Tag: CBD

Ridgewood planner explains details of controversial ordinance

AUGUST 7, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014, 2:39 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

One Ridgewood ordinance – 3066 – has become known by many Ridgewood residents as the reason the village proceeded with Planning Board hearings on multiple controversial applications for master plan amendments at once this past year.

However, the reason may actually be village management more so than the ordinance, according to Village Planner Blais Brancheau.

Brancheau, who wrote the ordinance more than seven years ago, explained its history at Wednesday’s Village Council meeting.

The ordinance, which was adopted in July 2007, did not force the recent Planning Board hearings. State law implies that applicants are allowed to petition municipal governments for master plan amendments, he said, but boards do not have to go through a formal hearing.

“Nowhere does Ordinance 3066 commit either the Planning Board or this board to go to a hearing,” Brancheau told the council. “You would only go to a hearing if you’re done doing preliminary analysis, to say, ‘We think this has some merit.’ …We shouldn’t go to hearings unless we have that feeling.

“You don’t go to a hearing on a strip mall in the residential zone until you feel it has merit,” he continued. “There has to be an overwhelming, a compelling reason, a strong sense that this is something that can be good for the community as a whole.”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-planner-explains-details-of-controversial-ordinance-1.1064179#sthash.Jr5frZUu.dpuf

Village Planning Board – Executive Session at 7pm – August 5, 2014 Meeting

PLANNING BOARD

AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE

SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Executive Session – 7 PM

to Precede August 5, 2014 Meeting

In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that prior to the start of the August 5, 2014 Planning Board Special Public Meeting which is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Ridgewood High School Student Center, 627 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey, the Planning Board will hold an executive session at 7:00 p.m. 

Urbanization: Ridgewood ordinance on master plan amendments at center of debate

AUGUST 1, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER

On July 18, 2007, a law was passed that defines the process of how the master plan in Ridgewood is amended.

More specifically, the law – Ordinance No. 3066 – makes formal the process and fees charged to any interested party should they petition the Planning Board or Village Council for a change.

The ordinance has been the topic of much debate over recent months as the Planning Board has heard back-to-back applications for amendments to the master plan, first from The Valley Hospital and currently from three housing developers seeking to put high-density housing in the Central Business District (CBD).

One thing is for sure: The ordinance was written in response to The Valley Hospital’s first proposal to expand in 2006. But what’s happened since then is less clear. The ordinance became a talking point during this year’s municipal election and has pitted developers against residents as they battle over who has the right to plan the vision of the village.

To get a better understanding of how the law works, The Ridgewood News spoke with attorneys representing the village (Matt Rogers), the Planning Board (Gail Price), The Dayton and Chestnut housing developers (Thomas Wells), and the citizen opposition group (Ira Weiner) about the history of the ordinance and how it’s played out with the public.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ordinance-is-at-center-of-debate-1.1060846#sthash.qFl3w9C3.dpuf

Yes it make me sad also to see so many stores empty but let not blame it all on parking. How the failing economy. Bad business plan . Internet sales and greed of the landlords. 

photos by Boyd Loving

Ridgewood residents sound off on downtown

JULY 24, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014, 3:27 PM
BY BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER

More than 50 people attended a meeting on Wednesday at Village Hall to voice their thoughts and concerns about the Central Business District (CBD).

In total, 18 residents spoke, 12 said parking woes stifle growth, and nine called for development in the downtown in terms of both housing and parking structures.

The meeting was triggered by what Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli said is a need for more open discussions about the CBD to get a sense of what people want for their town.

The forum was not meant to address the applications currently before the Planning Board to amend the master plan to allow multifamily housing. In fact, Pucciarelli asked that residents specifically not speak about them before the forum began.

“If we could avoid talking about that, that would be great,” he said, citing the need to give developers due process.

Three main topics were addressed at the forum: parking, development and process.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/ridgewood-residents-sound-off-on-downtown-1.1056980#sthash.VgARpnaV.dpuf