Acupuncture in Rockaway Township, NJ

UPDATE: A state Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit filed by residents protesting the Sparta warehouse proposal. This story has been updated with details of Dec. 2 ruling.

Sparta residents are fighting a proposal to build a warehouse in the Sussex County township, alleging local officials amended an ordinance to allow a proposal for an 880,000-square-foot building in an area where a “mega warehouse” is not permitted.

Township officials changed an ordinance in February 2021 to allow for greater building height and more impermeable surface area for projects in the zone, which is located near freight train tracks.

Residents say the amendment allowed the developer to file an application a few months later for the project, which would be bigger than any other warehouse in Sparta.

Sparta residents have gathered more than 3,600 signatures on a petition calling for the township to reject the project, which they say would be larger than the Rockaway Mall and Sparta High School combined. Residents also launched an activist group that now has over 1,000 members.

Residents filed a lawsuit last summer against the developer, the planning board and the zoning board to block the development at 33 Demarest Road. But, the lawsuit was recently dismissed by the a state Superior Court judge.

Anand Dash, president of the grassroots group Sparta Responsible Development, filed the lawsuit in July with Neil Clark, who was recently elected to the Sparta town council.

They alleged that the proposed project is not a “warehouse” under Sparta’s land development code. Instead, it is a trucking terminal — and therefore, should not be built in the zone, according to the lawsuit.

“The will of the people was completely ignored,” said Dash, who questioned the timing of the change to the ordinance that allowed the developer to propose the mega-warehouse project a few months later.

The 70-acre, six-story-high warehouse complex could mean an influx of tractor trailers to the area, he said.

“The emissions from the diesel trucks, the noise, you have certain protected species like the bog turtle that are that are in this area,” Dash said. “All of that is going to be jeopardized, and you’re going to basically rewrite the history of Sparta and its character.”

On Dec. 2, the Court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint, saying that planning board’s decision was reasonable.

Diamond Chip Realty, the developer that proposed the project, did not respond to requests to comment.

Sparta’s township attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit and Sparta’s mayor did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Christine Quinn, a Sparta councilwoman and former mayor of the township, denied amending the ordinance was “the catalyst driving forth development of a large-scale warehouse” in the zone near the railroad tracks.

The proposed warehouse is next to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway freight railway that includes 400 miles of track in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“Amendments to the (ordinance) were adopted with the intention to better utilize rail, with the ultimate goal of reducing truck traffic on our roads,” said Quinn. “Development of warehouses has been a permitted use in these zones for decades.”

In response to the town’s concerns about how the ordinance was amended, the Sparta Township council requested the planning board create a subcommittee to review the controversial amendment. On Oct. 19, the board announced plans to revise the amendment again. The changes include capping building sizes and changing other standards.

“What we found was (the ordinance) really did not provide the township with adequate protection from, sort of, large, uncontrolled development,” said Andrew Reina, chairman of Sparta’s planning board.

The township developed the plans to revise the ordinance using the state Planning Commission’s newly-published warehouse siting guidance, which provides suggestions and definitions for New Jersey municipalities to consider as they review their land use ordinances.

Outdated land use ordinances have been an issue across the state as warehouse development in New Jersey continues to grow, critics say.

“I have said for many, many years that Sparta Township is not immune from the pain points affecting municipalities across the country — how we differentiate ourselves is in how we react,” said Quinn.

However, the changes to the ordinance will have no impact on development applications that are currently in progress in Sparta, including the Diamond Chip warehouse application.

Dash, one of the residents who filed the lawsuit, requested that the planning board pause the Diamond Chip application until the court rules on the legal complaint. The township responded in an executive order that said moratoriums on development are prohibited by state land use law.

But, the township engineer has asked for revisions to the Diamond Chip application to fully satisfy “threshold issues.” The latest revision includes reducing the square footage of the warehouse from 880,000 to 700,000 square feet, officials said.

Township officials and the developer also have not resolved whether trailers can be used for storage on the property. Under the current plan, there will be up to 126 trailers at the site, officials said.

It is unclear when the planning board will next consider the warehouse proposal. If the developer wants to get on the December planning board hearing schedule, revised plans need to be submitted in the next few days, said Clark.

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Morris County spent nearly $5 million this year to replace its 20-year-old voting machines. But some of those machines rolled out to local precincts for Election Day are malfunctioning, poll workers say, while another town is struggling to accommodate a large voter turnout with half the complement of voting machines they have received in the past.

Chester Township Council President Michael Inganamort, on the ballot this year for mayor, said he was "concerned" about waiting times of more than 90 minutes for District 2 and 3 voting this morning at Town Hall.

He blamed the delays on the township receiving only one machine for each of its five voting districts instead of the usual two. The lines eased after lunch, he said, but he worried the lines would return "after the whistle blows at 5 p.m."

