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Dear Mendham Borough Residents: As many of you know, the West Morris Board of Education plans a referendum on March 9th of this year regarding an expansion of West Morris Mendham High School. The West Morris Regional High School Board has sent information to all residents explaining its reasons for the proposal. Another mailing has been promised as the date approaches. The Governing Body believes that it is important for the residents of Mendham Borough to know how the Borough Planning Board felt when this issue came before them in a state-mandated but non-binding procedure. Attached is a letter dated November 13, 2003 from Planning Board Chair Alexa Lewandowski to Department of Education Commissioner Librera which explains the Planning Board's concerns about the potential expansion of the West Morris Mendham High School. The formal resolution referenced in Ms. Lewandowski's letter is available for review in the Office of the Borough Land Use Coordinator in the Phoenix House, 2 West Mam Street. The Mayor and Borough Council urge all residents to be informed about all pertinent issues and, if eligible, to vote on March 9th. The polls will be open at West Morris Mendham High School from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Richard G. Kraft
Office of the Planning Board
Dr. William L. Librera,
Dear Dr. Librera: Recently the West Morris Board of Education (WMBofE) came before the Mendham Borough Planning Board to present a plan to further expand the West Morris Mendham Regional High School. This courtesy presentation is the third in three years. Their first presentation was in November and December, 2000 to present their Long Range Facilities Plan. In those meetings, the Planning Board communicated to the West Morris Board of Education our concerns with any proposed expansion and also issued a written resolution documenting these concerns. In summary, the Board wrote in its resolution, dated January 8, 2001: 1. The proposed expansion was inconsistent with the Borough's Master Plan. It did not comport with the State Planning Commission's designation of Mendham Borough as a 'village center'. 2. The Board of Education's Plan did not provide for a proper Waste water Management Plan and Sewer Services Plan consistent with the Utilities Plan set forth in the 1994 Master Plan and reiterated in the 2000 Master Plan Reexamination Report. 3. The Plan does not provide for proper parking and contributes to increased traffic volumes and intersection accidents along Mendham's primary arterial route (known as Main Street, Route 510 or local Route 24) as well as secondary routes. The Planning Board at that time (December, 2000) understood that this expansion was an interim measure and communicated to WMBofE, our concern that the infrastructure of the Borough could not support any further expansion and requested that as a part of their long range planning process that no further expansion of West Morris Mendham High School take place and if necessary, a facility outside of Mendham Borough be built. The Board of Education returned to meet with the Planning Board in October and November, 2003 to review an amendment to their proposed long range plan with immediate implementation by way of a capital expansion at the West Morris Mendham High School. This new plan calls for the expansion of the West Morris Mendham High School. In our review of the materials presented and in our deliberations, the Planning Board noted the following: 1. The Board of Education up to this point had been unresponsive to the concerns of Mendham Borough. In meetings with the Borough in 2000. the Board of Education had agreed informally to the replacement of all water fixtures with water savings devices. After three years, this has not been completed. 2. In its new long range plan, the Board of Education presented, at the request of the Borough, a well-documented study on traffic flow that recommended installation of speed bumps in residential neighborhoods adjacent to the high school and a stop light on Route 510, Main Street to improve flow in and out of the high school. However, the WMBofE has not considered methods or policies to reduce traffic flow. The school is located on the only major road from Chester and points west to Morristown. This route is heavily traveled by commuters as well as those going to the high school and is also the location of Mendham Borough's emergency services and their primary route to emergency calls within the Borough. The number of cars entering and exiting the school in the morning has increased 14% from the period 2001-2003 and in the afternoon. 