Dear Editor:
Attending the Zoning board meeting of January 28th concerning a totally inappropriate Housing Proposal for a Recreation, Conservation, Wildlife (RCW) Zone. In concurrence with Bob Crawford’s recent LTE to Focus. One correction Mr Crawford it was over 4 Hours.
“Mr Shevas, the lawyer representing the Center, has absolutely no appreciation or respect for the Board’s or the public’s time. At Wednesday’s meeting which lasted 4 hours and which provided not a single iota of useful information, Mr. Shevas mindlessly and shamelessly fed leading and irrelevant questions to his two witnesses. Either Mr. Shevas loves the sound of his own voice, or he is implementing a delay strategy hoping to discourage the neighbors from continuing to oppose the Center’s building expansion.”
CEO. Mr. Kokar of the Islamic Center openly admitted that he had no regard for the natural resources, and sensitive landscape that encompasses his compound, and the immediate neighborhood. When directly asked if his “Islamic Community” included regard for nature, water, soil, and the neighborhood character, his response was a negative, that his property could exceed the present zoning. His reasoning; “we live in houses, made of wood from trees”, “we eat vegetables “..
When one views our Master Plan especially Goals 2, 3, and 7, add the fact that the 2.71 acres harbors wetlands, open waters, and a Tier 1 Wellhead Protection Area, which our Master Plan emphasis protections within and around, we see the arrogance of this continued attempt to undermine all. The Chapter 93 Affordable Housing Environmental Policies themselves would not allow such a proposal in such landscape, with it’s RCW Zone well established.
The bizarre plan to install a Car Parking Stacker: A system that raises one car to allow another to be parked beneath it, typically holding two to four vehicles was ridiculous, this automotive center type devise requiring hydraulics, oils, and cleaning fluids is a prohibited activity in a Wellhead Area.
If the 111 existing parking spaces on the property, is not enough, as the streets of the neighborhood are also overflowed with parking, it should be obvious the added housing units would only worsen the situation.
CEO, Kokar should have at the very least put down his prayer book, and picked up and read the Master Plan, and other papers concerning why his intention is totally inappropriate.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered CEO Kokar was not given a Highlands Exemption, as our Highlands Conformance Ordinance 205 requires. A nonprofit, house of worship is designated to be given exemption 6, which specifies “non-residential”. How then can the Islamic Center propose a Housing Development, if the exemption states Non Residential?
For a any religious institution to propose what is being here proposed is shameful, why not at the least 100% affordable? Mr. Kohar is in reality a real estate schemer. Since when are religious institutions in the business of for profit housing, with the right to undermine local zoning, and State protected sensitive landscapes?
The Zoning Board should have denied this proposal upon its inception, and stated the sound reasons. If Islamic Center sued they would not be suing Parsippany but the State of New Jersey, under Highlands Conformance which gives legal shields to local zoning decisions.
Ecology Science and ethics
“All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants and animals, or collectively the land.”..Aldo Leopold.
Nick Homyak
