Radburn Residents Can View Daly Field Contract Before Board Votes Nov. 8

Leading up to the Radburn Board of Trustees' Nov. 8 vote on a revised contract for the sale of Daly Field to Landmark L.L.C., both the contract and Landmark's development plan for Daly Field and the Hayward Tract are available for all Radburn residents to see at Grange Hall.

The Radburn Association held two meet-and-greet sessions for residents to comment on the project, and sent out a letter informing residents that the contract is currently available for viewing at the Grange, 29-20 Fair Lawn Avenue, Radburn Association President Lou Weiss told Patch.

Landmark's development plan calls for 165 housing units, including 63 on Radburn-owned Daly field (located at the intersection of Plaza Road, Berdan Avenue and Route 208) and 102 on the Landmark-owned Hayward Tract, Weiss said.

Since Landmark and Radburn signed the original contract in 2004, local grassroots groups and the Fair Lawn Borough Council have taken a stance against developing Daly Field in an attempt to keep the field green. Weiss, however, said the field will remain more than 50 percent green under the plan. Landmark will also revamp the Archery Plaza portion of the property with new drainage, benches, lighting, and paths, creating a "Radburn park setting that can be seen from the Ambulance Corps right out to Fair Lawn Avenue," Weiss said.

Without a contract between Radburn and Landmark, Weiss explained, Landmark would be able to build whatever they want to on the Hayward Tract because the company owns that property. However, if the board votes to go ahead with the contract, Radburn will have control over density and architectural guidelines, Weiss said.

"All the way from day one, this was not about the money for Radburn," Weiss said.

Weiss said he is hoping the Borough Council does not appeal October's Bergen County Superior Court ruling that granted Landmark permission to build 200 housing units on Daly Field and the Hayward Tract (though the actual plan calls for only 165 units). The council has until Nov. 30 to appeal, but the project is in the best interests of Fair Lawn because the borough is projected to owe between $1.5 to $2 million to residents in tax appeals, and the Landmark units–which will be all condominiums rather than rentals–can provide Fair Lawn with a much-needed extra source of tax revenue.

Both the borough and Radburn have also "spent a lot of taxpayer money" for legal fees throughout the course of the dispute, Weiss said.

"Enough money has been wasted on all sides and all the people of Fair Lawn should not once again be asked to fund a lawsuit which would have no merit, in my opinion," Weiss said. "Radburnites are also taxpayers in Fair Lawn and they are tired of money being wasted. Let's get back to the important issues at hand in our community."

Nine board members will vote on the contract Nov. 8 in a session that will be open to all residents of Radburn, Weiss said. The board includes Art Murray, president of the Radburn Citizens' Association. Residents have their own public discussions on the project and contract, and it's Murray's duty to bring all concerns to the Radburn Association, Weiss said.

Judging from the residents who have viewed the development plan at Grange Hall so far, Weiss said that "90 percent of the people liked the design." The board of trustees has received comments and concerns about the project and discussed those issues at its November worksession, Weiss said.

Regarding environmental concerns about the New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection's identification of traces of carcinogens in the groundwater beneath Daly Field and the Hayward Tract, Weiss said the environmental testing firm NJDEP hired–BASF–found traces "which are under almost every property in Fair Lawn." Weiss said the state's reports mention how the carcinogens under Daly and Hayward will dissapate with time.

BASF's legal opinion on the development of the property has been shared with Radburn's board of trustees, and the revised Landmark contract has been adjusted to take care of any potential future liability to Radburn, Weiss said.