Urbanization: CAN RIDGEWOOD, OVER THE NEXT 5, 10, 15 YEARS HANDLE THIS?
December 3rd planning board meeting at BF
NEW ZONING CHANGES IN RIDGEWOOD
13 LOTS IN TOWN FALL INTO THIS NEW ZONE
IF EACH LOT IS A MINIMUM 1 ACRE
AND NEW DENSITY ALLOWS 47 APARTMENTS PER ACRE
THEN NEW RIDGEWOOD WILL HAVE OVER 600 APARTMENTS
IF EACH LOT IS A MINIMUM 1 and 1 /2 ACRES, THEN 900 PLUS APARTMENTS.
THIS IS VERY SIMPLE, CAN RIDGEWOOD, OVER THE NEXT 5, 10, 15 YEARS HANDLE THIS? HAVE WE PROPERLY SAT DOWN AND DONE OUR LONG TERM PLANNING?
QUESTIONS TO ASK OUR PLANNING BOARD….
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT OUR:
TAXES
PARKING
TRAFFIC
SCHOOLS
SAFETY
EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES
POLICE, FIREMEN
UTILITIES
OPEN SPACE
ENVIRONMENT
So far no one has given testimony on what will happen to our town when we have 13 developed lots. No one.
COME TO DECEMBER 3RD PLANNING BOARD MEETING AND ASK YOUR QUESTIONS OR JUST LISTEN IN. BF AUDITORIUM, 7:30PM. IF WE DO NOT ASK THESE QUESTIONS, NOBODY WILL.
EXAMPLES OF GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK.
WILL OVERALL PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS GO UP AS A RESULT OF THIS AND WILL PEOPLE LIVING ON A FIXED INCOME BE FORCED TO MOVE OUT OF TOWN?
WHERE WILL ALL THE EXTRA CARS PARK IN OUR TOWN WHEN THESE NEW RESIDENTS HAVE GUESTS OR SERVICES VISITING THEM? IS OUR TOWN ACQUIRING AND BUILDING NEW PARKING LOTS FOR THE REST OF US?
Five to 15 years isn’t even long-term planning. Our elected and appointed bodies can’t even handle short-term planning!
Tack on Valley and there are certainly more negatives than positives.
Misguided Montclair and Hoboken envy I say.
If you like the way Montclair or Hoboken look, MOVE THERE!
The Three Amigos will be long gone in 10 years and we will be stuck with their legacy.
My dear ostrich friends, keep your heads in the sand, keep Ridgewood the same, keep the unsightly empty car dealerships with landscaping trucks parked there on the weekend. How about opening our eyes to creating a village where people who want to be in Ridgewood but are just starting out or those of us empty nesters can move when the house feels too big? How about creating a vibrancy in town that might attack more great restaurants and interesting shops? How about saying lets think about development as a positive and while it is all a bit much to do it all at once, a plan for growth that stages these developments over the next 10 years based on demand would be sensible. The intense black or white view of every issue is getting tiresome and smells of ignorance not understanding and forward thinking.
Ignorance happens when people do not go to meetings and do not get informed. The leading post at the top of the page is telling Ridgewood residents to go to the Planning Board meetings and get informed.
You can attend all the meeting and inform yourself but the fact is that the three recently elected Council are all for big development and they will influence other members of the planning board.
bummer