“Minimal impact” on the Village ,where have we heard that before
January 22,2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Looks like all these large developments, from the Valley Hospital expansion to any of the developers looking to add multifamily housing to the Central Business District all manage to find consultants to support the notion of “minimal impact” .
The impact that a 137,000-square-foot, four-story mixed use development at Franklin Avenue and Chestnut Street will have on Central Business District (CBD) traffic and already crowded Ridgewood schools is minimal, according to experts hired by project developer Dinallo |Construction. ( https://www.northjersey.com/news/187344371_Planner__Proposed_Ridgewood_development_would_have_minimal_impact.html )
Frankly even if it were true no one would believe it anyway .Best advise is to be truthful about the impact and design accordingly .
Readers point out “I checked the Ridgewood high school directory. There are 110 children from three different apartment buildings in town. That doesn’t include Gw middle school or Ridge/Orchard school that all fall into the downtown district.
So if we just guessed and added another 110 kids in those 4 schools that comes out to 55 kids per school or two more 27 child classes per school on the west side and the high school. Willard seems to be out of the apt/address. ”
Folks there is no way a 114-unit luxury apartment building. in the shadow of the the Ridgewood Train station , with over 7,000 square feet for retail and 166 parking spaces is going to have , “minimal impact” .That statement is ridiculous .
Construction, traffic, commuting , pedestrian safety, police, fire, water and schools will all be impacted, now lets get serious and face reality and design this thing to fit the needs of the Village .
In order for the 110 number to really be apples to apples wouldn’t we also need to know how many apartment units are contained in the three different apartment buildings, the mix of one bedroom units and the rents?
I wish these things weren’t presumed to have to happen at all. How about NO?
My sentiments are with comment #2 above. The developers have no interest in keeping Ridgewood the lovely town it is. They want to maximize their profits and run away. If they buy a piece of property knowing that it must be rezoned to be profitable and the town is against it, that really should be their tough luck. What use are zoing laws and master plans if all the developers are able to get around them? I personally can’t believe that anyone who could afford a luxury condo would want to live next to a commuter train line!
Go to the Planning Board meeting Wednesday, January 23, 4th floor Village Hall at 7:30 and voice your opinion. These developers are telling the board everything they want to hear instead of the truth. The board must hear from the citizens and how they feel. Time is of the essence. They will be voting soon. Don’t sit back and do nothing.