APRIL 26, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015, 10:17 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — A final vote on a proposed amendment to the master plan that would clear the way for the development of high-density, multifamily housing downtown is approaching.
After five years of consideration, Ridgewood’s Planning Board could move to decide the long-simmering matter at a public hearing that has been set for May 5.
At the board’s meeting last week, village planner Blais Brancheau outlined several recent changes he had made to the master plan amendment’s draft language — modifications prompted by ideas from board members and the public.
In the revised amendment, Brancheau lowered the permitted height of high-density, multifamily housing complexes to 50 feet from 55. He also decreased the number of units allowed by acre, dropping it to 30 to 35, from 40 to 50.
Brancheau tweaked the sizes of some of the four zones, reducing the total acreage that would be affected by the proposed master plan changes by a fifth, thus reducing the maximum build-out for those four zones to 253, from 326.
If you have traveled around the state lately, chances are you have come across construction of some kind.
According to the State Department of Labor and Workforce Development, there has been a spike of 10,000 construction jobs in 2014 and an increase of 7,900 during January and February of this year.
One housing and economics expert said there are five main factors driving the construction increase.
“The first is higher education which is the result of the bond issue and universities and colleges are leveraging those funds in public/private partnerships,” said James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
The second is demographically driven.
“The real growth in the population is millennials and aging baby boomers who are resizing in the housing market. So, we have almost record high numbers of multifamily construction. The multifamily rental housing sector is now about 60 percent where historically, it’s been about 30 percent,” Hughes said.
New Jersey is also the third largest warehouse distribution center in the country, a sector that has been growing very rapidly as a result of e-commerce.
“Instead of building conventional warehouses, what are now being erected are very large fulfillment centers, like the one for Amazon in Robbinsville. With people shopping on the Internet, a lot of space is needed to store items before they are shipped,” Hughes said.
Data centers are a significant factor to the increase in construction as well, namely because of New Jersey’s geography.
“In many cases, the big New York brokerage houses need vast data centers to store their information and they want them on a different power grid than the main headquarters, but they can’t be too far away from the major trading centers because those milliseconds are very important in high-speed trading. New Jersey is in a good location for that,” Hughes said.
April 13, 2015 Last updated: Monday, April 13, 2015, 9:24 AM
By Darius Amos
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News
Already mired with the downtown multifamily housing public hearings, the Ridgewood Planning Board has taken on the state-mandated task of reexamining its master plan.
For the next several months, board members will be expected to review the municipality’s current master plan and a list of corrective action items created during the village’s previous reexamination, which took place in 2006.
Their objective, according to Ridgewood Planner Blais Brancheau, is to identify areas that require change and any outdated language within those planning documents.
The board is not necessarily required to rewrite the master plan, but members must complete their review and adopt an official reexamination report, to be drafted by the municipal planner, by February 2016.
In part, the report should evaluate major problems and objectives related to land development at the time of the adoption of the previous report, determine the extent to which problems have changed, and propose any recommended changes to the master plan.
“It’s a report that will say this is what we looked at … this is what we think going forward,” said Brancheau, who detailed the reexamination process during last Tuesday’s Planning Board work session.
APRIL 9, 2015, 1:30 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015, 11:55 PM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
A state appeals court on Thursday blocked Governor Christie’s efforts to take $160 million out of trust funds that towns use to build low-cost housing units for poor, disabled and elderly residents.
It was the latest setback for Christie in a legal battle brewing for years over New Jersey’s troubled housing program for poor residents. Last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that Christie’s inaction on affordable-housing matters had gone on too long and required an urgent fix.
As an end run around the Christie administration, the high court put judges in charge of setting rules and giving guidance to towns on how many low-cost housing units they should be building. With Thursday’s ruling by the appeals court, the judiciary is now set to take control of millions of dollars in housing funds to implement those plans.
Christie, a Republican, in 2012 tried to take the housing funds to help balance the state budget. The appeals court rejected his position and faulted his administration for ignoring previous court orders, declining to write statewide housing regulations and leaving New Jersey towns in the dark as to how many homes should be built for their lowest-income residents.
