By Tim Fox, Staff Writer
Suburban Trends
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
It seems that lead and other pain sludge-related toxins are not only leeching into the borough’s plan and animal life, but also seeping into the local housing market.
The borough council recently received a letter from a longtime resident who expressed concern that she cannot sell her home because of the Upper Ringwood Superfund site, which she complains has been the source of negative publicity for the community.
The letter, which has been widely circulated around town via email through members of the Chamber of Commerce, goes on to say that residents are losing thousands of dollars a week in real estate value. Local businesses and realtors are negatively affected as well, the letter adds.
Forty years ago, residents were the unsuspecting victim as the Ford Motor Company poisoned the borough’s land with millions of gallons of toxic paint sludge, a byproduct of its automobile assembly plant in Mahwah.
For years, the borough and residents have been fighting to clean up the site, which has gotten more media attention in recent times, especially after the Environmental Protection Agency found evidence of lead and other toxins in the local plant and animal life on the site in late December.
As publicity of the borough’s struggles related to the site continue to build, so too have some residents’ contentions that their home values have declined.
In reaction to the letter and several other similar complaints, the council debated the merits of hiring a public relations firm to drum up positive support for the borough at its meeting on Feb. 27.
Mayor Joanne Atlas, who was one of several council members who received e-mails and comments from residents about real estate concerns and the prospects of a PR firm, proposed conducting a survey with local realtors and residents to investigate the validity of the concerns.
Deputy Mayor William Marsala echoed similar concerns, saying that local realtors have told him that negative publicity from the Superfund site has definitely affected the housing market. In addition, several residents have lot deals on their homes because of it, he said.
Local realtors offered a mix of responses to the borough’s real estate dilemma.
Realtor Karen Adatto, a real estate agent and broker for Ringwood, Wanaque, and West Milford, believes Ringwood is like any other area in the state that has experience a downturn in real estate sales.
“The market has definitely come down, but it doesn’t have anything to do with Ringwood alone,” said Adatto. “We are definitely selling homes in Ringwood. I don’t believe people are running away because of what’s going on (in Upper Ringwood). Homes that are priced correctly and that are showing nicely are definitely going under contract.”
Adatto pointed to home sales statistics in similar neighboring towns to support her point.
“I pulled house sales from Ringwood, Wanaque, and Oakland,” she said. “From what I can see, we are right on target. There is anything happening differently in Oakland or Wanaque than there is in Ringwood.
Other council members were starkly against spending money for public relations, sayint that declining home sales should be expected with a fallback in the market, which has been publicized most notably in The New York Times and The Record.
“I would content that members of the Chamber of Commerce…are creating their own negative publicity,” said Councilwoman Wenke Taule. “Instead, I suggest they channel their energies and do something positive for Ringwood, like help promote our history, our beauty and our resources.”
In related news, the borough will have a month extension of when it must begin field inspections for a county-ordered municipal tax revaluation. The revaluation, which is projected to cost the borough between $400,000 and $500,000, according to councilman Bill O’Hearn, comes as a result of a lawsuit brought against the borough by a group of residents concerned about their property values.
According to Taule, some of those residents involved in the suit are also the ones responsible for the letter that expressed concerns over the borough’s falling real estate values.
A recent court decision modifies the schedule for which the borough must begin and complete a municipal-wide property revaluation, according to borough attorney Joseph Maraziti. The process will be Oct. 15, 2007 with field inspections beginning Dec. 1 rather than Nov. 1 which had been originally planned. Final revalued tax listings must be submitted to the County Board of Taxation by Jan. 10, 2009, said Maraziti. The borough is one of the first municipalities to be revalued in the county, the council said.
Several council members were frustrated over the revaluation process, which they had bee hoping to hold off for several more years because of the significant cost is poses on the borough. Furthermore, the lawsuit has cost the borough additional fees.
“The tax appeals and the revaluation lawsuit have cost the taxpayers approximately $40,000 in legal fees and it seems obvious that this lawsuit triggered Passaic County to direct the revaluation, which…is certain to negatively affect our seniors, who are the backbone of our community, disproportionately,” said Taule.