Proposed Development

The former Wagner Farm is the largest open space in Warren Township. It is a pristine, ecologically sensitive habitat, home to a variety of birds, mammals, and reptiles. Because the property includes known threatened species, the Department of Environmental Protection rates it a Class 5.

However, Bergen County United Way and Madeline Partners, LLC (BCUW) have proposed a complex of 7 buildings to house up to 36 special needs residents to be built on part of the former farm. Six of the buildings would be residential “cottages” with five apartments each and the seventh is a large “common building.”

The property is Block 83, Lot 4 on Mountain Avenue, owned by Warren Township. The Township proposes to lease the property to the developers for a one-time payment of $1 (and apparently there is an option for the developers to buy the property for $850,000). This property was bought by the Township when the rest of Wagner’s Farm was purchased with Green Acres funding. Note that the property was purchased by Warren Township for the  “specific purpose of open space, conservation, active and passive public recreation and environmental protection” (Township of Warren, Resolution No. 2001-134, May 2001).

The buildings would be arranged inside a one-way road with a total of 50 parking spaces in front of the buildings. The road and the buildings would have more than 50 exterior lights, plus a lit flag pole and sign at the road.

Because the site does not perk and is not close to Township sewers, the developers propose to build a sewage treatment plant on site. The plant is at the top of the site, so sewage would be pumped uphill from all seven buildings, necessitating backup generators.

There is also no Township water available so wells are planned even though several had to be dug before one test well provided sufficient water.

This site is quite steep, sloping up from Mountain Avenue. As a result, the Developers plan to bring in 20,000 cubic yards of fill: more than 1500 full dump trucks with outside fill! This is in addition to grading that would move a substantial amount of soil around on the site.

• It is difficult to comprehend the way these projects destroy the natural topography. Take close look at the site near exit 36 and how much dirt has been moved. Most people can’t envision the magnitude of the impact from drawings and plans.
• The head of the Planning Board voted against the project based on this huge impact.

Because of the slope, the presence of wetlands along Mountain Avenue and the fact that this property drains into protected waters, the developers propose a variety of measures to control water runoff, including two “wet ponds” near the road, three retention basins and more.

The developers have built a number of special housing developments in New Jersey, typically in urban areas. They indicate that daily operations at the site would be run by a “service provider” TBD.

Issues with the Development

As can be seen, there are numerous issues with the proposed development, all of which were raised during the Planning Board hearings. Some were addressed at the margin, but the fundamental issues seem to have been given little weight.

Size of the Development

• The “cottages” are in groups of 3, with each group almost 110 feet long and 50 feet wide! Stairs and patios add to these dimensions.
• The “common building” is 90 feet long and almost 50 feet wide.
• As seen from the road, the closest buildings are at least 4 stories tall and further back they are at least 8 stories tall!

Sewer Plant

Since the site won’t perk and Township sewers are at least a mile away, the developers have proposed on on-site sewer plant (they call it a “Sanitary Treatment Building”).

• Such a plant should require a use variance, but the Planning Board felt otherwise. That is part of one legal challenge currently underway.
• It is also worth noting that the entire sewage handling process is dependent on electric pumps since the sewage plant is up a steep hill from all of the buildings, especially the residential ones. The sewage treatment plant itself is proposed to have a backup generator. During the Planning Board hearings, the developers had not decided whether backup generators would be needed in the residential buildings.

Lighting

The Wagner’s Farm area is one of the only relatively dark areas in Warren Township.

• It is often used by individuals and groups for sunset, sunrise and night-time photography, star and comet observations, etc. (Add silo photo here)

Venus, Saturn and Jupiter over Wagner Farm.

• This proposed development would add a large amount and number of lights and seriously degrade, if not ruin these activities.
• In addition, it has been well documented that birds who migrate at night are confused by bright human lights, since they rely on the stars and moon for navigation. Keeping the Wagner’s Farm area relatively dark at night no doubt aids these migrations.

Environmental Impact

This site is environmentally sensitive with endangered species habitat, wetlands and runoff to Corey Brook and the Passaic River. Despite that, the developers have not done an environmental impact study.
On behalf of George Vetter, Amy Green Environmental conducted an assessment of the property which indicates that the New Jersey DEP General Permit #7 being requested by the developers should not be approved. Among other issues, they point out that “the onsite wetlands are mapped by the NJ Landscape Project as “occupied habitat for the NJ State threatened wood turtle (Clemmys insuculpta).” In addition, they highlight that the “onsite wetlands are …considered EPA priority Wetlands, and the use of General Permit #7 is precluded.”

Isolated Special Needs Residents

While no one debates the need for more affordable housing, especially for those with special needs, placing this housing on a remote site has many disadvantages.

• Most residents, per the developers, will not drive. As a result, they will be able to leave the facility only via shuttles (if available), Uber/Lyft or with a friend or family member. It was stated during the hearings that AccessLink (the only possible public transit option) does not serve this area.
• Since there is nothing close to walk to (nor are there sidewalks along Mountain Avenue), residents will be isolated in the facility.
• With a maximum of 36 residents, the “service provider” will not have sufficient scale to offer programs on site, beyond very limited ones.
  • The developers have said that most residents probably won’t be working, leaving them looking for on-site services.
• Because of these factors, almost all special needs housing (for those who can live independently) is in urban areas, within walking distance of programs, stores, services and jobs.
  • This includes nearby Berkeley Heights where similar housing is being built downtown.
• The Developers have said there will be no staff on duty 24/7. In other words, there will be no “super” or other person on site to help when a toilet backs up, a washing machine overflows, etc.

Storm Water

This site drains to Corey Brook which feeds into the Passaic River. The current grassland absorbs water well. However, recent heavy rains have shown that, even with this absorption, water can flood over the road and over the banks of Corey Brook. Covering 25% of the property in impermeable surfaces will obviously make this situation worse. The developers have proposed several measures to deal with runoff but it is not clear that they anticipate the type of heavy rain storms that are increasingly common in Warren Township and elsewhere.

Current water runoff after heavy rain.

Other issues

A number of additional issues and concerns were raised during the Planning Board hearings. They include

• Given the difficulty to find water (several test wells were dug before one produced sufficient water), neighbors are concerned about the longer term impact on their wells. The Planning Board chair suggested that the developers dig a deeper well and that they move it uphill, instead of near the street, so that it would not be below the sewage treatment facilities.
• What happens during extended power outages, like that during super storm Sandy? A limited amount of Diesel fuel is planned for the onsite backup generators (which mainly support the sewage treatment plant).
• There does not appear to be an evacuation plan in place in case of a severe emergency. Concerns were also raised about sufficient room for emergency vehicles, especially fire trucks.
• Residents are likely to want to cross Mountain Avenue to visit the Warren Arboretum and Community Gardens. However, there is no crosswalk nor is a light planned.

Background

In April of 2021, Bergen County United Way and Madeline Partners, LLC submitted an application to the Warren Township Planning Board for Preliminary and Final Major Site Approval on the 10 acre property known as Block 83, Lot 4 on Mountain Avenue in Warren. In the application, the site name is shown as “Cawley Crossing – Special Needs Housing.”

The documents submitted at that time and updated during the Planning Board hearings can be found on the Warren Township Planning Board website: https://warrennj.org/406/Pending-Applications-and-Plans under “BCUW/Cawley’s Crossing Materials.”

Warren Township Planning Board hearing were held on August 23, September 13, September 27 and November 22, 2022. At the last meeting, the project was approved by a vote of 6-2, with Chairman Daniel Gallic one of the negative votes.