April 6, 2015 Last updated: Monday, April 6, 2015, 8:39 AM
The Ridgewood News
Print
Planning Board deliberations regarding multifamily housing in downtown Ridgewood previously scheduled for April 7 will be carried until Tuesday, April 21.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, a member of the Planning Board, announced last Wednesday night at the Village Council meeting that the public hearing for the land use element of the Master Plan AH-2, B-3-R, C-R and C Zone Districts would be moved to 7:30 p.m. on April 21 in the Sydney V. Stoldt Jr. Court Room.
The delay was attributed to information from the League of Municipalities regarding the state Supreme Court decision on affordable housing in early March, said Knudsen, which ruled that the courts would decide affordable housing rules, at least temporarily. Knudsen said the information would hopefully be available on April 20.
At the Planning Board’s March 17 meeting, it was suggested that board members compile a list of elements to work through with Village Planner Blais Brancheau.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/downtown-housing-hearing-moved-to-april-21-1.1303434
April 6, 2015 Last updated: Monday, April 6, 2015, 8:39 AM
The Ridgewood News
Print
Planning Board deliberations regarding multifamily housing in downtown Ridgewood previously scheduled for April 7 will be carried until Tuesday, April 21.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, a member of the Planning Board, announced last Wednesday night at the Village Council meeting that the public hearing for the land use element of the Master Plan AH-2, B-3-R, C-R and C Zone Districts would be moved to 7:30 p.m. on April 21 in the Sydney V. Stoldt Jr. Court Room.
The delay was attributed to information from the League of Municipalities regarding the state Supreme Court decision on affordable housing in early March, said Knudsen, which ruled that the courts would decide affordable housing rules, at least temporarily. Knudsen said the information would hopefully be available on April 20.
At the Planning Board’s March 17 meeting, it was suggested that board members compile a list of elements to work through with Village Planner Blais Brancheau.
MARCH 31, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* Multifamily housing, warehouse construction put 7,900 more on payrolls so far this year
The recovering New Jersey housing sector and a surge in warehouse projects has helped spark a dramatic increase in construction employment around the state, which last year added the most construction jobs in a decade.
The increase of 10,000 jobs in the sector in 2014, up 7.5 percent, far outstripped the 1 percent increase in all jobs over the period, figures from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development show.
And the addition of 7,900 construction jobs in January and February show the increase continuing into 2015.
Increased construction in the multifamily sector, particularly along the Gold Coast, the Hudson River waterfront from Jersey City to Fort Lee, is a key driver in the construction employment hike, said builders and economists.
“It’s getting more and more healthy each year, without question,” said George Vallone, principal of Hoboken Brownstone Co. and president of the New Jersey Builders Association, a Hamilton-based trade group. “And if you are in a particular sector, which is the multifam section on the Gold Coast — it’s blazing hot.”
Ridgewood officials say no deal is in place for North Walnut Street
March 26, 2015 Last updated: Thursday, March 26, 2015, 3:16 PM
By Mark Krulish
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News
Concerns that redevelopment at North Walnut Street was moving ahead without public disclosure were brought to Wednesday night’s council meeting as officials explained in more detail the steps that still needed to be taken before selecting a project.
Earlier this month, two different developers presented proposals to residents and council members for the 1.1-acre site on North Walnut Street that includes the Town Garage property.
On March 4, Kensington Senior Development proposed an assisted-living complex, which includes a garage that would be built and donated to the village in exchange for the right to build the facility. The project features a total of 98 assisted-living units along with commercial retailers on the first floor and a landscaped outdoor garden on the second floor.
Langan Development pitched a design that featured 13 high-end luxury duplex condominiums to be built above first floor retail space and allows for amenities such as rooftop dining, a billiard room and a pub room. The project included plans for both a standard garage and one that featured an automated parking system.
Reader says I do not understand why this council is so set on altering (damaging, destroying pick your adjective) this town to fit their own wishes.
“Mayor Paul Aronsohn ….he would like to find a way to incentivize the developers to build high end apartments” really? the developers need help? don’t build then.
