An environmental battle is shaping up in West Orange, where Seton Hall Prep School has plans to expand its athletic fields, build tennis courts and a parking lot and erect a hamburger stand (!) on the site of an old growth forest. The Sierra Club has started a letter-writing campaign against the plan, which goes in front of the West Orange planning board on Wednesday July 11.
The trees are on the former estate of General George McClellan, a dishonored Civil War general and one-term governor of New Jersey.
From the Sierra Club's alert to members:
"Some of these trees witnessed the birth of our nation. Is this the example for stewardship of a living historic monument you would expect from an educational institution?" asks Bruce Kershner (forest ecologist, international authority on Old-Growth forests, and author of Sierra Club Guide to Ancient Forests of the Northeast), who was brought in to do a survey of the estate in 2002 by The Sierra Club, when they learned that Seton Hall Prep had not provided the legally mandated environmental impact statement. The Governor George McClellan Estate remains the only unprotected and endangered old growth forest site within the northern New Jersey Metro area.
Star Ledger columnist Mark Di Ionno recently sided with the Sierra Club.
More and more, public open space designed for passive recreation is being converted into municipal sports complexes, with manicured fields, electronic scoreboards, fieldhouses and snack stands.More and more, parents question why games and practices have trumped family dinnertime, church, even schoolwork. The increasing demands of youth sports have nearly wiped out wide participation in scouting and other clubs. The time put into games, practices and travel have made family outings to historic or natural places, like the Ford Mansion or Great Swamp, almost impossible. Lost is the inherent knowledge of the world around us. What was, and what remains.
Good luck, Old Growth Forest. You're up against the National Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.
Comments (50)
From an e-mail from the Sierra Club
"The forest is located on
Prospect Avenue in West Orange, neighboring SHP's newest practice
fields. (That construction devastated acres of similar forest several
years ago, including a tree dating back to the founding of our
Country... It has also wreaked havoc in the form of drainage, animal
habitat, and some would argue traffic, air quality, noise, and scenery.)"
There are 1,052 trees in this forest.
also from the Sierra club:
" Write your local paper(s), post information on blogs, contact
local politicians, seek support from Seton Hall Prep alum, and
environmental group representatives (email one of us for all the
addresses/fliers/additional info), also go to for an easy form letter;
http://newjersey.sierraclub.org/Essex/Webalert_form1.asp
Support the efforts of this grassroots group through volunteering,
and/or cash donations to pay for attorney fees, forest specialists,
mailings, and the such. (We're up against a wealthy giant!)
Please contact:
Sally at green@westorange.com, or
Loren at NowIsTheTime2Act@gmail.com
for additional information, directions, would like a tour of the
forest, would like a copy of an environmental report regarding Phase
1 of this project, would like to review the proposed project's
blueprints, need a ride to meetings, etc."
Does West Orange really need another place to buy hamburgers?
"How environmentally conscious has Seton Hall Prep been? The first 20 of 44 acres were cleared in 1999 by Seton Hall Prep after the Town of West Orange planning board approved it over the neighborhood's objections and without conducting the required environmental impact statement. In 2006, Headmaster Kelly offered to meet with Sierra Club members but then ignored requests to set a date. In April of 2007, Seton Hall Prep was issued a summons by West Orange for constructing an athletic field, including the importation of thousands of yards of fill dirt, without a permit. They cut many other trees, including a 60" diameter Oak tree. Presently, Seton Hall Prep has been discharging storm water onto the steep slopes of its property thereby causing severe soil erosion. "
Read the November 2002 Old Growth Forest Survey report which discusses the site in detail.
http://newjersey.sierraclub.org/Essex/Old_Growth_Forest_report.pdf
Join the action:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/SetonHall2
"..., a dishonored Civil War general and one-term governor of New Jersey."
Ah, New Jersey traditions run deep.
A typical baristanet hit job. No attempt is made to understand the other side of the issue. She probably thinks "What's to understand? I know what's right and wrong here, the other side doesn't matter". Then there's the obligatory cheap shot at the end. Really, Deb, can't you even fake a little nod at even-handed journalism?
