the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, every available inch of land for “overdevelopment” , giving Paramus the feel of an outer borough of New York City and not a suburban New Jersey town. In its latest move the borough of Paramus is looking to eliminate the last vestiges of family farms that used to inhabit much of the area .
The borough targeted nurseries in a 2019 ordinance that had designated nurseries in town areas “in need of rehabilitation”.
Like most New Jersey towns bullied by “Fair Share Housing ” commitments , the over development surge is neither smart or well planned ,its simply jamming over sized monstrosities into residential areas ,sticking the taxpayers with paying for the added public safety , schools, water, sewage and traffic infrastructure.
Now Age-restricted housing may be coming to the site of Joy’s Farm & Garden Center in Paramus, with proposed plans expected soon before the Borough Council and the Planning Board.
Full details of the proposal are not yet available but, according to Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera the owner of the Pascack Road property is primarily seeking a zoning change that would allow for greater density for assisted living and age-restricted development.
Joy’s Farm owners have come before the Paramus council to seek amendments to the redevelopment zone that covers several nurseries and garden centers targeted by the borough to help meet its affordable housing obligations.
Mayor LaBarbiera claims the project would be similar to Brightview, another senior assisted living facility in the borough. To allow for this, the council would need to amend a 2019 ordinance that had designated nurseries in town areas in need of rehabilitation.
The council should be voting on amendments at next week’s meeting, and the application would then move on to the Planning Board.
LaBarbiera told North Jersey Media that he felt the project would be a “significant windfall” for the community and provide “much-needed” housing for older residents.
If the project goes to construction Joy’s Farm would become one of the first nurseries to be redeveloped after the borough approved an ordinance in 2019 that designated such sites as areas in need of rehabilitation, which could open them up to affordable housing projects.
In addition to Joy’s Farm, Eisele’s Nursery, Denny Wiggers Garden Center, a lot on the former location of Tree Land Nursery and a vacant lot near Parkway Elementary School were the other areas to receive the designation. These properties are among the few remaining developable sites in the borough of Paramus .
There’s nothing fair about Fair Shamir Housing, Many of us bit the bullet and paid higher property taxes to move to the suburbs for a country like feel. Now we will pay even higher taxes for services to accommodate those in the dense housing units we tried to escape. Can’t win! I want Joys farm to be able to stay. We depend on farms like theirs!
What a crime!!! We need nurseries…enough have been closed. This is the Garden State so let’s continue to buy beautiful flowers and plants from these farms. Let’s keep what open space and open air we have…we are so over populated now!!!
Let’s keep New Jersey the “GARDEN STATE”
What a shame if this goes through. Joy farms is a wonderful place to shop and get your garden needs there. Pushing the little guy out and forced to goto big box stores. Paramus is already over developed. People moved to
Paramus to escape city life.
I agree. Why does Paramus need to rehabilitate the garden centers like Joy’s and Eisele’s. When they’re gone, what’s next?
The Paramus Council should be impeached.
I meant nothing fair about FAIR SHARE HOUSING
The destruction and massive conversion of suburbs is well underway. This started a few years ago and now is seeing a scary acceleration, we’re past the point of no return. Every available space has to be developed, even preservations are being considered like in Berkeley Heights, Watchung and New Providence. All under the disguise of affordable housing and equality. I guess NJ is preparing to accommodate all the incoming illegals who will serve the NYC area.
Thanks to all the wokes and their mentality we will all be part of this nightmare. I hope RW liberals enjoy the fruits of their “ideals”. Those who are selling are smart.
This has nothing to do with Woke or Liberals…just another opportunity for you to insert your personal demons into the discussion. Senior and Assisted Living apartments cost A FORTUNE! They are not for the masses… just another investment opportunity for rich developers to service the wealthy…
Paramus is really a mess.
Does anyone know what’s going in on the corner of Ridgewood Ave and Paramus Rd where the farm stand used to be? I know there is a ginormous CVS (15,000+ sq ft with a drivethru) and some sort of “restaurant.” Anyone know if that “restaurant” is fast food? What is that restaurant? What are it’s hours going to be.
Ridgewood Council should be screaming bloody murder over this. They site plan has development up to the river and lights shining into the Duck Pond. Traffic will exit the site just before the bridge on Ridgewood Ave. The stupidiest thing is that they are going to allow LEFT hand turns onto Ridgewood Ave just as traffic merges from two lanes to one. It’s already bad enough with everyone blowing down Ridgewood Ave and through that light. PARAMUS SUCKS!! Bunch of tax whores.
I worked in Paramus for several years as a reporter for the Paramus Post, a twice weekly newspaper. Shame that overdevelopment is still a sore spot in the town. Back then, there was a resistance by the council to slow or halt development. What did the greenies say about this development of ecofriendly land to climate change housing?
I left NJ in the early 2000s. Live in the southwest. Cheap taxes and lots of open space.
Thank you for allowing me to post
How about lowering the taxes on the elderly already here, who have been here as children- stop the contractors from buying up the houses in neighborhoods at low rates and doubling them after demolishing and rebuilding? Wouldn’t that be fair? We didn’t get notice about the hospital, that was pushed on us. That should help lower taxes for everyone, the mall should still up hold what they stated they would years ago when we allowed them to build. We as the people of Paramus have sacrificed enough. Our old homes, history, land. You took land from soldier hill trails that wasn’t suppose to be done- so what else?
Absolutely agree. The older homes are being demolished and new mega-homes built in their place. Cost of the new homes is anywhere from $1 mil to $3 mil. New high-end stores are coming in to town as well to cater to the new rich homeowners.Lower middle class and older residents are slowly and methodically being pushed out. Such a travesty.