Wetlands Issues and Possible Violations
DISCLAIMER: Although the Sawyer's Creek Homeowners Association (SCHA) is facilitating meetings, information sharing and contacts, SCHA is not responsible for resolving individual homeowner issues with possible wetlands violations. The information in this editorial shall not be construed to be legal nor financial advice. The opinions expressed are those of the author only.
There was an emergency meeting on Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 7:00pm at the Community Wesleyan Church regarding the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the wetlands surrounding the properties on Mississippi Trail, Sprague Landing, Austin and Point Roads. Homeowners on these streets were invited to attend. Many have received letters from NJDEP notifying them of possible wetlands violations. The following information comes from that meeting.
Background
When buying a home and property on which stream encroachment lines, freshwater wetlands/waters boundary lines and transition lines exist, restrictions based on these lines are supposed to be disclosed to the buyer by closing. The survey map of the property must accurately specify the locations of such lines and boundaries. For many homeowners such restrictions were not explained at closing. For other homeowners, the lines on the survey maps they were given did not match those on the original surveys, nor on the survey from which NJDEP assesses possible violations.
Some of our neighbors have made modifications to their property. Simpler modifications involve mowing the lawn originally cleared and seeded by the builders, or clearing brush and trees. More extensive modifications, with the proper permits from Washington Township, include: installing swimming pools; building retaining walls; building sheds with concrete foundations; erecting fences.
An NJDEP inspector recently inspected properties in Sawyer's Creek bordering on the wetlands. Subsequently NJDEP has issued letters to some homeowners notifying them of possible wetlands violations.
With respect to permits issued by Washington Township, township officials claim no responsibility for verifying compliance with wetlands easements or transition areas.
Options
If you haven't received a letter from NJDEP:
You should still be aware of the issues your neighbors are dealing with, if only to disclose to a future buyer of your property. Your neighbors will soon be meeting with local and state government officials and a strong show of support will be very helpful.
If the nature of your violation is reversible:
A formal letter acknowledging the violation, with intent to cease and desist and/or to take corrective action, may be sufficient. For example, if the violation was mowing the lawn in restricted areas, simply stop mowing in the restricted areas and state that you have done so. If corrective action includes something like planting bushes in previously cleared areas, it'll be easier to do that than the alternatives.
If the nature of your violation involves a permanent structure:
One course of action that a few of our neighbors have started is to apply for a Transition Area Waiver. First, send a letter verifying receipt of the notice from NJDEP.
Next, apply for a Permit Application package, a Transition Area Waiver, and the Transition Area Waiver checklist and fee schedule. The NJDEP supervisor you should contact is Roderick Falla, at (609) 292-1240. The Land Use Regulation Program can be contacted at (609) 292-0060, or on the Web at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/landuse/fww.html.
The application fee to NJDEP for the waiver, without any guarantee of being granted the waiver, is about $540.
You'll also need to send certified letters to each and every household within 200 feet. This can involve going to the municipal offices of both Washington and Deptford Townships. Mailing fees will be on the order of $50.
You should probably also hire a well-qualified certified surveyor to determine the real locations of the transition line and other easement lines on your property; expect to pay on the order of $500.
You can also unofficially attempt to locate the transition line by locating the surveyor pins on your property. These are orange-tipped iron pins buried and located at the transition line in the back, and also located in your front yard, about 3 feet from the sidewalk. I'm told locating the front pins is easy; once these are located take a tape measure to locate the pins in the back. The tape measure should not bend; the measurement from the front to back pins is "as the crow flies" so perhaps a laser rangefinder may be very helpful.
Another possible approach: if the nature of the violation involves a portion of restricted area, it may be possible to negotiate a modification of the transition area. Basically, if you've encroached on restricted area in one section, you can "give back" by extending the restricted area in another section. It seems it is easier to justify an averaging or adjustment of transition or wetlands area than it is to justify a net reduction of transition or wetlands area.
What if I do nothing and just pay the fines?
At the moment affected neighbors have just received notices of violation, no one has been convicted or fined yet. However, we have heard the fine may be $25,000, or possibly $10,000 a day.
What's next?
SCHA will copy and send the sign-in sheet of names, addresses, phone numbers and Email address to affected households. SCHA will find the date and time of the next appropriate Washington Township board meeting at which we concerned neighbors can voice our concerns about our property rights. Your presence at this meeting will help bolster the cause.
Since I'm in the group who have not received a violation notice, I am only learning about these issues second-hand at the homeowners meetings. If you have additional information or clarifications to add, the website has set up an Email address for this issue. Send your information to wetlands@sawyerscreek.org and your information, clarifications and updates will be posted on the website.
Mark Bersalona
13 Point Road