Proposed CVS Property Owner Appeals $12K Fine

A Washington Township property owner, who state officials allege violated the Flood Hazard Area Control Act, is appealing a $12,000 fine issued last month.

Officials from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection found that 660 Pascack Realty, LLC — a company owned by Seasons owner James Kourgelis — should have requested state permits before clearing vegetation, adding fill and building a retaining wall within a 300-foot buffer around the unnamed stream which passes the rear of the Pasack Road properties where the work was done.

The property owner violated the state's Flood Hazard Area Control Act, according to DEP officials. The state also ordered the company provide them with a plan to restore the properties to their previous condition and pay the $12,000 penalty, in a notice dated October 8.

A previous notice from the DEP warned that they could issue penalties of as much as $25,000 per day until the work is undone.

In a response to the October notice, 660 Pascack's attorney, Neil Yoskin, wrote that they were appealing the state's decision on the grounds that the work was done before the state had determined last year that the stream counted as a Category One waterway which requires regulation.

Yoskin also questioned whether the stream's drainage area was as large as state officials claimed and if they could penalize the property owner because their decision that the stream should be regulated was originally sent to Washington Township's engineer, not the property owner.

The properties, which currently are occupied by several houses, have been proposed as the site for a future CVS. The Washington Township Zoning Board has been hearing testimony about that controversial application for several years. The board next meets December 17 in the township municipal building.