file photo by Boyd Loving
March 16,2016
by Saurabh Dani
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council has planned a public hearing and possibly a vote on March 23rd on High Density Housing Issue. It’s widely expected the three outgoing council members are going to vote to increase the residential density in some downtown lots from the current 12 units per acre to 36 units per acre, while the residents have asked them to consider 20-24 units per acre.
This is a big change for Ridgewood, which will probably alter our village forever. The local newspapers have so far reported from the press releases issued by the village administration or from the commentary of what happened at the meetings. Proactive journalism on this issue has been missing so far.
Residents have asked the reporters:
1. When are they going to cover the conflict of interest on the garage vote by Tony and Jim at HPC?
2. When will they be talking to taxpayers ahead of the 3/23 vote to measure opinions?
3. When will they be asking the candidates for VC office to state their positions on the 3/23 vote?
4. When will they talk to the superintendent about class sizes at the middle schools and high school which were not covered by the studies?
5. When will they ask Orchard and Ridge School principals if they can accept the increased class sized?
5. When will they ask Orchard and Ridge School principals if they can accept the increased class sized?
6. When will they ask the consultants (Ross Haber Associates) on how did he reach to a conclusion of 63 new kids from 4 new developments, while similar sized apartments in the village and the number of school aged children from those apartments suggest that it can be close to 225 new children in the Ridgewood schools?
7. When will they ask and report on the question of ‘what happens to all the 1 acre or more lots that are available in Ridgewood downtown and are waiting for these first four to be approved”?
8. What are the financial impacts to the taxpayer (police coverage, etc.?)?
If you would like our local reporting to question our village government on these very important questions, before next Wednesday’s March 23rd VOTE, see below for contact information.
Maybe they don’t want to pander to the vocal minority like the Blog does.
Maybe they don’t want to risk losing advertising dollars spent by the realtors and restaurants in town………
Sadly, but truly, it’s a done deal for high density in Ridgewood. The planning board said yes after years of deliberation. I think that is what the newspapers see.
The three council members will consent to it.
Can it be repealed by a new council? I don’t think so.
The newspapers just report happened. They don’t speculate.
They report for example which planning board or council members were for a particular ordinance and why. They report on town meetings and mention for example that a number of residents spoke against the current design of the parking garage etc.
But unless the ordinances can repealed it is just a sad situation.
Too late. There will effectively be a new sheriff in town in a matter of a few months and the lame duck council should refrain from taking any consequential votes until the three new council members are sworn in.
10:29am – don’t underestimate the power of money. They have appointed puppets at every senior position in every department in last 7 years. The voter turnout can be changed with money and eventually even the votes can change. If bush can win Florida, anything can happen with elections. So don’t keep your hopes high on ‘new sheriff’ in town.
Are the readers here that self centered to believe media outlets and candidates for volunteer elected positions should drop everything to focus on their individual concerns? You’re not that important!
people expect them to do their job
To the list of email addresses, add this important one, the new editor of the Ridgewood News, Jaime Walters: walters@northjersey.com.