the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, local film maker and sometimes activist resident Dana Glazer endorsed James Van Goor and Susan Knudsen in a thoughtful Facebook post :
Dear Ridgewood Neighbors,
I know there’s a lot to think about for the upcoming elections, but it’s important to take a moment to understand what is happening locally as it could seriously impact your property value – and who you should vote for to avoid this potential disaster.
If you’ve only recently moved to Ridgewood, there’s some history that you should know about, which is important in understanding what’s at stake if the wrong people take power in our village for this upcoming election.
Back in the summer of ‘06, when everyone was either off at Graydon or the beach, the Village Council at the time voted on something called Ordinance 3066.
Without getting into the weeds, Ordinance 3066 would basically force the Village Planning Board to consider any building proposal – regardless of how massive it was. It was enacted to help Valley Hospital at the time, but developers saw this as a potential goldmine to ram through some oversized high density projects and make our village into a “transit hub.”
Cut to the Village Council election in 2012 in which some of the candidates, unbeknownst to us, were more developer friendly.
Now, I have to admit something to you: I wasn’t paying attention to that election. I was so focused on national issues that I didn’t have time to get to know what was happening. And so, because there were other oblivious residents like myself, these developer friendly candidates were elected – and one of them won by a mere 8 votes.
8 votes!
These folks quickly formed a Village Council majority that was hell bent on jamming through some of these massive high density buildings, along with a humongous garage that was going to tower over Ridgewood and push out onto the street. The need for this garage, of course, was to compensate for all the parking spots that would then be necessary. That’s when I, and so many other residents, realized that our property values, our village’s resources and the overall look and feel of Ridgewood were threatened!
So, a bunch of residents and I organized. We packed village hall and made our voices loud and clear. And we did so over and over and over again.
But because they had a council majority, in the end it didn’t matter and they pushed these developments through anyway.
Now, while we couldn’t petition to stop the high density housing projects, we realized that we could force a town vote on this proposed, mammoth garage – which is what they needed because there wouldn’t be enough parking. We collected thousands of signatures and put a halt to this part of their plan.
And when the next election happened in May of 2016, we marched door to door, handed out flyers at the train station and made sure everyone knew what our own pro-resident candidates stood for…
…and that the candidates running against us had all signed a pledge that they would support a giant, five floor garage if they were elected. This included a candidate who is running once again.
We were able to defeat these candidates and stop the giant garage once and for all. Then, our new Village Council, led by Mayor Susan Knudsen, immediately rescinded ordinance 3066, built a reasonably-sized garage and did her best to mitigate the damage that had been done. Under Mayor Knudsen’s watchful eye, we have been able to rest easy about our village for the past few years and am very grateful to her for that.
But now, once again, our Village is at a turning point, where two of the candidates, who previously were in favor of development, could then form a new council majority if voted into office. Just like ten years ago, this new council could easily re-enact ordinance 3066, rubber stamp massive development, threaten our property values and the charm of our village forever.
And if you think that there are no more places to develop – in our central business district and residential areas – think again. Just look at where the Gap used to be on Ridgewood Ave and imagine 5 stories of housing there. That can happen with the wrong people in power.
That’s why I’m voting for James Van Goor and Susan Knudsen and I hope you do, too. Remember, every vote counts. Let’s keep Ridgewood protected. Thank you.
Dana Glazer
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“Film maker” lol
No link to video?
The video is spot on. Lots of newbie voters don’t know the history or how much is at stake. There are two beautiful hundred year old homes on Maple near the stable. applied to subdivide the property for ten oversized houses on undersized lots.
I don’t think the Board ever voted on the decision. Maybe they’ll come back after the election if w&w elected?
Two classic Ridgewood homes could be gone forever. Lots of money involved. Lillian Blood, owner of one of the houses, has developer friendly w&w signs on her lawn.
Dork and anti sidewalk