Environmental Impact analysis

Rough Draft Report

Environmental pollution

Environmental pollution should also be considered if shopping complex should be built in tenant road. These pollution include oxides of Nitrogen, oxides of Sulphur, chlorinated compounds, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds ( VOCs) and many more that comes from shopping centers pollution retailers, dry cleaners that will resides in the shopping center who uses chlorinated and other organic solvents which are toxic to humans, Traffic and Parking as result cars released more of their toxic exhaust at low speed into the environment which will affect the air quality of the shopping center and the people living around greenwood road and orchid, plastic waste pollution and greenhouse gases pollution. Also noise may be considered as factor for the near by residence at greenwood and orchid street.

Traffic

Traffic is one of the major aspects to be considered especially when building a shopping centre is concerned. It plays a very important and vital role in an Environmental impact Statement (EIS) and proves to be a decisive point based on which permits to build a shopping centre are granted. It is the most debatable issue in most zonal board meetings in which due importance is given to traffic. It has direct correspondence to human health, public welfare and the environment as it directly leads to air pollution, noise pollution in the neighbouring vicinity and can also lead to accidents of various kinds. Traffic analysis has been done based on traffic counts and trip generation using the software HCS2000. In the above case, traffic counts at peak hour on weekday and weekend were taken in front of the site (i.e. intersection of Tennant Road and Greenwood Road) and also at the intersection of Route 79 and Tennant Road. The Level of Service (LOS) in front of the site was found to be ‘B’ and at the intersection of Tennant Road and Route 79 it was found to be ‘F’. From this it is clear that the approach road to the site has already an LOS of ‘F’ without the shopping centre being built, so one can imagine the chaotic increase in the traffic once the shopping centre is built and consequently would affect the LOS in front of the site as well making it bad to worse. There are houses on the Orchard Road as well as on the Greenwood Road adjoining the site. These residents would face a lot of problems because of the shopping centre as the approach road is very narrow, there is no sidewalk hence pedestrian safety becomes a concern. Huge trucks would create a lot of nuisance because of the narrowness of the road and inadequate curves/bends for turning. Loading trucks,Garbage vans, Supply vans would have great difficulty in entering and leaving the facility which in turn would affect the general atmosphere, environment and well being of the residents and travellers in and around the site.Thus a peaceful countryside town of Marlboro would turn into a noisy,chaotic and eco-unfriendly town.

SOCIAL CONCERNS ­ STILL IN PROCESS OF WRITING (CG)

Constructing a new shopping center is such a massive economic project that it requires a thorough social and economic analysis before a thoughtful and rational decision can be made Economic concerns are a major social impact of constructing a shopping center. Economic migration will affect Marlboro population size, and people will move into an area if the real after­tax wage rates or the likelihood of being employed increases in a region. The building of new shopping centers itself always creates problems dealing with the surroundings. The development of new shopping centers also always invites people from high, middle and low class society to come by using various kinds of means of transportation. The traffic users use the public space as they like since there is not enough and comfortable place to drive and park the vehicle whereas the development of the shopping centers do not consider the needs of public space area for pedestrian and traffic users.

Ecological Concerns

The development of a shopping center on a 5.2 acres of land anywhere is bound to have a huge ecological impact on the on the immediate ecosystem and its surroundings and this will not be any different for the natural landscape we have on Tennent road that is about to be totally altered by a 60,000ft shopping center accompanied by a 330 car capacity parking area based on NJ space allocation laws of (5.5 parking spaces for every 1000 square feet). Just to give us an idea of the natural outlook of the property as it stands: It is a quiet serene lot that holds a reasonable number of trees that bloom beautifully during the warmer months with their branches providing shelter for birds and their leaves; forage for squirrels and other animals and detritivores. Considering the existence of a pond right next to the property, amphibians and other wetland species also do have a claim to this property if it stays undisturbed.

The building of this property will commence with total tree harvesting/deforestation thus affecting the natural habitat of existing species. Wood chippings and sawdust from this activity will end up in the adjacent wetland causing a huge disturbance to that ecosystem. Deforestation and other landscaping activities have the unwelcomed consequence of sheet erosion with runoffs almost certainly bound to flow into the already overburdened wetland ecosystem. It also worth mentioning that we do not have enough trees to serve as carbon dumps considering the wanton rate of deforestation going on all around our state in the name of development, yet comes another project that will take down a few more trees.

Following this humongous project will be the uncomfortable sight of a once naturally well aerated land space getting completely paved with concrete or bituminous material. Apart from the likelihood of toxics leaching from these materials and some getting washed off with age into the environment, there is also the huge challenge of reduced percolation of rainwater and melting snow which will in turn affect the aquifer recharge rate leading to a drop in water table and a reduction in baseflow for streams. There is also the concern that the paved surface will increase stormwater runoff into adjacent land as against the slower flow over grass and soil that the natural ecosystem currently provides.

The human ecosystem is also going to be affected as this once quiet neighborhood with no more than 4 houses close to the property will suddenly be overrun with activities almost round the clock from the inception of construction work to when the shopping center opens for business.

Flood History of Marlboro Township (Still in Progress)

In the NJDEP Geologic Map of New Jersey, Marlboro Township lies within the coastal plain physiographic of New Jersey. This makes the Township of Marlboro prone to flash flooding and major disasters resulting from Tropical storms according to flood insurance study (FIS), which was carried out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In recent times the Town of Marlboro has experience three (3) major flooding due to Hurricane Sandy (October 29, 2012), Hurricane Irene (August 28, 2011) and Hurricane Floyd (September 17, 1999). During Hurricane Floyd a record flood of 4.5 ft higher than any previous record flood was noted. Hurricane Irene displaced many of Marlboro township residents, which were ordered by Governor Chris Christie. Rainfall reached over 10 inches in part of Monmouth County causing significant damage to homes and businesses. Hurricane Sandy is nickname Superstorm Sandy because it was the most destructive hurricane of 2012. This category 1 storm left a path of destruction that is still felt to this present day. It caused historical peak for both water-level elevations and storm-tide elevation in the coasts parts of New Jersey according to USGS.

Propose Shopping Center

The proposed shopping center between Tennant Road and Greenwood Road can increase flood risk since it will change the natural runoff paths. The wetland which is directly behind the proposed shopping center will be affected because the new construction will encroach on the wetland territory . New land development can increase flood risk, especially if the construction changes natural runoff paths.

The Township of Marlboro is well known for it many scattered wetlands. These wetlands provide natural flood control mechanism to store excess water from heavy rainfall, thunderstorm, and tropical storm. Moreover, wetlands serve in the capacity to recharge groundwater area and filter pollutant from the water table. Altering the area of the wetlands will impact not only the quality but also the quantity of surface water.

A study carried out by the Flood insurance study 2013 states that flooding problems exist along Tennant road, which arise from overflow. In the Township of Marlboro, considerable flooding occurs because Marlboro is a relatively flat region.