Good luck, kids. You're up against hack "citizen journalists".
Why are trees more important than anything else? If we have private land ownership isn't their choice to build. If this is historically or environmentally sensitive area shouldn't the government step in and buy it with emminent domain?
Late last night, we received an email from Pat Kenschaft l that there's been a postponement:
"The meeting about the prospective cutting of many trees owned by Seton Hall Prep, announced in a recent email, has been postponed to some yet-to-be announced date in September."
It's not on the actionnetwork.org site yet, so it's best to call this number for confirmation of agenda at scheduled PB meetings: (973) 325-4110
"Why are trees more important than anything else?"
They are not more important than anything else but they are important. They remove toxins from the air, help to cool the earth, provide a habitat for animals and birds (contribute to the overall flora and fauna in general), and are just aesthetically pleasing. Can you imagine a world without trees? I cannot, but I guess that's what deserts are for.
And to the open space comments... go to South Mountain or Garrett Park or Rifle Camp... they are basically empty during the week and there is still plenty of room to hike on the weekends without seeing a soul. Lets call this what it is. Its about a general policy to stop any development by any means possible.
The county just spent 5million dollars to buy Kips when they decided it was in the public interest and this is the way to enhance and preserve.
Typical liberals ruining America. What's next, you are going to tell me where i can and cannot park on my own property. Or perhaps that I can't take down the tree that is causing mold to destroy my house and deck (quite a larger investment and bigger deal to me than a tree). Cause for some reason the stupid tree is more important than my private investment on my private piece of land. Hey Sierra Club...GET A LIFE!
I think this is the correct site in question. Notice the adjacent golf course that adds some natural beauty to the area.
This is private property, right? So the school should be able to decide how best to develop their property as long as its impact complies with town laws. I don't think cutting down "old trees" is against the law unless bordering homeowners feel it impacts their privacy or aesthetic appeal. Maybe the school's architects will install natural buffers for surrounding appeal. Everyone cringes at cutting down trees for parking space, but we live in a car obsessed culture that demands this necessary evil.
Considering this is a catholic school, maybe the question ought to be, "what would Jesus do?"
This is because old trees are being cut down or because college admission has become so competitive that students need strong "resumes" beyond frilly family vacations to historic mansions and natural preserves? The world is changing ... this isn't 1960 anymore ... boy scout campfire songs and s'mores aren't going to get little Johnny into a top tier college ... and before you question why that is important, blame the parents for thinking this is the only path to success.
"...blame the parents for thinking this is the only path to success."
Or, perhaps, just maybe, let people decide for themselves which "path to success" to take.
The rationale of most SHP parents paying $11,000/year for school (and that is a relative bargain; MKA charges $26,000/year) is that this school will give them an advantage to getting accepted into a top tier school. Why spend all that money to then have them attend a state college? Granted some are better than others, but the mindset "only the best will do" applies here.
"Considering this is a catholic school, maybe the question ought to be, "what would Jesus do?"
Posted by Jim | July 6, 2007 10:33 AM "
What would Pingry doo?
GRguy - There are already laws that tell you where you can or cannot park your car on your property. As I assume you live in GR, just try parking your car on your front lawn some day and see what happens.
What kills me about the people who would be so quick to cricize the efforts of individuals to uphold quality of life in this area is that they have forgotten WHY it is that they choose to live in places like Montclair and GR themselves. It's because of the very people who, over the years, have diligently preserved a certain quality of life. The irony is that it's obviously one that you appreciate or you wouldn't be living here.
If you really want freedom to park you car anywhere or chop all the trees down - try Queens. It's only 30 minutes east of here (and guess what - property taxes are lower too).
Typical liberals ruining America. What's next, you are going to tell me where i can and cannot park on my own property. Or perhaps that I can't take down the tree that is causing mold to destroy my house and deck (quite a larger investment and bigger deal to me than a tree).
Typical "Conservative" reaction: Squeeze some apples and complain that it doesn't taste like orange juice.
