[CPEO-BIF] Stafford NJ-- "Smart growth area" designation for BF cluster

[bobh@np.craigslist.org]

Rezoned area has six polluted sites

Land marked for "upscale" redevelopment
61907

BY MATT PAIS

STAFFORD ? Three years ago, Tom Walters wanted to buy the building at 63 E. Bay
Ave. and open a bicycle shop, but decided against it after learning the ground
beneath the structure had been contaminated more than 15 years ago by a laundry
that operated on the site.

...At least six commercial parcels along a two-mile stretch of the street are
included in the state Department of Environmental Protection's list of known
contaminated sites. They include four former gas stations, a one-time laundry and a
now-vacant lot that once housed a car dealership. All were designated as
contaminated between 1993 and 2003...Before redevelopment on the sites can take
place, however, state regulators would have to give the properties a clean bill of
health.

Mayor Carl W. Block said township officials are aware of the sites and that they
pose no immediate risk to public health. But until property owners excavate and
decontaminate the areas in question, a cost prohibitive process for many potential
single-lot developers, the sites will remain in their current condition...Block
said he hopes the township's recent designation as a "smart growth area" ? a town
with an approved, sustainable plan for development and redevelopment ? will give
them an advantage when applying for grant money.

For the entire article, see:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070619/NEWS02/706190403/1070/OPINION


Bob Hersh
CPEO

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