Is it Merely “NIMBY,” or is there Legitimate Worry about Water Encroachment and Other Environmental Concerns?

Sunday afternoon, I decided to take a drive along Twin Oaks Road, the narrow, northerly passage which hangs on the shoulder of the First Watchung Mountain in Bridgewater:

A short stretch of drainage ditch along

 the north side of Twin Oaks Road. (Bergeron Image.)

This short stretch of macadam runs from Morningside Drive to the West and Steele Gap Road to the East.  It roughly defines the northern boundary of a 36 acre tract of land proposed for development.  Opposition to this plan, popularly known as “Stop 18 Homes,” has grown more organized and vocal.

The proposal is currently before the Bridgewater Township Planning Board.  Another meeting is planned for this evening at 7:00 pm in the Municipal Courtroom.  The applicant, Mr. Lang, current owner of this property, is represented by counsel and has also retained an environmental expert who will present his findings and, presumably, his conclusions to the Planning Board this evening.

This environmental expert represents solely the applicant and speaks neither for the Planning Board, nor for the interests of Stop 18 Homes. 

Separately, Mr. Jeffrey Brookner, counsel for Stop 18 Homes had, at the last Planning Board meeting on July 10^th, made a request of the applicant, Mr. Lang, to also have another environmental expert assess the 36 acres on behalf of Stop 18 Homes.  The attorney for the applicant rejected Mr. Brookner’s request, suggesting that the motivation was “to defeat” the application. 

In a phone conversation yesterday, Mr. Brookner indicated that Stop 18 Homes “has [since] hired [its own] environmental expert.”  He added that “I will enter my request again on Monday” before the Planning Board to have that expert obtain permission to access the site.

Mr. Brookner believes that Stop 18 Homes should be permitted to have its own expert examine the site, and that the Planning Board is “entitled to compel” the applicant to grant that privilege.

When asked whether he thought that the property in question could withstand the potential hazards of significant rainfall if the site is developed, Brookner responded, that he would “withhold my opinion until an environmental person has published a report.”

A careful look at this photo reveals the rooftop

 of a building (click image to enlarge) approximately

 60 feet or more south from the roadway

 of Twin Oaks Road. (Bergeron Image.)

My own view after walking both sides of the northern edge of Twin Oaks Road, is that it cuts across a very environmentally sensitive and easily damaged area of the First Watchung Mountain in Bridgewater.

It is not possible to safely park a car on Twin Oaks.  I left my auto next to a private retaining wall near the entrance to Morningside Drive, and walked very carefully up and down Twin Oaks, observing the slope of the land to the north and to the south.  This area is evocative of the homes built on the steep hillsides of certain communities in California. 

There is one significant difference, however.  In California, those hillsides are very permeable; they soak up the rainfall and, when storms are particularly heavy, collapse and take down the homes with them.

In Bridgewater, the Watchung Mountains are heavy with rock (witness that the quarry on Chimney Rock Road is part of that same terrain feature and is virtually a next door neighbor to the proposed site).

Vehicles negotiate the narrow intersection

 of Twin Oaks and Steele Gap Roads

 in Bridgewater. (Bergeron Image.)

What this means is that once the clay of this area is saturated with as much water as it can hold, the Watchung Mountain cannot retain any more.  But, because its geological makeup is similar to that of of the trap rock which is little more than a stone’s throw from the nearby quarry, heavy rains will simply wash downhill, unable to be absorbed any further by the mountain.  The flow of water has to stop somewhere, and that means in the environs of Foothill Road.

Many of the homes on the north side of Twin Oaks tower at least 40 to 60 feet above the roadway, while the homes on the immediate south side drop off precipitously so that only the rooftops of some of them can be seen. 

No joking – take a look for yourself.  You’ll never have to step off the surface of Twin Oaks to see what I mean.  Just watch your step. 

It’s very easy for any rational person to understand the potential for serious environmental damage to that 36-acre piece of property – and you never even have to set foot on the site to come to that observation. 

That’s one of the reasons why it is so important for the Bridgewater Township Planning Board and the applicant to make sure that all bases are covered, and that Stop 18 Homes be granted permission to have its own environmental expert also check out that property.

(Click on any image for an enhanced view.)

Tuesday, July 24, 6:00 AM -- Note:  Last night's Planning Board Meeting was cancelled due to a power failure in the Bridgewater Municipal Complex.  It is expected to be rescheduled in August.