Public Comment Concludes in Historic Fight Over Watchung Ridge Forest Development
Coalition of Residents, Environmental Leaders, Indigenous Leaders, Businesses and Regional Organizations Demand Permanent Preservation of the Second Ridge Forest and Rejection of High-Rise Development
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT:
Ben Dziobek
Executive Director, CRAN
M: 732-543-3005 E: ben@climaterevolutionnj.org
Rachel Klein
President, WeCare NJ M:973-280-3463 E: rbarton85@gmail.com
West Orange, NJ — Following more than two years of testimony, expert analysis, and sustained community opposition, public comment has officially concluded on the proposed 496-unit development atop the Watchung Mountain Second Ridge Forest. The application now advances to closing arguments, scheduled for February 25, where attorneys representing the developer and WeCareNJ will deliver final presentations before the West Orange Planning Board. A decision from the Board is expected following deliberations in the weeks ahead.
The proceedings have become one of the longest and most exhaustive Planning Board reviews in New Jersey history. More than 25 hearings were held, often stretching hours into the evening, with dozens of expert witnesses called to testify and more than 2,000 pages of documentation entered into the record. Over 50 residents spoke in opposition to the proposal. Not one member of the public testified in support.
Public engagement extended far beyond the hearing room. During the summer, residents and coalition partners organized a large community mobilization on the ridge itself, drawing regional and statewide attention to the proposed destruction of one of the last intact core forests in the Watchung Mountain range. That escalating pressure culminated in Essex County advancing a countywide resolution calling for the permanent preservation of the Second Ridge forest.
Testimony throughout the hearings raised concerns surrounding flooding, stormwater runoff, wildfire risk, emergency evacuation access, traffic congestion, steep slope disturbance, and drinking water impacts tied to the headwaters of Canoe Brook. The 120-acre forest has long been identified as a preservation priority and represents the last remaining core forest of its kind in the region.
Closing arguments on February 25 will mark the final stage of the public process before the Planning Board begins deliberations and issues its decision on whether the development application will move forward, be modified, or be denied.
The outcome will determine the future of the last unprotected core forest on the Watchung Second Ridge and is expected to carry significant implications for how environmentally sensitive land is evaluated amid development pressures across New Jersey.
“We are sitting on the precipice of ruining forever what our ancestors placed here with intention. These mountains were not random. They were pathways of communication, from ridge to ridge, all the way to what we now call the Hudson River. The trees are living. They communicate. They are connected beneath our feet in ways we are only beginning to understand,” said Ramapough Lenape Chief Vincent Mann. “The Ramapough Munsee people have already endured genocide and eugenics in this state. Our history was studied, documented, and targeted. The very least this Planning Board and this council can do is remember that we are still here. I support affordable housing. Young people and low income families are struggling. But those goals cannot come at the expense of destroying the Watchung Mountains. These mountains provide tree canopy, flood protection, and a home for our plant, animal, and insect relatives. We cannot afford to destroy this mountain. Not now. Not ever.”
“In good planning when building above pre-existing homes, normally a “catchment area” is required to protect those homes. This development is not required to have any such mediation to prevent landslides from debris piled up over the course of development, let alone even acknowledging the possibility of disturbance to the mountain,” said Rachel Klein, WeCareNJ President and Howell Drive resident. “The most likely reason to exempt this developer lies in the fact that many of our homes are in the way. Where the catchment basin would be placed is where our homes are. This alone should bear the question of why this is being allowed at all if they cannot ensure safety while this is being built, let alone all the issues mentioned by my neighbors expected once this half baked development is built.”
“This fight has always been about whether our communities get a real voice when the stakes are this high. For more than two years, residents, experts, and advocates have built an overwhelming record showing why this forest matters for flood protection, public safety, indigenous history, and climate resilience,” said Ben Dziobek, Executive Director of the Climate Revolution Action Network. The Planning Board has everything it needs to do the right thing and permanently preserve the Second Watchung Ridge.”
“We do not know how the new residents (sic) would leave in the event of an emergency. When the fire chief spoke to ingress and egress in a letter I referred to earlier, most of it was around the ability of the fire trucks to be able to turn around,” said Barbara White, a resident of Howell Drive. “That was something that was a big issue with 136 houses. It did not in any way speak to what happens when you need to get into that property and people are getting out, what happens when cars are abandoned, how do you get fire trucks in and out? How do you get other services in and out? I think we have a major safety issue that has not been fully addressed and discussed during the course of this project.”
“I’m an OBGYN in West Orange. I am frequently on call and must respond to urgent and life threatening situations at the hospital, sometimes with only minutes notice,” said Dr. Lisa Hayes. “When a mother or baby is in distress every minute matters. Delays caused by gridlocked exits, construction traffic and increased daily volume would directly interfere with my ability to reach patients in time.”
“Imagine you are standing in a backyard, looking up at the wooded ridge that’s always given our neighborhood peace, privacy and stability. Now imagine everything else being built on top of that ridge and now imagine that same ridge being blasted, cut open and reshaped for a five story building,” said Seth Weisleder, a resident of Howell Drive. “The largest in the entire West Essex Highlands project. Pushed fifty feet closer to the cliff’s edge than the original design and the building would only sit a few hundred feet from your roof line. That is what we, the residents of Howell Drive are facing.”
“Regardless of the hollow and threadbare nature of this developer’s agreement, Municipal Land Use Law should be this board’s guiding principal, as it commands all sworn board members the responsibility to advance the common good of the community and protect the health, safety and welfare of residents,” said Jessica Pearson, Verona Environmental Commission Chair. “And really all residents of NJ – which includes your neighbors – all of which have responded to this proposal, whether by resolution, or legal action adversely. Even the Essex County Board of County Commissioners has passed a unanimous resolution against this proposal”
“Our Green West Orange members are opposed to this ill-conceived potentially catastrophic development on a steep slope that requires the cutting of thousands of trees in a time of climate change flooding when trees are our only protection,” said Sally Malanga, Board Member of Our Green West Orange.
