I represent many communities in Bergen and Passaic counties that had significant flooding this week because of the torrential rains. The flooding episodes have become frequent and severe over the past two decades, primarily because there is no place left for groundwater from storms to be absorbed. Guess what isn’t taken into account in current mandated overdevelopment in NJ? Flooding. So towns like Westwood and Hillsdale, Wanaque and Ringwood and Mahwah and Oakland are being forced to build significantly more units of housing under “affordable housing” lawsuits as these same communities are spending millions of dollars to acquire flood prone properties and return them to their natural state to prevent flooding. We need to stop this insanity. Call every Bergen and Passaic County legislator and demand they take action to preserve our communities. #saveourenvironment
Ridgewood NJ, Below is a link to an Op Ed piece Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi wrote in today’s Bergen Record regarding affordable housing.
” Housing isn’t affordable because residents pay property taxes that are often as much as their mortgage payments. Onerous court mandates on towns only drive property taxes higher, creating a never-ending cycle of un-affordability.”
“…we must define reasonable need. The costs associated with mandated affordable housing, like $15.25 billion more to fund education, aren’t taken into consideration by the court. The COAH should take into account current population size; infrastructure, water and sewer capacities; school class sizes and school services; and the impact of municipal services such as volunteer and staffed ambulatory services, fire departments, police departments, public transportation and traffic.
We must fix this issue before it is too late. Please join me in saving our beloved state while we still can.”
Trenton NJ, At 1 am on the 4th of July Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi finally had an opportunity to force a vote on her bills which would help our towns in their fight against forced over development. Not surprising, but certainly disappointing, the Bergen County democratic members of the Assembly all voted to stop my legislation from moving forward. Chairman Jerry Green gave a speech as to why he won’t move the bills forward stating among other things that the legislature should essentially cede its duties and obligations to the Courts. Schepisi has asked for a copy of the video of his speech which she will circulate promptly. The attached link is a copy of her speech.
Blah blah blah , all you care about is VALUE meaning MONEY. That’s why we have this multi family fiasco in the first place and it doesn’t matter if there is a Godzilla garage anymore.
You don’t care about what will be irretrievably lost in Ridgewood, the small town character , feel , charm, that special personality…. that I moved in for in nineteen seventy- eight and that yes, by and large remained, and that idiot planning board member, who said RIDGEWOOD IS A BUSY PLACE, so it’s NOT SO BAD that there will be all this multi family mess, is an example of the majority mind set and lack of aesthetic sensitivity. What in the HELL does he mean a BUSY PLACE. Everyone in the world , basically, raises a family, works a job, does that mean we have to live in an ugly overcrowded , polluted environment. All beauty and charm gone. I spoke at many meetings about keeping Ridgewood THE SAME, wrote many letters. To no avail. You will all be overjoyed to know that this is my goodbye to the blog and to all town meetings. James does a great job with the blog, but the town, as I have known it will soon be transformed into another crowded Joisey mess and I no longer want to be involved. One last point, Earth Day also means living in a pleasing environment without tons of traffic and pollution resulting from traffic. Earth Day is ruined in Ridgewood as far as I am concerned.
you are wrong and you bought into the fake arguments raised by Arohson, Pucciarli and the developers. Yes, we have requirements, but no, we did not need to line Saraceno’s and the other developer’s pockets in order to address these issues.
We were sold up the river, pure and simple, by a mean spirited and self-serving duo of public officials – – remember, they voted to make these projects the law as they were leaving office. They are carpetbaggers who have no place in our Village life.
We have now entered a new phase for life in Ridgewood thanks to the duplicitous duo. And we need to be ready for it. We are now going to much more like New Brunswick than a Ho-Ho-Kus or Glen Rock. We need to work hard to maintain the value of our properties, our schools and other public services as we deal with an influx of people that will totally drain our infrastructure.
Regrettably, it is not clear what the “new” council is doing to address and deal with the issues that lay ahead. Attention must now be focused on bringing them into focus, but as others on this thread have said, that ain’t going to happen if we all stay home and silent..
Nicholas Katzban , Staff Writer, @NicholasKatzban7:03 p.m. ET June 27, 2017
RIDGEWOOD — The Planning Board approved an application Monday night to build a five-story mixed-use development on the former site of Ken Smith Motors. Though board members and residents alike shared concerns regarding the project’s effects on the village’s downtown, a more than 30-year-old legal battle out of North Brunswick sealed the 6-1 approval.
The project would include 66 residential units, 5,500 square feet of retail and 150 parking spaces, all of which fall well within permitted ratios under the village’s master plan, which forced the hands of several board members, otherwise wary of the plan as submitted.
Ridgewood NJ,Cornered by the deal former Mayor Paul Aronsohn cut with developers including resident John Saraceno, Monday night the village planning board had no legal choice but to approve Saraceno’s site application at the former Ken Smith Ford lot on Franklin. Now Saraceno will build a 66 unit, 5 story apartment complex at one of the village’s busiest, and most dangerous intersections. Taxpayers will be on the hook for the massive upgrades to traffic signals that result through the CBD, those costs could total more than $1,000,000.
