Township Purchases Wetland Property for Environmental Center

Bloomfield Township will soon have a new Environmental Center, says Mayor Raymond McCarthy.

On Wednesday, May 9, the township officially purchased over five and half acres of wetland property on Lion Gate Drive for the sum of $2.2 million.

“It’s nearly six acres of land that we got for the townspeople, without using a single penny of the taxpayer’s money,” he said.  A Green Acres grant was used to purchase the majority of the property, with the remainder paid for with a $250,000 grant from the NY/NJ Baykeeper, a wildlife conservancy organization.

“We’re ecstatic that this has come to pass.  It gives the community more open space and natural area,” McCarthy said, noting that the parcel of land had once been earmarked for a complex of 38 townhouses.  Leaving the land in its natural state would benefit both the environment and the community, he said, because the land could be used for an environmental education center, much like the one in Roseland, New Jersey.

“There are things in the river – various types of fish and birds and habitat that you won’t see anywhere else,” he said.  “The Baykeepers called it one of the most pristine places on the Third River.”

McCarthy said that a landscape architect is scheduled to speak to the town council about the project and how to best preserve the land. The architect’s presentation will take place at the council meeting May 29.

At l controversy arose about how best to use an adjoining parcel of wetland property, also on Lion Gate Drive (on the old Scientific Glass premises.)  McCarthy advocated building condominiums on it, disagreeing with some council members, notably Councilman Nick Joanow, who said the idea of building residential units on wetlands was ill-advised.  The Council ultimately voted to consult the New Jersey Environmental Protection Agency for about that project, using a letter drafted by Joanow.