I do not understand why this council is so set on altering (damaging, destroying pick your adjective) this town to fit their own wishes. The Mayor will NOT be re-elected to this office or any higher office if he keeps pushing through his own agenda while disregarding the majority of residents. He doesn’t even want to poll citizens as other towns have done recently…most likely he knows it will show the proposed changes are not wanted.
Update Ridgewood within the character that already exists and leave Hackensack in Hackensack.
Good lord, this will be huge and horrible. But someone stands to make a ton of bucks on this deal. Certainly not the taxpayers
60 foot tall buildings will become the new norm throughout the CBD if this goes through.
“the devil is in the details” – – that’s the problem with this amendment. it does not say what will or won’t be built. Once the density is changed, the developers can build what they want. There are no controls in place.
we don’t need these monstronsities in town. There are for rent signs on the existing apartment buildings. I don’t see any rush for people to move from their houses to the apartments.
Frankly, I think there is more than enough “density” as it is.
Here is the photo of The Kensington Assisted Living Facility in Westchester.
Village Council Meeting Wednesday on Redevelopment Zone
*** Important Information about Redevelopment Zone ***
Ridgewood NJ, TOMORROW, Wednesday, March 25th, at the end of the Village Council Meeting, there will be a CLOSED Village Council Session to address “Contract Negotiations for the North Walnut Street Redevelopment Zone.”
The Village Council is moving forward with closed-door discussions to evaluate two proposals for the Redevelopment Zone. We recommend that you attend this Village Council meeting (or watch the televised feed) if you have questions about the Redevelopment Zone.
One proposal is for an assisted living facility that would feature commercial space on the ground floor and five floors of residential space. The 5-story building would include a parking garage with 135 parking spaces set aside for public parking, and is expected to generate 18,000 visits per year by the residents’ family and friends. The second proposal would feature 13 duplex apartments in the luxury price range and a massive parking garage that would accommodate 230 standard parking spaces, 118 set aside for residential and retail. (During his presentation, the developer said the parking garage could theoretically accommodate 627 cars with a semi-automatic parking system where cars are stored on pallets and are stacked to save space.) Both proposals would be built to the maximum allowable height of 60 feet.
Most likely, the Village Council will choose one of these two developers to build at the site without engaging residents and without undertaking a Comprehensive Master Plan Review. The American Planning Association guidelines for the state of NJ encourage local government and redevelopers to increase their levels of outreach and engagement efforts as a way to ensure public involvement throughout any redevelopment planning process.
****
In response to many of you who have asked about CBR’s position with respect to the Redevelopment Zone, we have quickly prepared some thoughts below, but admit that these are only preliminary thoughts…… We encourage anyone who feels that such an important decision requires more public input and more review, to attend the meeting in Village Hall at 7:30 pm on Wednesday night.
Insights from CBR: Attached is a picture of an Assisted Living facility in Westchester, NY owned by Kensington, the same developer whose proposal is currently in front of the Village Council. The dimensions of this building are actually smaller than what is being proposed for Ridgewood. If three of our five council members favor the Kensington proposal, a similar facility could easily be erected in downtown Ridgewood next year! The Ridgewood building would be 60 feet tall and would have a 5 or 6 story parking garage in the rear. Please look at this picture and notice the garage in the background. The garage would sit on N. Walnut Street. The other proposal is from Langan Development and would include retail space along Franklin Avenue on the first floor of an L-shaped residential building, with a significant parking structure also accessed from N. Walnut Street. The density of the development, which includes 3-bedroom / 2.5-bathroom duplex units, is 12-units per acre.
At CBR, we have always been concerned with development that is out of scale with the surroundings. The sheer size and scale of these developments is even larger than any of the high density developments that have been proposed so far. We are not sure why our Village Council would even entertain building something that is so mega-sized in downtown Ridgewood!
Redevelopment should occur with ample public input. We feel as if our Village Council has not encouraged public input and is moving along very quickly. In fact, are you even aware of the size of these proposals, or that the Village of Ridgewood owns this very valuable piece of real estate in our CBD? Most residents are not. Usually, when a municipality is undertaking a massive redevelopment, they are very excited and community support is strong. We feel as if the community has been left in the dark. Even residents on Walnut Street are unaware of the proposals.
