After 10 residents gave statements on the Appleview LLC development project near the North Bergen/Guttenberg border, the North Bergen Planning Board – without any deliberations – approved the controversial application at their meeting Wednesday night. The proposal was approved under the condition that several issues will be dealt with before construction begins.
Nine months ago, hearings began for the developer, Carmelo Spoleti, who plans to build a 59-unit residential complex at 7009 and 7101 River Rd. in North Bergen. The project is near the Galaxy Towers in Guttenberg and also 20 feet from a major natural gas pipeline.
The Williams Transco Gas Pipeline originates in Texas and transports around 40 percent of New York City’s natural gas. Members of the public fear the Appleview construction could disturb the 36-inch pipe and cause a disastrous explosion.
“There is an 800-pound gorilla in the room here, and it’s that gas line.” — Gerald Drasheff
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The Planning Board voted on the resolution while members of the public shouted “shame!”
Conditions that must be met for the board’s approval to be permanent include obtaining approval from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; agreeing to a prohibition against blasting on the site; obtaining N.J. Department of Environmental Protection approval for the remediation of contaminated soil; making a financial contribution to the township for sewerage improvement; using an approved containment method to protect residents from sliding rock or soil from the Palisade cliffs behind the building; and meeting requirements for federal pipeline regulations, and those of the North Bergen Building Department and the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue.
Objectors have 30 days to file an appeal in Superior Court. The project must also be approved by the Hudson County Planning Board.
Guttenberg mayor: it’s a security risk
Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Drasheff gave testimony to the board at the meeting and said that he was satisfied that the developers had addressed some of his concerns, such as density, traffic, and protecting Guttenberg’s sewerage easement on the site, but he was not certain about other factors.
“There is an 800-pound gorilla in the room here, and it’s that gas line,” he said.
Drasheff said that he believes it is the board’s responsibility to consider the safety of the project, especially since the shutoff valves for the pipeline are unprotected and accessible across the street from the Appleview site. He said that three random vehicles happened to be parked near them Wednesday. He said that the site has no security cameras.
He asked through a letter and at the meeting that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security conduct a Security Vulnerability Assessment of the project to ensure that residents are safe.
Concerned about safety
Galaxy resident Siat Ng said at the meeting that in her own investigation of Transco, a company engineer said a pipeline was exposed along the cliffs due to a sinkhole formed by chronic water runoff.
“Even with the best of intentions we need to get the documentation,” she said. “We need to get the best of their facts.”
She also noted that in previous testimony project engineer Calisto Bertin promised that the project would remain safe by having a representative of Transco on site at all times, but he was previously fined for not doing so while preliminary site work was underway.
North Bergen resident Bijon Marjin asked the board if they would be legally liable if an accident occurred, but they did not answer.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that this project should be rejected. The reasons are many, but the strongest, most convincing has to do with the safety, the real life and death issue,” said North Bergen resident David Kronick. “Since we have witnessed gas pipe explosions occurring across the country in recent months, and those communities did not have anywhere near the population density that we have in the area to be developed, and surely no amount of ratable [taxpaying properties] can replace a single life.”
Appleview Attorney Carmine Alampi said that he and his client were concerned about safety and will “force” Transco to comply with safety concerns, but cannot change the company’s reluctance to come to board hearings.
He also said that while his client is controlled by government agencies, he would not be controlled by a third party, alluding to the Galaxy Towers protestors.
Guttenberg resident Ruth Olsen asked why, if the developer could not make Transco come to meetings to say prove the project is safe, the board didn’t use their subpoena powers to do so. In the past, board attorney Steven Muhlstock has said that was not their responsibility.
“You may not be incinerated, you may not be burned, but you will be affected [if something happens],” she said.
Destroying ordinances?
During the meeting, the Galaxy Board of Trustees Attorney John Lamb presented the testimony of Peter Steck, a licensed planner. The Galaxy Towers are officially objectors to the project.
Steck said that he did not feel that the building conformed to the township’s ordinances and did not have justification for the variances they were requesting. He said the building footprint is 25 percent larger than it should be.
He said that 17,500 square feet of the building, without enough rear yard setback, will be too close or encroach on the Palisades Cliffs. The building will dig 32 feet into the slope, he said.
At first Spoleti had submitted no application for a rear yard variance, but eventually did.
North Bergen resident Peggy Wong asked, “At what point is a variance so excessive that it totally destroys the concept of a variance?”
Steck said that at certain points, a variance can change the purpose of an ordinance.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.