Who was the 1 vote?

The nature of such public hearings is that they usually only attract those who feel they have the most to lose from a proposal. I bet for the 600 or so there to oppose Waterview there's 6,000 who did not attend that are looking forward to shopping at Whole Foods.

So since you want to "shop" at Whole Foods and do not care what it will do to the value of our homes or to the environment and traffic and schools..Let' put this in your backyard!!!

Well I do not want it in my backyard! There are many empty spaces that Whole Foods can go into without having to change my backyard and the value of my home.
Also this is so wrong for the environment, traffic ..so if Whole Foods really would like to be in Parsippany, have them go into another location that is empty!

To me, those objecting to the plan lost all credibility if the news report is true,that an unemployed man was "loudly booed and jeered". It would appear that when one side can't convince the other side, the only recourse is to turn up the volume. The days of civility, logic, and common good seem to be lost.

There were only a few people who booed this man.Most of us felt compassion for him and in fact one person got up and said if the original plan of an office building went up then he would have a job . He seem to agree with that idea. It seems as though the news reported on this because it makes good copy but no one would jeered this person again just a select few.

There's a simple solution: BOYCOTT THE PLACE.

It won't have much impact on the housing component, but if the store fails to bring in traffic/sales comparable to others in the chain, it will be shut down soon enough.

Impeach the Planning Board
Last night at the Planning Board meeting was supposed to cross-examination the developers plan through his representative.None of that happened in fact the model of the proposed development was not there as it had been the previous January 17th. Wanting to challenge and demonstrate the ambiguities that existed in the developers EcolScience report as far as the wetlands and wetlands transition zones was impossible. The developer swears by this "science report" and apparently the Planning Board has swallowed the bait. Last night we discovered that because the property has not been developed some injustice is being done. On these grounds they opted to support the developer over the community. Asking the people to consider the developers rights and his constant attempts to be successful with his private interest. The Planning Board ignores the fact that this development is not in keeping with State of New Jersey Smart Development Criteria. They also refuse to realize the importance of the wetlands issue; that in short no impacts will occur. This is impossible! . The planning board is allowing an unnecessary, undesirable infliction on the communities quality of life and undermining State Laws and criteria that was established. automobiles over people, big developers over communities sense of place.

Perhaps a petetion to the CEO of Whole Foods and their Customer Relations Dept. would enlighten them as to the extent of the growing opposition to this project.

Its very apparent that the planning board members are in the pocket of Mayor Barberio! What I would also like to know exactly where do these planning board members live? Because it very apparent that they live no wheres near this project and it will not be affecting their quality of life and for open transparency have any of these planning board members donate to Mayor Barberio campaign contributions. And we also need to know the history of these members as who their connected to and what does their background entail to make these decisions. It appears to me that there is another corruption scandal in Parsippany. We should also be asking the Mayor has he received and political contributiions from the developer of this project? Residents I urge you to do your homework and follow the money trail. And finally we need to vote out Mayor Barberio and his slate that are horrible representation for Parsippany!!

The board members questioned what is wrong with this parcel of land that it has yet to be developed. They suggested it is probably zoned wrong and that this overlay could fix that. I disagree, I believe the true reason why this parcel has not been developed and is the last one left to develop is because of the structure and layout (sloping/steepness) of the property. Like any smart and profitable developer, Bellemead first developed the easiest and best income producing parcels and left the most difficult and challenging parcel to be developed last, if economically possible. The cost to prepare this parcel for development (grading, mining, etc) is so significant that the only way to make a profit would be to overdevelop it. Jam in as much as you can get the town to allow so it makes it economically feasible for someone to develop it. This is what is wrong with this parcel of land and why nothing has been done yet. Overdevelopment and density is required to make it financially worthwhile to any developer. It has nothing to do with the zoning or overlays. All proposed developments (past and current) for this last parcel have been high-density because there is no profit to be had without it

