Environmental Impact Report: Elm Street Park (ESP) & Florham Parks Open Space

"Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them". George Santayana

Section II: Personal Proviso

The 10 impact points in this report is derived from my professional assessment of environmental impacts that have a high likelihood of occurring post treeclearing of the Elm Street Park Woodland (Site Proper). My expertise as a professional conservation biologist and environmental consultant is the basis for this evaluation. The opinions and information herein are not those of the Florham Park Environmental Commission. I resigned my position as chairman to the Florham Park Environmental Commission because I was unable to fulfill my duties. I allowed political pressure to mute the commissions involvement during the development stage of the Recreation Master Plan. Had I not allowed such pressure to override my deep commitment to the environment this information may now be part of public record and considered before the decision was made to discard the site proper, as a lifeless entity (a sentiment voiced by the soccer board). Even with such information placed into public record it is evident through Borough directive that the environmental economics of the plan were not of priority concern. The very moment the logistics of the land swap occurred resulting in the opportunity for a Recreation Complex to be realized this stated usage was ordained. This was the moment 20 more acres of land in the Borough was going to be cleared regardless of input from any environmental scientist outside the minimum required by law. To this end I can only try to right my wrong by providing the public with as much factual information as I can in regards potential impacts the complex will impose on the surrounding Black Meadows Ecological Complex (BMEC). I do this in the hopes that people will get more involved in local civics in order to vet all sides of an issue in the future. We need to hold our elected officials accountable to due-diligence, especially in areas of landuse - landuse whose condition in the Borough has already reached the practical limits of build-out. I chose my words cautiously when I write due-diligence, as Im not implying that due-process was not conformed to; there is a difference between the two. As far as I could determine the Borough observed all municipal, state, and federal landuse law when moving forward with their plans for ESP. However I am equally in the belief that this was done to the minimal extent possible in order to get the round peg into the square hole. The state still allows for home-rule as it
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pertains to its willingness to provide additional protections where land is deemed exceptional resource. In point of fact Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) states in 40:55 D-2 g: Those municipalities should provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens. The operative words here being appropriate locations in their respective environmental requirements. The language here seems abundantly clear and our Borough just simply chose to ignore it. Personal Note: I wish to make clear that this report is provided as a public service to all those who have a desire to understand an opposing viewpoint to all the misinformation, misrepresentations, and falsehoods disseminated by sport affiliations with ESP. I provide a level of detail necessary for people to have a better understanding of local civics, environmental regulation as it relates to the project, and how it really works. Resignation of my post on the Environmental Commission was not an easy decision. I feel strongly when I state the commission was not being utilized for the purpose under the ordinance responsible for its existence (a portion of which is available at the bottom of this document for your review). This was especially true as it pertained to the evolution of the ESP project. It saddens me that people who I thought cared about real 21st century environmental issues as it relates to landuse planning ignored my many pleadings to take it slow and evaluate the project with some discussion about the environmental sensitivity of the site that was chosen for the new complex. This of course is now moot and any residual hope I have lies with the administrations ability to learn from this and actively seek and sanction protections that will benefit the ecological complex that remains. In my resignation letter I expressed a desire to the Mayor and council to continue the positive restoration work I started at Spring Garden Lake Conservation Management Area for use and benefit for all Borough residents. To the credit of the current administration this project has had their support. The current Environmental Commission (EC) has produced a master plan for its restoration and provided the physical labor and effort to propel it to its
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current state of ecological integrity. The EC is not a park commission however, and all future involvement should be done under the auspices of the Department of Public Works with advisement of the EC. In turn the EC can be freed to move onto other projects with similar restoration requirements, i.e. Fish Brook Park, Borough lands newly acquired along Elm Street and Murphy Circle and most importantly provide recommendations to the town council on future landuse issues.

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