To be clear, this is not a discussion about assisted living or housing. This is a discussion about developing within the character of our town. We are wary of moving forward and building a 60-foot high building in the center of our town without a clear vision for the future. Once again, we have sophisticated developers on the scene ready to “save the day” while our town officials have not done adequate due diligence. This will most certainly pave the way for builders in the future to argue their case for sympathetic zoning benefits. Why is there a big rush / push to urbanize our downtown? And why have the residents been kept out of the planning process? This is a serious issue. Other towns value public input, while Ridgewood seems to have a disdain for its residents and their input.
By way of background, years ago the Hillman family owned the Walnut Street parking lot and our village government took it away from them on the principle of eminent domain, to build a parking garage. Sadly, for years, our village never dealt with funding in order to construct a parking garage. Municipalities all over Northern NJ have addressed their parking problems, issued referendums, bonded out the construction of their own garages and moved forward with viable parking plans.
Both proposals will give Ridgewood a mere 100-135 additional public parking spaces, in return for approval to build on a prime piece of village-owned property that sits in the center of our downtown. 100 plus parking spots? Our parking deficit is estimated to be 1,000 parking spots or greater. The Kensington facility will amount to 98 housing units on little more than an acre. While we like assisted living and suspect that our Village Council is hoping to bring in much needed tax revenue from this business, we have not seen or know of any financial studies that prove this is the best choice for this property. We are also not sure an assisted living facility belongs smack in the the center of downtown. The promise of an additional 100 parking spots is questionable, as these spots could easily be filled by visitors, volunteers, and members of local groups that cater to the assisted living residents. We believe this business will add to our Village’s parking woes rather than solve an age old problem.
Why not build a two or three story parking deck on this property? The property was acquired by the Village for the purpose of parking! CBR has raised the idea of funding and building a parking deck but feel as if it has fallen on deaf ears. For some reason, a few Village Council members are suggesting that residents will not support funding a 2 or 3 story parking deck at this location. Why is the Council so sure that residents won’t support a parking deck on this lot — when we haven’t even been included in the discussions? And on the flip side, why is the Council so sure that the residents of this town will support a 6-story building when there is nothing in the CBD that is currently 6 stories tall? A parking deck with 300 or more spots, dedicated to employees and customers, will increase sales in all of our shops and businesses downtown. (This could, in turn, increase overall tax revenue).
How does all of this fit into Ridgewood’s plan for the future? We wish we could answer that question! Unfortunately, there is currently no plan for the future of Ridgewood. There are separate discussions taking place behind closed doors all over town and no one, except the residents, seem to understand the importance of having a long-term vision for the future of this town. We think we are in the midst of a very sad time in our town right now. Instead of feeling positive about our future, we feel very uncertain.
ReCap of Planning Board Meeting
from Citizens for a Better Ridgewood ( CBR)
Hello CBR Friends and Neighbors,
On March 17, the Planning Board met to deliberate the proposed Master Plan amendment that would allow for high density housing in our Central Business District. After several hours of discussion, Planning Board Chairman Nalbantian asked Village Planner Blais Brancheau to come to the next meeting prepared to address the concerns mentioned by board members, including density, height, parking and affordable housing. Please see below for a recap of last week’s meeting and please join us at the next meeting on April 7.
Planning Board Meeting: Tuesday, April 7 at 7:30 pm at Village Hall
Agenda: The Planning Board will continue deliberating
CBR’s recap of 3/17/15 Planning Board Meeting
CBR Note: The first condition of this amendment, aside from density and height issues, is changing the usage in the zones from commercial to residential. Keep in mind that when the planning board members state that they support the usage change, that does not necessarily indicate that they approve the densities that are proposed. Changing the zoning in an area of our CBD from commercial to residential is a big step in itself, as presumably once residential is built, there is no turning back to commercial usage on that site.
