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Highlights from Ridgewood Village Council Work Session

Ridgewood Village Council
file photo by Boyd Loving
January 26,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council met on January 25 and there was zero animosity, no explosions from a certain councilman…..it was all pleasant and friendly.  Way to go!
A few highlights:

1. Parking space allocations are being changed in order to provide more for commuters/general and fewer for shoppers/diners.  Also there will be fewer for CBD employees.  The Council is being very responsive to comments and complaints from citizens, and is also responding to direct observation that their initial allocation maps needed to be adjusted.

2. Nancy Green gave a presentation about plans for remodeling the library.  Basically she presented a wish-and-hope plan, which included some architectural drawings.   She stated that they will work within the existing footprint……although there was a quick mention of “squaring off” the empty space on the northwest corner of the building along the walkway from Maple Avenue (behind the auditorium).  Tiered seating in the auditorium was discussed as a possibility.  Nothing will happen without approval from the Council.  She says this is all very preliminary, but clearly a lot of work has gone into this very preliminary presentation.

3. The Hudson Street lot was discussed.  Old plans for garages that fit on the space are being revisited.  Maybe two retail stores could be added along S. Broad Street, providing income while just losing 10 spaces.  It was emphasized that meter rates would have to go up to maybe $1 an hour in order to help finance any kind of garage.  The question was raised as to whether this would discourage people from coming to town.  Along this line of discussion, Tony Damiano had announced that several businesses recently closed and he placed full blame on the lack of a garage for the demise of these stores.  Really Tony?  And one might wonder…..stores are closing, spaces galore are available in Cottage and Walnut…..so why build a garage and add two more stores?  Much to consider.

4. Schedler was on the agenda.  There is a grant that will enable the removal of the dilapidated shed and garage as well as the removal of trees that are already dead.  Failure to use this grant money will result in loss of the grant.  A sound study will be conducted prior to the removal of these things, to provide a baseline for sound studies moving forward.  Schedler residents urged caution at the microphone, and implored the council to make sure that no live trees are taken down.

5. Speaking of trees, a tree nursery is being planned with trees donated by the State.  These will be very tiny saplings that will be potted, and can be planted throughout town as they grow.  This is a Girl Scout project.

6. The recently passed short-term rental law was discussed by one or two residents.  This “Air-BNB” ruling prohibits the rental of any house or rooms for less than one month.  One citizen who spoke has been operating an Air-BNB in her home.  She stated that she is a very nice and responsible person, that her tenants are very nice and responsible, and she may not be able to stay in her home now that her income has been cut by 20%.  Another citizen stated that this ordinance came “out of the blue.”   Mayor Knudsen explained that this issue came up first through the Zoning Board several months ago…..and then some residents made specific complaints about such goings-on in their neighborhoods.  The Council looked at the situation, studied what other municipalities are doing, and enacted the ordinance after several public meetings and discussions that were announced and published (you snooze, you lose).  Do homeowners have the right to do whatever they please with their own properties?  No, they do not.

7. The bylaws review project is getting going.  Bylaws of all committees and boards will be reviewed and revised.  Some have no bylaws while others have extensive ones.  All will now have to follow a set template.  Some committees might be eliminated.  Council liaisons are to get their respective committee bylaws to their council colleagues by mid-March, and then the review will commence.

8. One resident applauded the new facebook website of the Mayor, as it provides much valuable and timely news.  The Mayor stated that soon all five council colleagues will become co-administrators of the page and can add updates from their various committees, etc.

9. An ad-hoc committee worked with Councilmen Sedon and Hache to look at Graydon hours and fees for 2017.  A couple of highlights included recommending a family rate (a maximum fee for families of four or maybe five) and a pro-rated discount for buying membership in August.  Council members will study the recommendations and discuss at the next meeting.

10. Uber was discussed as was valet parking.  These are all mechanisms to help reduce the number of cars occupying parking spots in the heartbeat of the CBD.

11.  Councilman Sedon and his son Hunter will both be celebrating birthdays this week, as announced by Mayor Knudsen.  Happy Birthday to two fine men!

22 thoughts on “Highlights from Ridgewood Village Council Work Session

  1. These property owners who believe that governments have no right to stipulate permitted uses are absolutely insane.

  2. The various political and let’s spend the towns money to fix an unproven business environment changing landscape has to be shut down as soon as possible..the parking fiasco this December is a warning that
    Quick political decisions are going to cost the taxpayers a lot of additional fees and day to day pains in the ass.We deserve and should demand better.let the store owners out up the cash and see how that goes ..

  3. Is Jeff back in the flow…?

    Where was he..??

  4. WE have all had financial downturns. Sorry, that does not mean I am entitled to open an illegal hotel in my home. Nope. No way.

