Wednesday in Oakland: Council Hearings on Flood Buyouts, Historic Preservation

The Oakland Borough Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the municipal court building for its regular bimonthly public meeting.

On the agenda is a public hearing on a grant application the borough is preparing to seek funding from Bergen County to help purchase the properties of five flood-prone homeowners on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Officials say they are hoping that the grant will offset much of the estimated $1.6 million cost of the first phase of a buyout on the street, which has seen heavy flooding in recent storms.

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey, which is helping the borough prepare the grant application, will be in attendance at the meeting.

Also on the agenda for the meeting is a presentation from the Ramapough Conservancy on its historic preservation efforts at the Van Allen House, as well as the introduction of a ballot initiative to extend the borough's open space levy.