Shamrock Creek, LLC-Welcome to our site!

Shamrock Creek, LLC is the owner of 35 acres in the Borough of Paramus. It is located on the south side of Soldier Hill Road, between Forest Ave. and Pascack Rd., across from Cedar Park Cemetery. Shamrock Creek has applied for permits and approvals to develop the property for new residences.

Presently, plans for a 140 unit condominium project have been submitted to the Paramus Board of Adjustment for review and approval.  The project as submitted is a mix of townhouses and carriage homes.   A clubhouse for the community is proposed.  The majority of property will be reserved for conservation and preservation of wetlands, restored and brought back to its natural state.

The benefits to the Paramus community would be significant. The development would perform the much needed environmental clean-up of toxic metals, concrete, asphalt, broken glass and other debris throughout the site, without any cost to the taxpayers. It will provide tax revenue in the form of real estate taxes. Any design will incorporate attractive architecture, open space and significant landscaping. It will generate significant revenue for the Borough, reducing the current budget shortfall and possible tax increases. The community will be a mix of luxury townhouses and competitively priced carriage homes.

Of the 35 acres, approximately half are in wetland buffer areas. The location and the extent of those wetlands have been verified by New Jersey DEP. Significant areas of the uplands and the 17 acres of wetlands are comprised of a solid waste landfill. There are about 65,000 cubic yards of solid waste on this property, ranging in depth from zero feet to about six feet in depth. Much of that solid waste is actually located within the wetlands on this property.

The property has contamination which will require environmental clean-up.  The history of the property indicates it was a dump site for construction debris during the building of the Garden State Parkway in the 1950s. There are 4-6 foot piles of concrete pieces, asphalt and pipe throughout the north rim of the property. The site was also used as a municipal dump during the garbage strike in the 1970s. Pockets of broken glass are found all over the ground within the site. Investigation, testing and reporting by environmental engineers indicate that copper, lead, barium, arsenic, mercury, zinc and thallium (Priority Pollutant Metals PPM) are found in the soils, exceeding the NJDEP Residential Soil Cleanup Criteria (RSCC).

Water quality sampling, which was conducted on two separated occasions indicate that metals, in their dissolved form, are leaching from the landfill into the brook, which discharges to the Oradell Reservoir. The surface of the landfill is exposed in many places and is subject to ongoing erosion. If this project doesn’t move forward, that condition will only get worse.

Shamrock Creek is seeking approvals for the Remedial Action Workplan (RAWP) to clean up the contamination.  The NJDEP accepted the finding of contamination.

The contaminants on the property existed prior to acquisition by Shamrock Creek.  The contamination did not occur during Shamrock Creek's ownership or actions.  We are trying to gain approval to clean up the actions of others.

The site plan application process started in 2006, when the initial application was filed with the Paramus Board of Adjustment. The Borough filed a lawsuit shortly thereafter alleging that the application was not valid because the land was encumbered by requirement that the land not be developed. A trial was held and the Superior Court, Bergen County, resulting in a judgment that this property did not have such a restriction. Paramus appealed the decision. After another trial the Judge stated that the additional facts did not change the decision and ruled again in favor of Shamrock Creek. Once again, Paramus appealed the decision, spending Borough revenue for two lawyers again to appeal to the Appellate Division. The Appellate Court has now ruled that Shamrock Creek has the right to develop the land, confirming the Trial Court’s decision. The Borough needs to stop spending money on a losing strategy that only slows the clean up and development in a responsible manner.

Our application which has been submitted to the Zoning Board requests 140 units consisting townhouses and carriage homes in buildings three stories over basement parking. There are substantial buffers between the drainage ditch and wetlands. The brownfield will be cleaned up and the contamination removed and/or capped in conjunction with the development. This would mitigate the hazardous conditions that presently exist and stop the leaching of the contaminants into that drainage ditch that ultimately flows into our drinking water supply at Oradell Reservoir. The proposed plan places the parking garage level partially underground and the building height for the carriage houses will be 43+/- feet. The entire project is setback from the neighboring properties and will have minimal impact, if any, and will eliminate the brownfield conditions. The buildings are substantially distant from the neighbors with a large wooded buffer between the new development and the existing homes.

The simplest way to explain the benefits of this development are as follows:

Shamrock Creek, LLC wants the public to know the full story, not just one side.  Common sense would dictate that we all want environmental contamination cleaned up.  However, the only issue you’ve heard until now is not based on fact. It is disingenuous to suggest leaving the wetlands and property in its present state is environmentally sound reasoning.  Why would you want contaminants such as garbage, asphalt, chemicals and toxic metals finding their way into the drinking water system?  The current administration once again is not dealing with the contamination within the borders of Paramus. However, in this case, the Borough and its taxpayers would not shoulder the expense. Shamrock Creek will! The current administration needs to follow up on its assurances that it will remediate contamination within its borders and find positive methods to reduce its revenue shortfall without eliminating jobs and services.

Once you know all the facts, you will support our well thought-out plan, which cleans up of the toxins on-site, restores and protects wetlands, and funds all this without the need for taxpayer contribution, but creates revenue instead.