Township Dissolves Environmental Commission

DENNISVILLE — In a surprise move by Township Committee, an item listed on the March 20 list for discussion by Committee instead turned out to be the introduction of an ordinance abolishing the township’s Environmental Commission.
According to its mission statement, the Environmental Commission “represents the public and its long-term interests as local environmental advocates. Commission members work towards these goals by: advising the township council and the planning and zoning boards about environmental impacts of proposals for development; advocating for open-space preservation; keeping residents informed on environmental matters…”
The township has proposed a Natural Resources Committee to stand in the Environmental Commission’s stead, which would report directly to Committee, with no advisory capacity to the planning and zoning boards.
“We are the voice of the citizens with regard to protecting our environment. Period,” said Alma George, an Environmental Commission member. “An applicant does not have to come before us and get through us in order to get somewhere else. All we do is look at the applications, render our opinions and present that to the applicable board,” said George.
A member of the Environmental Commission also sat on the Planning Board, in accordance with law.
“The law of the state of New Jersey says if you have an Environmental Commission, you must have cross-over member from the Planning Board to the Environmental Commission; that they sit on the commission as a voting member and they sit on the Planning Board as a voting member,” said George. “The idea is to have open transparency.”
According to George, the township’s proposed Natural Resource Committee does not require a member to sit on the Planning Board. There are no laws mandating a crossover member.
“They left it off,” said George. “Because there are no laws that govern this new committee. They don’t have to put it in there. They are making it up. They left that out.”
Deputy mayor Brian Teefy told the Herald the new committee will report directly to Township Committee.
“The Committee will report directly to (Township) Committee,” said Teefy. “That way if there is a concern, we can write a letter directly to the DEP.”
When asked if the Natural Resource Committee will act as in an advisory capacity to Planning and Zoning, Teefy said responded that their concerns would come before Township Committee and they, in turn, would take the concerns before the Planning or Zoning Committees.
According to Teefy he, along with other members of Township Committee, feel the township is environmentally controlled by regulations from DEP, CAFRA, and the Pinelands Commission.
“They have a lot of requirements they have to jump hoops through, and once they get to the planning and development stages, to a certain degree, once they get all the approvals, they get to the planning and development stages and it’s almost like another hoop they have to jump through again.”
Teefy explained he feels the state does a good job within their departments.
“It seems like another level of bureaucracy,” he said about presenting plans for approval to a local environmental commission versus a natural resources committee. “To me, I feel it’s a better program, instead of it being just a development phase with revealing plans, they can do anything with the Natural Resources Committee.”
A second reading and public hearing for the proposed ordinance is scheduled for the next regularly scheduled Township Committee meeting. That meeting will take place 6:30 p.m., April 16 in Township Hall.