Residents of West Orange, New Jersey and other surrounding towns who have been fighting a wealthy developer are now in a battle over competing environmental reviews. The real estate company Garden Homes, run by the billionaire Wilf family, has long wanted to build housing on a 120-acre, heavily forested section of the Watchung Mountains. It’s one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in the area and the company’s latest proposal is a 496-unit multibuilding apartment complex there.
Environmental Concerns and Stormwater Management
Hundreds of residents living below the property have for months sounded the alarm that the construction plan would worsen an already troubling flooding problem in the densely populated area. A group of locals said the company’s plan for managing rainwater during storms, which the state’s Department of Environmental Protection approved late last year, contains “serious errors” and used an outdated formula to calculate the peak amount of water that could rush down the mountain during heavy rains. The group asked state officials to suspend Garden Homes’ stormwater permit last week.
The Fight Against Development
Residents who oppose the plan cited a 39-page report by Princeton Hydro, an environmental consulting firm whose engineers reviewed Garden Homes’ stormwater plan. According to the firm’s analysis, paid for by the grassroots organization We Care NJ — which has opposed to the development — parts of the developer’s plan don’t satisfy the state’s minimum requirement for managing runoff. Garden Homes lost a bid to build more than 100 single-family homes on the plot of land nearly 20 years ago. Plans for development were revived when the company pledged to add 100 units affordably priced for low- and medium-income people, which will help West Orange meet state requirements for building affordable housing.
Environmental Impact and Future Development
Garden Homes’ 496-page stormwater plan details a system of catch basins and pipelines designed to capture stormwater and carry it away from the mountaintop development, discharging it in streams and the sewer system further below. Princeton Hydro’s engineers pointed to a potential flaw in Garden Homes’ environmental analysis of how high groundwater could rise during the wettest months of the year. Garden Homes also used an outdated formula to calculate how much water could come rushing down the mountain during a storm, according to Princeton Hydro’s report.
The Continuing Battle
West Orange and surrounding areas have faced their share of flooding as storms become larger and more prevalent due to climate change. Town Council President Joe Krakoviak told Gothamist that the town has already spent “millions of dollars” on flood mitigation in the area around the proposed development and still struggles to handle stormwater runoff from the top of the mountain. West Orange’s planning board will hold its 12th hearing over the proposed development next month. Pannullo said he and other members of We Care NJ expect at least three more hearings before the board makes its final decision and his group plans to call for an engineer from Princeton Hydro to testify.
