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Vision for Ridgewood’s downtown viewed as key to future
Vision for Ridgewood’s downtown viewed as key to future
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2012, 12:34 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
In the past three weeks, The Ridgewood News has analyzed several obstacles facing businesses trying to open, survive and thrive in the Central Business District (CBD).
Business owners say adjustments to certain aspects of the Village Code may help improve the Central Business District.
Partially because of an outdated Village Code, problems can begin for a business owner long before they set up shop in the village. Then, for some business owners already working in the CBD, the village’s operations can make business in an already tough economy more stressful.
However, perhaps most pressing of all is Ridgewood’s need to develop its “vision” for the future, according to members of the business community and village officials.
Besides the oft-cited concerns of parking and high rents, business owners hoping to do business in the village are often faced with a lengthy permit process during which they can lose money before even opening. Muscle Maker Grill owner Paul McManaman is still working to make up capital he lost while waiting to open.
Some village business owners have claimed that fines they received for non-compliance with ordinances have left them feeling the village is unwilling to work with them. And a large number of restaurants in the CBD has some retailers wondering whether Ridgewood, unlike some other municipalities, lacks a firm concept of its identity and aspirations.
But what can be done? And what is being done?
Ridgewood is a Village, not a shopping mecca. Access to our downtown is through residential areas, on roads ill-equiped to handle a great deal of traffic without significantly devaluing the housing on those roads. So, in terms of vision, we need to make a choice between remaining a Village where people live, or becomming the next local mall.