TOWNSHIP OF CEDAR GROVE

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of the Environmental Commission that the Township Council has recently undertaken discussions with the Essex County Improvement Authority (ECIA) concerning possible amendments to the Hilltop Redevelopment Plan; and

WHEREAS, during the course of such discussion, the ECIA and contract-purchaser K. Hovnanian Company have indicated that the property known as Parcel 5 of the Hilltop Redevelopment Area (HRDA) consists of 90.2 acres, as opposed to the minimum 100 acres required by the HRDA Plan; and

WHEREAS, it was further revealed that the Parcel 5 tract size deficiency could result in a reduction in the initially proposed 20-acre open space set-aside for Parcel 5, to just six (6) acres, or thereabouts; and

WHEREAS, the possibility has also been raised of dedicating the entirety of Parcel 5 to Open Space/Recreation/Parkland; and

WHEREAS, the Hilltop property offers the Township a unique opportunity to advance the goals and objectives of the Cedar Grove Open Space and Recreation Plan insofar as its location, size, accessibility, geographic features, and adjacency to the Essex County Bikeway, all lend to its vast potential for open space preservation, pedestrian/bicycle trail networking, and active and passive recreation development options;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Environmental Commission of the Township of Cedar Grove, Essex County, New Jersey, that the Commission herewith recommends that the Township Council advance every possible effort to achieve the preservation of the entirety of Parcel 5 as Public Parkland.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if preservation of Parcel 5 in its entirety cannot be achieved, the Commission recommends that a minimum of 20 acres of the tract, regardless of the overall Parcel 5 tract size and regardless of the final tract development plan, be permanently set aside for purposes of public open space and recreation.

This resolution was unanimously approved at the March 10, 2005 Environmental Commission meeting.