Thursday, March 8, 2007

By GIOVANNA FABIANO
STAFF WRITER
NORTH JERSEY NEWS

FAIR LAWN - The Borough Council will hold a special hearing to discuss environmental issues associated with a plan to build 178 town houses on the polluted site of a former chemical factory along the Passaic River.
The proposal to turn the Clariant Corp. complex into a high-density development has been one of the most debated issues among council members and residents over the past year, prompting officials to hold a hearing and public forum March 20."I thought it would be a good idea to invite representatives from all the parties involved to discuss environmental issues only and hear what residents have to say," said Mayor Steven Weinstein.
Environmental concerns have long been raised about the former Clariant factory, which churned out dyes and chemicals for nearly 50 years before it closed in 1992. The site is among thousands identified by the state as contaminated, and remains in the midst of a lengthy cleanup.

The council introduced an ordinance Jan. 23 to rezone the 13-acre site from industrial to multifamily residential, paving the way for the developer's plans to build a 48-unit gated building of senior housing and 130 two-bedroom units of traditional town houses. A vote on the issue has been postponed until April 10.

Representatives from Clariant Corp., developers Shellmarc LLC and the Department of Environmental Protection, which is overseeing the cleanup effort, will be giving 10- to 15-minute presentations at the meeting. They will also be on hand to answer questions from the public, said Borough Manager Tom Metzler.

Since the factory closed in 1992, a small group of workers has supervised a cleanup of benzene and other organic chemicals in soil and groundwater since the 1980s.