Parsippany Residents Lash Out at Waterview's 'Hidden Agenda'

For Parsippany residents and environmentalists, the Waterview Corporate Park zoning issue was anticipated to be the most deliberated topic of Tuesday’s meeting. But with no comments from the council, the issue flew under the radar, until the public had a chance to speak.

The customary agenda meeting is where the Council formalizes topics for the next gathering (held two weeks from now). So, with Waterview on Tuesday's agenda, it means it stands to be introduced for a first reading on Aug. 20.

“It will be voted on, and run the course of every ordinance,” said township attorney, John Inglesino in response to a public comment. “It’s not discussed unless there’s a question (about it)…It will be introduced for a first reading on Aug. 20.”

One resident, complaining of “eleventh-hour removals” of Waterview from the agenda, said, “I think this is being rushed in ahead of the general election. It’s concerning to me, politics coming before (the greater good). It’s not an ordinance to be rushed. It needs to be fully vetted, and have its implications understood. Rushing it could be disastrous, and eternally negative…”

The larger issue stems from potential development of a 26.6-acre tract in what is currently a part of the 132-acre property known as the Waterview Corporate Park. A developer, RDR, plans to build a Whole Foods Market and townhouse community on the tract.

A Rockefeller Property

According to the website of Citizens for Health, Safety & Welfare, the property was donated for a nominal fee to Parsippany by heiress Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge (the youngest daughter of Standard Oil tycoon William Avery Rockefeller, Jr., brother of John D. Rockefeller), and her husband.

Her intentions were to have the municipal building constructed on the site, but much of it was sold to Bellemead, a commercial developer, in 1984 for $12 million, according to the site.

The developer subdivided the property into six tracts, creating a ‘corporate park.’ This was permitted, as long as the company adhered to environmental protections (including a 200-foot woodland buffer around the 132 acres, and no Intervale Road access). The unique zoning codification was called ‘Proposed Office Development’ (POD), and the 26.6-acre woodland tract has remained unblemished.

However, now Bellemead is contracted with RDR, which intends to change the zoning on the tract to ‘Mixed Residential and Commercial,’ which would allow for the construction of the Whole Foods and townhouse.

According to the website, buffers would be eradicated, and asphalt would cover approximately 80 percent of the property. Citizens for Health, Safety & Welfare also claim that the destruction of the buffer near Doremus Ridge will presumptively result in flooding of Troy Brook.

Members of the Citizens group, whose adage has been “Don’t Rezone Waterview,” planned in July to attend zoning board and town council meetings, forcing the venues to go over capacity and shutting the meetings down.

‘Pattern of Deception’

Though that did not occur Tuesday night, the public did speak out on what they called a bullheaded, narrow-minded move.

“Rezoning is like a sneeze, once you do it, it can’t be undone,” said one Parsippany resident. “The land that’s there (zoned POD) is pristine woodlands…Studies should be done to see if rezoning benefits the town. Existing studies say (as I understand), that it destroys local economies.”

Another resident claimed that the town would feel more revenues if it were to stick with tiny businesses instead of “big box stores.”

“Farmland, forest or open space would actually increase revenues,” she said.

Another resident, John Beeher, said, “I see monkey business surrounding this project…If you change zoning laws to accommodate this overlay, it will dictate future projects, and affect other areas. Other developers will line (right) up. Will you be able to stop any of them after this? Think about what happens.”

“Revenue loss would be so high, it would reduce the tax benefit to a trickle, or net loss for the city, due to lost ratables from existing small businesses impacted by “big box,’ ” said another speaker, Margaret Gossitt.

“There’s a pattern of deception (here),” said the night’s last speaker, Gretchen Fry, to the council. “You can’t possibly be this disorganized, you’re running a city…(Are) decisions made in a vacuum?"