New Jersey Golf Course Gives Way to Sprawl

"The Planning-Zoning Board has approved a company’s application to build 44 single-family homes on the 50 acres of the Apple Ridge Country Club property within the borough [of Upper Saddle River]," reports Marina Villeneuve.

A key condition of the plan, as approved, is the environmental remediation that will be necessary to prepare the land for the homes. Adds Villeneuve: "The ownership group Apple Ridge USR also is proposing to remediate all 50 acres of arsenic and lead-contaminated soil, a legacy of former farming of the land, as well as restore a brook running through the property and remove and replace hundreds of trees."

The article includes more details about the conditions of approval, as does additional reporting by Villaneuve from August. Upper Saddle River, in New Jersey is located northwest of New York City, along the border of the state of New York. Upper Saddle River made news earlier this year when a developer sued on grounds that the borough violated its "civil rights" to provide housing, by failing to act on a zoning request for 240 residential units included in a mixed-use development. Apparently projects coming in under a unit an acre are easier to develop.