

Great Swamp Wilderness Trail Reopens after a Dozen Years (Harding Twp., October 15, 1999)

On October 14, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Great Swamp to officially reopen a trail at the cleaned-up Dietzman tract Superfund site. What once had been a five-acre dump full of asbestos, lead, junked cars, and chemical drums, is now a grass-covered meadow that is safe to walk on.

The land, in the northwest corner of the refuge, east of Long Hill Road, was declared a Superfund site in 1983. It took 12 years and $9.9 million to clean up. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversaw the removal of 29,000 square feet of lead-contaminated soil and 340 cubic yards of asbestos. In addition, a school bus, a bulldozer, six cars and 250 drums were taken out of the former farm. Workers then capped the remainder of the asbestos, which does not leach into the water table, with a special synthetic fabric and at least two feet of dirt.

The land will be mowed periodically so that trees do not grow and penetrate back down to the asbestos. The cap also prevents animals from burrowing down and releasing the asbestos, which is carcinogenic when airborne.

More Curbs on Roads Could Mean Higher Property Taxes in Bernards (September 30th, 1999)

Township Engineer Peter Messina has reported to the Bernards Township Committee that it would cost about $7.4 million over about 15 years to add curbs to every township road in areas zoned for one acre or less. There are 62 roads in those areas which currently do not have curbing. The township's 15-year road improvement plan would increase to $32 million, and would increase the municipal tax rate by 2 to 3 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Messina pointed out that adding curbs can be costly because it often requires a road to be excavated, reconstructed and widened to at least 24 feet.

Assistant Engineer Pat Monico indicated that some drainage problems can be solved by just adding storm drains.

Committeeman Bill Allen asserted that curbing can result in savings from reduced maintenance and wear and tear and requested those savings to be calculated.

Mayor Diana Boquist urged that residents of roads scheduled to be resurfaced in 2000 be surveyed to determine their views on curbing. Committee member Kevin Krause said, "If we do everything, we may be looking at cost-sharing down the line." And Committee member Gailanne Barth added that it is a safety priority to add sidewalks into any decision about curbing.

Loock Property Deal Achieved (Bernards Twp., September 23, 1999)

Bernards Township has received permission from the state Department of Environmental Protection to build a baseball diamond and one to two soccer fields on the six-acre Loock property, located on South Maple Avenue. Bernards Township purchased the property for $875,000 in 1989 with the intention of building four baseball fields, and a small facility for restrooms and storage, and expanding an existing soccer field.

In 1995 the DEP found that only about one of the six acres was free of wetlands. Bernards Township appealed the decision and conducted its own soil tests, which indicated much of the property was dry. Then the DEP required clay studies, and after clay was found underlying the soil, refused to change its denial.

However, this summer a compromise was achieved between the Township and the DEP. Some of the property will be permitted to return to its natural state, while the Township will proceed to build a Little League baseball field and either a full-size soccer field or two smaller soccer fields.

Gas Pipeline Narrowed Thanks to Environmentalists (August 19, 1999 )

As a result of concern by environmentalists, including members of the Great Swamp Watershed Association, Transco (Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp.) announced it will narrow the proposed natural gas pipeline's diameter from 42 to 36 inches in the 4.9 mile segment that goes through the Great Swamp.

The segment through the Swamp is from milepost 1807.58 to 1812.4, starting in Gillette by the Gladstone Branch railroad and ending in Chatham Township on Southern Boulevard.

One of the projects' senior engineers,' David LaGroue, said the moves came after discussions with local, state and federal agencies.

Opposition to the pipeline is being spearheaded by STOP, a coalition of representatives from the 28 municipalities affected by the pipeline construction. Chatham Mayor Joe Reilly is the Chairman of STOP and Walter Sadowski, Long Hill Township deputy mayor, is the public relations chairman. (See more on the TRANSCO issue here.)

Kessler Keeps Head Above Water (Chatham Twp, July 22, 1999)

On Monday, July 19, the Chatham Township Planning Board granted final site plan approval to Kessler Corporation for an assisted living facility on 6.7 acres on Southern Boulevard.

The two-story complex of 95 apartments is the first project the township has approved under its new, more stringent storm water management regulations. Township Engineer Michael Bennett praised Kessler for putting in all the changes the Planning Board requested.

Just before the final site plan approval, Kessler agreed to change a proposed easement for a pedestrian walkway into a bike path easement. The bike path easement will presumably make way for the new Heritage Greenway bike and walking path being designed by the township's Open Space Committee.

