Union County outlines Clark Reservoir overhaul; Wendell Place boat ramp draws sharp resident opposition

Union County officials presented a courtesy site-plan review on Nov. 7 of a multi-phase improvement project at Clark Reservoir that includes dredging, new trails, docks and a two-story boat-storage building. The township planning board heard technical details and more than an hour of public comment focused on one contested element: a proposed boat ramp and parking near Wendell Place.

Bruce Parg, Union County counsel, told the Clark Township Planning Board the presentation was informational and that the county “does not need to obtain formal site-plan approval from the board” but requested feedback. CME Associates project manager Pete outlined the work, saying the county expects to remove about 155,000 cubic yards of sediment from three basins (headwaters, West Lake and Central Lake), stage sediment at an on-site dewatering area and haul material to an off-site disposal facility before refilling the lakes.

The plan includes water-access improvements: a small boat ramp and parking at the East Lake (Wendell Place), a Central Lake boat ramp with floating docks and a roughly 200-foot fishing pier, ADA kayak launches, and a proposed two-story boat-storage building of about 8,600 square feet with public restrooms and a bait/ticket shop. Trail work would add an 8-foot-wide aggregate loop around Central Lake (the north loop about two-thirds of a mile, the south loop about one mile), several pedestrian bridges including a roughly 700-foot pedestrian bridge parallel to the Garden State Parkway, and a stormwater basin of about 30,000 square feet.

County engineers said restrictions on fossil-fuel boats in the conservation easement and county policy mean the facility is expected to serve nonpowered craft and electric boats rather than gasoline-powered motorboats. Pete said a buoy system is planned near the dam to reduce the risk of boats approaching the spillway and that the pedestrian bridge adjacent to the Parkway will have about 14 feet of clearance over the water.

Residents who live on Wendell Place and nearby streets said the East Lake ramp would harm neighborhood safety, destroy mature tree canopy and increase local liability. Diana Gonzalez, who said she represents a Clark Reservoir Committee, told the board she helped organize a petition of about 1,500 signatures and asked that the county “eliminate the second boat ramp.” Patrick Delaney and other Wendell Place residents described narrow streets without sidewalks, close residential yards, and concerns that emergency response could be delayed if incidents occurred at a remote cul-de-sac parking lot. Delaney also said a change.org petition had gathered roughly 232 signatures in a few days.

Several speakers cited recent statements from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), which the county told residents has said it will not permit travel under the Garden State Parkway bridge; county officials said that position complicates site selection and has led the county to propose boat access on both sides of the Parkway. Residents argued that duplicative ramps 500 yards apart would invite cross-bridge traffic and increase hazards.

Public commenters also pressed environmental and regulatory questions: whether wetlands would be disturbed (the county said dredging involves excavation along lake edges and disturbance within regulatory limits and that wetlands and impacts are being addressed in pending permit applications), whether endangered or vulnerable species were identified (the county said fish-and-wildlife and related applications are pending), and how tree removal would be offset (county said a 2:1 reforestation ratio is proposed with replanting in disturbed areas).

County staff outlined next steps: planning documents and permit applications are pending with regulatory agencies, the county plans to advertise for construction bids the week after the meeting, hopes to award contracts by the end of 2024 and to start construction in spring 2025, and a Green Acres-required change-of-use public hearing will be held Nov. 26 in the same room.

No formal county approvals were taken by the board at this meeting; the evening functioned as a statutory courtesy review and a public-comment forum. The planning board accepted public comment and asked county staff to note concerns for later consideration and for the Nov. 26 hearing.