Elsewhere in Morris County, printer problems appeared persistent on three of five voting machines at Dennis O’Brien School in Rockaway Township. The staff was seen banging on the printers to get the long ballot receipts out and said they were hearing "it was happening all over the county."

The Morris County Board of Elections did not respond to multiple calls inquiring if any other towns reported printer problems or machine shortages.

Boonton voters experienced similar printer issues with the new machines but they appeared resolved before 9 a.m. One person who couldn’t wait said she was able to cast a provisional ballot.

The Morris County Commissioner Board in late 2021 authorized the purchase of 134 ES&S machines at a cost of $4.9 million. But a delay in authorizing the funds resulted in only partial delivery before the June primary, forcing some of the old Dominion machines back into use.

Hanover Deputy Mayor Thomas "Ace" Gallagher, running unopposed for reelection to the Township Committee, said Hanover districts also had some problems related to paper jams during the day, but "the county was very responsive" and had technicians on site to help resolve the problems.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

A 75-acre wooded property along the Rockaway Creek that had been considered for both office and residential development since the 1980s has been permanently preserved.

On Feb. 15, the nonprofit New Jersey Conservation Foundation purchased the property on the southwest corner of the intersection of Route 523 and Interstate 78 for $750,000.

New Jersey Conservation immediately transferred the land to Hunterdon County, to be kept in its natural state to protect water resources, safeguard wildlife habitat and provide opportunities for passive recreation like hiking and bird watching. It is now part of the Hunterdon County Park System and is known as the Rockaway Creek Preserve.

Funding for the acquisition was provided by the New Jersey Highlands Council, with the New Jersey Green Acres Program and New Jersey Water Supply Authority contributing toward surveys, title work and closing costs.

“We’re thrilled to permanently protect this property along the Rockaway Creek,” said Jay Watson, co-executive director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation. “New Jersey Conservation Foundation has preserved land along the Rockaway Creek upstream of this property for the Hill & Dale Preserve, as well as farmland downstream. We’re grateful to our partners for making this acquisition possible.”

The newly-preserved property is bounded on the south and west by the Rockaway Creek, designated a “Category 1″ stream because it supports trout, which require clean, cool water. It also includes a pond with a small stream flowing into the Rockaway Creek.

“The New Jersey Highlands Council is very pleased to be a part of the preservation of this property,” said Lisa J. Plevin, executive director. “New Jersey Conservation Foundation did a tremendous job of working with the property owner and other partners to help ensure permanent protection of the abundant natural resources on this site, and future access for the public. We were very glad to bring federal Highlands Conservation Act (HCA) funds to this project.”

The Highlands Council leveraged HCA funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to secure a conservation easement on the property from New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The easement will help ensure permanent protection of the important natural resources on the site.

“Hunterdon County is proud of the work New Jersey Conservation Foundation has done to preserve this important property along the Rockaway Creek in Tewksbury Township,” said Zach Rich, deputy director of the Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners and the board’s liaison for planning and land use. “Being 75 forested acres and fronting on almost a half-mile of the Rockaway Creek, a C1 stream, seeing this land preserved thanks to the sourcing of grant dollars and funding by NJCF is a win for both environmental protection and Hunterdon County residents. Hunterdon County is grateful to include the new Rockaway Creek Preserve into the County Park System.”

Because the property will remain in its natural state, a need no longer exists for a sewage treatment plant that would have discharged into the Rockaway Creek farther downstream.

A private nonprofit based in Far Hills, New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s mission is to preserve land and natural resources throughout New Jersey for the benefit of all. In addition to protecting over 125,000 acres of open space, farmland and parks, New Jersey Conservation promotes strong land conservation policies at the local, county, state and federal levels, and provides support and technical assistance to hundreds of partner groups.

For more information about New Jersey Conservation Foundation and its programs and preserves, visit www.njconservation.org or call 1-888-LANDSAVE (1-888-526-3728).

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ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP — Some teachers and district employees are concerned about the district's decision to reopen schools with in-person learning on Tuesday, Sept. 8, amid the COVID pandemic. Their union representatives said the district is taking risks with students and staff that surrounding districts have decided to avoid.

Chief among the concerns is lunchtime, when students will be taking off their masks to eat in areas with poor air flow and little time for cleaning, said officials with the Rockaway Township Education Association.

Some other districts opted for half-day schedules because of the risks that lunch presents.

The Rockaway Township decision to have students eat lunch in the school buildings "requires students to take off their masks for a period of time, which increases the transmission rate,” education association Co-president Tara VanOrden said at the Aug. 26 Board of Education meeting.

Of 263 members who responded to a survey, 88% said they were concerned about the reopening of the schools in person, said Brian Adams, the education association's co-president, whose group is a local affiliate of the National Education Association. It includes 470 district employees.

