file photo
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
RIDGEWOOD, NJ — While towns like Paramus, Montvale, and Mahwah have successfully pushed back against unrealistic state housing mandates, the Village of Ridgewood appears poised to comply quickly with developer-friendly proposals, raising concerns among residents about the speed and scope of development.
On July 2, Affordable Housing Planner Beth McManus attended a public workshop to present Ridgewood’s Fourth Round Fair Share Housing Plan to the Village Council. According to McManus, Ridgewood’s initial state-mandated obligation of 427 affordable units was reduced to just four units through the Vacant Land Adjustment (VLA) process submitted to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA).
⚖️ Ridgewood Follows State Mandates—But At What Cost?
Despite the substantial adjustment in housing requirements, Ridgewood’s approach contrasts starkly with that of nearby municipalities.
-
Paramus worked with DMR Architects to leverage the VLA mechanism, successfully redefining its obligation based on realistic development potential.
-
Mahwah, under Municipal Planner Darlene Green, found errors in the state’s land capacity calculations, including the improper use of side yards and borderland in the housing formula.
-
Montvale had its obligation reduced to 205 units, but its actual buildable land yielded an RDP of only 3 units, as detailed in an 81-page Housing Element and Fair Share Plan by Colliers Engineering & Design.
These towns demonstrated proactive legal and planning strategies to limit overdevelopment and maintain local character.
🏥 Ridgewood Moves Quickly on Assisted Living Development
McManus also revealed a proposed assisted living facility on North Maple Avenue, which would contribute to Ridgewood’s affordable housing numbers. The 120-bed facility includes a 10% Medicaid patient allocation, qualifying the village for affordable housing credits.
To proceed, Ridgewood must adopt a zoning ordinance to create an S-1 overlay district, a process already scheduled for introduction at the July 9 Village Council meeting.
🚨 Rapid Development Raises Concerns
The Ridgewood Village Council is expected to fast-track approval, passing a resolution to endorse the Planning Board’s housing plan at the July 9 public meeting.
Village Manager Keith Kazmark explained that once introduced, the ordinance will be sent to the Planning Board for further recommendations before it returns for final adoption on August 13.
However, unlike other municipalities that challenged the state’s figures and protected their land from aggressive rezoning, Ridgewood’s swift movement signals a willingness to accommodate developers’ interests, prompting criticism from some local residents and preservation advocates.
🧩 What’s Next?
Ridgewood’s housing plan may satisfy state requirements, but questions remain about its long-term impact on infrastructure, community character, and quality of life. With other towns securing lower buildout obligations, Ridgewood’s decision to move swiftly with new development plans—without the same level of legal resistance—marks a sharp departure in strategy.
Tell your story #TheRidgewoodblog , #Indpendentnews, #information, #advertise, #guestpost, #affiliatemarketing,#NorthJersey, #NJ , #News, #localnews, #bergencounty, #sponsoredpost, #SponsoredContent, #contentplacement , #linkplacement, Email: Onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com
Id rather have low income seniors instead of low income families with 10 kids each overwhelming the schools
The low income families with 10 kids would rather live in Allendale or Ho-Ho-Kus. Better athletic fields and fewer cheezy McMansions than RIdgewood.
follow the money
Where on N. Maple ave?
Anyone know the specific address?
Best guess is the old Ridgewood Ford lot.
Maple Avenue will have no problems handling the traffic………….
And it will add to the rustic nature of the village.
Since Goerge Floyd OD’d on fentanyl and the Great Reset, things really have been ramped up in the last 4-5 years. A ton of building and development in this county and statewide. What do we get from it? ……higher prices, taxes, traffic, energy, and competition for jobs, overrun school systems, noise, water, soil pollution, or green spaces being destroyed for concrete and construction.
Spineless sell outs running these towns and counties for kickbacks, selling out are future for a quick buck, so they can buy their 2nd or 3rd retirement home while we slave for the system our whole lives.
It’s not fair to see the county I was born and raised in change so fast.
Every day of my life is a reminder on how I want to dismantle the system and fight back.
It should start with a military tribunal…and end with a revolution. Things could change so fast your head would spin. If we really enforced the law and held these lizards responsible and accountable for what they did to us and those before us. Send a clear message to all our haters. F around and find out.
This is why we have red flag laws.
OMG. Wow! How sad.
You choose the wrong side
You think my a** is gonna bring Hillary Clinton, George soros, or bill gates to gitmo for military tribunal then keeping drinking the cool aid brother.
I want these people held accountable.
There’s millions of us that feel this way.
I ain’t a lone wolf . I’m just part of the pack.
Join the American party!
The old village Ford dealer, we told you that was going to happen
You can cuss out colonialism, imperialism, and all other kinds of ism, but it’s hard for you to cuss that dollarism. When they drop those dollars on you, your soul goes.
If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything. – Malcolm X
Empty area on the main drag just south of the HoHoKus business district.
Valley Hospital had previously snapped up practically that whole block and demolished the structures in preparation for some medical-related use, plans for which they subsequently dropped when the decision was made to build the new hospital in Paramus rather than in Ridgewood.
So the property stands empty and fenced off.
You think Audrey’s not going to get her revenge?
you think she’s going to let the NIMBY’s slide after what they did?
you thought the expansion of the hospital was going to ruin your property value??
wait until you see what she does with the place now.
your SCREWED
Ridgewood has become a woke cesspool.
It is a partisan village.
Kensington finally found a home.
I grew up in Ridgewood, graduated from RHS, and remember the days it was a republican stronghold. I moved away to another state almost 2 decades ago. I visited 4 or 5 times the last 8 years, I couldn’t believe my eyes. BLM signs on lawns, Trans-lgbtq flags on every other house instead of the American flag, rainbow painted crosswalks downtown, signs for Hillary or Kamala, pics of RHS with LGBTQ themed artwork and leftist teachers. And now affordable housing? What the hell happened?
Liberals from NY moved here and ruined it
Chris Christie and his “developer’s remedy” happened.
I would be willing to bet that Vagianos stands to gain by this. He owns a ton of real estate. Whenever something smells rancid look to the supreme leader and see if there is a money trail. He wants development and to increase his portfolio.
Rich stupid liberals ruined the village.
Their ideology is anti American. They support open borders and world wars and want to push their lgbtqai+ and crt agenda on innocent children.
I bet they enjoy drag queen story time.
I bet that’s coming to Ridgewood soon too… “drag queen story hour”. These NY limousine liberals will gladly send their kids there and post pictures of their kid with Ru Paul on facebook. Will Orchard, Willard, Ridge, Travell, or other elementary school fight each other to host it too? All on taxpayer dime.
Is there coming back from this? What will it take to fix this?
Dirty business, big envelopes, there’s one thing about building. There is another thing about over a building. What’s next? Are we gonna start tearing down old homes and stop putting up McMansions like Paramus and ruin the town?
Maybe this town will start voting differently. When you have a dictate from the progressive governor who doesn’t care if the village is equipst or not to implement affordable housing, you get the Ridgewood plan jamming these structures/units primarily in town, ruining the aesthetic and having impact on citizens. Anyone wondering as they cheapen and change Ridgewood for the worse, whether our property taxes will be proportionally reduced just for the decreased value our homes may incur when multiple phases are complete. 34 years later, in retirement, I entertain getting the hell out of a blue state.
I wasted a few mins reading comments almost all of which are referring to the Ford dealership site for the Kensington facility at a time that it is slated for the Marshall st site. Theu are from a month ago. Anybody knows what is planned for the Ford site? Is there any news about that? I believe Valley has already sold that space but may be wrong.
A turf field and either a new Greek restaurant or food cart