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Regional flood-mitigation task force report draws praise and calls for community inclusion
Summary
City staff updated the council on a regional flood mitigation task force and an engineering grant; residents praised the work but urged more communication, community representation on task forces, environmental justice review for Denning Park, and drainage plans for local streets.
City staff reported on the regional Flood Mitigation Task Force formed in March 2024 and pilot projects completed with neighboring municipal DPWs. Mr. Hoffman said Englewood serves as the basin for the region and staff have coordinated stream cleaning, desilting and erosion tracking with sister municipalities. He noted the city received an engineering-services grant — described in the meeting as roughly $310,000 — from NJIT and the state Office of Emergency Management to support two-and-a-half years of engineering work and a template report for regional planning.
Residents in public comment praised the regional work and asked for more frequent communication and clearer timelines: Amy Bulock asked for an ETA on the engineering report and requested more public updates, while Diane Jansen, citing a statement read from Janet Sharma of Age-Friendly Englewood, urged that community nonprofits and communicators be included in the task force to ensure equitable response and outreach after storms. Ms. Jansen said residents had concerns about environmental justice and due diligence on a Denning Park grant, asking that projects in overburdened communities be assessed carefully.
Dorine Mangar asked whether surveys and drainage plans reached Glenbrook Parkway and nearby streets in a local flood zone. Raymond Diaz asked whether the planning board had transferred housing-related information to the council and noted ongoing litigation and court involvement in fair share housing, referencing Judge Robert Longi as an intervener in a Superior Court review conference; Mr. Diaz asked how that information would inform council decisions.
Council heard the updates, expressed appreciation for the regional collaboration and asked staff to increase public communication and ensure community representation in ongoing planning work. Burgess Associates was scheduled to present on affordable housing and the 2025 timeline at the next council meeting.
