In sweeping changes that could help preserve the remaining wetlands of the Hackensack River estuary for open space, Mills Corporation has accepted an offer to work with Acting Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco to relocate a proposed Carlstadt mall to another site.
While representatives of the Mills Corporation said they would meet with the governor’s staff, the Virginia-based company said it would continue the application process to build on the Carlstadt site.
On March 20, DiFrancesco held a press conference at the headquarters of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission (HMDC) to offer to help Mills Corporation relocate the proposed 2.1 million square foot mall.
“In my view, any development within the Meadowlands region should meet at least three critical criteria: It should have the absolute minimum impact on the wetlands, it should improve, not aggravate traffic congestion in the area, and it should promote growth in our cities and towns, places with the infrastructure that people that would benefit from development,” DiFrancesco said. “I am concerned that a project of this magnitude would have a tremendous negative impact on the ecosystem of the Empire tract. That, in truth, would disrupt the ecological balance of the Meadowlands as a whole.”
Mills has been seeking a permit to build in the wetlands from the federal Army Corps of Engineers. The company has proposed a mall that initially required the filling of 206 acres of wetlands – the highest number of wetlands filled since the 1970s.
Since the project also needs state permits, DiFrancesco’s opposition has brought hope to mall opponents, who had been pushing to have the project built on non-wetlands.
While DiFrancesco cannot simply deny Mills the state permits to build the mall, according to Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan, one of the staunchest opponents to the mall, a statement issued by the acting governor could make state agencies force the mall to live up to the exact letter of the law in meeting permit guidelines. DiFrancesco said he was both concerned about the environmental impact and the impact the project would have on traffic.
“I welcome new business opportunities for our state, and I want to work with the Mills Corporation to bring its project to New Jersey,” DiFrancesco said. “This venture has the potential to create 12,000 permanent jobs, with 2,000 of them reserved for inner city residents. But, based on what we know about this project, I am convinced that the project should be built somewhere else.”
DiFrancesco said he would appoint a blue-ribbon panel to help Mills find another location for the mall.
Officials from the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, which oversees development in the Meadowlands district, have expressed reservations about the project also because of the high volume of traffic the mall is expected to draw and the lack of sufficient roads to handle the increase.
Mayor Dennis Elwell of Secaucus said the project has numerous implications for Secaucus, both in regard to possible increased traffic backup along Route 3 and in regard to the impact on local businesses.
“We in Secaucus have a history of opposing large projects that fill in wetlands,” Elwell said, noting former Mayor Anthony Just’s stand against the Villages at Mill Creek project – which later was abandoned and the land converted to open space preservation. “I think the acting governor’s decision to stop the filling was a good one.”
Others support the mall’s moving
The Empire tract – on which Mills has proposed to build its mall – has the largest contiguous block of habitat in the northern portion of the Meadowlands and is one of the biggest freshwater wetlands in the predominantly brackish meadowland ecosystem. Along with neighboring Berry’s Creek, the tract is also home to a nesting pair of northern Harriers, which are the New Jersey Department of Environmental protection Agency’s endangered species list.v “As part of the ongoing Clean Water initiative, we need to ensure we are preserving both the quality and quantity of our state’s water supply,” DiFrancesco said. “I am confident we can work with the Mills Corporation to find a suitable site for this project in the state of New Jersey. I know a lot of work has gone into this effort on all sides, and I am convinced that we can find a smart growth solution that creates jobs, meeting the public’s needs … without destroying critical natural resources in the process.”
The HMDC, in a statement issued in conjunction with the governor’s, said it supports the acting governor’s efforts and will work with Mills to find another site.
“The HMDC has always had a view of avoiding development on wetlands, and we have been aggressive in securing funding for wetlands acquisition and open space preservation in the district,” said Alan J. Steinberg, HMDC executive director.
Congressman Steven Rothman applauded DiFrancesco’s move, saying the project should be moved to the site currently occupied by the Continental Arena in the Meadowlands.
“If the state of New Jersey is to provide millions of dollars in grants and loans to build a new arena in Newark, I believe that moving the Mills project to the arena site would be a win-win solution for all involved,” Rothman said. “A large area of open space in the Meadowlands would be saved, construction and permanent jobs would be created, and Mills traffic would flow into the area site on existing highways and not further burden local roads.”