Bloomfield to DEP: Reject Liongate Wetlands Permit

By a 4 to 3 vote, the town council authorized the following letter to be sent to NJDEP.

"We the Council members of the Township of Bloomfield strongly recommend that you reject the 5 year extension of the Freshwater Wetlands Permit that is being reviewed by your department. The construction of 104 condominiums [is] on a 100 year FEMA-designated floodplain/wetland located in the Lower Passaic River Basin that has a long and well documented history of flooding…. The Army Corps of Engineers has stated that "Development in the floodplain increases future property losses, threatens the economic stability of communities and puts public health and safety at risk''....

In the interest of public safety, these flaws warrant correction before the department issues any permits to develop this flood-prone site. We are asking the DEP come to Bloomfield to see the site first hand and to hear our concerns about the true nature of flooding in the neighborhood."