AUGUST 17, 2015, 7:26 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2015, 6:31 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — A grassroots citizens group long opposed to any change to the master plan that would permit the construction of high-density multifamily housing projects downtown is suing the village and its Planning Board.
The lawsuit — filed by Citizens for a Better Ridgewood on Aug. 10 in Bergen County’s Superior Court in Hackensack — seeks a judge’s order reversing the Planning Board’s June 2 decision.
Ridgewood officials — including Mayor Paul Aronsohn, a member of the Planning Board — refused to comment on pending litigation.
The board’s June vote to raise the number of allowable housing units per acre in four of the village’s zones to 35 from 12 ended five years of meetings, public hearings, and expert testimony on the master plan amendments, which were first requested by developers keen on building in town.
The developments pitched include The Dayton, a 106-unit luxury garden apartment complex at the site of the former Brogan Cadillac dealership; the 50-unit Chestnut Village, on Chestnut Street; and the 52-unit Enclave, on East Ridgewood and North Maple avenues.
The suit alleges board members and village professionals met privately with the developers requesting the master plan revisions, violating the state’s Open Public Meetings Act.
The lawsuit calls the Ridgewood Planning Board’s decision “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable,” and contends two of the board’s members should have recused themselves.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-sued-over-high-density-housing-plan-1.1393932
So you admit then 1:47 and 2:03 that no Council member served on a Valley Board at the time as they voted on the Valley expansion as per the original comment at 7:35am that I’d replied to ?
The campaign contribution to Ms. Hauck actually came from Megan Fraser and Ms. Fraser’s spouse. Ms. Fraser is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for The Valley Hospital.
So the donation wasn’t from Valley but a private donation. Did the CBR contribute to any Council members?
To John V.: I have read your thoughtful comments with great interest. To appreciate what is happening in Ridgewood politically please bear in mind the following. This is not your grandfather’s Ridgewood, or in fact the Ridgewood I moved to 46 years ago. It is a Ridgewood driven by a vocal minority, the “vocalantis” as I call them, strident voices who are uncomfortable with facing the reality of change. They are the trouble makers in Village Council meetings, their echo chamber in the Ridgewood Pravda, I mean Blog, and their Amen corner on the Village Council.
Rurik, you are a riot. Those who speak up are not troublemakers. They are concerned citizens. Stunning hypocrisy from you, since you speak more often than most residents.
Rurik, this Blog is great for those who want to vent, whether anonymously or via actual names. But I do wonder how many will speak up at the Council meeting. I know for the funding approval related to the parking study, not a soul commented during the public comment period. Concerned citizens that want to maintain the status quo should speak up at the council meetings as the high density housing appears to be a done deal. Venting in cyberspace or online petitions ain’t gonna do it.
Paul, I think Boyd Loving spoke out against the $500 K bond when the price of the garage is not yet determined.
Also, venting in cyberspace does seem to help. It seems very clear that certain council members and the VM read the blog regularly, and certain actions have been taken based on public outrage on this blog.