What does a conservation group trying to conserve what is currently open wild space from being turned into yet another set of playing fields have to do with the very obvious to answer scenario of one sick tree damaging someone's house?
Oh, that's right: Absolutely nothing.
The big difference here is simple: The school already has playing fields. They want more. You only have one house and are not looking to cut down multiple acres of open space to build another while there is nothing wrong with the one you have.
I'm not saying I entirely agree with everything the Sierra Club ever tries to get done. But, this time it seems like they have the right idea.
Knowitall,
But you CAN park your car on the front lawn.
And there is no code I can find to prohibit one from clear cutting one's own private property.
You seem ill-informed for a "knowitall".
I don't see this as a liberal vs. conservative issue. Many of you who post here regularly know that I'm a conservative but in this case, I am on the side of the Sierra Club.
We all benefit--liberals and conservatives both--by preserving the environment. We all have to live here.
And like any Libertarian worth her salt, MM is for the denial of private property rights for the public good.
Pingry's stance on sustainability is well-promoted and exercised through careful development of its large rural campus.
By no definition save the kindest imaginable could Martinsville, where the Pingry School sits, ever quite be described as "rural" in nature.
Pingry costs 25k per year and that helps keep the pressure off them.
As usual, MM, I'm with you on this one. That space is a habitat for animals, and with the destruction of habitat comes an increase in wild animals seeking new habitats in such places as back yards, attics, etc. Then it will be all about the increase in Animal Control calls and News 12 reports a la "Bear Terrorizes Suburban Essex Neighborhood." Blah, blah, blah.
They have a good deal of athletic fields at SHP. They don't need any more.
Compared to the density of The Oranges, this looks pretty rural to me.
Exactly, Dog Mom. In the past two weeks, I've spotted about half a dozen deer, while I was out running and while driving. I'm not going out of my way to find them, it's in broad daylight, and they don't run away when they see me approach them on foot. Many of them are ending up as roadkill because we are encroaching on their habitat.
When I was a kid, if you had the luck to spot a deer, it would hightail it out of there as quickly as possible. Now, they just stand there and stare at you.
Some people might think it's a good thing that the deer are more comfortable around humans. It's not. It translates into more auto casualties, more Lyme disease, more roadkill.
"Rural" in a cultural sense has little to do strictly with population density, Jim. There are no hog farms in Martinsville, no John Deere or Purina Feed & Chows dealerships, no fields of corn, etc. (Although I seem to recall a Grange building that needs repairs that's used by antiques dealers on Sundays, a relic of when the area was indeed rural.) Nor even, most importantly, Jersey equivalents to Lum 'n' Abner (who may, contrastingly, be found in abundance in Burlington, Atlantic and Ocean counties). So no, at best Martinsville is exurbia. And inhabited by people who can afford to send their kids to Pingry, as most genuine rustics cannot.
Why should SHP bear the brunt of northern Jersey's lack of old growth forests? Perhaps it would be fairer if the Sierra club (or the government) were to buy the trees from the school at the going rate. It seems a little hypocritical to force them to refrain from cutting down trees while we all live in houses and buildings built on land that was clear cut years ago.
Fairness probably has little to do with it, however.
And George McClellan was a good deal more than a "dishonored Civil War general," Debbie. You really might have done some homework there. As commander of the Army of the Potomac, he fought Lee to a standstill several times. His lack of aggressiveness in pursuing Lee, especially given his advantages in men and materiels over Lee, have hurt his reputation in the last 150 years. But he was always a more than competent soldier and even a decent "peace candidate" for Northern Democrats against Lincoln before Lincoln's second term (he was kind of the Wesley Clark of his times). In no way, whatever his faults when compared against worthies like Grant, Sherman and Thomas, he remains in the first rank of Union generalship and in way way deserves to be termed "dishonored." Not even Lincoln supporters in the heat of a Presidential campaign ever went that far.
what does laura loonie think about all of this balderdash? Grab a bottle of wine and dig in.
