PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12-13.5 the County of Union will hold a in-person Public Meeting on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 10:00 am at the Commissioner’s Meeting Room, located on the 6th Floor of the County Administration Building, 10 Elizabethtown Plaza, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 07107.
The purpose of this meeting is to inform the public of the County’s decision to sell a 0.243 portion of its parkland that is located in the Berkeley Heights section of the County’s Passaic River Park.
This property is identified on the Berkeley Heights tax map as Block 201, part of Lot 2. Specifically, the land in question is the southern half of McClellan Street, a paper street vacated by the Township of Berkeley Heights in 1966, that runs from Summit Ave. westward to another vacated public street. The former McClellan Street was between the County’s Passaic River parkland on the left side (heading north) of the last block of Summit Avenue’s northern end, and the adjoining former Millmaster property bordering the River.
The name of the proposed buyer is Chevron Environmental Management Company (CEMC).
This strip of land, measuring 530 feet in length by 25 feet in width and constituting 0.243 of an Acre, is being used by CEMC for the location of a slurry wall. This wall prevents hazardous contaminants from seeping out of the former Millmaster property; and it is required to be there by N.J. Department of Environmental Protection’s remediation regulations.
The County will sell this property by public bid. In light of its dimensions (which make it an unbuildable lot) and its contaminated condition, CEMC is expected to the only bidder. Once CEMC acquires this land, it can complete the remediation by recording the Deed to this land. The Deed will include a restriction which will state that no residential housing may ever be constructed on this property.
The County has prepared a report providing more information about this proposed sale. It can be obtained at no cost. A request for the report must be made in writing. The request can be made via email to Kevin Campbell, Assistant County Counsel at kcampbell@ucnj.org, or by regular mail sent to the County Counsel’s Office, Administration Building, 10 Elizabethtown Plaza, Elizabeth, N.J. 07207. The report includes a diagram showing the location of this property, as well as the monetary amount CEMC intends to pay for this land.
Members of the public may also submit written comment about the sale of this property prior to the Hearing Date, by email or regular mail, to the person and address in the preceding paragraph. All such comments must be-post marked no later than the Hearing Date.
The Public Hearing will be recorded by a stenographer. The Hearing will begin with a brief presentation of the proposed sale. Members of the public will then be asked if they have any questions about the proposed sale transaction. Only after such questions have been answered will comments be accepted. Speakers questions and comments will be limited to three minutes. Speakers may ask or comment more than once, but only after everyone in attendance has first had a chance to speak.
Parking is available at the Christian Bollwage Parking Garage. The Garage is also located on Elizabethtown Plaza. There is a fee for this parking.