$1.75B Flood Bond is Urged; Referendum Sought for Nov. Ballot

By RICHARD COWEN, STAFF WRITER

Environmentalists, politicians and flood-weary residents found common ground on the soggy banks of the Passaic River on Wednesday, urging adoption of a $1.75 billion bond through a referendum that would pour more money into the state’s buyout program, Blue Acres.

In the wake of the latest flood, Democrats and Republicans in the state Legislature are pushing to place a bond referendum on the November ballot to restore funding to the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund. The fund is the pool of money New Jersey draws upon to preserve open space, farms and historic sites, and to buy up homes and land in the flood plains around New Jersey.

"It is the responsibility of government to protect its citizens and remove them from a river that is going to flood again and again and again," said Ella Filippone, the director of the Passaic River Coalition, at a news conference in a Fairfield neighborhood battered by the recent storm. "These homes should be removed."

The bill calling for the referendum, ACR-10, would dedicate $175 million in annual sales tax revenue over 10 years, beginning in 2009. About $25 million annually would go into the Blue Acres program for flood buyouts. The buyout program would be voluntary and would not involve any condemnation of properties by government, officials said.

Assemblyman John F. McKeon, D-West Orange, one of the primary sponsors, said the bill would likely come up for a vote within the next month. "We need the public to stand up and contact their legislators," he said.

The news conference was held in the back yard of the home of Katherine "Kitty" O’Neill, 44, who has lived at 11 Riveredge Drive her whole life. The Pompton River joins the Passaic River just beyond her backyard fence so she’s no stranger to flooding. But the 4 feet of water that invaded her home 2 weeks ago was the last straw.

"It seems that every year, the flooding just keeps getting worse and worse," O’Neill said. "If the state was to offer a buyout, I’d take it."

O’Neill was joined by her sister, Marlene Giangerelli, 61, who lives across the street with their mother. Giangerelli has lived in the same house for 55 years, but now, she says, it’s time to go.

"It used to be all farms around here," Giangerelli said. "There was plenty of room for the water when it rained. Now, there’s nowhere for the water to go."

Even before the recent floods, some residents in Wayne’s Hoffman Grove neighborhood were planning to leave their homes, thanks to a buyout program funded by state and federal grants.

ACR-10 has the backing of the environmental lobbies in the state, including the Sierra Club, the New Jersey Environmental Federation, the New Jersey Audubon Society and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. But its passage is far from a done deal. It requires a majority vote in the Assembly and two-thirds of the Senate to get the referendum on the ballot.

Jeff Tittel, director of the Sierra Club of New Jersey, said there’s an opportunity to reverse the trend of overdevelopment in the flood plain and instead create open space along the river banks.

"We can take people out of harm’s way while at the same time opening up the waterfront to the public," he said.

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E-mail: cowen@northjersey.com

(SIDEBAR, page A03)

What’s next

* A bill (ACR-10) that would put a $1.75 billion bond referendum on the November ballot to fund open space purchases including flood buyouts is in the Assembly Environment Committee.

* The Assembly will likely vote on the bill this month, followed by the Senate. If adopted by both houses, the referendum would appear on the ballot for the November election.

* The bill must be adopted by Aug. 15 or the referendum cannot be placed on the November ballot.

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