the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Twp. of Washington NJ, in a post on Facebook, Mayor Peter Calamari of Twp. of Washington outlines the issues facing the township over the potential purchase of the “Swim Club Property “, Fair Share Housing and court forced over development :
“I would like to inform the residents regarding the reasons I think the Town should consider acquiring the Swim Club property.
The number one reason I believe we should investigate this possibility is my commitment to open space and my opposition to overdevelopment.
There are few, if any, six-acre pieces of property left in the Town. The Town has a repose on Fair Share Housing units until 2025, which is not far away. I do not want to see a developer purchase the property, sit on it until then, and then propose building an outrageous number of units on the property. Fair Share Housing settlements these days are allowing many more units per acre than the existing zoning would permit.”
“Developers exist to maximize their profits and return on investments. The way they do that is by acquiring land and developing it to its fullest potential. That means building as many units as possible on the land. To accomplish this, they will often use the courts to circumvent existing zoning laws to build the highest density housing possible. Unfortunately, the courts in NJ have shown themselves to be friendly to this tactic and the legislature has given them the legal means and provisions to do so. This is the exact tactic that was effectively used against the town to subvert our zoning laws at the Viviano property on Van Emburgh Avenue.
My fear and concern is that by allowing the property to be potentially sold to a developer it will result in, at the very least, an expensive and drawn-out legal battle, or at worst, a court ruling that allows a high-density housing development. That would threaten the small-town single-family housing quality of life we all enjoy and work so hard to maintain and protect. It could also lead to a significant influx of students in our already overcrowded school system and an associated increase in school taxes.
Let me assure the residents that I oppose high density housing and overdevelopment in Washington Township, and I am committed to opposing it on every level.
I am passionate about this. But passion without knowledge, good judgement, and intelligence, is recklessness. Therefore, as your Mayor, I must be careful about what I say and do not say regarding these types of applications. Applications before the Boards must legally be judged on their individual merits and drawbacks.
Statements made by town officials about applications outside of Board meetings and based on anything outside the scope of the application can be characterized as prejudicial. This can later be exploited by a developer in court to set aside Board rulings and judgements and decisions. So please understand that my overriding belief is that any potential development or building in Washington Township should be consistent with existing zoning laws.
I want everyone to understand that the Resolution the Council approved does not bind the Town to anything yet. The Town and the property owners decided to agree on a purchase price before further negotiations regarding the terms of the sale. Although there are many possibilities for the property if the Town acquires it, I would like to point out what will NOT happen with it in my administration.
* It will not become a base of operations for the DPW. We believe if we can store some of the DPW vehicles and equipment there, it will allow us the proper space to construct a new DPW facility in the same space and location it is now.
* There will not be any hazardous materials stored there.
* There will not be any maintenance of equipment done at the site.
Anyone who has visited the Town Hall parking lot recently sees that space there is tighter than ever. The DPW and the police department have acquired equipment to enable them to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively than ever before. This equipment is useful and necessary, but it does take up space.
The first use I would like to research is leaving it as a Swim Club. All the infrastructure is in place for it. I would like to review the numbers the existing club has to see the expenses and then estimate how much income it will need to generate.
Many residents and councilpersons have spoken in favor of acquiring 450 Pascack Road for the exact same reasons as I propose acquiring the swim club property.
We look back and question why previous administrations chose not to proactively acquire 450 Pascack Road in the past when they had the opportunity to protect it from overdevelopment. The cost back then was significantly less than it is now. There were grants available back then to further reduce the cost to the taxpayers. I do not want to be short sighted about this opportunity and subject the residents in the future to the same regrets about it that we have now regarding 450 Pascack Road. I firmly believe in this case “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
I know this is long and a lot of information so I would like to conclude by making something perfectly clear. I am, by my nature and upbringing, a fiscal conservative. I do not like excessive taxation, and I do not approve of government overreaching its authority or overspending.
This situation was not created by the township or its residents. It has been created at the State level by Fair Share Housing, formerly COAH. But it is the reality we are faced with. And it is a reality we must acknowledge and deal with. We cannot rely on the wisdom of the courts or the benevolence of the state government to look out for our best interests. Both of those have consistently let us down in the past.
This community is a unique and incredible collection of people who take care of ourselves and each other. We prove that time and again. We must act on our own behalf if we want to shape our future here in Washington Township.
I do not want to or like to spend taxpayer money. But I believe if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. And if we fail to act, we will have no one to blame or point fingers at for the consequences of that failure other than ourselves.
I thank you for taking the time to read this and look forward to continuing to serve you.
Mayor Peter Calamari
April 8, 2021″
This guy should be governor!
One by one all BC and other nice suburbs around NJ will fall under the sword of the alliance of FSH + Woke Libs “fighting” for justice + disinterested judges who don’t really care + hungry like wolves developers. Concrete has taken over. We will soon be asphyxiated by the dense buildings and the hordes that will occupy them. Say goodbye to clean air, peace and quiet, privacy and friendly neighbors. Time to run, but where to go if you still need by close by due to work??
Housing inflation will feed this – tear it down and over-development cancer ..
School costs will Explode..