  5. 9:15…..Jeff appeared to have inhaled laughing gas. Joking around and being affable, calling Susan “The Mayor” instead of snarling out her name. Reminds me of the days of Pucciarelli. He would blow a gasket at a meeting, and then be contrite and friendly at the next meeting or two, and then his true self would come through again before long.

  6. #7 – eliminate the FAC. Now

  7. The FB page is great, a terrific source of current information. And with all five council members able to post on it even Mr. Halaby will not be able to complain. Oh, wait a minute, what am I saying????

  8. So the council announced two negative parking developments – a sharp (and unjustified) hike in fees and a sharp (and unjustified) reduction in number of commuter parking spots. They did this sneakily in the middle of Christmas holidays, few days before people would anyway have to but the commuter passes.

    They then partially reversed one of the negative (unjustified) announcements – the number of spots – to appear ‘reasonable.’

    The end result is that they have managed to hike fees, reduce parking and still make the gullible believe that they are being ‘reasonable’ and ‘responsive.’

    This is such a pro-level political move, that I am sure tears of pride are streaming down the Hackensack crew’s faces.

  9. 10:09 – aaah, so nice to hear from the sour grapes committee, those losers from the previous council. Sorry, but THIS council is not devious and slimy. That was the Aronsohn-Pucciarelli-Hauck crew, and that would have been if their loser proteges Weitz-Brooks-Willett had been elected. But guess what, we now have open and honest government, no matter what the two or three of you insist on posting.

  10. 10.09. Lets start a new Ridgewood sub Blog..call it THEUNFOOLED..YOU are spot on..too much Happy Crap after they take a bite out of the commuters asses.

  11. 11:20 – 10:09 here. I think it is hilarious how you did not defend any of the factually true statements (after all, I just described what the council did). Your only defense it to keep pointing to a previous group of crooks.

    You say this council if not ‘devious or slimy’ and yet fail to explain why and how such a steep increase was put in place (we are yet to be given the official rationale), why this was announced in a one-liner on Dec 22nd and on the Parking webpage Dec 28th, and why the absolutely insane parking permit cost hike persists.

  12. Actually I think the Mayor and Deputy Mayor have been incredibly responsive and are trying to work through the issues, which are not an easy ones. Whether you agree with them or not, they do listen and respond.

  13. So two stores closed due to lack of a parking garage? So if we started building back in May, the now finished 5-story garage would have saved these businesses? Really? Sounds like Tony has a similar grasp on reality as our new President….

  14. Check this article out – Englewood has over 2000 parking spaces available, including a 345 space garage, many new, upscale downtown housing developments, and still stores are closing. It has nothing to do with the lack of parking or limited foot traffic/customer availability; it’s the changing face of retail merchandising in America.

    https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2017/01/in_bergen_county_an_upscale_downtown_struggles_for_answers.html#incart_river_index

  15. one other thing… the speakers during public comments were outstanding… coherent and to the point. nicely done by the public at large.

  16. 12:23 – If someone whacks me on the head with a bat, and then helps bandage the wound and gives me painkillers, I would not consider that person so be nice and helpful.

    Not only does the ridiculous $1000 fee remain unmentioned, not discussed and unexplained, the fact that they are leaking out a few commuter spots here and there shows that they never considered to impact on people at all to begin with.

  17. Thank you for the great recap. I was concerned over Richard Brooks statement about the importance of running”all things parks” through them. It indicated a level of importance that simply isn’t their role. I think this is one of the reasons the Mayor is focusing on bylaws for the village committees.

  18. you mean the EX president… he’s out now.

  19. Yes, 2:49. I agree big time. Richard Brooks was extraordinarily nasty and condescending in his tone and presentation. Excuse me, sir, but you are a volunteer (thank you, we appreciate it) but you are not an elected official (not even close, by the way, you were voted down by a huge margin, you were the lowest vote getter). So get off your high horse and stop telling the elected officials what they can and cannot do. They can discuss Schedler and Graydon and any other park they want to. Yes, they will listen to recommendations or suggestions from you and your committee (again, thank you for volunteering) but they are in charge and wild decide what they will and will not do.. Not you. Got it? Get it. Now sit the hell down.

  20. Yes, the way people shop is changing big time. Shopping online. But no one says this to the council.

    Shops will continue to close for this reason. The council must admit this. Restaurants and hair salons are the only reliable brick and mortar now. And they could close, depending on economy.

  21. Given that everything other than restaurants/delis and bank branches is closing down even in a place as vibrant as Manhattan, it takes some special kind of delusion to think those things will survive in a place like Ridgewood.

  22. This blog is just a Mouthpiece covering up Knudsen’s conflicts of interests and lies

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