On another topic brought out by this proposed development-traffic in the town and the increased traffic we will see from this proposed development...The town's traffic expert admitted the proposed change in usage (from Planned Office Building to Mixed Use (retail/residential) will increase traffic on Saturdays but there was no mention of Sunday. Our town traffic expert says our road systems can accommodate this increased traffic both during the week and the weekend without issue. I have two questions: (1) do the residents of Parsippany WANT increased traffic on the weekends even though our roads can handle it? (2) based on the horrific traffic flows and issues currently in the town, can we really rely on our town traffic experts to know what they are talking about when it comes to traffic? Based on my experience driving through town and the congestion, who would have known we had traffic experts that planned this chaos! Great job with the traffic so far and to think, the town is not at full traffic capacity with all the vacant retail and office space we currently have and traffic is such a joy.

Don't Rezone Waterview and tax deductable donation for legal fees,
can be made via PayPal: www.dontrezonewaterview.com

Online petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/deny-application-to-rezone-waterview-tract.html

Yard Signs:
Call Len: (c) 973-229-8740. (h) 973-394-0550. Pick up, or he'll drop off to you. $5 each.

Email Mayor Barberio your thoughts about rezoning Waterview:
http://www.parsippany.net/Departments/Mayors-Action-Center/
Click: "James R. Barberio" on right side of page, under "Contact".
Or mail him a letter to the address listed.

Have ideas, expertise you can share? Contact Dave Kaplan: kaplans263@optonline.net

Any comments on Parsippany Lawyer? He was more intrested in looking at timer clock while getting paid $500/Hour. Nice cushy job!

It's absurd that taxpayers were excorted out by police. Given residents opportunity to speak. The planning board wasn't even listening. The student that spoke was totally right, that they weren't paying attention. The PB cut the residents off to allow them time to vote on the project, that they already decided (or was told by the Mayor) before they entered the room. Remember, Barberio appoints the members of the Planning Board. Now lets see what the Council does on this issue. Parsippany should do what is right... There is a 250 buffer on the deed of the property.. The property is zoned for POD. The owner accepted that when they purchased the property in the '80's. That should not be removed.. If they allow the overlay: downside the project & only allow smaller stores, not BOX stores. Make sure the overlay doesn't exceed more than the 26 acres.. Make sure the % of space used is the same % allowed on other properties...not the 75% the developer is asking for. Why should they be any different than anyone else. What about the other vacant stores in Parsippany? That space should be filled. What about Pathmark who has been suffering for years? It will definately put them out of business & there will be more vacant retail. What about Kmart? If Target opens there, then Kmart will be gone too! More vacant retail space.

ELECTION time is coming up in Parsippany: The mayor & 2 councilmen are up for re-election. Now it is your time as voter to let them hear what you think.

Can anyone suggest how to become a member of this planning board. Out of 14 people barlely 5 people spoke on that comittee (BTW these people who spoke have axe to grind) - Are they getting paid? What's the qualification needed ? And how to fire them!

@ Debbie: Why write to Barberio.. He already stated his position on the overlay. He already voted for it!!

I know what my vote for these clowns in November will be a BIG NO!!! I was mortified that our neighbors were escorted by the police. What ever happened to FREEDOM OF SPEECH! The board showed a totally lack of respect to us..the taxpayers.

On another note I would like to thank all 600 people who showed up and to board - don't underestimate questions from the crowd; technology has made voters more informed than ever.

Why chairman sitting on that board for 20 years? Term Limit and get him out!

Look at the history of the Planning Board members Iracane needs to retire he was part of all the over developing in this town and is a buddy of the Mayor! And I believe there is a member on the board who is legilative aide to Betty lou DeCroce who is all for developing. Just remember she has her realestate bussiness in town and is connected to Barberio. There is not enough transparency on this board and they are all connected to Barberio and our great township attorney John Ingelisino just follow the money trail.

That is right Jonathan Berkowitz, "Mayor Arrogant Do-Nothing to protect and serve Parsippany residents"(better known as Barberio) has voted for this monstrocity and strong-armed his Planning Board puppets to follow suit. The quality-of-life and aesthetics in this town has gone downhill precipitously under this Mayor (and to a great degree his reputation), so this should be a surprise to no one.

