>Valley Renewal : Having these special meetings allows more citizens the opportunity to witness this phase of the process and offer input they were denied in the Planning Board phase
As far as the current Village Council meetings are concerned, Yes, experts did presentations to the Planning Board. And the Planning Board made it’s decision.
The next phase of the process is for the issue to come before the Village Council, who also will hear from experts and have a chance to question them before deciding whether or not to introduce an ordinance in support of the Planning Board’s decision. They have graciously responded to amount of public interest in this issue which is particularly important since the Planning Board did everything they could to disrespect and disregard the citizens of Ridgewood. Having these special meetings allows more citizens the opportunity to witness this phase of the process and offer input they were denied in the Planning Board phase.
The time the Village Council is spending on this is part of the process by which changes like this are decided. The meetings are a necessity either way. The fact that they have made them more easily accessible to the public is commendable.