Public hearing airs proposals for Lion Gate Drive

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A public meeting was held in Council Chambers on Monday evening, June 19, to discuss the proposed recreational and open space project for Lion Gate Drive. The meeting was conducted by Andy Strauss, a designer and planner of open spaces working for the township. Mayor Michael Venezia introduced the presentation, which included site plans, by saying that Bloomfield has received some funding.

“We got a good chunk of money,” he said. “A lot of people at the Department of Environmental Protection are happy with this project.”

Township Administrator Matthew Watkins said a multitude of environmental restrictions were involved and anything could change. It was the concept for a park, he said, which was being presented that evening.

“We’re in the very early stages of a very complicated process,” Watkins said.
Strauss gave a brief history of the 18-acre site, including the names for which the area is known: Lion Gate; DeSimone site; Scientific Glass; and Third River Urban Park.

He said the area was once the site of the WWI-era Clarks Thread Co. which manufactured dyed yarns. The land was sold to the Scientific Glass Co. at the end of WWII and in the 1980s, Scientific Glass was demolished.

Two sites are involved in the Lion Gate project. One is generally called the Scientific Glass site while the other is referred to as the DeSimone property.
“The property is shaped like a pork chop,” Strauss said. “Or a T-bone steak.”

According to Strauss, the site is unique for several reasons: It contains two tributaries of the Passaic River, the Third River and the Spring Brook; the area is flood-prone; and it is located in a highly urbanized area. He said it was most important to keep in mind that the site is in a floodplain.

“This site has a documented flood history,” Strauss said. “The 100-year storms have occurred twice in the last five years.”

Strauss was referencing Hurricane Irene, which struck August 2011, and Hurricane Sandy, which struck October 2012.

He said the DeSimone property was purchased in 2012 with Green Acre funding. A butterfly park was originally proposed for this area but in the current proposal, the butterfly park was considered only a possibility. The Scientific Glass property was purchased in 2015. This was done with township-issued bonds.

Strauss said the threat of the area flooding again will be remediated by digging down 7 feet on 4.5 acres of the DeSimone area. This would create a basin “to hold and store flood waters” when the Third River and the Spring Brook overflow, Strauss said.

“Our hope is that the site will be a very effective hedge of floods downstream,” he added.

The basin would be the ecological component of the Lion Gate property. But the tract would also have a recreational park and this would be situated on the former Scientific Glass site. According to Strauss, this site would be 6 acres and include a children’s park, a soccer field, parking and an environmental center. There would also be 3,000 feet of pathways.

“It’s a compromise project — ecology and a park site,” he said.
The township has already received $5 million for the project, according to Strauss.

Some of the soil dug from the DeSimone site will be used to create a berm around the soccer field on the Scientific American site. Strauss said the berm will be formed like an amphitheater. This would allow for spectator seating but also act as a buffer for nearby residences. Parking for 25 to 40 cars is also proposed. Keeping some of the excavated soil on-site would cut costs for trucking it away, it was noted.

The soccer field would have to be raised above the floodplain but Strauss said it has not been determined how high it should be raised or how low the basin should be dug. He said the DeSimone property was capped with 3 1/2 acres of green fill. This would be used to create the soccer field.

He said channels would be dug connecting Spring Brook with the basin. The Third River would also be connected to the basin by a channel. Storm waters from both tributaries, once they reach a certain elevation, would back up into the channels and drain off into the basin.

The Scientific Glass property was purchased from a developer who had begun construction for a residential complex. Strauss said the storm sewers and Belgian blocks would be reused by the township. Some underground conduits would be used to provide the proposed ecology center with power.

Someone in the audience asked why even have an ecological center. Watkins said the center would not be much, only two classrooms. It was also noted during the presentation that the soccer field would have to be designed so that flood waters do not tear off the artificial turf. Strauss said he hopes to have applications for floodplain permits in the mail by the end of July.

“State grants have a time limit,” he said.

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