Town and Non-Profit Join to Seek Open Space (Chatham Twp, July 22, 1999)

The Chatham Township Open Space Committee and the Morris Land Conservancy, a non-profit organization, are aiming to acquire three pieces of land in Chatham Township to save as open space.

Both groups are applying to the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund for partial funding of their purchases. Applications to the county trust fund are due on July 31.

The township is seeking to buy two tracts that would fit in as links in the planned Heritage Greenway, a walking /biking path to go from the Passaic River to Nash Field, and then on to meet the existing path in the county-owned Loantaka Reservation. One targeted purchase is a 23.3-acre area on Southern Boulevard adjacent to the Nash Field extension property purchased last year by the township for use as open space. The tract that is currently up for acquisition is the combination of 16 acres owned by Helen and Arthur Fenske, and the adjacent 7 acres owned by Anna and Andrew Fornaro. The other parcel targeted by the committee is 10.9 acres on the south side of the Passaic River.

The township is requesting from the county trust fund 30 percent of the $950,000 purchase price of the Southern Boulevard tract and 30 percent of the $250,000 price for the Passaic River tract. Other expected sources of funding are a state-approved Green Acres grant and the municipal open space fund.

The Morris Land Conservancy is seeking to buy a 10-acre property adjacent to the Green Village Post Office and to the existing bike trail that goes through the Loantaka Reservation. The Township Committee agreed to fund $50,000 of the total $180,000 purchase price, with the remainder intended to come from the county fund.

Chatham to Ask Public to Raise Open Space Tax

The Chatham Township Committee agreed on July 22 to place a referendum on the November ballot asking whether to raise the open space tax by one penny per $100 of the assessed value on a property.

If the voters approve, the township will be able to collect an additional $125,000 to help purchase and preserve open space. The proposed tax increase would double the current open space tax, which was approved in 1996 at one cent per $100 of assessed value. One cent per $100 means a $100,000 would be assessed $10. A $400,000 house would be assessed $40.

A two cents per $100 assessment for open space would put Chatham more in line with other Morris County municipalities. 10 municipalities in the county have a two cents rate, while 4 others besides Chatham have a one cent rate. Montville has as a much larger five cents rate and East Hanover has a mere half cent rate.

Mayor Joseph Reilly said that "At this time the township has the potential to spend $4 million to $5million" for open space. In addition to the Fenske/Fornaro property and the Passaic River property, Reilly said there are two other properties that the township has applied for grant money to purchase. They could become available at an estimated $2 million for one and $2.5 million to $4 million for the other.

Parts of Frelinghuysen Tract to Remain Undeveloped (Harding Twp.)

Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen has left a legacy to the future of Harding Township by conveying almost one third of the 300 acres the former Congressman has owned on both sides of James Street in Harding.

The Harding Land Trust has taken title to 56.5 acres along James Street to be permanently protected open space. The Land Trust also acquired title to 35 acres of wetlands in the form of a conservation easment. The Land Trust purchased the properties using a combination of funds, including $500,000 in state Green Acres funds, $400,000 from the Morris County Farmland Preservation Fund, and $200,000 raised by the Land Trust.

The Township of Harding also purchased 3.29 acres through it's Open Space Trust Fund.

Frelinghuysen also donated 14 acres on the western side of James Street to the Land Trust.

Tree Cutting Ordinance Runs Into More Problems (Bernard Twp., July 1, 1999)

Bernards Township Engineer and Planner Peter Messina has been asked by Township Committee members to prepare a "flow chart" to explain how many trees residents would be permitted to cut down under the proposed tree protection ordinance. Messina said he could have a chart ready for review by the end of July.

State Matching Funds WIll Light the Way To Open Space (Chatham Twp.)

Chatham Township will receive a $2 million grant from the state for open space funding. Township Committeewoman Susan Hoag said the money will be matched by the township 50-50 in purchasing land within its borders for conservation or recreation purposes.

The grant was a direct response to the township's open space plan sent to Trenton last year.

Madison Zoning Board Re-Writes History, Adds Unhappy Ending (June 21, 1999)

On June 21, The Madison Zoning Board voted to nullify a resolution it made in 1985 to protect open space on the 5.68 acre property at 300 Madison Avenue. Fourteen years ago, the land and the historical stone mansion on it were sold to its current owners for use as a medical/professional office building. The Board approved the commercial use in a residential zone with the condition that the character and size of both the building and the property around it remain in tact. By removing the condition, the Board is paving the way for an application by developer Samuel Masucci to buy approximately three acres of the former mansion's "backyard" to build five single-family homes.

