State revokes exemption for Whispering Woods

| 21 Feb 2012 | 12:24

    Vernon - In a letter dated July 31, the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection revoked the Highlands Exemption for Whispering Woods. Losing the exemption means that brothers Lawrence and Robert Handler of Woodmont Homes will have to seek a new approval from the Vernon planning board for an amended plan for the development. In addition, the department is requiring the Handlers to submit a new application and application fee if they wish to be considered for a new Highlands exemption. The department determined that information provided by the developers in what is called a “letter of interpretation” failed to prove that Woodmont does not require a wetlands or other environmental permit to continue work on the 10 homes yet to be built in the 21-home development. Although Whispering Woods is located within the Highlands Water Preservation area, the development, which was originally approved in 1990, was exempt from the provisions of the Highlands Act because it had been approved before the act went into effect. But the development does have to comply with environmental regulations, and neighboring property owners complained that runoff from the development was laden with silt and damaging wetlands and Hidden Valley Lake. After inspecting the site, located between Hidden Valley Ski Resort, Curtis Road, and Route 638, the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection issued Woodmont Homes a notice of violation and demanded they cease work and create a restoration plan for the damaged abutting property. State inspectors said they found that significant amounts of earth and fill material had been released into the wetlands from a road cut leading downhill, damaging the valuable habitat. In the wake of that finding, Vernon Township Engineer Lou Kniep ordered Robert Handler of Woodmont Homes to stop work on the second phase of construction at Whispering Woods. The order applies to 11 lots, a second detention basin and all other construction activities on Murphy Drive and on Upper Plateau Drive, north of the Murphy Drive intersection. In addition, the township paid Amy S. Greene Environmental Consultants of Flemington $5,000 to assess the effects of construction at Whispering Woods on Hidden Valley Lake and on the wetlands and springs that feed it. Township Manager Don Teolis said he has been talking with the attorney for Woodmont homes about reimbursing the township for the cost of the study. Township officials expect the study to be completed before the end of this month. Hidden Valley resident Richard Casper told the mayor and council he was grateful to the township for being willing to address a serious problem, but asked whether Hidden Valley property owners would be notified when the Handlers brought their amended plan before the planning board. But Mayor Janet Morrison informed Casper that there is no requirement to notify abutting property owners about amended site plans. Hidden Valley presidents Richard Casper and Jerome Levy said they were worried that area residents who have been troubled by the ongoing problems with mud and runoff might be excluded from the decision-making process when the Handlers bring their revised plan before the board. Both men are trustees of the Hidden Valley Property Owners Association, and Levy also serves as the secretary. Teolis said he would make sure Casper and Levy are notified before the planning board considers an amended site plan.. Levy said the Hidden Valley Property Owners Association has been very reluctant to employ an attorney. “We really don’t want to take that next step unless we have to, but the cards are so stacked against us that we fear we can’t get our point across without legal representation,” Levy said. “The persons in the environmental commission and everyone else know we are in the right, but people are reluctant to realize that right should prevail. “When you say prevail, what do you mean? Stop the project? Take care of the issues for remediation?” Teolis queried. Levy remarked that it had never been the intention of members of the association to prevent the Handlers from building the homes. “We don’t believe there is an economic benefit for the homes not to be built,” Levy said. “All we have been asking is for the development to be built properly, and the soil-erosion issues resolved.” “I used to have a house that’s on a lake that had the water quality of Wawayanda, I could see 20 feet down,” Casper added. “I don’t want to stop development, I want to stop pollution. Like alcoholics, the Handlers have to admit they have a problem with erosion control. We need to put the Handlers on the road to recovery.” Neither Handler brother immediately returned calls.