Hackensack environmental commission requests $40,000 to create updated environmental resource inventory

Hackensack, N.J. — The Hackensack Environmental Commission on Sept. 30 asked the City Council’s Committee of the Whole for $40,000 to fund a comprehensive environmental resource inventory (ERI) that would document the city’s soils, wetlands, trees, flood zones and other natural resources, commission chair Marlene Somerville said.

An ERI is “the foundational document for municipal environmental review,” said Vicky Cohen, a commissioner with the Hackensack Environmental Commission, describing the ERI as “a narrative, maps and an appendix” that planners and grantmakers use. Somerville said the commission chose the Land Conservancy of New Jersey as a preferred contractor; the conservancy estimated the work at roughly $20,000 to $30,000, depending on community-engagement elements. The commission asked the council to include a $40,000 appropriation to ensure the study can proceed if outside grants fall short.

Why it matters: The commission and supporters told council members an up-to-date ERI would support the master plan, open-space and stormwater…