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Green Ridgewood urges county to help lead Saddle River County Park climate resiliency effort
Summary
Green Ridgewood presented recommendations from a Columbia University capstone project calling for county leadership and a multi-jurisdictional task force to address flooding, ecological damage and financial risk in Saddle River County Park; the group cited a $10 million NJDEP planning grant and asked the county to apply.
David Refkin, chair of the civic group Green Ridgewood, told commissioners a Columbia University capstone project by 11 graduate students produced recommendations that he said should prompt urgent county action on the Saddle River County Park and its watershed.
"The park and the Saddle River have been seriously damaged by flooding with the ecosystem critically degraded," Refkin said. He told the board the students’ recommendations cover the park, the six adjoining towns, and Bergen County as a whole, and include both ecological restoration and public-safety and access improvements.
Refkin said the report estimates $7.2 billion in at-risk property value across the six towns adjoining the park, with roughly $4 billion of that value in Paramus, and $72 billion at risk across Bergen County. He said Bergen County was rated "the number 1 at risk county in the United States" because of high development cover and vulnerability to climate change. He also warned of an insurance crisis, noting national flood-insurance maximums and rising premiums.
Refkin asked the county to sponsor a task force, led by County Executive James Tedesco and including the six municipalities, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and other partners, to pursue resiliency planning and apply for a $10 million NJDEP climate-resiliency planning grant with an application deadline of Oct. 14. "We'd love to have the county work with the adjoining communities on this grant," he said.
Refkin offered to share the report and said he would distribute it to county officials the next day. He called for more county investment in the park, expanded public engagement, and learning-site programs for children.
Commissioners did not debate the proposal on the record during the public-comment period; Refkin's presentation concluded the sign-up for public comment that evening.
