Nicholas Katzban, Staff Writer, @NicholasKatzban Published 10:37 a.m. ET Aug. 28, 2017
Two years ago, the Village of Ridgewood proposed to ease its parking crunch by building a garage in the Central Business District.
As the chosen site for the project still lays in disrepair, and the council aims to designate the area “in need of redevelopment,” some locals and officials are beginning to question how a seemingly straightforward objective has grown so long in the tooth.
Seeking to streamline the process, the council unanimously approved a resolution on Aug. 9 to hire the village planner, Brigette Bogart, to determine whether the Hudson lot meets the criteria for an area in need of redevelopment.
That option was presented to council members by Village Attorney Matthew Rogers during a workshop meeting the prior week. Rogers explained the designation would allow the village to negotiate directly with a chosen contractor, rather than work through a public bidding process, to “save some time, save some money” and “be able to approach this in a faster and more efficient manner.”