Mike,
Clearly I was trying to make orange juice out of apples. Because that is what us conservatives do when we are not trying to protect our constitutional rights to our private property. You can name all the excuses you would like and add animals into the equation. The bottom line is there is no compromise with the constitution. Clubs, such as the Sierra Club, have no right telling you, or me, what I can and cannot do to my property. Thank you ROC for helping me prove my points. It's obvious the liberals on this site aren't as informed as they would like to believe.
If you have a problem withprivate property, me doing whatever I want on MY property, and the wild animals, then this "lovely" blue county should have not voted against the bear hunt and deer hunting rights (SOMETHING PROVEN TO CONTROL THE ANIMAL POPULATION). You may think it's cruel, but it serves its purpose and tastes good too (go to the Thirsty Moose on Rt. 15, you can eat all our lovely wild critters).
We have all chose to live in a urban county. It's a given that trees and wildlife will be cut down and co-exist with us. Don't come crying to the forums when you want to put up a shed and your neighbor won't let you cause the tree on your property has root structure on theirs making it a mutual-asset. Then again, all liberals are perfect and would never do something or the sort, they'd build the shed in the tree cause it is environmentally friendly right? If you have a problem maybe you should try Sussex County (you'll never notice a tree getting taken down cause there are thousands more).
God bless SHP. Fight to cut those trees down. Hell, rip up the ground and install drainage for field turf too. DO whatever it takes to flex your constitutional rights in an age where people such as Mike and iknowitall are causing them to be limited and
destroyed one by one.
SHP is built by fools like you and me. But only God can make a tree.
if that's the case god invented field turf too...have you ever played on it? Absolutely heavenly on the knees and ankles....
Agree, Miss M. So let's all pitch in and buy the property from SHP at the going rate for the land plus whatever the trees are worth--about 50 gadzillion dollars, according to Horticulture Asset Management Inc.
It's a lot of money that could otherwise be spent on the poor, education, etc. But heck -- we're not talking about God's handiwork.
"But you CAN park your car on the front lawn."
ROC, that law says to me park on the lawn once, ok, park on it twice and we have issues. Translated, no lawn parking.
Sorry, we ARE talking about God's handiwork.
229oz,
Nope.
"4. No commercial motor vehicle and not more than one noncommercial motor vehicle may be stored or constantly or habitually parked in a front yard."
One car may be "habitually parked in a front yard" two may not.
I stand corrected.
GRguy:
Let me guess, you pronounce America without the "A", don't buy into that "myth" of global warming for one second, and still think some "weapons of mass destruction" are going to show up in Iraq any day now. Am I right?
Were you out a huntin' for some food? Shot, missed, and up came that bubblin' crude? Oil, that is. Black gold. Texas tea? Did your kin folk tell you move to Californi and you just got lost on your way and ended up in Glenn Ridge?
The bottom line is there is no compromise with the constitution.
Yup, hope you're keeping vigilant against the constant threat posed by those "savage Indians."
There is compromise with the constitution. They are called Amendments. Without them you wouldn't most of the freedoms we enjoy in this country.
Thank you ROC for helping me prove my points.
You better thank him, 'cause you're doing a pretty crappy job all on your lonesome.
Unrelated nonsense about hunting.
I'm all for controlled hunting of animals. But, we weren't talking about that.
Just like this initial item wasn't about your right to clear cut your lawn or park your pickup truck on cinder blocks in front of your trailer.
God bless SHP. Fight to cut those trees down. Hell, rip up the ground and install drainage for field turf too. DO whatever it takes to flex your constitutional rights in an age where people such as Mike and iknowitall are causing them to be limited and
destroyed one by one
I was going to make an off the cuff remark about the school using the landscape appraisal services advertised on this site in the guise of a post earlier this week and then offering to sell the trees to the county or the conservation group in question, but obviously we're only allowed to deal in extremes with a serious tone while insulting each other on this website.
