THANK YOU Mr. Bramnick. I know chances are minimal that anything will come out of your effort but it is a nice feeling to know that someone really cares.
Ridgewood NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi shared Assemblyman Jon Bramnick’s post. In a satement on Facebook Schepisi said , “We keep fighting the good fight. Thank you Leader Jon Bramnick for understanding the urgency of providing immediate legislative solutions to the threat of over development in our communities.”
Assemblyman Jon Bramnick — New Jersey State Assembly Member for District 21
During next week’s July 31 Assembly voting session, Republican Leader Jon Bramnick plans to urge an emergency vote blocking court-imposed high-density housing.
“I am aggressively moving forward to protect towns and help mayors and councils stop court-mandated high-density housing by urging my colleagues to pass Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi’s legislative solution,” said Bramnick (R-Union). “With every passing day municipalities are incurring unrecoverable expense from these unnecessary lawsuits. This is a bi-partisan issue that has dire consequences. The legislature should take action now.”
Bramnick will work to move Holly Schepisi’s Assembly bill 4666 for an emergency vote, requiring support from 60 legislators to pass.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Master Plan is set to get an update. In what seemed like news to many Ridgewood residents the Village Master Plan has not been updated in 30 years .
A master plan is a guiding document that sets zoning throughout a municipality, but also offers a vision and objectives for shaping the look and traffic circulation of a community.
master planner Robert Moses
The 1983 Master plan represented the vision of Ridgewood at that time . A lot has changed in the Village in 30 years and this may open the door for a major up date in all elements .
Yes a lot has changed ; like the Valley Hospital H-zone and of coarse the massive increase high density housing in the Central Business District all of which many residents thought happened because of changes in the Master plan.
Mayor Susan Knudsen called ,”this is the most exciting thing that we are ever going to do “.
The Master Plan document is divided by main topics, called “elements”. A Master Plan has three components for a master plan 1) the goals and objectives 2) land use element this is the element that most closely corresponds with your zoning map and zoning regulations and 3) the housing plan element .
On Tuesday night the Ridgewood Planning Board formed a four-member master plan subcommittee, assigned with spearheading efforts to revise the village’s comprehensive land-use document in its first complete overhaul since 1983.
$250,000 has been set a side in the Village budget to do a proper master plan and the entire process could take over one year .
Lawyers argued Monday over whether a former state judge who handled affordable housing cases should have at least one of his rulings overturned because of his relationship with a developer.
In Trenton, a lawyer for South Brunswick Township squared off against a half-dozen others representing developers and affordable-housing advocates. The township is seeking to have affordable housing rulings made by now-retired Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Douglas Wolfson vacated because of what it alleges is the appearance of a conflict of interest: Wolfson’s acceptance of vacations from, and current representation of, Edgewood Properties.
While on the bench, Wolfson handled litigation involving the township, but not Edgewood Properties, according to documents. And Wolfson recused from cases that came before him involving Edgewood.
Nevertheless, Wolfson for years has had personal and professional ties to Edgewood, and South Brunswick claims Wolfson’s decisions in other affordable housing cases could work in favor of Edgewood or its primary owner, Jack Morris, even though he has no projects pending in the township.
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.
The passing of the infamous bike path should be a cautionary and oft-repeated tale.
The bike path is a prime example of why Aronson dragged us down into the place where we are now. He wanted to “improve” the Village to suit his own myopic view of what a modern day town should look like. He neither sought nor obtained consensus, merely a chorus of well meaning but unbalanced followers who likened what Aronson was doing to the Seventeen Century rebuilding of France.
Don’t get me wrong, bike paths and accessibility are great ideas, but when you build a bike path, you should base it on the needs of the bike rider, not simply the whimsical fancy of a transient politician. When you do the former and not the latter, you end up exactly as we have ended up with a path to nowhere.
As someone observed, the bike path fiasco will be repaired.. The cost of this boon google is the hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax money spent on the project, the hundreds of hours of school and work commuters’ time spent on the Ridgewood avenue back ups, and the constant risk to public health and safety.
On the other hand, Aronson’s other pet projects inflict injury that might never be repaired.
Now, we face the same ills presented by the mutti-family apartment projects pushed through by Aronson. The addition of hundreds of new families downtown concentrated on two streets running along the train tracks and the train station, will increase our tax burden, strain our administrative resources and risk the health and safety of our school children and elderly pedestrians. All to satisfy the whims of a wanna-be politician and the motives of profit-driven developers. As with the bike path, we have the toxic blend of poor planning and mis-guided intentions. Sadly, the monstrosities about to be built will not be fixed as easily as a bike path.
The garage under consideration by the present council is similarly ill-advised , No one has really articulated why we need it, other than to whine about the need to drive around looking for a weekend space or to spout the fantasy that a parking garage will “save” our downtown. Yet, the current council seems inclined to go build for building sake – – exactly the same approach taken by the prior Council..
Ridgewood NJ, the Council discussed the Hudson lot options . Bob Rooney Village CFO gave the following options 1) sell the lot on Hudson Street, 2) lease property to garage builders . Which is only available for non profit s 3) Award a contract for design 4) declare Hudson Street as a redevelopment zone with no restrictions.
The Village Council chimed in with both Bernie and Jeff said own and build , the Mayor said redevelopment seemed impractical.
A new “Walker Study ” was needed due to the all the new development projects and on going urbanization of the Village adding additional traffic and congestion. Bob Rooney said “Walker” would not have to start from scratch but revise their numbers .
Councilwomen Walsh tackled the elephant in the room by stating the parking garage will end up being filled by Central business district tenets instead of shoppers and commuters . Bob Rooney pointed out that the previous Walker report had already laid out the allocations for how many spots must be allocated to what type of parking .
Of course the district can re-assign students at any moment, and of course they are going to have to once the reality of all these new students hits home. Do you seriously think the developers are not going to market these apartments to young families with children? And, if you were a family of any age, wouldn’t you go for the cheapest way to obtain the best education for your family.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And when he was mayor, he went out of his way to give away the Village to others.
The apartment projects are going to attract good solid people, just like those who built the Village and those who work so hard to maintain the quality of life. But, people beget more people, and that’s the fact of life. Its not that we don’t want these people, in our Village – – we absolutely do. Its just that we can’t afford that many new people. We don’t want this number of new people.
The Aronsohn projects will bring in 300 to 400 families when all is said and done. You can expect your taxes to go up to take care of their schooling, lights for their roads, water & sewage infrastructure improvements, etc.
And now that this round of housing is done – – look for the developers to buy up more properties and say they should be able to build the same number of units. And ask this council what the hell it is doing to stop this nonsense, now that the word is out it is easy pickings for developers to zero in on Ridgewood.
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.
New Jersey’s almost 9 million residents make this state denser than India or Japan. And the population is projected to grow to 10.2 to 10.4 million by 2040. Will we have enough water for our residents, farmers, businesses, industries — and the environment — now and in the future?
That question is front and center following the release of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s draft 2017-2022 update of the New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plan — the first update in 21 years.
“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.
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