Critics Pack Meeting On Turtle Back Zoo Amphitheater (VIDEO) – West Orange, NJ Patch
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — According to Essex County officials, an $8 million proposed amphitheater at the Turtle Back Zoo would be a huge boost for the zoo’s mission to educate children.
But in the words of a student from Tuscan Elementary School in Maplewood, one of dozens of critics that spoke at a recent public meeting in Cedar Grove, the county’s proposal has “zero conservation value.”
Earlier this week, county officials hosted a meeting at the Essex County Police Academy to discuss a controversial proposal to build a 500-seat outdoor classroom with stage lighting at the zoo. It would be partly funded by a $4 million special appropriation from Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, with the remainder coming from the county’s operating budget.
Watch videos of the meeting below.
Only about 120 children at a time can see animal presentations at the zoo’s current amphitheater, Essex County officials previously said. The zoo currently sees nearly a million visitors per year.
An online petition started by Turtle Back Zoo docents has gained more than 1,500 signatures in favor of building the new amphitheater.
The idea of spending millions of dollars to build an amphitheater at the county-run zoo has met with stiff opposition from some local residents, however. A petition to halt expansion at the Turtle Back Zoo – including the proposed amphitheater – has gained more than 11,000 signatures.
Dozens of speakers showed up at Tuesday’s meeting to voice their concerns.
Attendees included a contingent of students from West Orange and Maplewood, members of the New Jersey Sierra Club, members of local activist group SOMA Action and Maplewood Committeewoman Nancy Adams.
“For the first time since I was elected almost five years ago, I’m missing my township committee meeting,” Adams said. “But I thought it was important to be here to speak on behalf of my colleagues and my constituents.”
Adams referenced a letter the Maplewood Town Council sent to county administrators on Tuesday, which “expressed concerns” about the proposed amphitheater project, particularly the need to “slow down, do more studies, consider fixing up existing facilities instead of building new, and most importantly, listen to the public’s concerns and work to address them.”
County officials also spoke at the meeting in defense of the proposed amphitheater.
Kate Hartwyk, deputy director of the Essex County Park System, told NJTV News that student visitors make up 25 percent of the zoo’s annual attendance.
“Right now only 6 percent of student visitors are engaging with our education programs, because there’s a limitation on the space and size of the classrooms we currently have,” Hartwyk said.
In a recent op-ed, DiVincenzo pointed out the zoo has been a “self-sufficient facility” for the last decade, and that the revenue collected from admission fees covers its operating costs.
However, several residents and elected officials have questioned the sagacity of spending millions of dollars to build an amphitheater at an “already-amazing Turtle Back Zoo.”
In August, Caldwell Councilman Jonathan Lace sent a letter to DiVincenzo, asking his fellow Democratic Party member to focus on tax relief instead of the amphitheater.
“No resident that has spoken to me about the proposed amphitheater believes it to be a necessity, and many are distressed over what they consider to be superfluous taxes to improve an already-amazing Turtle Back Zoo experience,” Lace wrote.
Adam Kraemer, a Republican who lost his bid for late Essex County Freeholder Lebby Jones’ unexpired seat last November, has also said the proposal is a misuse of tax dollars.
“This is overspending on the zoo,” Kraemer told Patch last year.
CUTTING DOWN TREES
Other critics of the amphitheater proposal include local environmentalists, who have blasted the plan to cut down an acre of trees in South Mountain Reservation to build it.
“A 500-seat amphitheater is doubling down on entertainment, not education,” the Coalition to Save the South Mountain Reservation recently said about the proposal.
County officials have countered that they plan to replant any removed trees at a ratio of 4-to-1, double their original proposal.
County officials have also agreed to build a 25×25 foot “rain garden” by the amphitheater, study the noise levels generated from the zoo, and review plans with an engineer to “ensure that lighting from the amphitheater won’t impact areas beyond the facility.”
But that may not be enough for local environmentalists, some of whom claim there’s a larger issue at foot.
“In our view, the core issue is not the zoo itself or the [amphitheater], it’s how to best manage the overwhelming success of all the attractions,” a member of the South Mountain Conservancy said at Tuesday’s meeting.
WHAT ABOUT THE ANIMALS?
Our Green West Orange, which has been a consistent critic of expansion at the zoo, has called the project “obsolete-upon-arrival.”
“Children are not educated this way, nor can they experience the magnificence of wildlife and nature by watching trained animals on a stage,” the group charged. “Everyone can see that this is cruel entertainment at the expense of animals who don’t want to be publicly displayed or exposed.”
According to its website, the Turtle Back Zoo is accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and is “committed to providing an enriching recreational experience that fosters excellence in wildlife education and wildlife conservation.”
In 2018, the zoo achieved certification through the global American Humane Conservation program.
Another concern expressed about the project – an increase in local traffic – has been addressed with the recent addition of a third, on-site parking garage, DiVincenzo said.
“A second entrance for motor vehicles coming to the zoo was created, which make accessing the site easier and eliminates cars from lining up waiting to enter the site.,” DiVincenzo said. “This confirms our belief that the traffic congestion was the result of motorists being recirculated from the on-site parking back onto Northfield Avenue when all parking spaces were exhausted.”
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