Once usage is addressed, the next issue is how much residential do you allow? Currently, most residential properties in the CBD have commercial usage on the first floor. Under this amendment, commercial usage on the first floor is no longer required. Allowing housing in our downtown at density higher than the 12 units per acre that is currently permitted makes sense, and anything over 12 units an acre constitutes “higher density.” Considering that the average density that currently exists in our downtown now is actually 22-24 units per acre, CBR would be quite comfortable with setting 22 or 24 units per acre as the new limit for density. We feel that doubling those numbers is too much, and that 35-40 units an acre and beyond would significantly alter the character of our Village. It is very important that our planning board finds the right balance in this amendment.
CBR ReCap: We took notes on each of the Planning Board member’s comments and would like to share them here. Our notes are not direct quotes.
Absent from this meeting was Nancy Bigos. She has yet to weigh in.
Charles Nalbantian, the Chairman of the Planning Board, agrees that the usage (housing rather than commercial) is good, but said the “devil is in the details.” He expressed reservations about the height and RSIS (state mandated parking requirements), and indicated that he is not sure yet about the density.
Richard Joel, the Vice Chairman of the Planning Board, agrees with the usage (housing in our CBD) and believes it will promote the general welfare. He feels that we need to develop these under-utilized sites and there is a need for a variety of housing. He said that he doesn’t know what the right balance between height and density should be.
Kevin Riley, supports the use of housing in our downtown but is concerned with height and density. He said he would like to see the density reduced from what is currently put forth in the amendment.
Wendy Dockray, thinks concept of multifamily housing is a good one but has her “yellow flags” or reservations. She is not sure this is actually what seniors are looking for in terms of space and affordability. She is concerned that the height and scale will negatively impact the historical character of Ridgewood. She said going from 12 units per acre to 40-50 is a “huge jump” and she is not sure if building 40 – 50 units an acre is necessary or appropriate to achieve housing. She is also concerned with the fiscal impact and noted that our schools are “at capacity.”
David Thurston, supports the amendment AS IS. He doesn’t want to “play chicken” with developers by giving them less than what they want. He said this is his business and if the Planning Board comes back with less than the amendment, it may not be “economically sound” for the developers. He is in favor of the 40 – 50 units in our CBD and is worried about what our town will look like in 40 years if we don’t allow the developers to build.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, not in favor of the amendment as it is written. She is concerned with the density, height, impact of adding more pedestrians that will impede traffic, open space and the changing character of Ridgewood. She said the she would like to see developers move forward with something, but would like to see a balance.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn, feels this is an opportunity for Ridgewood. He feels like we have enough information to make a decision and we should move forward soon. He said that people who don’t want their big houses could move to these apartments, but we need to strike the right balance. His stated that his issues are 1) density, 2) amenities (he would like to find a way to incentivize the developers to build high end apartments), 3) housing for special needs residents, 4) parking (he wondered if developers not providing sufficient parking could be forced to pay money into a fund to use for public parking), and 5) can separate amendments be crafted to address each zone individually?
Michele Peters, concerned about the density. Not in favor of the current amendment. She questioned whether the parking that was being considered as part of the proposals in the redevelopment zone on N. Walnut would alleviate some of the parking deficit in Ridgewood, but was told the deficit is beyond what could be added in the redevelopment zone.
Isabella Altano, (1st alternate on PB) wants to see more consideration given to the impacts. She feels we need a lower density. She asked about the potential costs to our infrastructure, if projected school enrollment could be provided that included approval of 400+ new apartments and what could be done to address our open space deficiency.
Khidir Abdalla, (2nd alternate on PB) said that we shouldn’t be afraid of change and supports the amendment. He is not concerned with the density and scale and feels that this type of housing fits in well to an URBAN downtown. He feels we need increased density in order to get pedestrian traffic that is needed to revitalize our downtown.
Click on this link to read the recap from the Ridgewood News
Ridgewood Planning Board members weigh in on housing proposals
MARCH 19, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015, 3:13 PM
BY BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
With the completion of public comment and attorney summations, members of the Ridgewood Planning Board were given the chance to weigh in on the proposed master plan amendment at a deliberation meeting on Tuesday night.
Many of the board members stated their belief that some form of multifamily housing downtown would benefit the village, while opinions diverged on subtopics such as density, building height, traffic and impact on the school system.
