Concern with overdevelopment a cause in common
Friday, January 24, 2014
The Ridgewood News
Residents have common concerns
Marla Sherman
To the editor:
On Jan. 7, hundreds of Ridgewood residents came to the Planning Board meeting to make personal statements against the proposed change to the Master Plan that would allow for high density housing developments in our downtown Central Business District.
Not a single person spoke up in favor of the change, including at least three residents who earn their living as real estate developers.
There were two common fears brought up by almost every person that spoke — the potential effect on the quality of our schools and the fear that Ridgewood would lose its small town charm and become more urban. Not a single person was anti-development or anti-improvement. They simply want improvements made to these properties within the density and height allowances of our current master plan, in order to maintain the desirability of our village.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/241770731_Letter__Concern_with_overdevelopment_a_cause_in_common.html#sthash.4oNPgkSM.dpuf
That was the best written letter to the editor that I have ever read and I agree with her 100%.
I had asked the question on this blog before – why are the Stop Valley and anti-downtown development people two separate groups? It seems to me that at their core they want the same thing. They should combine forces, they probably have a large overlapping group of supporters.