We just found out that Jackson Council is planning to amend (AGAIN!) the Land Use Ordinance and the requirements of the conditional use for Solar in order to make Six Flags solar plan pass through the Planning Board!
The Council is looking to remove the Native Grasses requirement that's currently necessary to meet the conditional use of the ordinance which permitted solar arrays on CR-2 zoned land. CR-2 zone ordinarily allows use that's "consistent with natural use of land".
Here is the proposed Land Use resolution:
The Council is looking to remove the Native Grasses requirement that's currently necessary to meet the conditional use of the ordinance which permitted solar arrays on CR-2 zoned land. CR-2 zone ordinarily allows use that's "consistent with natural use of land".
Here is the proposed Land Use resolution:
Extensive expert testimony from environmental experts proved beyond any doubt that the native grasses would NOT survive the conditions of the site, which is why the Council is removing the requirement!
What's the significance of this?
Native grasses are critical for stormwater management, especially in this case where an expert hydrologist calculated a possible 1200% stormwater runoff increase. Though native grasses can't replace the robust water uptake of a whole forest, their deeper roots can manage stormwater better than turf.
Here is a visual of the difference in the root systems of Native Grasses vs. Turf.
What's the significance of this?
Native grasses are critical for stormwater management, especially in this case where an expert hydrologist calculated a possible 1200% stormwater runoff increase. Though native grasses can't replace the robust water uptake of a whole forest, their deeper roots can manage stormwater better than turf.
Here is a visual of the difference in the root systems of Native Grasses vs. Turf.
Native grasses are also important because:
- They don't require fertilizer, pesticides, watering or lime--and don't result in additional pollution of waterways (In this case: Toms River and Delaware River) and ground water.
- They do not promote the proliferation of invasive non-native vegetation species
- They don't alter the ecology and health of the surrounding Pine Barrens forest and 2 Wildlife Preserves!
If there was any hope for a fair and unbiased process, last night's hearing (more on this later) and this sneaky move prove that the Mayor, his appointees to the various Boards that approved this project, and the Council are only interested in one thing - giving Six Flags exactly what they want!
This is how they put it onto agenda--would you know that this has to do with the hotly-debated Six Flags project?
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