Ridgewood planning board told it can’t make changes to Valley Hospital expansion plan
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY MARCH 11, 2014, 11:09 AM
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD – For a year, residents opposed to The Valley Hospital’s plan to nearly double in size have been attending hearings, sitting through hours of testimony and questioning experts in their effort to get the village Planning Board to scale back the project. On Monday night, they learned the board will not amend the proposal.
Gail Price, the board attorney, told residents at yet another hearing that the board could accept or reject the master amendment that would allow the hospital to expand, but it couldn’t make any changes. Price said the board could reject the application and then write an entirely new amendment and start the process over.
“To say I’m mad is an understatement,” said Pete McKenna, president of a group opposed to the project, Concerned Residents of Ridgewood. “I just wasted another year of my life here only to find out the board doesn’t have the latitude to make any changes.”
Valley is seeking an amendment to the village master plan that will allow them to construct a building that will rise to 94 feet high, if rooftop mechanicals are included, in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The project also calls for construction closer to the neighboring middle school.
Can’t make changes?
Ok.
NO.
Again, Gail Price is showing her true allegiance to Valley and corporate clients. She makes most of her money representing institutions like Valley and will never make a significant ruling that will ruin her reputation with them.
Prove me wrong.
-Thed,.
It’s really easy, Just say NO!!!
Let me repeat. Just say NO!!!
Does this town need help? Can they ask the state for help before Valley plows them over? Let Valley sue us and just say no! This town has to grow a set! The H-Zone and Master Plan are the reason we say NO. What is Valley going to get in a law suit? They have already purchased enough surrounding properties in Ridgewood and Paramus for their back up plan (or plan B). How is this process still going on? What a waste of time and money. NO EXPANSION is the only answer. Even Valley knows this but they keep wanting something that should be prevented?
Agreed…..Just say NO. They were told to come back with a reasonable plan and they didn’t. Why is this taking so long?
The magnitude of the hubris and idiocy of Ridgewood’s public servants has reached a new level. I thought that our Mayor and his running mates had secured the top spot with their series of high profile bunglings but Gail Price appears to have out done them. She has boldly billed the Ridgewood taxpayers for a year of her time only to look us in the eye and say that the Planning Board is powerless to make any real decision. If this process turns out to be only half as corrupt as it appears, Ms. Price should go to jail.
#2 you make a defamatory allegation and then say “prove me wrong?” No one has anything to prove to you – what planet do you live on?
Why not a smaller expansion? Or are you people just against valley in general.
Valley said all or nothing
How much is Gail Price getting paid on her billable hours to the planning board ?
She should not be the only one “to go to jail.”
Shame on them if that wasn’t clear (or made clear) before now. What exactly have they (the Planning Board and Price) been doing all this time if their only job was to hear and vote? In any case, the directive makes things simple so they should immediately vote and not waste one more minute on this. You can’t put 10 pounds of healthcare in a 5 pound bag. Reject!
#9 If anyone is “against Valley,” it’s for a hell of a lot of reasons. These people knew they could never win in a fair fight !
Vote NO and let Valley submit a reasonable plan knowing that there will be no negotiations.
As a taxpayer I hate to say this but the village should reimburse the Concerned Residents for money needlessly spent on this. They cannot afford to have the donations drained because of the village mistake.
And the town’s reputation keeps going south !