The employees, who include teachers, assistants and custodians, see masks taken off during lunch as a weakness in the district’s back-to-school plan. It’s a problem compounded by a lack of cleaning staff, a lack of time to clean, and poor air circulation and filtration, among other concerns, Adams and VanOrden said at the recent board meeting.

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Superintendent Peter Turnamian said the district's HVAC systems are fully functional and “far ahead of many other districts in being able to ensure proper humidity and temperature levels as well as air flow,” including in cafeteria spaces, “thereby addressing the concerns that were raised" by the union.

“To further address the concerns raised we adjusted duty assignments to increase the level of supervision during all lunch periods which will further ensure proper social distancing is maintained," Turnamian said in an email. "Furthermore, working in partnership with the RTEA the district doubled the amount of custodial staff in each school building during lunch periods to ensure proper sanitation will be maintained throughout the school day.”

So far, the state has approved reopening plans for 545 school districts, charter schools and private schools, Gov. Phil Murphy said at a press briefing on Wednesday. Of those, 328 were hybrid plans with some online and some in-person learning, 150 were completely remote learning until a designated time later to go to in-person, 50 were completely in-person, and 17 were some combination of those options across schools within a district.

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Rockaway Township union officials have said there’s still not enough time or personnel to clean the district’s five elementary schools and one middle school after meals. They also argued that being able to adjust temperature, humidity levels and air flow doesn’t eliminate the risk. The district’s systems are unable to accommodate higher filter efficiency — the kind of filters recommended by the CDC with respect to coronavirus, the union officials said.

“Ultimately, our district’s ventilation system is not able to provide the necessary filtration according to the CDC to protect students and staff from the virus," Adams said. "Is this inadequacy really a risk that we are willing to take?”

Other Morris County school districts have decided to forgo full days in order to avoid lunch periods. By the Rockaway Township union’s count, 75% of Morris County districts deemed lunchtime “an unnecessary risk,” VanOrden said, noting that Morris Hills Regional, Denville and Rockaway Borough have implemented half-day schedules.

Each of the Rockaway Township district schools will present its own challenges, union leaders said. For instance, Copeland Middle School students will be eating in the cafeteria broken up into two cohorts, which will reduce the student population by 50% for the sake of social distancing. Students will be spread out, according to guidelines. But there are no windows in the space. These students will be changing classes every 30 to 50 minutes, and the district will rely on custodial staff to clean after lunches, and teachers and assistants to clean between classes while also supervising the students to ensure that social distancing occurs in the halls, VanOrden said.

Elementary school students will eat in their classrooms, where they will spend most of the day. Teachers and assistants will be responsible for cleaning these spaces, Adams said.

Turnamian would not answer direct questions about custodial staff.

Resident Rick Sedivec said he is keeping an open mind, but watching cautiously.

“Indoor dining was approved as of Friday in New Jersey, but outdoor activity is considered lower risk of exposure," Sedivec said. "In school I expect a safe place for our children — teachers, too — to eat. It is too early to know if the indoor eating guidelines are effective.”

Gene Myers is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

When Erion Lenas was a child, he watched his uncle Spyros Lenas, known as Pop, serve free Thanksgiving meals every year at his restaurant, Pop’s Place.

Pop passed away four years ago, but in April of last year, his nephew opened another restaurant with the same name in Morris County.

The name is not the only way Lenas is paying tribute to his uncle. On Thursday, Lenas offered free meals to anyone who wants to come to the Rockaway Township restaurant and eat an official Thanksgiving dinner.

“This community has been so good to us,” Lena told NJ Advance Media. “And the least we can do is pay them back with a free Thanksgiving meal.

“My uncle, Pop, did this every year, and we are just continuing his legacy.”

Lenas will never forget the memory of his uncle and how he fed the hungry and those who did not have family every Thanksgiving.

“Pop did a lot for this the community,” Lenas said. “He was self-made immigrant from Greece and did not have family around the holidays. That’s why he had a soft spot in his heart for those like him.”

This year’s Thanksgiving meal at Pop’s Place included all the fixings, according to the general manager at Pop’s Place, TJ Gray.

“We’re preparing around 300 meals,” Gray said before the festivities. “It will be the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy and apple pie a la mode with vanilla ice cream.”

Pop’s place is known a round Dover and Rockaway for delicious food served quickly.

“Our customers love to pick their meal up and sit outside under the umbrellas,” Gray said. “Our food is simple, and hopefully, it will create a little nostalgia for when things were a little simple. We serve the food we grew up eating.”

Lenas will never forget his uncle and the lessons he learned from him.

“Pop taught me to stay humble and always do the right thing,” he said. “Simple to say but hard to do. We’re so humbled to serve free meals this Thanksgiving. It means a lot that people of this community spend their money with us, and we wanted to give back today.”

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