So, never mind.
has ANYBODY who has posted on this (especially those bashing the Sierra Club) bothered to visit and READ the two pieces of background information (especially the report at "actionnetwork.org/campaign/SetonHall2") before mouthing off??? The issue isn't just "trees vs. ball-fields" or "private property rights". For one thing, the development already done by SHP was done without permits. This development has already caused the neighbors who live downhill to have their basements flood.
So, GRguy who said: "God bless SHP. Fight to cut those trees down. Hell, rip up the ground and install drainage for field turf too. DO whatever it takes to flex your constitutional rights. . ." --first, where in the constitution does it say that anyone has the right to disregard municipal regulations regarding development of their private property? And I guess it would be OK with you if I live uphill from you in GR and alter my property so that your basement floods? Hey, I put that ball-field in MY backyard. . .
Thank you everyone for the vigorous discussion. Some things to consider:
I have been informed that the Township of West Orange sought to purchase all forty-five acres that Seton Hall Prep now owns on Prospect Avenue. Seton Hall Prep and the Township were competing bidders for the acquisition of the property from the mortgage holder that took title to the land when the land owner defaulted on its mortgage. I have been informed by a former West Orange Township Council member that the Council instructed the former Township attorney to submit a bid for the property, but for some reason those instructions were not properly executed. Seton Hall won the bid and purchased the property.
Seton Hall constructed the first phase of its project without an environmental impact statement despite a Township ordinance requiring one. In that instance, the Township did not enforce its own ordinance.
In June of 2006, Seton Hall constructed an athletic field without a required permit. The construction involved the importation of large quantities of fill material. Though informed of the construction, the Township took no action against Seton hall Prep until, when threatened with a lawsuit by a Township resident, a summons was issued to Seton Hall in March of 2007. Last week in municipal court, the Township prosecutor announced that a plea bargain had been negotiated and Seton Hall Prep would be fined $ 5,000.00. The municipal court judge heard arguments from the public against the plea bargain and calculated that the proposed fine amounted to $ 27.50 per day of the violation. The judge rejected the fine as being inadequate and said that it would send the wrong message to the community. Seton Hall Prep and the Township must now negotiate a new plea to be approved by the judge or go to trial.
Seton Hall Prep had also been discharging storm water not in compliance with its approved storm water plan thereby causing severe soil erosion. The Township has not taken action on this matter.
Sounds like Seton Hall Prep is a BAD neighbor!
Agreed, Hiding, but it also sounds as if the township has been rather lackadaisical in enforcing the law.
I believe that people should obey the law whether it's being enforced rigorously or not.
Do you speed and run red lights because there is no law enforcement officer standing on the corner. I'm sure you don't.
Of course not. What I meant was that the laws were in place but for some reason, the township chose to look the other way.
Good for you "KevinM" -- THAT was an informative post!!
Clearly, West Orange did "look the other way" in allowing the 2006 development -- which is EXACTLY why citizens should hold our elected officials 'feet to the fire' from here forward. And Seton Hall, having already violated the law should be held to a very high standard of proof that any potential future development would not have any negative impact on the surrounding environment and properites. An independent, accurate, scientifically valid Environmental Impact Statement must be done and accepted (with adequate public comment). Those who said the Sierra Club should buy the forested land from Seton Hall: do you think also that Seton Hall should buy the properties of all their downhill neighbors whose basements are now flooding? What you do one one piece of property affects the neighboring land.
do you think also that Seton Hall should buy the properties of all their downhill neighbors whose basements are now flooding?
Actually, yes, I do.
If there is concrete proof then every single home owner should sue that school for the cost of moving and the fair market value of their homes before the fields were built and the damage allegedly done.
What you're ignoring when you say "what one person or organization does with their own property is their business", is that once ALL those people and ALL those organizations exercise their "right" to do whatever they want with THEIR property, permanent damage has been done to the town, county, state, and the whole environment that EVERYONE has to live in. You cut down the trees in your yard, maybe your neighbors think amongst themselves that you have no taste. But if someone buys a forest and cuts it down, they're affecting the whole town, the quality of the air people breathe and the beauty of a large part of the town.