Saraceno’s apartments at Maple and E. Ridgewood Ave. are up for discussion next.
The massive over-development of Ridgewood is supported by former village manager Roberta Sonnenfeld and 2015 failed council candidate Evan Weitz. Both are thought to be considering runs for village office in 2018.
Folks have tried to change the Aronson laws that were passed to allow these projects to go forward. The basic enabling law was repealed by the new council. Other attempts were made. But, frankly, due to a lack of backbone on the Council, the Aronson Apartment projects are going forward.
This council and planning board could have done a whole lot more, but they chose not to for reasons only they can explain – – ask them. let them know how you feel. And, don’t forget to let Aronson know how you feel as well about the changes he made to our community in his pathetic pursuit of his personal goals.
Bottom line, however, is that if people don’t speak up, nothing is going to be done to stop the next round of over-development.
Planning Board Special Public Meeting Announcement
Monday, June 26, 2017, 7:00PM
PLANNING BOARD AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE
Special Public Meeting: Monday, June 26, 2017, 7:00 p.m.
Addition to Meeting Schedule
In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the Planning Board has scheduled a special public meeting and work session for MONDAY, June 26, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.in the Ridgewood Village Courtroom, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450.
The Board may take official/formal action during this Special Public Meeting at which time the Board will continue the public hearing concerning KS Broad Street, Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan, 76 & 80 Chestnut Street and 25-27 Franklin Avenue, Block 2005, Lots 11,12,13,14,15. All meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are always open to members of the general public.
Michael Cafarelli
Secretary to the Board
c: P/B Members
Ridgewood News*
The Record*
Village Clerk
Village Manager
Village Bulletin Board
Village Website
Bergen County Clerk
Location Village Hall – Court Room/Council Chambers
131 N Maple Ave
Ridgewood
NJ
07450
USA
201-670-5500
“While I know this is Somerset, it is obvious that with the exception of District 39 and District 40 leadership, the crickets from District 36, District 37 and District 38 are becoming more incessant. When will the leadership of NJ Legislature stop playing this “partisan card”? “, Edward Durfee
Affordable housing mandate threatens quality of life, mayor says
Updated on June 20, 2017 at 3:31 PMPosted on June 20, 2017 at 3:30 PM
BY DAVE HUTCHINSON
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
MONTGOMERY TWP. – Mayor Ed Trzaska is concerned that a potential court mandate requiring the township meet an affordable housing unit quota will put an overwhelming burden on the municipality and negatively effect the quality of life.
At issue is a state Supreme Court ruling in March of 2015 that opened the door for municipalities to be sued for not providing a “fair share” of affordable housing units. The ruling also allows a municipality to demonstrate in court that it has met the requirement to provide affordable housing.
The township, which has a population of some 23,000, has been in the forefront of providing affordable housing units, said Trzaska. Currently, he said the township has 300 affordable housing units, of which more than one-fourth are vacant.
Under a possible court ruling by the Fair Share Housing Counsel, the township could be forced to build between 501 and 1,000 additional affordable housing units, as well as 4,000 market-rate units, said Trzaska. The township has yet to be given the exact number of affordable units it must build, he said.
Ridgewood NJ, The Fair Share Housing Center expected the Mercer County Superior Court to affirm it’s projected affordable housing obligations; but are now saying those numbers are a lie after Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi used them to paint a picture of over-development.
Fair Share, which has taken towns to court to enforce its calculations, said in April that the state needed 146,000 units to cover a 16-year gap period when the state failed to calculate obligations, and another 140,000 to fulfill housing quotas from 2015 to 2025.
The group submitted those figures to Mercer County Superior Court to help determine the housing obligations of five municipalities that have not reached settlements. Its executive director Kevin Walsh said at the time, “We expect the courts to affirm this study.”
However, contrary to positions taken before the courts, Walsh reversed course and called Fair Share’s housing numbers a lie in his letter to Schepisi.
In a letter Thursday, Walsh wrote, “our organization is not taking the position that municipalities must develop hundreds of thousands of new affordable homes by 2025.” He further argued that any claim “that municipalities are being required to provide 280,000 affordable homes is a lie.”
For decades state courts have relied upon Fair Share’s methodology to establish municipal obligations under the Mount Laurel doctrine. Cases involving more than 350 municipalities are either currently before the courts or have been settled. Most of the disputes between municipalities and Fair Share have been over the size of prospective need.
“Their deceptive practices are similar to certain retail clothing stores that used to raise their prices by 40 percent immediately before a 30 percent sale,” Schepisi (R-Bergen) said. “Towns I represent in Bergen and Passaic counties have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on professional fees just trying to comply with Fair Share’s mandates that they now admit should be significantly less.”
The center is seeking a court order blocking Edgewater from issuing occupancy certificates for non-affordable housing units, as well as a mandate that any construction related to non-affordable housing cease until it completes building 75 promised affordable housing units.
Econsult Solutions, a Philadelphia consulting firm hired by more than 200 municipalities, issued a report in 2016 setting the current need statewide at 33,140, with a prospective need for the next decade of 36,494.
