Some in Wayne concerned over Toys R Us site redevelopment
By: Philip DeVencentis
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
WAYNE - Homeowners in a local lake community are worried about redevelopment of the former Toys R Us headquarters, saying the project will cause flooding and pollute the stream that courses through their well-to-do neighborhood.
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There is a precedent for their concerns, they insist.
..... In July 1990, an oil tank leaked 900 gallons of fuel at what was then offices for American Cyanamid Company. Some of it went into a storm drain, eventually spilling into Haycock brook, which feeds into Pines lake.
..... A newspaper article published at the time says the spill was "quickly contained," but for residents like Thomas Leach of brook Terrace, the fuel accident is not easy to forget.
..... "I'm not talking hypothetical problems," he said to the Township Council at tis most recent meetings. "These are problems that this property has done to us, as neighbors, in the past. This new development is going to exacerbate those problems - it's as simple as that."
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Leach was among a handful of Pines Lake residents who addressed the council before its majority voted to rezone the Geoffrey way property.
..... The decision updated construction standards for the 192.3-acre site, once occupied by Toys R Us, while serving as a precursor for a related move expected in two weeks. Officials are due to pass a formal settlement with the current owner, Point View Wayne Properties, a limited liability company, after five years of negotiations.
..... The property was designed for office use only, but under the zoning change adopted by the council, it can have mixed uses in certain locations, and up to 1,360 housing units, including 272 affordable units. The change also included new criteria for heights of buildings.
..... The tallest allowable structure will be one, eight-story building near the reservoir, but officials said most of it will not be visible from the Pines Lake neighborhood due to the dense woods and sloping terrain.
..... The neighborhood to the northwest of the Point View property, has 675 homes around an man-made lake. It was established almost a century ago as a summer resort for city dwellers. It dues-paying residents are in a private association, governed by a nine-member board of trustees.
..... Holly Ryan, also of Brook Terrace, said there should be a larger buffer between the lake community and redevelopment. It is now proposed to be 100 feet. Other residents expressed concerns about the impact of the project on endangered spaces, sewage capacity and storm-water runoff.
..... Monique Donnelly lives on Pontiac Drive, in a home backing up to the Point View property. The brook, she said, flows through her yard. "Every time it rains, it floods unbelievably," she told the council.
..... The 100-foot buffer was "heavily negotiated" with input form a court-appointed special master, said Brian Chewcaskie, an attorney who represents the township on afford alb housing.
.... "Some would say it's sufficient, and some would say it's insufficient, but that;s the buffer," he added. "those are the sacrosanct areas."
..... Mayor Christoper Vergano thanked the residents for their input, assuring them that officials would do "everything humanly possible" to protect their neighborhood. "None of us likes it," he said of the future project, which is still years away form fruition. "None of us do."