45% for the same period. These numbers are derived from the Traffic Study by Schoor DePalma commissioned by the Board of Education. For the year 2001-2007, the estimated increase would be 33% in the morning and 72% in the afternoon. While the school is not the sole source of the congestion, it is a major contributor to serious bottlenecks at the school entrance that can extend one to two miles east and west of the school entrance. The Planning Board suggested that the WMBofE begin as soon as possible 'out of the box', creative thinking regarding busing, driving privileges, drop off privileges, etc. and to continue to evaluate traffic calming measures. The Planning Board encouraged the Board of Education to require the school leadership to be sensitive to the residents of the Borough in their day-to-day operating decisions and to be the drivers of an attitudinal shift that would be required to reduce the number of cars entering and exiting the school. These concerns were reiterated by residents of the Borough who spoke publicly at our meeting, including the comment that Drake Road (a residential street) has become a public driveway. 3. The Borough of Mendham has had a sewer ban ordinance in place since 1992, in accordance with requirements set for in NJAC 7:14A-22 et. seq. The NJDEP permit for the Mendham Borough Sewerage Treatment Plant is a monthly average flow of 450,000 gallons per day. The Borough is averaging flows well in excess of this permit limit per day exceeding the permit limits. The professional consultant hired by the Board of Education, from TRC Omni Environmental Corporation, testified that the school is currently only 1 % of the usage. The school's existing capacity is 1,073 students with a planned growth to 1,308, exceeding a 20% increase. It is also one of the largest users of the sewage system in the Borough; any increase would be detrimental to the Borough and would likely result in increased costs (These costs would be borne solely by the Borough's residents.) For over a decade, private sector users have been denied the right to expand or change their uses on structures unless they could do so with no increase in sewer fiow:s. 4. The proposed plan fails to meet the Borough of Mendham's ordinances governing impervious coverage and building coverage. Thus, it is not in keeping with the Borough's development efforts. The Planning Board was not presented any information that changed its findings from the meeting in 2000. The proposed 2003 - 2007 West Morris Mendham High School Expansion and Renovation Project is not consistent with the Mendham Borough's 1994 Master Plan and 2000 Reexammation Report. The WMBofE Plan was found to be inconsistent with the Master Plan by a unanimous vote of the Mendham Borough Planning Board for the following reasons: 1. "The State Development and Redevelopment Plan (SDRP) adopted in 1992 identified Mendham Borough as an existing village center", within an environmentally sensitive area. The basic principle of the approved designation that "land outside of the village center boundary of the Borough will continue in low density rural residential use."... "To retain the small town village character of the community, certain types of uses by definition are outside the concept of the village center, such as shopping centers, large office buildings, warehouses, distribution facilities... regional serving public and quasi-public facilities (e.g. hospitals, large institutional and educational facilities) are also inappropriate to the concept and not in keeping with village-scale architecture and atmosphere." (See 2000 Reexamination Report, pages 6 and 26). 2. "The 1994 Master Plan had recommended several steps to reduce speeds, congestion and enhance safety along East and West Main Street (Route 510 or local Route 24). It was noted that the County of Morris has a major responsibility in any of these programs along (local) Route 24. Therefore it is recommended that the Borough launch an intensive program to work with the County to resolve or ameliorate these traffic issues." (See 2000 Reexamination Report, pages 22 and 23) . 3. All sewer applications and sewer use issues are the responsibility of the Borough Council. However, in our role as advisors to the Council, the Planning Board cautions any applicant against requesting development approvals which would result in an increase in water utilization into a system that is already overtaxed. The Planning Board does not feel that any positive steps to resolve the concerns of the Borough have been taken since the WMBofE first came to us in 2000. The two meetings just held demonstrated a new and welcomed tone by the Board of Education. We are hopeful that this time action will follow and that the Borough's concerns will be addressed openly and in a timely manner. The West Morris Mendham High School is highly regarded as an educational institution by the residents of our Borough. However, the issues raised in this letter and in the following resolution, are serious problems for our community. The WMBofE continues to expand the school, failing to embrace our designation as a ''village center" and our concern that the Borough's infrastructure is already overtaxed and cannot support continued growth. We hope that this letter and the following resolution adopted by the Board in its meeting on November 10, 2003, will be carefully considered by you and acted upon accordingly.
Very truly yours,
Enclosure |