By Patricia Hilliard • Conservation Chair, Hudson County Group
These days, shopping is often done online. This has caused changes in the structures needed to fulfill our shopping demands. Shopping malls are threatened by retail store closings, while warehouses are popping up like mushrooms after a rainy day.
For the corporate world, getting land that’s unencumbered is a dream come true. A farm field that is wide open and near a major highway keeps costs down and allows for quick construction and quick access for trucks as they enter and depart the warehouse. In New Jersey, many small towns and rural areas are perfect targets for big-box warehouses.
But such development is not just a concern for small communities and rural areas. Various cities, such as Newark and Elizabeth, which are port towns, also are seeing more warehouse construction: “Costco Opens 183,000 SF Warehouse, Distribution Center Near Port of Newark,” one recent headline reads. A Google search for “Newark warehouses newly built” brought up over 12 new warehouses near the I-95 and I-78 highway intersection. Jersey City has over 15 warehouses—some new, some refurbished. Recently in Bayonne, the former military ocean terminal was wiped clean of old structures. Waterfront warehouses enable goods to be shipped to New York City via barges, but they still bring more highway congestion. Homeowners in Bayonne have been complaining about high taxes, but will taxes really drop now that mega warehouses are luring in big trucks and more traffic? What’s the solution?
What We Really Need
With online shopping, warehouses have become an important part of our modern world. We must at least demand sustainable land-use planning. One activist suggested that shopping malls be converted to warehouses. Why not equip warehouse rooves with solar panels or transform them into habitat for birds? Could rainwater be diverted into wetlands to avoid flooding? Traffic studies must be done and actions taken accordingly. If planning is not effective, warehouses could create environmental and health costs that outweigh the benefit of tax revenue and jobs for communities.
In February 2021, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law requirements that municipal land use master plans include an assessment of local vulnerability to climate-change hazards. Obviously, New Jersey faces increased flooding from sea level rise, but warehouses with their large impermeable surface space could contribute to climate disasters. While it seeks to mitigate climate-change hazards, New Jersey also offers guidelines on warehouse development from the State Planning Commission. Good to know, but these are only guidelines.
Kip Cherry, conservation chair of our Central Jersey Group, has been deep into the fight against warehouse development in West Windsor. In an interview, Kip said that one of the big problems is that neither NJ law nor the state Department of Transportation require informing the public about upcoming warehouse development. No time schedule is given out so that residents can have a voice in the location, size, and traffic considerations in the building of warehouses. The decision-making rests entirely with municipalities whose elected and appointed officials may be preoccupied with tax revenue and job creation. This makes it necessary for residents to keep an eye on local planning board agendas.
In 2021, Upper Freehold residents did claim a victory against warehouse development. Micah Rasmussen, a Rider University professor, organized the community and got some help from the State Planning Commission. In March 2022, Mansfield in Burlington County moved to ban warehouses after eight had already been approved. The community wanted to stop further warehouse sprawl.
Sierra Club has had years of experience in situations like these and can offer ideas and resources to help residents act. Research is necessary to prepare for battle. Residents may have to educate their local governing officials on issues of importance to the community—just being angry and protesting is not going to be enough to win.
Warehouses bring serious environmental concerns, but they also represent jobs and tax revenues for hard-pressed communities. Finding a balance is the challenge. The issue of warehouse development requires serious thinking and planning. New Jersey is our home. We all want it to be the best it can be in every forest, field, town, and city. Democracy requires participation. Now is the time to be vigilant, be educated, and take action.
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