News from Skylands CLEAN, Inc.

West Brook Mount sold for open space

Haven for wildlife preserved

Suburban Trends

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

By Teresa Edmond

Staff Writer

State, county and borough officials bought a cherished 155-acre mountain for open space, officially rescuing the property from destructive development that could harm animal habitats and endanger water supplies.

Last month, the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Passaic County and the borough rallied together to purchase West Brook Mountain as state Green Acres property for $4 million. According to DEP spokesperson Karen Hershey, Passaic County Open Space and the borough each gave $1 million to buy West Brook Mountain. The other $2 million came from the state’s acquisition fund.

“It was a cooperative venture between the state, the borough and the county to acquire the property, which would be managed by state park services,” Hershey said.

Skylands CLEAN spearheaded West Brook Mountain’s preservation before its open space acquisition, when the environmental organization halted a local developer from building a cluster of 39 homes on the mountainside.

The group cheered its own victory and that of the environment when West Brook Mountain was purchased as open space last month.

“This is one of the most magnificent properties in the Highlands,” said Skylands CLEAN Executive Director Robin O’Hearn. “It has been targeted for open space acquisition for years. CLEAN’s role in saving this property will always be one of our proudest accomplishments as an organization.”

Part of the Wyanokie Highlands Greenway, which stretches from Bloomingdale’s Federal Hill to Sterling Forest in New York, West Brook Mountain connects two state parks, Norvin Green State Forest and Long Pond Ironworks state park. Hershey said that the property acquisition would offer more open space for hiking and bird watching in that area.

West Brook Mountain is a Highlands Region staple for many reasons. First, it guards the Wanaque Reservoir, which provides drinking water to 2 million residents statewide. The mountain is also home to many threatened and endangered species, including a variety of hawks and timber rattlesnakes. And water runs from the mountain into the West Brook, where brook, brown, and rainbow trout swim.

The Windbeam Flyfishing Club, a local organization that fishes in the West Brook, joined forces with Skylands CLEAN throughout the eight-month legal battle. According to Bud Korteweg, the club’s president, a project by local developer Jack Levkovitz would have had a serious impact on local recreation and the environment.

“If that development had gone through, it would have destroyed the club, sucked all the water off that mountain and dried up the stream. This is something to rejoice about. We’re happy that Green Acres purchased that property,” Korteweg said.

A quick overview

The Ringwood Planning Board approved Levkovitz’s 39-house project on West Brook Mountain in December 2002.

Acting on a concern that such a project would contaminate the water runoff into the West Brook and ravage the forested hillside, Skylands CLEAN successfully filed to have the approval overturned after it was discovered that the developer hadn’t properly notified surrounding homeowners of the hearings.

The Windbeam Flyfishing Club joined Skylands CLEAN to contest the development because the club feared that the development would pollute the waters and eventually destroy the West Brook’s trout population.

Once the Planning Board reopened the hearings on the site plan’s application in April 2003, it took eight months to determine whether the developer’s slope calculations and stormwater management on West Brook Mountain met local zoning laws.

That legal wrangling climaxed in December 2003 when then-DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell told the Planning Board to reject the housing project because it lacked proper stormwater controls, finishing off the development.

In the Skylands CLEAN statement, O’Hearn said she was thankful for Campbell’s appearance at that fateful December 2003 Planning Board meeting.

“We owe Brad Campbell a huge debt of gratitude,” she said. “Without his appearance at the Planning Board, I think it’s likely that West Brook Mountain would have been covered with McMansions today, not forest.”

The Highlands Council’s approval of the state Highlands Act further blocked off any chances of a housing development project occurring on West Brook Mountain.