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Informed public must be heard

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file photo by Boyd Loving
OCTOBER 2, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015, 8:44 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
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Informed public must be heard

To the Editor:

With all that is going on in the world and in our private lives, we often don’t focus on the very things where we can actually make a difference. I believe it was Tip O’Neill who said, “All politics is local.” There are several important issues that will be decided on by our Village Council in the very near future.

The council was scheduled to vote on an ordinance that would change the housing density in the Central Business District from 12 units per acre to 35. Many village residents worked hard to prevent this from happening as it has the potential of negatively changing the character of our village. Citizens for a Better Ridgewood, the leading opponent to the density change, had an online petition which garnered over 1,000 signatures that was seemingly dismissed by the current council. A gentleman recently spoke at a public meeting calling for a compromise: an increase from 12 to 22-24 units per acre. His suggestion made so much sense and I can only hope the council listened.

The proposed 90-foot baseball diamond at the Schedler property is another case in point. Many villagers have signed petitions and spoken out at public meetings to prevent this from happening for years. They have offered proposals that would allow for a modest-sized playing field while preserving a historic home and 4 acres of woods. This compromise would allow the village to move forward in a manner that would respect the interests of all concerned parties. It doesn’t appear that the council majority will move in that direction.

We always hope that our elected officials will have an ear to the public and make decisions accordingly. This is not the case currently at the council level. Many recent votes have gone 3-2, always with the same council members in the majority and the two in the minority actively seeking to be more inclusive regarding public opinion.

A functioning democracy depends on an informed electorate. At the local level, you can truly have your voices heard and maybe effect the decisions being made supposedly on our behalf. My anthem used to be, “I fight authority and authority always wins.” With people working together for a common cause, we might be able to change the word always to sometimes. Hopefully, John Mellencamp won’t mind.

Linda McNamara

Ridgewood

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-informed-public-must-be-heard-1.1423982

One thought on “Informed public must be heard

  1. GO LINDA!!!

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