Essex Fells was designed by Charles Leavitt, who — instead of taming the hills and streams — designed the homes and roads around them, giving it the appearance of an English hamlet in the rolling countryside.
The town’s faraway feel owes much to its view of the woods on the western slope of the Watchung Mountains that hides the sprawl beyond its borders. Now, that forest is in danger of development and homeowners fear the impact it could have on their homes.
The so-called West Essex Highlands is a proposal to build a 496-unit apartment complex that will hack down thousands of trees and build as close as legally possible to the wetlands within the woods. In March, letters were mailed to residents living within 200 feet of the project informing them that the developer was in the process of applying to the Department of Environmental Protection for constructions permits.
“This development is such a slap in the face,” said Frank Gerard Godlewski, an architect and member of the Essex Fells history committee. “They’re going to ruin the real estate market in Essex Fells by building this.”
Godlewski was one of the concerned residents to gather at the Essex Fells Country Club in June. The meeting, organized by neighborhood group WeCare, was notable for its turnout — more than 200 attendees — that included residents from both towns that border the forest.
“One thing I’ve learned fighting this fight for upwards of 25 years now is that people power is the thing,” said Tractenberg, a West Orange resident who founded WeCare in 2005. “And that’s what it’s going to take this time around.”
Tractenberg, a retired law professor, has been fighting the West Essex Highlands for two decades. His last effort to thwart the project ended in victory, when the West Orange Planning Board denied the application in 2005, the Four Oranges reported.
“This is not some treehugger’s fantasy — we had a lot of momentum to preserve this as open space,” said Tractenberg, noting that some of the leading environmental watchdogs supported preserving the forest, including the Trust for Public Land, Sierra Club, and the Nature Conservancy.
The major difference in this legal go-around is the developer is using a loophole — West Orange’s affordable housing obligation. In New Jersey, affordable housing mandates are handled by the court system. It allows developers to sue a municipality — in what is called a builder’s remedy lawsuit — if it can alleviate an affordable housing deficit. According to the Council on Affordable Housing, West Orange has a deficit of 954 affordable units.
However, what is built within West Orange’s borders also impacts residents in towns next door. The loss of 6,300 trees could worsen flooding in a township that has two waterways — the Canoe Brook and Pine Brooks — that crest during heavy rains. The developer also intends to displace deer by building fences around the existing forest, concerning residents about where they will go.
Joe Pannullo, an Essex Fells residents, told the Four Oranges that his township has had a longstanding problem with clean drinking water — sourced from the Canoe Brook, which passes through the forest — that he fears the construction project will exacerbate.
This year, Panullo, along with local realtor John Haydu and West Orange resident Jennifer Sharret, revived WeCare, which is dedicated to preserving the land as open space. The nonprofit status will allow its members to fundraise to hire experts, such as traffic engineers and environmentalists.
“We’re not all from the same town, but we’re all affected by what’s happening here,” said Sharret, a lawyer who lives on Howell Drive. “We’re trying to present a roof under which we can all cooperate. We might not agree on the margins of some things.”
This was not the first community meeting about this development. The last one, organized by West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney, took place at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in April, the Four Oranges reported. There, frustrations boiled over.
Wayne DeFeo, the township’s environmental compliance officer, argued that the current proposal has a small footprint, using only a quarter of the forest, which the developer has “every legal right” to build on. The deer fences have the additional benefit of regenerating what he believes is an “unhealthy” forest, destroyed by grazing wildlife and partying teenagers.
While many questions remain unanswered, WeCare is providing one thing that has been in short supply of late — hope. “This is not a hopeless cause,” Pannullo said. “Is it possible to change it? I don’t know the answer. Is it reasonable to do nothing and just let it happen? I don’t know how to do that.”