Planning Board Chairman Charles Nalbantian began with his observation that higher-density, multifamily housing in and around the Central Business District (CBD) would be good for Ridgewood and that an amendment of some kind to the housing element of the master plan is timely due to the under-utilization of the chosen sites.
However, he noted that “the devil is always in the details,” and while he believes the amendment reflects appropriate use, there are reasonable questions regarding many of the smaller issues – height, affordable housing and density chief among them – that form the larger picture.
Ridgewood planners start debating new housing rules
MARCH 19, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — A majority of the village’s Planning Board voiced support Tuesday night for a proposed master plan amendment that, if approved, would clear the way for high-density multifamily housing complexes downtown.
Public deliberations on the long-sought change to Ridgewood’s master plan began during the Planning Board’s meeting on Tuesday, with most members agreeing such developments would enhance the village while filling various housing needs.
However, those same Planning Board members said the amendment needed some minor tweaking before it could be considered for a final board vote.
Specifically, several of the board’s members said the amendment’s height and density limitations are an issue.
The master plan amendment would increase the amount of units allowed per acre to between 40 and 50 from 12, and raise restrictions on building heights to 55 feet from 50.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn, who sits on Ridgewood’s Planning Board, endorsed the housing complexes that have been pitched by the three developers that first applied for the master plan change little more than five years ago.
I personally think this issue is a Fait accompli; Kensington is likely to get the nod. Here’s what The African Queen (Councilwoman Hauck) said following the Kensington presentation. Seems to me that her mind is made up, which means that Paul & Albert have likely decided as well.
“So I’ve been sitting in the meetings and I don’t have any questions. But, I thought one thing that would have been great for the presentation is a little more of a demonstration of what your ground floor retail looks like because I think that’s one of the nicer things you have to offer to the Village. So, I guess there are four different public spaces that everyone can visit. There’s the cafe, the art gallery, the hair salon, and the physical therapy. Also, can people sign up for physical therapy classes? And the lobby area and the front door is a welcoming space. It’s really a comfortable scenario. I think when people see the schematics I think they will see that it is very inviting to the public. When I look at all of these plans, when I look at the redevelopment zone parameters the goal was to increase parking for the Village of Ridgewood, which was our main objective, and to reinforce pedestrian and retail activity, and to improve the appearance of the Village. I think that you have hit everything there. We can only address certain issues in the meeting today. We will be dealing with other issues such as remediation and financial impact to the Village taxpayers, but for now I see this as an excellent presentation.”
For now, no more redevelopment zone proposals will be heard
March 14,2015
Boyd Loving
Ridgewood NJ, In response to a taxpayer’s direct question, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld responded on Wednesday evening that Village Council members have no plans at this time to hear any further proposals from developers in connection with the North Walnut Street Redevelopment Plan.
Only two (2) proposals have been publicly presented. One from the Kensington Senior Development, LLC for an assisted living facility/parking garage/retail complex, and the other from Langan Development Corporation, for a large parking garage/luxury apartment/retail complex.
According the Sonenfeld, both proposals are now undergoing an extensive review of “the finances.”
Proposals call for senior apartments, luxury duplexes in downtown Ridgewood.
March 9, 2015 Last updated: Monday, March 9, 2015, 1:21 AM
By CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — More than two acres of land downtown could soon be transformed into luxury duplex apartments or assisted-living housing for seniors.
Ridgewood issued a request in September seeking proposals from developers for the 10 properties — including the former gas station site at 132 Franklin Ave. — that make up the village’s redevelopment zone.
The plan from Kensington Senior Development, based in White Plains, N.Y., calls for two structures: a 60-foot-tall residential building — with 98 assisted-living units and 5,000 square feet of retail space — and a parking garage the village would own and operate.
The garage, which will be accessible from Walnut Street, would add more than 130 much-need parking spots to Ridgewood’s downtown, said Harley Cook, one of Kensington’s founding partners.
Cook said Ridgewood could expect an additional 18,000 visitors each year to the village, should his plan gain the appropriate approvals.
