Tag: Schedler plan

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The “New” Ridgewood Council Faltering at Every Step

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 the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, so let’s see how the “new” council is doing so far:
1. Someone (Siobhan???)  has written a list of rules and regulations for council meetings, and without a public discussion among  council colleagues  put it on the Village website.  It is then learned, from social media, that one council member does not have the authority to do so. Bingo, it disappears from the website.

Continue reading The “New” Ridgewood Council Faltering at Every Step

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Schedler plan is same as 2008 proposal

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
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Schedler plan is same as 2008 proposal

To the Editor:

As the community continues to debate the development of the Schedler property, it is important to recall the discussions that led to the village’s acquisition of the property.

In September 2008, former Councilman Pat Mancuso convened an ad hoc “Schedler Committee” of interested citizens, including residents of the adjacent West Saddle River Road neighborhood, which met on a weekly basis to discuss the urgency of preserving the property as open recreational space, potential sources of funding and the conceptual plan for the development of the property.

I was asked to present the Schedler Committee’s recommendations to the Village Council at the Council’s Oct. 22, 2008 meeting. In addition to recommending that the Village purchase the property as promptly as possible, I made the following statement:

“Although the members of the Schedler Committee believe that the primary objective at this time is the preservation of the property as open space, they have also discussed in detail and approved the conceptual plan for the improvement of the property that includes a baseball diamond, an overlay multi-purpose field, an ADA-compliant walking trail, a wooded area and a parking lot, and the potential sources of funding for those improvements. . . . Significantly, the representatives of the West Saddle River Road neighborhood association on the Schedler Committee have assured us that the neighbors support the conceptual plan, including the eventual installation of permanent lighting for the athletic fields, and will not ‘disappear down a manhole cover’ . . . as soon as the property is acquired.”

The conceptual plan discussed and approved by the Schedler Committee was substantially the same plan recently endorsed by the Village Council.

It is also worth noting that the intention at the time was to raze the Schedler house. In fact, as part of its grant application presentation, the village told the advisory committee of the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund that the village intended to tear the house down, and the committee’s only request was that the house be documented (i.e., photographed) before demolition.

Given this history, complaints of “east side” unfairness seem like a smokescreen to impede progress.

The plan for the development of the Schedler property has remained consistent since 2008. I believe it is in the best interests of the village to realize that plan now.

It is also in the interest of the Schedler neighborhood. In 2008, the neighbors’ primary concern was to save the property from high density residential or commercial development. Instead of that, the neighborhood will have a beautiful park with a playing field surrounded by trees and a walking path.

Ralph Currey

Ridgewood

The writer is the Chair of the Village of Ridgewood’s Open Space Committee.

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-schedler-plan-is-same-as-2008-proposal-1.1412703