Zoning Board Gets A Chemistry Lesson

The Parsippany-Troy Hills Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved Wednesday night a request from Lodi Cleaning to open a dry cleaning establishment at 1106 Route 46 West.

Attorney Joseph O'Neill explained that his clients would need a variance to permit the dry cleaners in a Wellhead Protection Tier 1 location. Wellhead Protection delineation was conducted in response to the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986 and 1996, and the designation restricts certain companies, including dry cleaners, from being located in the area.

“Suffice it to say, it’s easier to get on this list, than it is to get off of this list,” O’Neill said jokingly to the board.

O’Neill focused on education the board about safety awareness involving dry cleaners and the chemicals used. He explained that solvents used by his client and many other dry cleaners are now considered “green chemicals” that are no longer nearly as harmful as they once were.

“Dry cleaning used to utilize chemicals that were akin to antifreeze for the process of dry cleaning,” he said. “That has been abandoned for some time now by most dry cleaners.”

William Null, emergency coordinator and part owner of Lodi Cleaners testified in front of the board and echoed O’Neill’s sentiments. He explained how his company’s is more environmentally aware than past dry cleaners were.

“[In the past] almost all dry cleaners used solvents that were highly toxic,” he said. “Not only that, but the methods with which they handled these solvents were really cavalier and caused a lot of environmental problems.

“The more benign solvents that not only I use, but others use, are handled in a much different way,” Null continued. “There are very strict environmental regulations for how these things are handled….We do our very best to go beyond those regulations.”

Null also explained to the board that the company pays a third-party licensed firm to take away all of the wastewater from the facility two times per year and that the facility only holds 5-7 gallons of the solvent at one time.

A concerned resident in the area voiced his opinion about the application, questioning what odors and fumes he and his family, who live behind the proposed building, would have to deal with on a daily basis.

Null assured the resident that there are no fumes, toxins or odors released by the green solvents used in the facility.

"I know the dry cleaners that I go to, whether they use this exact same system or not, they are what they consider a green cleaner,” Vice-Chair Michele Jennrich explained. ”And when you walk in there, you don’t have any smell and your clothes don’t come home with any smell. I think that they are doing a great job of representing the new technology and the wave of the future in dry cleaning."

For some members of the board, being asked to approve an application with such environmental implications was perplexing.

“We’re not here to discuss the use, the location, the setback, the parking. I’ve got to be a chemist?” Board Chairman Robert Iracane said.

The applicants also presented the board with a “Spill Containment Procedure” packet, a step-by-step guide entailing what to do in case of a spill in the facility, in a move to show that they take precautions to keep their facility and the surrounding land as safe as possible.

Brian Kelley was the only board member opposed to the application, as he was in search of more environmental proof regarding ramifications of the solvent.

“Personally I’d like to see some more information from the Department of Health, Office of Emergency Management, Sewage Department, before making my final decision,” he said. “Right now I would not recommend approval of this application.”

Because Kelley is a second alternate, he didn’t get a vote on Wednesday night. 

The board had a celebrity visitor at the meeting, in the form of New York Jets starting middle linebacker David Harris.

Harris and his wife, who live in Michigan during the off-season, came to the board seeking a variance to finish their basement, which includes a second kitchen, to accommodate family members who come to visit during the season.

The board unanimously approved Harris’ application.