Politics & Government

Environmental Commissioner Resigns Over Proposed Ordinance

Governing body member promises to vote against steep slope measure.

The Chatham Township Environmental Commission (CTEC) is minus one member.

Lou Caprioglio resigned from the commission when members voted 6-3 to endorse a change to the township's steep slope ordinance, which is up for final approval Thursday night.

The amendment allows for unlimited disturbances on single-family residences less than 25,000 square feet, which Caprioglio said is "essentially the vast majority of the lots in the township."

Committee Member Kathy Abbott said she agreed with Caprioglio. "I agree with [the] Planning Board that the g(4) [paragraph exempting single-family lots less than 25,000 sq. ft.] should be removed," Abbott told Patch via email. "I am planning to vote no to [the] ordinance."

When the amendment was presented to the Planning Board, "the board reversed its stand ... on the steep slope ordinance and determined that the entire ordinance, including paragraph g(4), is consistent with the Master Plan," Caprioglio said.

"There were no new facts presented. The change in position was brought about by asking the professionals to review their findings and encouraging them to reverse their conclusions until they eventually acquiesced," he said.

"Somehow the glaring fact that paragraph g(4) ... is in direct conflict with a Master Plan which calls for conservation of steep slopes was glossed over," Caprioglio said in his resignation letter.

Caprioglio went on to say "this is nothing new" in the workings of the Planning Board. "A similar discussion occurred last year when this ordinance was originally introduced," he said. That ordinance was rejected by the township committee after the Planning Board recommended the paragraph, then labelled f(4), be eliminated. The committee voted the ordinance down in hopes the Planning Board would represent the ordinance without the offending paragraph.

When the latest amendment was introduced, Caprioglio said, "It was clear from the start that the Township Committee persons and the Township Administrator were determined to get their way. They were not simply disagreeing with previous decisions, they sought to minimize and reinterpret them in order to invalidate them and remove them from the public record," he said in his resignation letter.

Administrator Thomas E. Ciccarone told the Chatham Township Committee he disagreed with Caprioglio's assessment of the proposed law and its presentation to the Planning Board. The law's passing, he said, "was not to rescind the earlier [decision] but rather to issue an addendum that [advances[ the goals of the Master Plan."

Ciccarone went on to say he was offended when Caprioglio said the administration deliberately tried to block out a public voice in the amendment.

"The ordinance is subject to public hearing before the [township] committee can adopt it and anyone may speak, ask questions or express an opinion," he said, adding that no residents chose to voice their opinions at the Planning Board meeting.

The public hearing and final adoption are scheduled for Thursday evening.

A complete copy of the proposed ordinance, and the agenda for Thursday's meeting, are in the Photos section of this article.


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