Photo by Regina Hopkins
From Savebelmarpark.com
In case you are wondering, the Irongate Complex at 777 S Yarrow Street has been converted to rubble by the demolition crew. Large piles of concrete rubble await removal.
Moving on to the topic of the day, a portion of Belmar Park is designated for grading on the developer’s grading plan. We estimate the area of the park to be graded amounts to thousands of square feet assuming the grading plan mentioned does not change.
However, Lakewood’s Planning Department states the opposite: “The proposed development of this property does not involve or include any parkland…”
Obviously, any area of the park destroyed by heavy equipment activities related to the Kairoi market-priced housing project will have to be fully restored to original or better condition, right? Wrong again.
According to the Erosion Control Report submitted to Lakewood by Kairoi’s civil engineers, only 70% of a restored area needs to be restored with ‘vegetation visible’ according to p.22. There is no requirement that the park be fully restored to original or better condition!
Let’s say someone crashed into your parked car and does significant damage. After body shop repairs, only 70% of the damage is repaired. Are you OK with that? If you are, apply for a job at the City of Lakewood where that level of completion is apparently acceptable when it comes to requiring developers to do the right thing.
Once an area has been graded, the developer will usually attempt to restore the area.