It is unbelievable if not one of our council members attended this event!!! Instead of wasting your time on silly squabble, bet down to the issues that affect each and every tax payer in Ridgewood. We do not want to turn our town over to developers who are going to destroy the Village and line their pockets under the banner of “fair housing.” Can someone confirm whether or not we participated in this event and whether we are taking an active ole in supporting this Assembly womens’ efforts? And if our council people are not, they should consider resigning because they really are not addressing the most pressing issue facing and threating our town. Its outrageous that our council members are fiddling while Rome starts to burn beneath their feet! Arohnson and his ilk turned the town over to developers. But this group is doing nothing to try and take it back. Its time for action.
Ridgewood NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi represents 23 municipalities located in Bergen and Passaic counties, all of which have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on professional fees as a result of the failure and inaction of our State to provide guidance on how to comply with Court decisions on affordable housing.
The largest drivers of cost result from third party “intervenors” appearing and demanding to build large numbers of market rate units in exchange for providing a small number of affordable units. One of these intervenors is a non-profit organization Fair Share Housing. This non-profit has been granted enormous power in our State and has been dictating settlement terms for almost all of our municipalities.
Their deceptive practices are similar to certain retail clothing stores that used to raise their prices by 40 percent immediately before a “30 percent sale”. Indeed, Fair Share put forth a report that is being relied upon by our Courts which states, among other things, that NJ needs 280,000 units of affordable housing.
page 2
Many community leaders have reached out seeking help and guidance on how to handle this issue. In an effort to start dialogue on this topic Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi decided to host a bipartisan group of hearings. Schepisi invited Fair Share so that their point of view could be heard. Rather than attend or call or meet with me they choose to personally attack and bully Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi . A copy of their extremely unprofessional letter is attached. If you ever wonder why the large issues in NJ never get addressed, it is because of nonsense like this. I urge every municipality fighting their numbers to use a copy of this letter as one of their exhibits.
Paramus NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi hosted a meeting on June 15th at Bergen Community College to talk about OVERDEVELOPMENT, affordable housing and the biggest issues affecting Bergen County local communities.
The event was packed with legislators, mayors, engineers, planners, environmental experts, school superintendents, non-profit housing groups and others who joined Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi at the Thursday night legislative hearing to address New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis.
The hearing will provided the first significant legislative discussion addressing New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis in 5 years.
The meeting was very well attended given how little publicity from New Jersey main stream press .Senator Gerald Cardinale, Assemblymen Robert Auth and Kevin J. Rooney and the several hundred people took time to talk about overdevelopment and affordable housing.
The Speakers included Mayors and former Mayors from Closter, Haworth, Demarest, Dumont, Upper Saddle River and Montvale. Council members from Park Ridge, Ramsey and Dumont. Elected officials and representatives were also present from communities including Westwood, Mahwah, New Milford, Old Tappan, Emerson, Paramus, Allendale, Mountain Lakes, Montville, Hillsdale and Woodcliff Lake. Tom Toronto and Lynn Bartlett, the heads of non-profit affordable housing agencies United Way and the Bergen County Housing Authority, along with Bruce Young, the President of the Bergen County School Boards all provided great testimony.
Captain Bill Sheehan from Hackensack Riverkeepers for discussing environmental concerns. I was disappointed that none of our other Bergen County legislators chose to attend. This is an issue that every municipality is struggling with regardless of political party lines. We must work together to assist the communities we represent.
Joanne Minichetti, mayor of Upper Saddle River, told Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi and other state officials that the analysis leading to the obligations was “ridiculous” and “stupid.” The obligations were created by the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center.
Derek Michalski also from Upper Saddle River recounted to the Ridgewood blog ,” in the case of USR two developers father and son “forced” rezoning Apple Ridge property on USR mayor and Council and after obtaining the “rezoning signature” re-sold the same property to Toll Brothers for $20-30milion quick gain. if the town did this deal for its own benefit(residents) we wouldn’t have to raise taxes for decades to come. Thus such chaos is creating enormous benefit to developers and leaving communities in fear.”
Schepisi has recently introduced two bills to freeze municipal affordable housing obligations through the end of the year, and establish a commission to study the issue and determine each town’s obligations. Over fifty municipalities throughout the state of New Jersey have passed a resolution urging action on Schepisi’s bills.
However NJ Housing and Development Chairman Jerry Green (D) is not going to release those two bill to the floor for vote (IMHO). They will die waiting…..in the meantime the town in fear of loosing this issue in court are marketing (horrible deals with developers). For instance in the case of USR two developers father and son “forced” rezoning Apple Ridge property on USR mayor and Council and after obtaining the “rezoning signature” re-sold the same property to Toll Brothers for $20-30milion quick gain. if the town did this deal for its own benefit(residents) we wouldn’t have to raise taxes for decades to come. Thus such chaos is creating enormous benefit to developers and leaving communities in fear.
And you guessed it Green is a major fund raiser for Murphy (he told me that himself in his office) so this issue is almoeast a dead issue.
