Click on the image to the right to be taken to the online map showing Phillipsburg overburdened community status and will have more detail regarding the colors on the map.
In he event that the web page link available from clicking on the picture is not available, for whatever reason, if you click on the download/open pdf button
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection classifies the area of the Flats of Phillipsburg as an overburdened community.
As you can see by the online map, which is fully available by clicking on the image to the right, the Flats is an overburdened area.
The map key specifies that the Flats are considered to be an overburdened community due to the concentraton of minorities and because it is low income with a high poverty rate.
Why the Flats of phillipsburg being an overburdened community is significant
Although there may be many documents that say warehouses should not be built near overburdened communities, this is clearly spelt out in the September 7, 2022 NJ State Planning Commission Warehouse Distribution and Warehousing and Goods Movement Guidelins, or otherwise know as the 2022 NJ Warehouse Ssiting GuidelinesSeptember 7, 2022 NJ State Planning Commission Warehouse Distribution and Warehousing and Goods Movement Guidelins, or otherwise know as the 2022 NJ Warehouse Siting Guidelines. On page 23 of the Warehouse Siting Guidelins, as can be seen in the image below, The NJ 2022 Warehouse Siting Guidelines specifically state that towns should change their Master Plans to exclude warehouses next to overburdened communities, specifically warehouses that are above 75,000 or 100,000 square feet. The smallest site plan that has been presented for approval on the Peron Howard Street property is 320,000 square feet, and the largest footprint approved, and the largest site plane, and we believe the most likel to be built, is 420,000 square feet. Both of these site plans clearly violate the 2022 NJ Warehouse Siting Guidelines. Unfortunately , even though the warehouse violates the 2022 NJ Warehouse Siting Guidelines, the guidelines do not provide any enforcement teeth or legal recourse for such an agregious violatio of he guidelines. Below is a snapshot of page 23 of the Warehouse Siting Guidelines.
