A Short Hills-based developer wants to cut down thousands of trees in a vast forest in West Orange to build a 496-unit apartment complex. West Essex Highlands, Inc. needs two things from the Department of Environmental Protection to proceed — a wetlands permit and a flood hazard permit.
However, the developer withdrew one of those applications before the November deadline, leaving the future of this project up in the air. A local advocacy group that has contested this residential project for nearly three decades is calling this a victory in their larger fight to preserve the forest as open space.
“I learned the developer has withdrawn the flood-hazard permit,” said WeCare’s Jennifer Sharret, a resident of Howell Drive. “We view this as a positive step in preventing this project from being built.”
Sharret believes these findings do more than buy her group time to save more than 6,000 trees from destruction and prevent the potential destabilization of a mountainside — it could indicate a lack of confidence from the developer that the DEP will grant the permit, Sharret said.
“No developer wants a denial,” she said.
The headwaters of the Canoe Brook, which supplies homes in Essex Fells and Roseland with drinking water, passes through this forest. This network of wetlands has long frustrated homeowners who deal with frequent flooding. Fearing even worse floods and the degradation of the water quality, WeCare hired an environmental consulting firm Princeton Hydro that determined the “applicant has failed to demonstrate compliance with the requirements” of state laws regarding stormwater management.
WeCare has had victories in the past. In 2005, their opposition to the development resulted in the local Planning Board’s denial of the application. The original plan involved building 136 homes. The current one involves three times more homes, causing far greater strain on local infrastructure, they argue.
When the Four Oranges last spoke to Sharret, the goal of their advocacy was to minimize development — now residents from four towns are banding together to preserve the entire tract of land.
“When this all started in April, we were just speaking as two neighbors on Howell Drive that wanted to protect the steep slope above us — we’re much more organized,” said WeCare’s Rachel Klein, Sharret’s neighbor. “Since then, we have been working with residents from Verona, Essex Fells, and Roseland, who all have their own reasons for not wanting the development.”
The organization has seen its membership grow into a four-town coalition, concerned with flooding, traffic, property values, water quality, loss of trees, and flooding.
“So we made the decision that we have to fight the whole thing,” Klein said. “We won’t accept anything — we can’t settle for even one house. And we were all in agreement.”
This shift in priorities serves as a challenge to the statements made by local elected officials, who have assured residents that this development was inevitable. This development is part of what is called a builder’s remedy lawsuit, in which developer’s can sue a municipality if it can relieve its affordable housing obligation. West Orange has a deficit of more than 500 affordable units.
Since that settlement was reached, town officials have been telling residents that the plan to build in the West Essex Highlands, though controversial, was a mandate from the courts. Councilwoman Michelle Casalino repeated this line at the December town council, when she said she wanted to have a meeting about the settlement. “A lot of residents are upset about that situation,” Casalino said. “It’s a done deal.”
“We’re here to tell you that this is not a done deal,” Sharret said. “We’re hoping this mini victory makes people realize that and then opens their eyes to alternatives — we’re refocusing our efforts on how to get this property dedicated as open space.”
STORIES IN THIS SERIES
