Wednesday, June 16, 2004

By CHARLES AUSTIN
STAFF WRITER
NORTH JERSEY NEWS

FAIR LAWN - The Planning Board is recommending that two areas be declared "in need of redevelopment," but it has delayed a controversial decision about putting that designation on a portion of the Radburn neighborhood until a special meeting Sept. 20.

The board also has agreed with an engineering firm's report that the Nabisco plant in Fair Lawn is not in need of redevelopment, but should be monitored in case Kraft Foods, which owns Nabisco, changes its operations there.

The recommendations approved at a meeting on Monday now go to the Borough Council, which must make the final decision on designating the sites as redevelopment areas. The designation enables the borough to encourage and direct development on sites that are under-used, dangerous, or not in keeping with the borough's master plan.

The two sites - both on or near River Road - are a 13.5 acre property owned by a chemical company along the Passaic River and an auto-parts manufacturing plant on Maple Avenue and River Road. The study by Cheryl Bergaillo of Schoor DePalma, a Manalapan firm, found that the sites were dilapidated, the buildings unsuitable for modern use, and that both properties were not "contributing to and serving the public health, safety, and welfare."

But the nearly 90 people who attended the Planning Board meeting came primarily to discuss the Radburn sites. Many of them were Radburn residents who oppose the plan of the Radburn board of trustees to sell a former industrial site and a former athletic field to a developer of town houses.

The Schoor DePalma report said the sites, totaling about 11 acres, were under-used and contaminated and that development could be encouraged by combining the parcels into a single package.

But some residents of Radburn, a 75-year-old planned community, contend that the sites are used, should remain as open recreational space. They also say that if the land is contaminated, it should not be developed as housing. Most people who spoke at Monday night's meeting had voiced their concerns at earlier meetings called by the Radburn board of trustees.

Michael Roney, one of the opponents of the development, drew applause when he challenged the assertion that the sites were under used. "Nothing could be further from the truth," he said, noting that on the site known as Daly Field, the grass is mowed, people walk dogs, and a sidewalk provides an entrance to the field where Radburn baseball teams once played.

Though most of the people speaking at the meeting opposed designating the sites as "in need of redevelopment," the designation might actually give the borough more control over what is done with the parcels, said Planning Board Chairman Barry Winston. If the borough approved the designation for the Radburn land, it could be designed as open space or recreational land.

However, that designation might be challenged in court by either the Radburn board of trustees or Landmark Cos., the Keasbey firm with a contract to purchase the Radburn sites for $3.75 million. The final sale is contingent upon approvals for the development, which might include more than 100 town houses.

Though the plan has been widely discussed, the specifics of the proposed development are not yet known. A long series of public hearings will be required as the plans go before Fair Lawn's zoning board, Planning Board, and council.

Charles Austin's e-mail address is austin@northjersey.com