the staff of the Ridgewood blog
RIDGEWOOD, NJ — September 2025 — The Village of Ridgewood is facing a new lawsuit from Kensington Senior Development and the Fair Share Housing Center after the Village Council voted down a zoning overlay that would have allowed a 125-bed assisted living facility on North Maple Avenue.
The 1.3-acre parcel, comprising three adjoining lots, had been identified in Ridgewood’s Housing Element and Fair Share Plan as a key redevelopment site for meeting the borough’s fourth-round affordable housing obligations.
Council Vote Sparks Backlash
The proposed zoning overlay was considered critical to advancing Ridgewood’s compliance with state housing mandates. But the Village Council rejected the measure after weeks of heated public debate, leaving the borough exposed to legal challenges and state oversight.
Developers and Advocates Push Back
Kensington Senior Living, which optioned the site, and the Fair Share Housing Center, a statewide nonprofit advocating for affordable housing, filed suit against Ridgewood, arguing the council’s decision jeopardizes progress on housing accessibility.
The rejected project would have provided assisted living options for seniors, a population advocates say is increasingly underserved in Bergen County.
Deadline Looms for Ridgewood
With the zoning change struck down, Ridgewood faces growing uncertainty about its December 31 deadline to resolve outstanding disputes with developers. Failure to comply could subject the village to builder’s remedy lawsuits, forcing higher-density housing developments without local control.
What’s Next?
The lawsuit adds to the mounting pressure on Ridgewood officials to find a path forward that balances local concerns with the state’s affordable housing requirements. Hearings and negotiations are expected in the coming months as the case moves through the courts.
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So predictable. Now Ridgewood will have to pay millions of dollars to the lawyers & will still have to build the housing.
Right!
We should just roll over and let the town be destroyed.
Let it be destroyed?
that boat sailed years ago
correct.
that happened when Ridgewood could no longer be described as “Right Leaning”
Don’t worry, with Vagianos at the helm and his merry band of puppets who make up the council, Ridgewood will be a shell of its formwr self. Charm traded in for cha ching.
It’s all part of the plan.
the developer knows that the current zoning would allow for 23 units on 1.25 acres. He wants a pie in the sky number to maximize his profits. his threats are based on him hoping that the town will bow down and let him build 105 units or so and the town will say it won and did the best it could…
Dumb question, however I am curious who would want to be a resident in a facility that has gouged the village of big dollars by suing? Ultimately They may get to muscle their way in but people could boycott the facility which would then make them go out of business. Then what?
Never happen
Why would a resident of the facility give a crap
It IS dumb. Who would boycott the facility? It will be filled before it’s built.
I live in Ridgewood. You all need to get a grip. You live in a fantasy world. Stop bitching about every little thing and contribute to society rather than complaining about what impacts your precious little white haven. You are all 1%’ers that have the world at your fingertips, you should be embarrassed for complaining about this.
I hope that everyone who voted for Vagianos, Perron, Whinograd, Weitz and Mortimer now realizes that they never cared about Ridgewood residents. Vagianos is a pro-development guy through and through. This is not a surprise, however putting a structure on North Maple at a busy intersection is really the worst idea. Once again, everything done on the down low, Right PauLIE. His puppets and sycophants all just all fall in line with praise which is part of his playbook.
Um… they voted it down. They’re being sued because of it.
No they “temporarily” voted it down. They were all set to move forward with a unanimous vote by Mayor and council and they spread the rumor that it was “a done deal”. Vagianos told everyone that Kensington was updating their plan together because “our problems are Kensington’s problems” and they want to be part of Ridgewood. He knew all along this would lead to a lawsuit. This is not Vagianos’ first rodeo! Do you know this guy is capable of pretending he is surprised and that his constituents actually matter. It is all part of Act 1, Scene 2.
lol they only voted it down because they got caught trying to get it passed during the summer when no one’s around. They thought the community was not paying attention and they were wrong. It was voted down because of all the signs, the emails, the Facebook posts, all the attendees at the council meeting where it was standing room, flowing out the door only.
Remember the parking garage.
They are going to be in a heap of a law suit real soon. Regarding the dirty dirt full of contamination they moved into a few locations around town.
