Despite environmental concerns, the Edison Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of a minor subdivision proposed for the former Kemco Corp. site on Inman Avenue.
Brian Schwartz, the Scotch Plains attorney representing the applicant, Inman Sports Club, reminded the board and members of the public that his client is simply proposing a two-lot minor subdivision at this point. The Dec. 19 hearing was the second on the application.
“We didn’t want to adjourn the hearing [Oct. 17], but I wanted the board to feel satisfied in what we are doing,” said Schwartz. “We went through this as a proper land use application and that is all we are doing. We are taking a bunch of small tax map lots and making it two lots … we are drawing a line where a portion is going to be the tennis club and another portion is going to be the property with the driving range.” Schwartz said he probably gave more information to the board than was legally needed, because “I felt I wanted the board to feel comfortable and know that they are not doing anything wrong.”
The applicant is proposing to sell the area of the tennis academy to its manager, who has long sought to take over its ownership. The academy includes six outdoor tennis courts and 10 indoor courts nestled within two clubhouses.
William Lund, project engineer for the subdivision, said a variance was needed for side-yard setback because the club property was located next to a former industrial site and had a 50-foot buffer. Subsequently, the site was rezoned to allow townhouses, which now requires a 70-foot buffer.
Schwartz said there would be no changes regarding the remainder of the site, which includes the 41,000- square-foot sports club with two indoor rinks/fields measuring 75 by 165 feet, two viewing areas for spectators, two large rooms and two smaller rooms for parties or meetings, and changing areas or locker rooms for players.
The property is also home to a golf driving range and two other businesses. “The cleanup in question that has been going on for a number of years is located on the golf driving range,” Schwartz said.
The site was formerly home to the Kemco/Commercial Chemical Co., which is alleged to have buried waste materials many years ago.
Schwartz said that when the manager of the tennis academy approached his client about buying the property, it felt like the perfect solution to help pay for the ongoing cleanup. He said there was a lien of more than $1 million on the site when Inman Sports Club Inc. acquired it in 1972.
“The Visco family [which owns the sports club] inherited the problems that are there now when they acquired it,” he said.
Schwartz said the cleanup process has involved placement of test wells and the conducting of open excavations and borings.
The attorney explained that Bruce Gallo, a licensed site remediation professional, is overseeing the cleanup. He has confirmed with the New Jersey Department of Protection that the area of concern is limited to the portion of the property that is used as a golf driving range. He has obtained DEP approval for a staged cleanup over a period of four years.
Schwartz said there should be no concern that the owner of the sports club is abandoning the responsibility of cleanup through the proposal of the subdivision.
“Absolutely not,” he has said. “Once the remediation is complete, the owners would have already spent close to $3 [million] to $4 million. They have already sunk in $2 million.”
Schwartz provided the board with an environmental map from Gallo showing the areas that are being treated and remediated, as well as a loan document showing that there is no prohibition to subdividing the property.
Dana Patterson, toxics coordinator for the nonprofit Edison Wetlands Association, said the group’s concern is the toxic waste that was left on the site.
“What we are concerned with is the groundwater contamination that is not under control and is not remediated specifically under this area,” she said. Patterson said contaminants on the site include volatile organic compounds including trichloroethylene.
“There’s an immediate threat because there is a potential for vapor intrusion … if there is contaminated soil or groundwater that contains this chemical, vapors can rise through the soil and, specifically, if there are buildings on the site, it can cause harm to the people using the buildings,” she said.
Schwartz said the area with buildings is separate from the contaminated area.
Board Chairman John Soltesz asked board attorney Michael Butler if there was any legal reason to deny the application based on the environmental concerns. Butler said the state land use law does not allow a denial based solely on an environmental issue. He said the property is allowed to be subdivided even though the cleanup is not completed.
Soltesz told the public that the board must follow the law, and if they had an issue with any law or township ordinance, they would need to go to the Legislature or the governing body who enacts the law.
“This is the law,” he said. “We have to look at what are the legal grounds for approval or denial, not just because it feels good. I will not allow the board to do this [vote based on emotion]. What the legal grounds are is what counts here. This subdivision meets the land use law and there is no reason to deny it.”
Schwartz said that if the public has issue with the contamination on the site, they should take the issue up with the DEP.
“The land use law does not allow the town to get into remediation,” he said. “We are entitled to the subdivision. We have been trying to be as cooperative and as patient as we can.”
Patterson raised a concern brought up by Jay Elliot, Edison’s director of Health and Human Services, who sent a notice before the October meeting requesting that no subdivision or property sale be considered without written documentation from the DEP that the property is safe for use. Elliot said the board should request to see a “No Further Action” notice from the DEP. This would indicate that all site remediation activities have been completed and lay out any DEP-determined environmental restrictions for use of this property.
Butler said the Edison health department is entitled to say whatever it wants; however, he said there was nothing in Elliot’s memo that supersedes the land use law.
Township Management Specialist William Stephens, who sits on the board, said officials have talked with Elliot regarding the memo. He said there was no intent to impede the subdivision.
“The concern was regarding the remediation,” he said.
Stephens said Elliot would supply a retraction letter for the record. Soltesz said any future letter of that nature should be looked at by the legal department.