march 23,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Council candidate Ramon Hache also shared his feeling on the high density meeting tonight , “I think tonight’s meeting is unfair to residents. There are two major decisions on the agenda tonight. Having two major topics on the same agenda will cause the meeting to go until early Thursday. The issues should have been split onto two agendas.”
First Ramon commented on the Hudson Garage ,”I hope the Council will vote to bond the garage ourselves. The newest design option, although not perfect, represents a compromise between residents and the Council. The original proposed size and footprint of the garage were simply too large.”
Then Ramon followed up on the high density housing, “The Council will vote on the proposed housing density of 35 UPA. I understand the need to develop the proposed sites but I would like to see mixed use, and a density of between 20 and 24 units per acre, more in line with the total average throughout the CBD. Although the recent study by BFJ suggest there would be minimal to no impact to the schools, Ridgewood is known for its schools and exceptional educational programs for special needs children. Therefore I would be cautious to rely on the student enrollment projections alone, which did not take into account the higher cost of special needs programs.
Ideally, I would rather see us approve one of these zoning changes first, to see how it goes. We would get real-world data while providing a good ratable which we need to finance the things we need and to stabilize property taxes.”
Ramon emphisized, ” These are very important issues that will have an enduring impact on the future of our community. I encourage residents to attend the meeting. I hope the Council will listen to the input from residents and will decide on responsible development that will preserve the character of our town while improving traffic safety.”
