Pfizer Property's Flooding Concerns Addressed

Before a developer can convert the former Pfizer property into a retail and housing complex, environmental work must be done to address the area's flood plain.

M&M Realty Partners and plan to demolish the two vacant buildings—located on the west side of Route 53 across from Johnson & Johnson—to add residential and retail units.

When the Clifton-based developer at the joint planning board and borough council meeting last week, they also gave an overview of the work they plan to do in order to comply with the DEP standards.

This work includes doubling the detention pond at the south side of the property, adding in about 5 acres of wetlands near the Watnong Brook and putting in dry wells in the parking lots.

Councilman George Coogan said the wetlands will provide a place for the water to flow when the brook overflows, and the dry wells will allow the water to flow from the parking lot. The water will go directly into the wells in the ground instead of the Watnong Brook—which Coogan said it currently does.

Coogan said that although there is no timetable for the construction yet because the plan is still in its prelimary stages, he said the environmental work is ongoing, and the developers are currently working on the plan.

A voicemail was left for M&M Realty Partners on Wednesday morning.

Residents have already expressed concern about the development's potential flooding impact.

Kim M., who about the plan, was one of those residents.

"I wonder how this will be mitigated and how that will impact adjacent areas regarding drainage and flooding elsewhere," she wrote.

Paul Brown also commented, saying the area is "another flood area to clean up."

Coogan said a major flood occurred in that area last year during Hurricane Irene when the water overflowed from the brook where it blocked Route 53, and flowed over to Johnson & Johnson.

"The problem was that it was during the month of August," he said. "There had been 25 inches of rain before that storm, so the ground was saturated and couldn't absorb anymore, so that's what really contributed to the flooding."

The added wetlands and dry wells will provide additional places for water to flow from this project.

Coogan said that during normal storms and regular rainfalls there aren't any flooding problems, and it is only during heavy storms like Irene.

Coogan said with the concept overview that the developers presented, the population could increase about 20-25 percent, but it is just an estimate and is still too early to tell without the final plan.

The plan calls for shops along Route 53 with apartments above them, a block of townhouses and a block of condominiums. This is just the first step in what borough officials expect to be a long process.