the Dayton
Ridgewood Planning Board hears proposal for multi-family project
Thursday January 24, 2013, 7:22 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — As officials continue mulling a master plan change that would permit high-density, multi-family housing projects downtown, some residents fear such developments would inevitably change the village’s character.
Currently, four of those proposals are sitting in front of the Planning Board. One of them — The Enclave, a 52-unit, four-story building on East Ridgewood Avenue — was presented Wednesday night.
The village planner recently completed a study — commissioned by the Planning Board — into The Enclave and three similar developments — the Dayton, a 106-unit apartment building proposed for South Broad Street; the 50-unit Chestnut Village on Chestnut Street, and Ridgewood Station, a 114-luxury apartment and retail complex at the former Ken Smith Motors dealership. At present, the master plan prohibits such projects.
The study, by Blais Brancheau, examined current housing options downtown while pinpointing existing traffic issues in the village, as well as potential impacts these four multi-story developments could create.
Developer and Ridgewood resident John Saraceno pitched The Enclave Wednesday as a development that would provide a boon to village businesses and minimally impact traffic and the school system.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn said such developments “might provide a chance to keep Ridgewood residents in Ridgewood.”
Who bought the mayor?
Donation and his thrust for power and higher office and the Depute Mayors EGO
All the applicants seeking zoning changes to permit housing should consider the need for special needs housing like Allendale did. That town is a model that others should emulate. Certainly there are aging parents in Ridgewood with mentally or physically challenged adult children that will need a safe and affordable place to live when their parents pass or are no longer able to afford their homes in Ridgewood (back to the tax problem). Look at the developments on Franklin Tpke. and Crescent Ave. in Allendale. They are both more aesthetically appealing than the proposed renderings of what the developers want to cram down Ridgewood taxpayers’ throats. Special note to Mr. Bolger: You are well known for your philanthropic projects and generosity. Using your property on Chestnut Street for a project similar to those that have been successful up in Allendale you would leave Ridgewood a legacy that will be a valuable asset for the future. This type of special needs housing serves a very real need in society.