Reader says It’s absurd that we would be considering a Master Plan change that would allow such a monumental increase

Reader says It’s absurd that we would be considering a Master Plan change that would allow such a monumental increase

The property owners are already entitled to develop their property, but within the current zoning regulations. At this moment, a residential development may have up to 12 units per acre. The Master Plan Amendment is proposing 40+ units per acre (actual # depends on which development they are talking about). Quite a jump, huh? It’s absurd that we would be considering a Master Plan change that would allow such a monumental increase. I don’t believe most people are against some downtown housing, but the proposal on the table is for 200+ apartments and could be (according to Blaise) expanded to 300-500 units.

The problem right now is that the PB has been stringing these developers along for 2 years now and no one has the guts to just say no and rethink the whole issue from the viewpoint of “What do WE want Ridgewood to be in the future?” If we want it to be multigenerational, then how do we want to accomplish that? What can we do to assure that the intrinsic character of Ridgewood will remain? These are the conversations that need to take place. Instead, we are reacting to a proposed Master Plan change requested by DEVELOPERS. These developers are trying to maximize their return. That’s understandable, but it is up to our PB and our Village Planner to guide this conversation and protect OUR RETURN (the interests of the tax payers) and the character of our Village.