Soldier Hill Project Dealt Another Blow

A developer who hoped to build a 144-unit affordable housing complex off Soldier Hill Road has been struck another blow.

But Project Manager Louis Kaufman said Shamrock Creek would press on with plans to develop a 35-acre parcel after Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin rejected the builder's proposal to build within 300 feet of Soldier Hill Brook, a protected waterway that drains into the Oradell Reservoir.

Martin ruled that the development would irrevocably disturb the area near the brook, agreeing with Administrative Law Judge Barry E. Moscowitz, who also denied Shamrock Creek's applications for stream encroachment and freshwater wetlands permits.

Kaufman said Shamrock Creek would comply with Martin's decision and would redesign the project accordingly. He didn't go into specifics about how the development would look under the limits set by the DEP.

"Until they tell us differently, we are compelled to pursue it," Kaufman said of the project.

The decision is another win for Save Paramus Wetlands, a community group that has opposed the development from the start. Mark Distler and Ed Onorato, the two residents behind the group, hope the property is maintained as an open space.

Distler believes Martin's ruling is a crippling blow.

"If you applied the 300-foot buffer, it would really take away up to 50% of the proposal," he said.

Shamrock Creek, which initially pledged to rehabilitate the site, which is contaminated with arsenic, lead, barium and zinc, now believes the Borough of Paramus is responsible for the cleanup. Kaufman cited language in Moscowitz's decision that said the site was "previously developed and disturbed," because of its former use as a municipal landfill.

"We have reached out to the Borough of Paramus to find out how they intend to clean up that property," Kaufman said.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera said the Borough had received a letter from Shamrock Creek, but did not comment further, since the letter could be part of potential litigation.

At the same time, Shamrock Creek has placed new signs on the property, declaring that an environmental investigation is in progress on the site. Kaufman said the signs were placed there due to new requirements by the DEP.

Residents have complained about the size of the signs, some of which stand along Pascack Road, Distler said. The signs, which list the contaminants in the soil, are much larger than the two- by three-foot minimum called for by the DEP.

"Why the property owner has opted for signs much larger than the minimum required by the state is of concern," LaBarbiera said.