O boy,
I was born and raised in Ridgewood nj and it’s a great place to live and grow up i use to go bowling on Maple Ave and they tore that down and put in a Sealfons and if they put in a senior citizen home instead I’d still live in Ridgewood and they shouldn’t have built apartments by the train tracks but you didn’t mind that so I’m retired and living down the shore in hotels doing well and getting all the women i need life’s to short to complain about what you have no control over
“Getting all the women you need” is all one has to hear to know everything about you. Go away.
He didn’t say what he needed them for. Changing his diaper, I suspect.
Terry, punctuation! Oh, continued good luck with the ladies😀
Thought ridgewood was on the hook for only 4 affordable housing units? Certainly the other development on Maple Ave NoMa can parse out 4 units. Just replace the roof top bar; simulated golf room, gym, sauna, etc.
Paul has always been a pro development guy.
Most of his donors are developers and downtown landlords.
Paul OWNS the other four council people and the village manager through his donors money.
This law suit is part of the plan to scare the residents.
When possible uses for the Town Garage property were first being discussed, Vagianos wanted another parking garage. (Then-mayor Knudsen opted for a pocket park.)
Might he have known about this nefarious plan even then, with a plan of having residents, staff, visitors, and others related to the place park there? It’s close enough if you can cross Maple on foot without being killed.
The existing parking garage is empty, but too far away to be used as a “carrot” to attract buyers/renters (or use as an excuse to have far too parking spaces, if any) for the monster building under discussion.
Maybe it can be moved there. (joke)
…far too FEW parking spaces…. (omitted a word)
The developer and Fair Share Housing must provide clear evidence of sound, responsible planning. In response, neighbors—both near and far—must come together to raise funds for legal and planning experts to challenge this unreasonable, outrageous, and dangerous development.
If Fair Share Housing were truly committed to meeting long-term affordable housing needs, they wouldn’t settle for minimum commitments of just 20 or 30 years. Why do so many affordable units quietly revert to market rate after a few decades? Because no one—neither the state, Fair Share Housing, nor developers—is tracking them. Ask yourself: Why isn’t this critical data being collected? The answer is simple: money.
The truth is, there wouldn’t be a “perpetual need” for affordable housing if the units developed in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s had remained part of the affordable housing inventory. But that’s not what’s happening.
Instead, New Jersey is being recklessly overdeveloped—destroyed under the guise of meeting a need that, by design, will never be fulfilled.
Developers, planners, attorneys, investors, architects—all stand to profit.
It’s a cycle engineered to continue indefinitely. A crisis turned into a cash cow.
The only way to stop it is with knowledge, funding, and the will to fight back.
Kind of like “Climate Change”? The exact same process. Same book, different chapter.
This is what you get
when you are
RICH and STUPID
Correction: this is what you get when you vote for the wrong people. Everyone who lives in that area who voted for Vagianos, Winograd and Weitz, Perron and the moronic mortimer are not in deep regret mode.
Solution: make better choices and see people for who they really are not the phony promises they have all made.
And what’s going on the property of the old village Ford on Maple Avenue. Supposedly housing is going in there.
Isn’t that Valley Hospital property?
The balls of a developer and a nonprofit telling Ridgewood what to do along with the Murphy administration. This is a fraud. This is about changing the suburbs and voting patterns long term. Good that the council rejected it. Fact: the vacancy rate of housing in Nj is 8.3%?within range meaning there are places to live.
A simple calculation proves it. The Census Bureau collects annual data on both the number of households and the available housing stock. The latest data shows 131.3 million households and 146.5 million housing units, an excess supply of over 15 million units nationally.
Additionally,
America has transitioned from rapid population growth of over 1% annually before 2000 to a more stable 0.5% today, projected to reach 0.1% by 2055. The next 30 years will add 23 million people versus 70 million in the prior 30 years, reflecting lower birth rates and longer lifespans. So let’s overbuild, waste taxpayer funds and impact residents.
They want to change the suburbs folks… I say fight to keep are town as is. We pay enough to live here. And maybe just maybe vote for a different party
The developer is located in Reston Va for the record. The nonprofit Fair Share Housing uses litigation to make it happen. Both listed in the lawsuit. What formula is used to determine the number of unit. Land availability, demographic, population, income levels? Most people buy a house based on desirability of the town and what they can afford. Here they want to force larger numbers of affordable housing in wealthier towns because of DEI. Look at the numbers by location and ask who came up with these and why. Vote Citarelli and put an end to this