Now it is time to the voters for whom Barberio has done wrong to fire him at the ballot box. Hopefully he is voted out before he does more damage.

Reality check: This is Parsippany, not Outer Mongolia. It is criss-crossed by major interstate highways and state and county roads. This position as a crossroads has attracted highway retail, shopping centers, office buildings, and hotels. We have massive garden apartment developments and numerous single family homes. This shopping center will not change the nature of this community in any significant way. Once the rezoning occurs, if the planning board acts responsibly to see that the actual project adequately addresses issues such as water runoff, light pollution, and traffic flow, then surrounding residents will not have their quiet enjoyment disturbed.

I don't see very many "for sale" signs on properties. I guess that means that the pros of living in Parsippany still outweigh the cons. There are many ways in which this town is still better than the average place to live. Why not let bygones be bygones, and instead of dwelling on the past focus toward how to proactively make this town a better place to live for the future.

Yeah Kenneth, Take a real good look to see how many of retail and office spaces are VACANT!!! Don't need to build more when there are many empty.

.....That is unless you are a do-nothing Mayor trying to act busy but not really serving the community or its residents effectively.

And Anonymous, raise your standards! Parsippany residents deserve "still better than average", as you term it .

Give it time, you will see the "for sale" signs as more people get disgusted with misdoings of this Mayor and his underlings.

Feb 17 2008
PARSIPPANY -- The planning board has fired its attorney following his guilty plea to aiding a local builder in exchange for real estate discounts and other benefits for himself and family members.

John J. Montefusco Sr., 67, of Morris Plains, had been paid $450 per meeting and $125 per hour for research and other litigation, township officials said.

No one else has been charged in connection with a federal probe that U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie described as ongoing. ...

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080217/COMMUNITIES38/802170361/1005/COMMUNITIES&nclick_check=1

The mayor and most on the planning board made me embarrassed to be a Parsippany resident last night.

Their behavior, tone and disrespect towards the people was sickening.
Especially the rude and obnoxious town lawyer-someone take a long look in to his background and connections to developers.

Parikh has no pull on that board, he lets the lawyer run the show-and it's not a good one.

Barberio is a lame duck mayor, he will now certainly get voted out in June, but he made his own bed.

If the council members cared about their political future in Parsippany, they will take a hard look at this disaster of a proposal and reject it.

It's common sense that it is not good for Parsippany, and disastrous for the home owners and residents of Intervale, Hills of Troy, Intervale Garderns and other nearby areas along with commuters who use Route 46.

With so much vacant retail space in town it is not a smart nor sound business nor leadership position to take to destroy natural habitat just so a developer can squeeze in as much low-class condos, an ugly and monsterous big box store, 900 parking spots and possibly a whole foods store.
All for the developer's profit (well, maybe for the mayor, lawyer and others on the board too-we shall see in the coming months).

I was at the meeting all night last night with my family and I did not witness anyone " mocking an unemployed " man. I dont think wording like that is appropriate or fair to the town people !!!!

Natalie, you generally do a great job at Patch and I mean no disrespect by this but you have utterly mischaracterized the "unemployed man" referenced in this story. The gentleman was one of a small cadre of union electricians trundled out by the IBEW local (perhaps the whole staff at Star-Lo Electric?). I heard no one "mocking" him. All I heard was shock and dismay at a Parsippany citizen willing to permanently affect his fellow citizens' quality of life for a project that MIGHT give him (and his company?) 3 - 6 months of work. This same gentleman admitted at the end of his remarks that office traffic near his own home made leaving at rush hour impossible. He said that the same would probably happen to Waterview neighbors but "hey that's progress".

Perhaps i may be wrong about this but I believe the planner left the meeting right after there was a break prior to the vote. Now it seems to me that since he was no longer needed to respond to questions from the public, he would have still wanted to be there for the voting process unless of course he know prior to the vote what the end result was going to be since it was previously predetermined.

