file photo by Boyd Loving
April 18,2016
Ridgewood NJ, from the Friends of Schedler Facebook page :
Outline of Proposed Terms for the Development of the Schedler Property
1. In order to provide the Village with much needed passive park and recreational space, the field shall be no larger than 60’.
2. Any design will include a sound wall to block out the sound of the highway for the entire length of the property. In addition, to a sound wall near the highway, the park will include a berm on West Saddle River Road to block off the sound and view of the park. The berm shall include several rows of regularly maintained evergreens in order to provide the neighborhood with a “green shield”.
3. All demolition, including removal of trees (downed, diseased or otherwise) will not occur until completion of a development plan and budget approved by the Village Council. Demolition shall occur in conjunction with the overall project in order to avoid a gap between demolition and construction.
4. The plan and design of the park will be developed by an independent civil engineer and landscape architect specializing in park design with input from representatives of the neighborhood and the Village.
5. The development plan and budget will be based off of independent, comprehensive studies which would include:
* Addressing the issues already identified by environmental and wildlife impact studies
* The noise study to be conducted on the property and the surrounding area
* A third party traffic and safety study on West Saddle River Road and the surrounding side streets as recommended by the council committee. The traffic and safety study will include a determination of an adequate parking lot, as well as a review of potential ingress and egress into the parking lot from Rt. 17. In addition, the traffic and safety study will include a determination of appropriate parking restrictions on West Saddle River Road and, if practical, the surrounding streets off West Saddle River Road
6. Prohibition on the inclusion of (1) lights, both permanent and portable as required by the conservation easement, (2) a public address announcement system and (3) a concession stand.
7. The hours of the park will be from dawn to dusk.
8. Installation of police monitoring system to monitor any criminal activity.
9. Preserve the Schedler house by moving forward with registering the house with the historical society. The house will be used to benefit the entire community by, for example, providing meeting space for different community groups and providing restrooms for the park participants.
Sounds good to me.
Just sell the property
Can’t imagine that a “sound wall” would make much difference (unlike the “wall of sound”) at that site unless it were 50 feet high and 10 feet wide. It’s the wrong place for a sports field, period! It would never have been thought of in those terms if Ridgewood weren’t so overbuilt. Why do we keep “compromising” on 35 people per acre and a garage that co-opts “a smaller part of Hudson Street” and “only” a 60-foot field? How about “let it alone”? If village manager is holding an RBSA check for $100K, with instructions to cash it only if a 90-foot field is built, as she said at a council meeting, she should send it back.
All fine until we get to the part about the house. It is a piece of garbage. knock it down. 60′ field is totally reasonable. Sound barrier is fine if affordable. Keeping that shack is not a good idea. And they shouldnt want either given the example of the horse farm rental.
Why does the Village own a property to benefit so few residents? The property should be sold to the highest bidder, as the Village should not be in the business of owning UN-developable properties
The reconfiguration of the track and field facility at BF took away a full size 60×90 baseball field and smaller softball diamond. Let’s not forget where this started. The bond for turf at the high school (which I’m all for) and the expansion of Willard helped put us in this situation.
I agree with 12:32. Habernickle and Schlinder should be sold
Sell the property to a developer who will build it into a strip mall or high density housing. Just what Ridgewood needs ! LOL
A sound wall would bathe the field in darkness in the late afternoon until late in the spring baseball season. WASTE OF TIME, MONEY AND EFFORT! Sell this dog with fleas.
So, 12:43, what is your point?
Knock down the house ,no field and just make it a passive park.
So 2:06 we need another multi-million dollar passive park ? Look what happened to the last one. It is now home Health Barn USA.
“The reconfiguration of the track and field facility at BF took away a full size 60×90 baseball field and smaller softball diamond. Let’s not forget where this started. ”
THIS !!
bad news from the start.
Yes 4:55 and let remember that the Vets baseball field was upgraded to a 60×90 field to replace the BF field. Do a search and you will find that this was discussed under a prior administration
” Do a search and you will find that this was discussed under a prior administration”
Doesn’t matter who did it… it was still a bad idea