700 Mountain Way: The Saga Continues

The lone agenda item for the meeting Wednesday night was the continuation of the body's consideration of a more than 3-year-old proposal to build a 22-unit townhouse community near a residential section made up of Mountain Way, Rocky Heights and South Powder Mill Road. The project is known as .

Both sides hoped that Wednesday would bring a final decision on the matter from the zoning board, but when time passed 10 p.m. and President Robert Iracane noted that with rebuttal witnesses and summations, at least another hour would be necessary to complete the board's consideration of the matter, it was decided that the case would carry over to the Jan. 18 ZBA meeting.

First, however, there were about three hours of testimony for and against the proposed development. 

After attorney Robert Garofalo finished presenting his witnesses' testimony in favor of the developer last August, the floor was given to Preserve Mountain Way, a group of about eight residents opposed to the project. Rick Jilleba, who founded the group, hired his own expert to testify. That witness was licensed planner .

On Wednesday, with members of the Parsippany Planning Board also in attendance, Garofalo dove into a more than hour-long cross-examination of Zimmerman.

Much of the lawyer-witness back-and-forth focused on Garofalo trying to undermine Zimmerman's previous testimony. In September, Zimmerman asserted that Parsippany had no need for more townhomes.

“[The Parsippany master plan's] finding was that there’s scant land in this large municipality that has subdivision potential for single-family housing, as that land is zoned,” Zimmerman testified nearly three months ago. “The applicant, in my opinion, has not presented any credible evidence that there is a need for townhouses or attached single-family housing.”

Garofalo fired back Wednesday, peppering Zimmerman with questions, asking whether the planner was aware if the township master plan was out of date or in the process of being modified. 

"I used the last adopted master plan," Zimmerman said, clearly not intimidated by the attorney in an exchange that featured both men answering the other with competing statistics.

Preserve Mountain Way's Rick Jilleba said he has been fighting the proposal for about three years. While he said he was pleased with his expert's performance, the activist said he believed the zoning board could go either way.

"There are facts on both sides. Statistics can be used to support whatever side one wants to support," Jilleba said. "Our position is clear: Their proposal is not appropriate for our single family community. It's as simple as that. We think the town's master plan supports the conclusion that it's not appropriate, and we hope the board sees it that way."

A number of Jilleba's Mountain Way area neighbors joined him in speaking against the project before the board.

One of the residents offering testimony was Arnt Thuen, who talked about his family's history in the area since 1973.

"I genuinely enjoyed growing up on Mountain Way," he recalled. "Back then, there was no South Powder Mill Road. It was all woods between our house at 703 Mountain Way and Route 10. My brother and sisters and I would roam Mountain Way from house to house to play. I still remember delivering the Daily Record along Mountain Way ... I can still remember those houses that stiffed me.

"There was and is a spirit and an ethos to Mountain Way that can't be understood unless you live there," Thuen continued, talking of people there watching "the fish in the ponds and the geese in the yards."

"Contrary to what the applicant would like you to believe, Mountain Way is in no way a part of Powder Mill or Glenmont Commons," Thuen insisted. "Mountain Way is unique and distinct. We're zoned for single family homes. It should be the commitment of this board to strengthen rather than impair the single family zoning that exists on Mountain Way."

Not all of the residents' testimony opposed the development.

Nancy DiEdwardo, a self-described lifelong Parsippany resident and president of the Glenmont Commons Homeowners Association, lives in a townhome and represents 300 similar residents.

"We're single families too," she said. 

DiEdwardo said that her homeowners have told her that they've heard rumors about several nonprofit organizations expressing an interest in purchasing 700 Mountain Way from the developer to use as a base of operations.

"If that's allowed to occur, I can tell you it will be a terrible physical and financial hardship felt by residents," she said.

DiEdwardo shared a story from the 1970s, a tale that sounds similar to the 700 Mountain Way scenario: A developer tried for years to get approval to build homes. At a certain point, he gave up and instead sold the property to a nonprofit house of worship.

"Now, on paper I am sure it sounded reasonable," she said, adding that she was looking out for the best interests of her townhouse owners and the single family dwellers. "What the town failed to take into account at the time, though, was the massive influx of people and cars in the evenings and there was a terrible impact on the weekends. ... Parsippany Police had to be assigned overtime for these events, which cost the Parsippany taxpayers. The very citizens who were negatively impacted by this decision were the ones forced to subsidize their very own problem."

DiEdwardo said that 700 Mountain Way is currently zoned to allow a catering facility.

She boiled the situation down to a choice: 22 luxury townhomes or  "a house of worship where you have an attached catering facility possibly having weddings, confirmation ceremonies, bar mitzvahs or any sort of major events."

Saying that she "sympathized" with the Mountain Way homeowners, DiEdwardo said a townhome development was the preferable alternative.

After ZBA and Planning Board members asked questions, President Iracane, citing the late hour, announced that the matter would be continued Jan. 18. He said a final decision could come at that meeting.