Community Corner

Don't Rezone Waterview Supporter Continues Planning Board Critique

Tell us what you are thinking.

I write still displeased with the Waterview rezoning proposal recently recommended by the Parsippany Planning Board to the Township Council.

In order for the developer's unwanted and unneeded project to progress, the Parsipanny Planning Board would erase a standing line of landscape adjustment and kill a protection established for environmental reasons such as aquifers and proper buffer zones between established communities and corporate properties. These lines of zoning and ordinances cannot be simply erased to accommodate some interest from outside the place of living residential populace; our community and its remaining diverse or natural open spaces.

All things have limits. Parsipanny has reached its saturation for large-scale commercial developments, for the demise of our landscape because of a desperate fanatic belief in progress or unnecessary economic stimulus that does not strike balance, but increases negative impacts such as traffic, noise, litter, trash, and impervious surface upon the land.

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It is the impervious surface of non-living earth—asphalt, concrete, inorganic matter—that will eventually ruin and contaminate our underground aquifers. This one threat to our very living health, contamination and restriction of replenishment of our underground water systems, is the most urgent matter of attention. Does our Planning Board think water comes from a plastic bottle?

Waterview harbors a mature upland forest and borders directly on a vital free-flowing section of Troy Brook. This brook is now presently exposed to pollution from roadway activities and other negative human behavior patterns. The overlay would only increase the negative impacts upon the brook and the Parsipanny landscapes.

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The developer argues that his environmental study will alleviate all these worries and that the associated wetlands and their transition zones are “only” of “intermediate resource value.” Drawing this line of distinction completely disregards the importance of any wetlands in our time and attempts to dismiss their relation to the whole of the Troy Brook wetlands system. This is a dangerous line to cross by the developer and an even more disturbing one for the Township of Parsipanny to cross.

This entire presentation by the developer should not have been entertained by the Planning Board for as long as it has. It shows a line of separation between elected or appointed officials and the citizens of the place called Parsipanny.

Parsipanny needs a moratorium on big development. It needs to fix; upgrade its present sewers and storm run-off ordinances. We are not ready in mind or body as a community to accept this type of destruction to our remaining open natural places. This big developer needs to place his resources in the civil society and offer services to help in the upgrade of infrastructure.

Don’t undermine wetlands and land ordinances, give back to society. Help the nation regain its land ethic; the loss is most evident.  Do something for the “common good,” not corporate interest.  This overlay will only cost us more in the end there is nothing good about it.

 

Nick Homyak
Lake Hiawatha 


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