Only those against the plan would be more prone to going to the plannng board meetings. Most of the town will be welcoming Whole Foods.

There is no guarantee that Whole Foods will be the store. Also this is not the only store that will be in this "strip mall." So for anyone who will need to drive down rte 46 and not be able to get to their destination because of traffic or for those of you who will have more water restrictions, or more children in your schools or the value of homes in the area going down, taxes going up, more crime in the area..they you are correct in thinking that the only people who are going to the Planning Board Meetings are those who are against this.

What I find utterly disgusting is that our township police departmant is 30 police officers short and now were going to build a infrastructure that the town can not handle. Where are we going to get all the officers to patrol another 26 acres of commercial property and townhouses? This will bring much more crime in to our neighborhood it will incresae traffic and it will put additional stress on to our school district which already eats up to more than 65% of our taxpayers dollars. How did the Mayor pick such an unqualified planning board to make such a critical decision for our residents.And the council members that vote for this should be truly a shame of themself. Redidents of Parsippany please do your homework on these planning board members as to who their connected to in the Mayors office just follow the money trail. And just remember the Township attorney makes at least $1,000,000 a year this is disgraceful. So please vote out are clueless Mayor and his slate they are all wrong for Parsippany.

Definitely can't wait to move out of Parsippany -- no we weren't there last night. Not everyone has hours to spend at a council meeting of corrupt officials that aren't looking to represent the greater good of the voters. I am hoping to put our place up for sale before this mess is built. One of my biggest mistakes was buying into a community who is run by such a corrupt and incompetent bunch of local officials. Hopefully we can vote the mayor and some of the cronies out this year so I get a little satisfaction before I more to a better area.

It seems to me that this is now in the hands of our current councilmen,
There have been accusations of rubber stamping things in the past.
If these gentlemen live up to the statements and promises in all of their campaign promises,that they are for the betterment of Parsippany.
Then we have nothing to worry about!!
Everyone is paying much more attention these days,lets see who their loyalties are for The People of Parsippany or the Pat on the back from the Boss

Barberio's Blunders and the hits just keep comming!!! You gotta love this failed administration that the taxpayers keep paying for at the expense of our children!!

The mayoral candidate who opposes this plan will get my vote!

As usual, our Planners and Zoners just keeled over regarding what the developers want. But it should come as no surprise, since they've been doing it for DECADES!

I must admit that I'm perplexed how a planning board, armed with a zoning map would willingly recommend changing that zoning to the obvious detriment of the surrounding neighborhoods. Who exactly do they believe they are serving. I guess for transparency sake, it is good that this will go you the council as residents can actually vote out any council candidates that support this measure. Does anyone know which council members support this initiative? Has any one heard of the Mayor and Council have decided to shelf this issue until after the election?

Think; why not incorporate this last remaining mature wooded forest into a park or wildlife sanctuary? How; buy sticking to the rules, that development is unnecessary and undesirable in the type proposed. We don't need office space or more living space at present. What we do need is trees, wetlands, natural diversity. For example first and foremost IT IS NOT SMART GROWTH as the State of New Jersey has described in their criteria. The wetlands issue is still viable and the new information from the developers own report shows inaccuracies or an incomplete boundary of the exact wetland and transition zones; so then the development must not under justification of these premises be sanctioned. This means the real market value of the property can not be as high as speculation allowed it to become in the first place. It should be reassessed and bought by the Town, County and State not with taxes but with other monies available for such purpose or monies raised by citizens in other ways. There has to be a way to give the owner his "fair market" value and turn it over to the community for a natural preserve.

