Clifton considers using a city park to house a new firehouse

After years of searching for the perfect location to build a new firehouse, the city found it at Main and Piaget avenues. The only catch: It's a city park.

The city tried a new approach. Rather than focusing only on properties that were available for purchase, officials looked at all properties. Now that they have found it, they are working on a land swap deal in order to maintain the same level of open space or parkland.

The firehouse proposed to be built on the 1.75-acre parcel of land at the intersection of Main and Piaget would ultimately replace Fire Stations 1 and 3, officials said.

Google Maps lists the park as South Main Park, but it seems few if any in the city know it by that name. It is referred to as the section of parkland adjacent to the Main Library off Piaget.

Former Clifton Mayor James Anzaldi said the city has probably owned the park for more than 80 years. South Main Park, he said, may have been part of the much larger Main Memorial Park.

He said the smaller park may have been separated from Main Memorial Park when the state decided to create what is now U.S. Route 46 in the 1930s.

Clifton City Manager Nick Villano told the City Council that after numerous attempts to purchase a suitable location, he's taking a different tack.

More: Mired in family drama and lawsuits, the Grande Saloon in Clifton is for sale

Because the city owns the property in question, it will not have to negotiate with a property owner. In the past, the city lost properties, including an ideal one near Getty Avenue, during negotiations.

The caveat, Villano said, is that to be able to use the park, the city is required to replace it with a one-to-one or possibly two-to-one match of open space.

This is the requirement of the state Department of Environmental Protection and involves a process of going through a group called the State House Commission, which is part of the state's Treasury Department. In recent years, the city of Passaic contemplated a land swap of tennis courts adjacent to its Third Ward Park, but it ultimately abandoned the idea after intense public opposition.

Villano said that in looking at potential sites, the city was considering using some of the paper streets, street rights of way that exist only on maps, and making them dedicated parklands.

The city has amassed a list of a number of these streets, but ultimately the whole matter will have to be decided by the council and vetted by the state. Depending on how complex the proposal is, it could take up to two years for the city to get a decision from the state.

Councilman Tony Latona, who last year retired from the city Fire Department, said the location is a fine one for a firehouse. It is close to the Botany section and the eastern portion of the city closest to Paterson.

Once built, the city may move Fire Station 1, on First Street, and Fire Station 3, on Mahar Avenue, into one new building, which could also house one of the city's three ambulances.

Councilwoman Mary Sadrakula said she is skeptical about the vacating of paper streets as part of the deal. She said the proposal to vacate the paper streets in Albion Park is already being used for parkland, so residents wouldn't gain anything. The deal would protect that land and not allow roads to be built inside the park.

"Taking a parkland and not replacing it with new open space is not right," Sadrakula said.

She said she would rather see the city acquire new open space.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Clifton NJ considers city park to house new firehouse