On Monday, April 3, the South Orange Planning Board is set to continue a hearing for — and possibly approve — a site plan for a 12,862 SF addition to Seton Hall University’s Regan Recreation and Athletic Center and a 176 SF vestibule along the northern side of the building.
The meeting will be held virtually. To watch visit southorange.org. Or follow the instructions on the agenda below.
The sports facility expansion has proven controversial, with neighbors of the University — and some students and faculty — raising concerns about campus development and its possible relation to urban flooding in the Ivy Hill neighborhood of Newark, which lies downhill from the campus.
A meeting on March 14 to present preliminary results of a stormwater study performed by the City of Newark appeared to raise more questions, despite the fact that Kareem Adeem, Director of the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities for City of Newark, said the proposed expansion would not add to stormwater runoff and that Newark was responsible for the stormwater infrastructure outside of campus in Newark.
At the end of the town hall, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka noted that Seton Hall — and others — had an ongoing role in addressing flooding. “What [the study] did do is say that all of us collectively have to do something to abate this situation.” Baraka discussed the city and the county’s role and added, “Hopefully, you can get Seton Hall and their development to figure out better ways and increasing ways, I should say, to figure out what to do with the stormwater flow.”
“Climate change is real,” said Baraka. “We have to continually build infrastructure to respond to those storms that come in.”
Read more here:
- Seton Hall Town Hall on Stormwater Study Muddies the Waters for Planning Board Hearing, March 15, 2023
- UPDATE: Seton Hall Practice Site Plan Hearing Carried to March 14; President Nyre Refuses Interview Request, February 6 ,2023
- ‘We Do Not Think Seton Hall Is a Good Neighbor’—Newark Residents & SOMA Allies Ask University to Address Urban Flooding, December 7, 2022