“This [project] was done during a few months in the COVID-distorted 2020 without adequate public notice and literally no public objection of record. The fact that this isolated and remote site is especially unsuitable for affordable housing never was even aired, let alone seriously considered,” said Paul Tractenberg, Founder, WeCare NJ, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers Law. “Strikingly, not a single voice—other than the developer’s—has been heard in support of this application. At the recent public comment sessions, a unifying theme was that the Planning Board should “do the right thing” by giving primacy to public health and safety and the increasingly fragile environment and denying this application, too.”
“My 93 year old mother was experiencing a medical emergency on April 27th, 2025. None of her neighbors were home, and I am the closest family to her. Upon trying to leave the West Essex Highlands condo complex, where I live, I was informed there was a fire on the golf course and a tree down across Oval Rd,” said Marea DePalma, resident of the Highlands. “The fire chief told me to get back and that I could not leave either by car or even on foot. I again asked if the chief could walk me to where I could have someone pick me up to go to my mother, but he would only repeat, “Get back behind the yellow tape.” I was unable to leave the condo complex for three hours. Thank G-d it was not a life threatening emergency on that day. When the developer’s traffic expert was asked how his site improvements would help with such a case as mine he admitted on the stand that there is nothing in the plan that would change what happened that day. In fact, there will now be 500 more homes trapped behind the yellow tape should this development go through!”
“Affordable housing, land conservation, and sustainability can all coexist, but not like this. The NJ Sierra Club strongly urges the West Orange Planning Board to reject this proposal for the sake of local residents, the environment, and wildlife. This area is unsuitable for any type of development due to its slopes, wetlands, and critical wildlife. The town needs to find an appropriate location to fulfill its affordable housing mandates, one which promotes environmental and public health, complies with stormwater rules, and ensures public safety,” said Maegan Kuhlmann, NJ Sierra Club Chapter Organizer.
“The Watchung Ridge Forest is the last of its kind – an untouched 120 acre undisturbed ecological oasis along the second ridge of the Watchung Mountains that provides a crucial green jewel amidst Essex County. The very thing that makes it so valuable ecologically – its pristine nature – is why it has been targeted for more than two decades for housing development. In a warming and wetter world, the threat of increased flooding, steep slope degradation and deforestation and the impacts on the Canoe Brook can’t be overlooked,” said Doug O’Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey. “The West Orange Planning Board needs to do the right thing and reject this proposal based on the forest’s environmental attributes and development’s negative impacts. This is not just a local development fight – this is a broader issue of how to protect some of our last remaining forested areas amid our state’s suburbs.”
"When the community speaks so clearly and with a unified voice, it is imperative that leaders listen," said Jennifer M. Coffey, Executive Director, ANJEC. "Developments that pit environmental protection against the need to create more housing are a false choice that should be rejected. The Watchung Ridge forest is one of the last remaining wild places in New Jersey, and it needs to be protected for the benefit of this and future generations. The people of New Jersey deserve clean air, water, healthy forests, and vibrant communities with affordable housing in which to live. Pitting one need against another is a damaging and destructive choice."
“Perched on a plateau atop the Second Orange Mountain, this forest stands as the most mature and least fragmented woodland east of the New Jersey Highlands,” said Elliott Ruga, Policy Director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition. “Its soils have never been tilled for agriculture, nor have its trees been harvested by mechanized equipment, allowing the soils to develop in complexity since the underlying geology first formed. Such intact conditions are exceptionally rare—and they are essential for the regeneration of high-integrity forests that support extraordinary biodiversity and rare plant communities. This forest is not only a vital ecological resource, but an irreplaceable part of New Jersey’s natural heritage. We have a unique opportunity to protect it permanently, while funding is available to secure its preservation.”
“The Watchung Mountain Second Ridge forest must be protected. It is far more than a collection of trees; it is a mature ecosystem that provides critical flood protection, purifies our aquifer, stores carbon, and sustains diverse native species. Developing this land would not only destroy an irreplaceable natural space, but it would also push floodwaters directly into the neighborhoods at the base of the mountain, putting families at risk. Preserving this forest is essential for public safety, environmental resilience, and the well-being of our surrounding communities” said Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill.
About We Care: NJ WECARE NJ CORP is the successor to the original West Essex Committee Against Rezoning Excesses (WECARE), an association formed in 2000 that won a landmark 5 to 2 victory against overdevelopment before the West Orange Planning Board in 2006 and worked with groups like the Trust for Public Land for more than a decade to push for permanent preservation of the Watchung Second Ridge. Rooted in neighboring communities of West Orange, Essex Fells, Roseland, and Verona, the group united residents concerned about public safety, extreme flooding, drinking water, and ecological loss. These same concerns, now heightened by the threats of climate change and overdevelopment, led to the creation of WECARE NJ in 2023. Today, WECARE is a more formal, broader based organization committed to mobilizing a large and diverse coalition to ensure that preservation of critical natural resources prevail over irreparable destructive development, carrying forward its guiding principle: many towns, one roof, shared voice.
About Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN): Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the social welfare of communities across New Jersey by advancing equitable, evidence-based climate policy, building civic power, and mobilizing a diverse generation of advocates to address the climate crisis and related injustices. Through legislative advocacy, public education, and grassroots organizing, CRAN works to hold polluters accountable, expand environmental protections, and ensure frontline communities have a seat at the table in shaping climate solutions. Founded in 2024, the organization engages more than 13,000 Gen Z members statewide and reaches over 50,000 followers across digital platforms.