The Board's permission to destroy the open space around the current building flies in the face of the pro-environmental efforts of its members 14 years ago. The Board's own words during the 1985 sale of the building to the current owners, 300 Madison Avenue Associates, were that there would be "no further expansion of the exterior of the existing building and that the premises remain the size that it is now with the existing building as it is now situated."

The Board also had specified the new use be contingent on the property retaining the historical integrity of the building itself, preserving numerous large trees and vegetation, and continuing to contribute to the town's open space. Now, the commercial use will not change, but the contingencies have been removed.

In a further environmental setback, the new development will raise impervious coverage to over 30 percent on the approximately three acres of the property that will be left for the office building. This loss of water absorption will occur when the existing parking lots which serve the office building are moved onto the Kitchell Road side of the property, and several large, mature trees are pulled out.

During the meetings to consider Masucci's application, the Zoning Board heard testimony from the current owners as to their financial woes and that the property was likely to go into foreclosure. They also discussed that the property might become subject to a law which allows construction of assisted living facilities in ANY zone, if the property is 6 acres or larger, or that the office building might be demolished by a foreclosing bank. Currently the land is zoned R-1, for single-family houses.

The Dogs Get a Pool, the Swamp gets the Runoff (Harding Twp.)

The Morris Animal Inn, AKA the Poodle Palace or the Doggie Hilton, on Sand Springs Road in Harding Township is pursuing an application for a major expansion that would include an indoor pool for canine recreation. (No lie) The facility would be doubled in size to about 16,000 sq.ft. The stated need for the expansion (besides for the pool) is that people are keeping larger dogs, and larger pens are needed. The application also calls for pens that are more like the dog's home environment, so that the stress to the dogs from their being boarded and not taken to the shore, to the mountains, or wherever, is minimized.

But what about the stress to the neighbors who will be exposed to higher levels of traffic?

What about the Great Swamp which will be exposed to greater runoff from the site?

Actually, the proposed project raises a lot of environmental issues including traffic, runoff, stream encroachment, wetlands impacts, wetland impact mitigation, storm water retention, and other issues. The proposal also raised issues of consistency with the Harding Master Plan, and potential impacts to downstream property in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

The issues take on greater significance since the application for the original construction at this site was approved in the early 1980s over the objections of the Environmental Commission, and only after the original proposal was greatly scaled back in scope. Now, after the facility has been in operation for 13 years, the applicant returns to once again ask for approval for a larger facility. If it was too big then, why is it not too big now?

There are clearly issues to be addressed before approval can be recommended. Be sure to attend the next Board of Adjustment meeting to hear the applicant's experts discuss these (and more) issues, and to comment on the application. The next scheduled meeting should occur on August 19, 1999.

Jockey Hollow Top Six Is Still A Cliff Hanger (Morris Twp., June 10, 1999)

A proposed development in Morris Township named Jockey Hollow Top Six may be hindered due to the recommendation by the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection not to sewer the area for environmental reasons. Builder Harvey Caplan plans to construct 24 single-family homes off of Route 202 on extremely sloped land, causing concern about excessive storm-water runoff into the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

If the DEP refuses Caplan's request for sewers, Jockey Hollow Top Six may not be totally scuttled. There remains the possibility that individual septic systems could be installed for the homes. Yet seepage from septic systems could still harm the Refuge, a fact that would present another obstacle to the development.

The debate over paving roads and erecting buildings on this 58-acre piece of land comes from the growing awareness of the detrimental environmental impact placed on the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge by development in towns surrounding the Great Swamp. Of greatest concern are issues that involve steep slopes, soil erosion, and water run-off.

Recently, many of the ten towns within the Great Swamp Watershed have put in place ordinances that limit development in environmentally sensitive areas. Morris Township has such ordinances, including one that would severely curtail development on steep slopes. Caplan, who is now before the Township Planning Board, is asking for a waiver to the steep slope building ordinance for Jockey Hollow Top Six.

Julia Somers, executive director of the Great Swamp Watershed Association, said that to "grant such a waiver would be a mockery to the ordinance." She noted that the integrity of the steep slope ordinance is especially important since Morris Township's steep slope zoning ordinance has been held up as a model for other towns to imitate.

In recent years, Morris Township participated, along with the nine other towns in a Watershed, in the Ten Towns Committee to establish home rule on building ordinances that impact the environment of the Great Swamp. The municipalities did not want to be saddled with statewide building codes set forth in legislative bill proposed by Robert Martin and Richard Bagger.

Indeed a waiver by the Morris