Let me fill you in on the latest development, take a deep breath... it is all good news!
Tonight at the town council meeting a new ordinance was introduced, it will be voted on the first meeting in March. Copies are available at town hall should you want more details.
Title: AMENDING AND SUPPLIMENTING THE REVISED GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ROCKAWAY, VOLUME II, CHAPTER LIV, LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT, SECTION 54-4, DEFINITIONS AND WORD USAGE, AND SECYTION 54-30.15 CONDITIONAL USES,SECTION 54-30.6, GENERAL PROVISIONS, AND SECTION 54-30.10, ENVIRONEMENTAL PROTECTION
Highlights that have a direct impact on the Christ Church application:
1. "...regulations govern House of Worship as contitional use in ....OB-RL....zone" - areas that will have a significant impact include % of impervious coverage and maximum building, accessory uses permitted, maximum seat capacity of "social hall"
2. parking decks prohibited in all zones
3. If a property has environmentally deemed 'critical features' such as wetlands, wetland transition areas, flood plains, flood hazards, sites on sole source aquifers, sites that contain wells, sites with endangered or rare species and sites that are within the Highlands preservation area (to name a few..) - there are additional limits on the amount of impervious coverage that is permitted on the property.
There is much more... but these are the HIGHLIGHTS. Your town council has heard your voices and they have taken action! Remember to thank them one and all!
Have a great night,
Lisa
-- Edited by Lisa Salberg at 21:56, 2005-02-01
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The truth wins out over slick PR and personal attacks.
The Christ Church Plan for the redevelopment of 140 Green Pond Rd is just too big for the area.
Cooler heads prevail! Awsome news Lisa...once again - thank you for your tireless efforts on behalf of all of us residents - you really put a voice to our concerns over the last 2 years.
New restrictions may affect church's plan Wednesday, February 02, 2005 BY JAMIE DUFFY For the Star-Ledger
A new environmental ordinance introduced by the Rockaway Township Council last night could affect a proposal by Christ Church in Montclair to build a mega-church on Green Pond Road.
The ordinance, introduced by Councilman Eugene Sheninger, amends the township's environmental regulations to bring them into alignment with stricter storm water restrictions handed down by the state a year ago and with the Highlands Preservation Act passed by the state Legislature last summer.
Last year, Christ Church received a state Department of Environmental Protection exemption from complying with the Highlands Act. The township is contesting that exemption.
Sheninger said many of the new restrictions deal with wetlands and stream encroachment, two issues crucial to Christ Church's plans for the former Agilent Technologies Inc. property.
The Agilent property sits on wetlands and wetlands transition areas, is located above a sole-source aquifer, has a town well on the property and is home to three endangered or threatened species: Indiana bats, bog turtles and salamanders, according to the township. Additionally, the property is in the Highlands Preservation Area.
The property is bordered by the Hibernia and Beaver brooks, streams that are on a DEP list to be designated as Category One, a classification that carries the highest protection, said Councilman Paul Minenna.
Sheninger said the new ordinance was not written to hinder the church's application but came about at the advice of three land-use planners to tighten up local ordinances.
Another part of the new measure would prohibit parking decks, a feature of the Christ Church application that calls for an underground parking garage.
Christ Church wants to build a 304,306-square-foot house of worship that would include a 2,512-seat sanctuary, fellowship hall, youth center, recreational facilities, a private elementary school and administrative offices.
Its plans have been met with opposition from a local group called the Voices of Rockaway Township and the state Sierra Club. In addition to environmental issues, residents are worried about the impact on traffic along Green Pond Road.
Currently, the township planning board is considering the church's site plan application. The next hearing is scheduled for Monday at the Copeland Middle School.
The council said it would hold a public hearing and take a final vote on the ordinance on March 2.
__________________
The truth wins out over slick PR and personal attacks.
The Christ Church Plan for the redevelopment of 140 Green Pond Rd is just too big for the area.
The Daily Record was not at the meeting last night and therefore there is no article in todays paper about this matter. I just thought I would let you all know this so that you were not looking for an article that is not there.
Lisa
__________________
The truth wins out over slick PR and personal attacks.
The Christ Church Plan for the redevelopment of 140 Green Pond Rd is just too big for the area.
...and even the Star Ledger sees through the sham of underbuilding parking.
"...the Christ Church application that calls for an underground parking garage. "
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This is really great news. Not only to protect 140 Green Pond Road from a Mega-Disaster, but this will preserve the character and rural charm of the entire North End. The main reason I moved here from Urbania 12 years ago.
PS: Not that I'm taking credit for it, but, last year, I mentioned in an email or post (I Don't remember where) that the town should limit the size of public meeting places, and ban tiered parking decks. Glad the board took my advice
Has anyone mentioned to Craig that the Rev's refusal to agree to cap attendence (which Craig extracted from him), was used very pointedly at the PB meeting Monday?
NOT that you should make a habit of it, but I do believe it got the job done. In this case the end justified the means.
Don't let it go to your head there, buddy.
I may be wrong, but that's the only time I ever heard the Rev say he wouldn't limit the number of people at his church.
I also noticed that Ted got a taste of his karma at the end of the meeting Monday night. Better change your ways, Ted, the universe is catching up with you already.
From my discussions with him, he made a very tough descision that PB night. He intuitively knew the magnitude of the project to a pretty precise numerical degree, yet that projection had never come out formally, and it never would have been revealed to the public based on procedural protocol. That, he told me, frustrated the hell out of him.
He made a VERY conscious decision that night to do what he did in order to bring home an important point that had not previously been revealed to the public for those procedural reasons. That point was amplified by Karen. It was done in a very rude, crude and nasty way, but, as Craig has told me, - - - so be it - - - there was no other way to get the information out there for public consumption and on the formal record.
Yeah, he is a big mouthed jerk; I know that as he is my landlord and he is still in Fla. He may not be a happy camper when they get back and read this, but, he is quite the pragmatist, for better or worse.
The only important thing is this: RT is now on the Offense. We are now finally defending ouselves against fundamental violations of our rights as a legal Township and its abilitiy to determine its own future. Home Rule rules!