In regards to the booing of the 'alleged" unemployed gentleman; just remember Joe the Plumber, the character who showed up in the McCain Obama campaign who turned out not to be a plumber at all. This one individual whom spoke in behalf of himself and employment, may or may not be presently employed. The issue is the Land its value as real estate or its god given nature and gifts to the enhancement of the geographic place known as Parsippany. Its worth is beyond any dollars of redemption and involves other forms of life that are with us on this planet. Waterview is a "last remaining mature forest community". How many trees, how many other valuable vegetation? To advocate for jobs and the undermining of State Laws and environmental regulations is downgrading to all. It leads to more apathy, more fatalistic attitudes and mistrust in those entrusted to guard the integrity of the nation and ALL PEOPLE. That person whom ever he was represented me, myself and I over we the people..

Anyone notice how trashed and littered Parsippany is now? Imagine more development. It would only bring more trash and litter to a township that cannot now maintain itself against trash; one cannot walk 10 feet without plastic trash in the streets and walkways, is that part of the American exceptional-ism that we should be so proud of? Waterview will be just another "zoned for garbage" disaster area.

I am sure there is unique vegetation and animals there that would prevent this property from being developed. We need the EPA investigation of this property. This is watershed property. Why hasn't our open space money purchased this property. Are we saving the money to build a field of dreams?

It appears that Mayor Barbero's actions are the opposite of what he says.

here in Parsippany NJ a big developer JMF Properties is persistent in having his way with a last wood upland mature forest which is centered in the Troy Brook wetlands ecosystem; recently the Passaic River Coalition has joined in. The upland forest which should be critical to the whole of the wetland system is earmarked for "dumb development".
JMF has been odious in their pursuit; improper maps; claiming Smart development principals and their EcoLScience report that gives them; so they claim a green light is quite ambiguous as far as the wetlands and their claim "no impacts are proposed or will occur. The report actually shows there are wetlands on the property.
What is troubling it appears our town fathers seem to think that the only problem is that the land "remains undeveloped"; as if this is some social sin.
When looking at the Rutgers map in the library it appears this Block Lot is in critical habitat; as far as if and when the development begins the wetlands systems and aquifers will surely be impacted. Some important tree and plant species exists important to bees, butterflies and song birds. This is surely an attack on the very integrity of the Wetlands Protection Act itself and an insult to Smart Development criteria for the State of New Jersey.

When a developer plans a project, the first thing he looks for is prospective tenants. Investors do not make loans for projects that may not produce profits. No tenant, no loan, no loan, no project. We can all tell Whole Foods we don't want them. How many letters to Whole Foods will it take?

Yes Nicholas we know who they are and they are looking for locations for new stores. Google for more information.
World Headquarters
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
550 Bowie Street
Austin, TX 78703-4644
512-477-4455
512-477-5566 voicemail
512-482-7000 fax
Global Partnership Evaluation Group
For national partnership or sponsorship opportunities:
www.pinpointclient.com/wholefoodsmarket

Looking over Wetland Regulations in Court Avoiding Legal Problems and using some of the Rutgers Chapter 3 Drainage Area Troy Brook Storm water Management publications where Waterview is actually mentioned.
. This very site is mentioned in Chapter 3 Rutgers Troy Brook Regional Stormwater Management Plan as to Address Loss of Biodiversity and for Recharge to Aquifer and Baseflow Maintenance. This developer will only worsen these goals for improvements.
The property owners expectations are now conflicting with other adjoining property owners; the property owners has become "unreasonable" and is investment backed. (not of the community).
The developer may also be guilty of trespass in the form of various nuisances and safety issues. Our aquifer issues will certainly not be improved nor advise by the scientific advisers be adhered to. Also IF THE PROPERTY OWNER DOES NOT OWN THE ADJOINING WETLANDS AS SHOWS NO REAL INTEREST IN THEM BECAUSE OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE OVER-LAY. THIS DEVELOPMENT WILL IMPACT THE ADJACENT WETLANDS IN A MANNER GREATER THAN ANY 50-FEET BUFFER CAN DEAL WITH. Wetlands are a form of common property; correct? His over-lay will compromise, jeopardize and eventually erode the latter adjacent wetland and the aquifers.
THE DEVELOPER MUST ALSO ACCOUNT FOR THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF USES. This over-lay may help destroy even more land once gone gone forever.