The 11/23/2010 email reproduced below is part of a year-long correspondence between Teaneck officials and officials from the NJ DEP’s Green Acres (GA) staff. Back then GA acquiesced in the Town’s claim that its Route 4 Greenbelt was not parkland and did not belong on its ROSI. The Town had apparently cited Master Plan evidence of its claim, GA [in this email ]requested that the Town send that evidence. Green Acres officials have no record that it ever did so. The Town has never produced evidence thayt did so. The Master Plan cited by the Town does not exist [see responses to Powers OPRA request – available on request] and the Town’s 2010 claims have in 2017 proven to be in error in many other respects as well. As seen below, there are additional portions of the 11/23 email that address issues about properties on the Hackensack River Greenway which, TTT believes, also have not yet been fully resolved.
The email’s author, Ms. Nancy Lawrence, is still in 2017 a GA official and she and a GA colleague, Ms. Maude Snyder, have become directly involved in attempting to resolve the major questions about how Teaneck’s ROSI properties are defined – and thus are good sources of state information. It is planned that this TTT page will eventually provide those who visit TTT’s website with the complete set of the Township-GA correspondence (11/2009-12/2010) of which this email is a small but important part.
Email sent 11123110 3:50PM
To: cmckearnin@teanecknj.gov; wbroughton@teanecknj.gov; William.Rupp@FTHGLAW.com
Cc: Rodriguez, Robert; Sumoski, Amy
Subject: Re: Teaneck ROSI
Gentleman.
It was a pleasure meeting with you two weeks ago. I thought it was very good use of our
time as we were able to accomplish quite a bit with reference to reconciling the Township’s
ROSI.
As we had mentioned at the end of our meeting, Robert Rodriguez and I went out to look at
the vacant Township property, adjacent to the FDU property (Block 1401 I Lot 2), that
contained an outfall as well as a trail to the previously mentioned FDU property. There was
some question as to whether this property should be on the Township’s ROSI.
After visiting the site, it appears the Township is allowing for the use of this property for
recreation as there are two separate and permanent signs on the property indicating that
the trail is the “Ravine Entrance” to the “Hackensack River Greenway through Teaneck”
trail. Because the signs were allowed to be erected, and the Township is allowing the use of
this property to gain entrance to the Greenway trail, per NJAC 7:36-25.3(f) this property
belongs on the Township’s ROSI. Please list the property with a note identifying that there
is a pre-existing outfall on this property. If, in the future, repairs need to be done to the
stormwater line, such work will be grandfathered in and will not require approval from the
State House Commission.
After reviewing the map of the Greenway trail included in the “Friends of the Greenway”
brochure available at this site, we decided it would be a good use of our time to visit other
areas where the Greenway trail appeared to cross Township property. Therefore, our next
visit was to the Township Compost Facility (Block 201 I Lot 11), entering the trail from both
the “Pomander Walk” and “Riverside Drive” entrances (as indicated on the trail map). While
we only found one official sign (posted at the unlocked gate on Cedar Lane – Riverside Drive
entrance), we did find that an established trail ran between the facility fencing and the
Hackensack River. As with the property above, it seems the Township is allowing for the
use of this property for recreation purposes. However, in the case of the Compost Facility,
only a very small portion of this property is being used for recreation with the vast majority
being used for composting activities. Therefore, this should be listed on the Township’s
ROSI as: Block 201 Lot 11 Hackensack River Greenway Trail 5′ wide trail easement
adjacent to the high water line of the Hackensack River. Please note that the listing of this
5′ wide trail should not impact any activities currently being conducted at the Compost
Facility. Nor should it impact any planned, or future, activities due to the fact that the trail
appears to run through the floodplain of the river (undevelopable) and due to the extreme
difference in elevation between the composting operations and the river I trail. I have
attached photos taken at both the Ravine Entrance and Compost Facility sites.
Due to time constraints, we were unable to look at the Township’s DPW site. However, if
the Greenway trail exists on this property as it does at the Compost Facility, please list the
DPW property on the ROSI as well, in similar fashion to the Compost Facility [ie: Block I
Lot Hackensack River Greenway Trail 5′ wide trail easement adjacent to the .high water
line of the Hackensack River]. And as with the Compost Facility, the listing of the 5′ wide
trail should not impact any current or future use of the site due to the location of the trail in
reference to the river.
I would be remiss if I did not mention my concern regarding the Greenway trail. Whether
the Township owns the trail via a trail easement across all the various public and private
properties involved, or if it is the non-profit Friends of the Hackensack River Greenway
through Teaneck group that holds the trail easement, I am surprised the Township was
unaware of this recreational use on portions of Township lands. I recall during our visit we
had discussed easements and it was mentioned the Township does not hold any
conservation easements. However, this trail easement falls under the same definition of
“held” as defined in Green Acres rules. Therefore, I ask that the Township further research
the Hackensack River Greenway through Teaneck and determine if the Township gave an
easement to the Friends group or if the Township holds the easement. Depending on the
outcome of your research, please list the Greenway trail as either a 5′ long portion of the
Township owned lands (as mentioned above) -or- list the trail in it’s entirety on the ROSI
with an assumed with of 5′ through the various block and lots involved. Again, this will not
encumber the entire property, but only that section of the property upon which the trail
currently resides. Also, related to this, the NJ Audubon website lists this trail and lists the
owner as the Township. If you determine that the Township is only granting a trail
easement to the Friends group on Township lands, you may want to get this information
corrected.
However, if the signs were placed at any of these sites without Township knowledge and/or
approval and if the Friends of the Hackensack Greenway are trespassing on Township
property via access points to the Hackensack River Greenway through Teaneck trail, please
have the group remove their sign(s) and abandon the trail(s) so as not to confuse the public
as to the Township’s intentions for this property.
The last unresolved items, I believe, are whether Block 1102 I Lot 10 and Block 1101 I Lot
1 belong on the ROSI. Bill was going to research the deeds to determine whether anything
was in the deeds, or the enabling resolution, that linked them to Continental Park. After
looking at Block 1101 I Lot 1, it is probable that there will be nothing in the deed showing
this property is an extension of Continental Park. However, our field visit to Block 1102 I
Lot 10, the vacant property next to Continental Park (Block 1102 I Lot 11), still leaves
questions.
With the agreed upon addition of Block 107 I Lot 5 & Block 5103 I Lot 7 at our meeting, as
well as the addition of Block 1401 I Lot 2 and the 5′ wide trail easement a·cross the Compost
Facility (and DPW facility, if warranted), the Townships ROSI should be complete. Besides
the ROSI, we will eventually need documentation to support the fact that while the
greenways along Route 4 are there to provide aesthetics and buffer the surrounding
community from the traffic of this roadway and the development of roadside commerce, the
1956 (not entirely sure of this date) Master Plan noted that the Township must permanently
protect this road as a high speed thoroughfare – assuming the Master Plan and the
Township’s position has not since changed.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly. Have a safe and restful
Thanksgiving.
Regards,
Nancy Lawrence
Compliance Officer
DEP Green Acres Program
Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship
(p) 609-341-2054
(f) 609-984-0608
(e) nancy.lawrence@dep.state.nj.
