Jones Lang LaSalle

Housing cut from plan for Ford site
Edison has concerns over debris with PCBs
Thursday, April 06, 2006
BY SULEMAN DIN
Star-Ledger Staff

In preliminary plans for the former Ford Edison assembly plant site, Secaucus-based developer Hartz Mountain Industries envi sioned a center including big-box retail, office space, movie theaters, a hotel and 275 age-restricted condominiums.

But with recent revelations that thousands of tons of PCB-tainted concrete debris were trucked off the site to developments around the state, and thousands more still remaining on site, the township council and Mayor Jun Choi agree that housing cannot be a part of a redevelopment proposal.

"After all the concerns about safety from residents, we'll have to go back to the drawing board," said Councilman Peter Barnes III. "The housing element will have to come out."

The automaker is awaiting state approval to begin cleanup efforts at the former assembly plant site. In response to residents' concerns, the state Department of Environmental Protection has done soil sampling at 12 residences near the former plant and at Paterniti Park for PCBs -- polychlorinated biphe nyls -- which have been classified as a probable cause of cancer.

The DEP and the Attorney General's Office are investigating how debris with low levels of PCBs left the demolition site and ended up at numerous residential and commercial construction sites across the state.

Choi said the issues over the contaminants raised questions about developing housing at the site. Currently, Edison's master plan has no allowance for housing on the Ford site.

"The administration is concerned about proposals to put residential housing there, even those that are age-restricted," Choi said.

In a statement yesterday, Hartz Mountain said it is reworking its plans while Ford finishes cleaning up the contaminated debris. In January, it presented a set of preliminary sketches for the 98-acre site, which were widely denounced by residents.

"Our redevelopment plan is under consideration, and no determination has been made as to its ultimate composition," said Walter Smith, senior vice president of Hartz Mountain Industries.

"We await the regulatory process to run its course, and we are confident that we will be able to make a compelling presentation about our vision for the site soon."

Councilman Charles Tomaro said Choi, Hartz Mountain representatives and council members have been meeting informally since November, trying to agree on a vision for the site.

Tomaro said he has tried to keep an open mind about the site's development, arguing that the township needs more senior hous ing. But following reports about the PCB-tainted debris, he said council opinion has hardened against allowing housing at the site.

"So far, what they have presented is unacceptable," Tomaro said. "Nothing gets developed until the council changes the zoning. They've got to cooperate with us."

Councilman Anthony Massaro said the council will not consider the Ford site's redevelopment until every safety concern had been addressed.

The goal of preventing further residential development in Edison, Massaro said, is another reason why the township should not agree to housing at the site.

No date has been set for another public session on the site's redevelopment.

The assembly plant was closed in February 2004, and demolition began later that year after Ford sold the 98-acre site to Hartz Mountain. Ford officials said 166,000 tons of PCB-contaminated debris were moved from the site and another 93,000 tons remain there.