PARSIPPANY — At the October 20 Par-Troy Township Council meeting, local resident Julia Peterson questioned members of the Governing Body, Mayor Barberio and Township Attorney John Inglesino, on the status of approximately 130 acres of land the Township was to acquire from a local developer as part of a global lawsuit settlement.
In 2013 the Township Council authorized Mayor Barberio to settle a long standing lawsuit brought on by real estate developer Ed Mosberg. The settlement in part permitted Mosberg to build 52 Townhomes along Smith Road. In exchange, Mosberg was to deed over approximately 130 acres of land including the historic Forge Pond area and the surrounding woodlands.
Responding to Mrs. Peterson’s question, Inglesino declared the issue ‘moot’ as the time for accepting ownership of the land had expired and the Township no longer had a claim for the property. Development of the of 52 Townhouse complex is nearly complete. Inglesino went on to explain that had the Township accepted the 130 acres, there was a possibility that Parsippany would be responsible for cleanup of possible contaminants in and around the former pond. The original property was an Iron Forge several hundred years ago and after Route 80 was built to the North of the property 40 years ago, stormwater run-off drained into the pond before eventually making its way downstream and into Troy Meadows.
Inglesino acknowledged that no testing had been done since the lawsuit was settled in 2013.
Mike dePierro, a Councilman who agreed to the original settlement, responded to Inglesino’s explanation, “John along those lines though I’ve accepted your explanation for several years now on this and I’m beginning to not want to accept it anymore . I’m prone right now to say why don’t we spend the money, do an environmental impact and see exactly what it is we think may or may not be there, because we don’t know. I’d rather spend the money and take the 130 acres he owes us than sit here and speculate what may or may not be there.”
Parsippany Focus confirmed that Mosberg had granted the Township several extensions over the past two years to accept the property but the last extension had lapsed and with it any claim the Township had to the property.
Speaking directly to Inglesino at the Council meeting, former Councilman Jonathan Nelson, who also voted for the settlement, said, “I feel like a jerk that I sold this settlement to the public. The Council never would have settled had we known the Mayor would not accept the land.”
Inglesino admitted that while he could never say that the land would never be developed, he expressed doubt that the land would be built on “in the very near future.”
Councilman Louis Valori told Parsippany Focus after the meeting, “I thought the town was in the process of acquiring this land for open space. This track of land was a bonus for the town to prevent over-development, which puts a strain on the Township. This issue has to be discussed in great detail at the next council meeting.”
“The Waterview tract has been getting all the headlines for the past two years but the area around Forge Pond is over five times the size of Waterview,” Jonathan Nelson told Parsippany Focus after the Council meeting. “I can’t even say I’m surprised anymore. After nearly six years in office, what can Mayor Barberio point to as a single accomplishment in preserving open space like he promised? 130 acres of beautiful land fell right into his lap, and he blew it. When a new housing development is built on that property I hope they name it ‘Barberio Estates,’ because that will be his lasting legacy.”
