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Unfortunately our process was hi-jacked by self-interests who used Ordinance 3066 to turn what should have been zoning issues into a planning issue

Jeff Voigt Ridgewood

March 23,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

 

Ridgewood Nj, Candidate Jeff Voigt offered his view of tonight’s events, “While we may not be able to stop the vote for the high density housing – we need people to attend to demonstrate via a large turnout that the few should not benefit to the detriment of the many.

Unfortunately our process was hi-jacked by self-interests who used Ordinance 3066 to turn what should have been zoning issues into a planning issue.  The planning board could have denied any of these applications but chose not to – resulting in a deviation from the original Master plan and a change in it.  Each of these high density housing developments should have been decided individually and separately by the zoning board.  Initially they were (i.e. the Enclave).  However when the Enclave developers realized that there were too many variances that they were seeking and; that they were going to have major issues with the zoning board, they did an end around the zoning board and went to the planning board.    The makeup of the planning board needs to be closely scrutinized by the new council to ensure it is non-partisan and holds Village interests of highest importance.

There is a case, decided by the 2008 NJ State Supreme Ct. – Riya v Township South Brunswick 2008 which ruled that if areas of a township/municipality are rezoned, they need to be consistent with the surrounding zones.  It is my concern that what has occurred in Ridgewood goes against this ruling – as an example: commercial zones between the train tracks/Chestnut/Franklin Ave have been rezoned for residential use – which is inconsistent with these existing zones.  Why the Council would expose us to potential lawsuits I believe is reckless on their part and smacks of favoritism for the few (e.g. developers) to the detriment of the Village.”

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9 thoughts on “Unfortunately our process was hi-jacked by self-interests who used Ordinance 3066 to turn what should have been zoning issues into a planning issue

  1. Thanks Jeff! We’ll get you in there so you can clean house. Thank goodness decent people exist and are willing to step up to the challenge!

  2. Intelligent useful comments..thank you Mr.Voigt..

  3. Exactly – – well said.

    Now, who is going to file a lawsuit to stop these adverse developments?

  4. I think the question of planning board v. zoning board is interesting.

    BUT HOW DARE ANYONE RUNNING FOR OFFICE SUGGEST PEOPLE SUE THE VILLAGE????? Enough is enough already. How can you say you will look out for our finances if you are laying ground work for lawsuits against us–your neighbors–the residents of Ridgewood????

    If the housing passes before Mr. Voigt is in office does he plan to support lawsuits against the Village? Would he like to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation?

  5. These developments will bring traffic. The Hudson garage will not be enough. The business owners must be salivating.

    I would never sell my home to move into a condo in downtown Ridgewood. Not much to walk to, need my car every day. Where would my visitors park, and my family that comes for holidays?

    I would move to a community with amenities, club house and activities.

  6. Favoritism? In Ridgewood? You mean Valley didn’t get that sweetheart deal from our Councilwoman on the merits of their “Renewal” plan? You mean that building hundreds of apartments might actually tax our infrastructure, increase traffic and add hundreds of additional kids to the school system? You mean that the big garage that the “overwhelming majority” of residents want might not really pay for itself? Say it ain’t so! Anyone who wonders why Trump is winning need look no further than Ridgewood.

  7. Way to go Jeff. Please attend in person tonight at RHS to listen to Jeff and so many residents on last time before the Village Council makes this historic vote. They need to support in the room since this meeting will not be on cable television. Please make every effort to be there in person at 7:30.

  8. Good comments by Jeff V. While I disagree with him that these projects will benefit “the few” over “the many” (since I think he’s just measuring the developers vs. existing residents, not the benefits to society overall), he is spot on with the criticisms of the process. This all would have been much cheaper / simpler if we had just created a “vision” for the overall downtown. A real lack of leadership by the Planning Board + VC not to just stop the Master Plan change process and tackle the whole downtown overall.
    My idea: one zone that was mixed use + residential in the “core” area. Outer zones could be residential only. Make the base zoning something like 15-20 units per acre. Have the max go all the way up to 30 units per acre as the developer offered increasing amounts of affordable housing or senior housing, along with providing amenities to the town, like new public parks, parking garages, etc.
    Build in aesthetic standards into the plan. Make sure FAR and height never get too out of scale. Lots of examples we could have followed here. Such a shame…

  9. John V. Exactly, they should have tackled a plan in its entirety. But you see, for reasons not clear to me ($$$??) Paul really only cares about doing bidding for his buddy Saraceno. The end objective was to win, not for any altruistic reasoning for our village but money. Simoncini even said this, it’s all about the win. Paul doesn’t give a sh-t about the village or a plan. They say they listen to the experts….ask Paul why he didn’t like the criteria based list of properties our own planner put forth, in a good faith effort of planning, rated from best to worst properties for high density building. Take a guess how these properties were ranked.

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