Photo: massive gabion walls, used to reduce erosion, line the Third River just south of Brookside Park behind the commercial district on Broad Street.



At the June 12 Planning Board meeting, the majority voted to approve Arthur Fefferman's 104 unit project at the former Scientific Glass site on a floodplain of the Third River (at the end of Liongate Drive off of Broad Street north of Bay Ave.).







Susanna Sotillo and Councilman Bernard Hamilton cast the two votes



against the project.







Since the board had approved the initial much larger project



containing 124 units and a massive underground storage system five years ago, that it would approve a smaller project with a much better mechanism for



controlling on-site water is not a surprise. However, we continue to advocate for letting a floodplain do it's job rather than serving as the foundation for yet another development in the most densely populated state in the U.S.







It was a stormy night with Fefferman's attorney, Bloomfield's own



Ralph Salerno, challenging the BTRA's hydrology expert Joe Skupien's right to testify, challenging photos submitted by Mr. Skupien of the flooding in the area, challenging whatever. Ironically, the 8-member board was not a problem at this meeting, although the May meeting was adjourned because Salerno



wasn't happy with an even number (6) of members present. Go figure.







Since the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection NJDEP



(sometimes dubbed the Department of Eventual Permit) gave Fefferman



his storm water permit, a permit the BTRA travelled to Trenton to in



February to fight, Mr. Skupien's flood arguments were undermined.







During the hearing, Mr. Skupien suggested the emergency bridge should be fixed as a way to reduce some of the persistent flooding in the area.







Unfortunately, the state's pending flood hazard regulations have not



yet become law. These statutes will no longer allow a developer to



be granted 20 percent fill in a floodplain. Without the 20 percent fill currently



permitted, this project could not exist.







The Scientific Glass remediation is still underway; the developer only recently received his RAW (remedial action workplan).







We continue continue to monitor this project and push for the concept



of enlightened, environmentally sound development in Bloomfield.







You will probably pull out the rest of your hair after hearing the panel discussion on NJN's On the record, where insurance experts (including a representative of a state agency) and a climatologist discuss the effect of severe weather on the cost of homeowner’s insurance:



http://www.njn.net/television/njnseries/ontherecord/







A podcast is also available: BT1735, show # 2351, aired on 7/1, 7/2