January 28, 2026, Planning Board Special Meeting - WEHI Transcript

15 of 66 sheets Page 57 to 60 of 155 02/26/2026 05:17:42 PM 57 deal with the unwanted people of the Ramapo Mountains.1 Number one way, right. By Margaret Sanger and all of2 these very wealthy people that still control the world3 today, the number one way was by a public lethal gas4 chamber in 1923. That is the same documents that were5 going to be utilized on the Ramapough people that found6 their way to Germany and we all know what has transpired7 after that. And if the Wilf family and anybody else to8 sit there and memorialize that pain, to remember the9 history of those people, the very least that this10 council and this Planning Board and all of the people in11 the State of New Jersey can do is to remember us.12 Remember the original people who are still here, who are13 within your community. I'm only here tonight because I14 am the chief of the Lenape Ramapough Nation and I'm15 required to speak on behalf of the 5,000 plus people.16 And I really wish that I had more time to speak to you17 and I'm sure that we'll make an effort to have that on18 our own. Thank you.19 CHAIRMAN BAGOFF: Thank you.20 Come right up. State your name for the21 record, please.22 THE PUBLIC: Thank you. Good evening23 everybody. My name is Jacqueline Hendy. I live at 624 Beverly Road.25 58 MS. McGOVERN: What's your last name, Hendy?1 THE PUBLIC: Hendy, H-E-N-D-Y.2 MS. McGOVERN: I'm sorry, I missed your3 address?4 THE PUBLIC: 6 Beverly Road.5 MS. McGOVERN: Do you swear or affirm to6 tell the truth the whole and nothing but the truth.7 THE PUBLIC: I do.8 MS. McGOVERN: Thank you.9 THE PUBLIC: Actually, I just want to start,10 because I happened to glance down at my nails looking at11 my speech tonight and they're still tinted green in12 remembrance of my friend who died at, sorry, still13 fresh, 46 years old from rare aggressive cancer, the14 second friend who died from a rare aggressive cancer and15 I currently have a friend just a few years older than me16 battling a rare aggressive cancer. People are dying17 younger and of diseases that are not of their bodies,18 that are harder and harder to fight and they are wiping19 out mothers, fathers and people who still have a whole20 lot of life to live. I just thought I'd say that in21 remembrance of my friend.22 So we are here tonight because of choices23 not inevitability. We're here because as a town we have24 made choices about how

life to live. I just thought I'd say that in21 remembrance of my friend.22 So we are here tonight because of choices23 not inevitability. We're here because as a town we have24 made choices about how we grow, where we grow and what25 59 we value. And the question before this board is whether1 to sacrifice a forested landscape for convenience or to2 exercise leadership that reflects our long-term3 interests.4 The West Essex Highland proposal is not5 redevelopment, it is not infill, it would replace an6 intact forest with new construction on land that7 currently performs critical environmental functions,8 functions that once lost cannot be meaningfully9 replaced.10 I recently attended the meeting with a Mayor11 in an adjacent town and a group of real estate12 professionals where regional approaches to meeting13 housing obligations were discussed. In that meeting14 West Essex Highland was referenced by name as an example15 of how not to meet these obligations, specifically16 because of it expands into forested land, rather than17 concentrating development in existing commercial18 corridors and mixed use redevelopment. That distinction19 is directly relevant to the decision before you tonight.20 This forest is more than a local asset, it21 is a regional one. When it clears the impacts do not22 stop at municipal borders. Stormwater runoff, flooding23 risks, traffic impacts, the environmental strain24 affecting neighboring communities as well. Approving25 60 this project does not occur in isolation. Our neighbors1 are trusting us to be good stewards of our shared2 amenity. Though, it is not an amenity, it is actually3 functioning infrastructure. It absorbs stormwater,4 mitigates heat, supports air quality and protects public5 health. Once they're gone these benefits are gone6 permanently.7 I want to be -- what is at stake here, I8 want to be clear. It's precedent.9 If we accept the idea of housing pressure or10 litigation pressure alone determines location, scale and11 environmental impact, then zoning, planning,12 environmental, you lose their purpose. You will lose13 your purpose.14 This board exists precisely to weigh those15 factors, not to set them aside. This is not about16 inevitability, it is about choice. You are not being17 forced to approve this. You are asking to decide what18 kind of town we will be.19 Tonight I ask the board to exercise

aside. This is not about16 inevitability, it is about choice. You are not being17 forced to approve this. You are asking to decide what18 kind of town we will be.19 Tonight I ask the board to exercise the20 authority entrusted to it, to require supplemental21 independent environmental review, insist on credible and22 enforceable open space preservation measures and direct23 the development of publically shared alternative -- to24 direct the development of a publically shared25