Mahwah May 16, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Students present Crossroads environmental study by Frank J. McMahon A group of Ramapo College students who spent the last few months studying the environment at the Crossroads property in Mahwah recently presented the results of their environmental impact study to the Mahwah Environmental Commission. The environmental commission will use the students’ findings to formulate questions and concerns the commission wants the developer of the Crossroads site to address during the ongoing public hearing. Crossroads Developers Associates LLC plans to build a 600,000 square foot retail town center that would surround the Sheraton Mahwah Hotel on the 140-acre International Crossroads property. The area, which is now vacant, would include two big box stores with three smaller anchor store buildings, a tenplex theater, 200,000 square feet of retail shops along a pedestrian oriented corridor, and an athletic field. Professor Michael Edelstein introduced the students and their project, saying he was proud to have this relationship with the township and with the environmental commission. He said the purpose of the study was to evaluate issues concerning this property that need to be understood, and to open up areas for consideration. The 18 college students described the results of their research from several perspectives, and related their findings to four potential uses of the property including commercial use, hospital use, residential use, or leaving the property vacant. The students took turns discussing their research and findings, including the historical and cultural background of the site. The presentation included an extensive historical review of the use of the property by the Ford Motor Company from 1955 to 1980, and the company’s sale of the property in 1984. The students reviewed the various potential uses of the property, covering the visual, aesthetic, social, socio-economic, health, and safety impacts of each use. They also considered the impacts of the various uses on the plants, wetlands, wildlife, and surface water runoff. The findings included a description of the soil and ground in the area of the Crossroads property. The researchers also looked at traffic, air quality, energy use, and waste removal. Several of the 35 to 40 residents who attended the presentation praised the students for the work they had done. They said they hoped the planning board would listen care- fully to their suggestions. “The planning board always takes the counsel of the environmental commission very seriously,” Mahwah Township Engineer Michael Kelly responded. “I’m very proud of my students,” Edelstein said at the end of the presentation, “I hope the commission learned as much from us as the students learned from doing this project. They will soon graduate, and they are ready to be (continued on page 10)