Planning Board Focus Turns to Valley, Housing Developments on Ice

The Ridgewood Planning Board agreed to move forward with drafting a Master Plan amendment that would allow for four large multi-family housing developments to emerge in the downtown, but a significant (and potentially slow) process still looms ahead.

An ultimate decision from the planning board on an amendment could come as late as winter. The board must still agree to hold public hearings, and in the coming months will further assess traffic and school impacts while determining the zoning model it wants to amend the Master Plan with.

The slow roll towards a public hearing is largely due to Valley Hospital's re-emergence, scheduled to begin March 11. A Superior Court justice has tasked the planning board to take a vote on Valley by the end of June.

"We can’t give this issue the time and attention it deserves while dealing with a possible master plan amendment," Mayor Paul Aronsohn said, referring to the latest expansion proposal. "I think we're on notice with Valley."

No public hearings on the housing development issue are scheduled to take place until after the summer, though an exact time frame remains up in the air.

Following hours of discussion Tuesday night, the board tasked Village Planner Blais Brancheau to draft a memo spelling out the pluses and minuses of various zoning models.

The board is considering an overlay zone, which would allow present zoning to exist but create additional parameters; traditional rezoning, which would amend existing code; and redevelopment zoning, a move that would require council action but also allows for more versatility in plans.

The 114-unit Ridgewood Station, 106-unit Dayton, 62-unit Chestnut Village and 50-unit Enclave have all have appealed to the board in a process that began two years ago.

Residents in recent weeks have expressed significant concerns with regard to school impacts, potential traffic spikes and aesthetics.

Specific locations the zoning model will incorporate must still be determined, Chairman Charles Nalbantian said. Matters of height, density, use and other zoning impacts will also have to be assessed. 

Reaching the public hearing, whether it be in September or December, doesn't mean things couldn't change. Witness experts will return once notice has been provided and the public – as the name implies – get a turn to press issues. 

The board has the ability to modify the proposed amendment, approving elements of the proposal while denying others.

"You don't have to have everything buttoned down to the last stitch to have a public hearing," Brancheau said to the board. "If you did, it would be a sham because you're saying you've already made up your minds. You should have a level of comfort but always at a public hearing there's a potential for testimony that comes forth that changes your thinking, that changes your perspective."

An affirmative vote following the public hearing would then require a vote from the village council on an accompanying ordinance. Should the council vote for the ordinance, the developers would return to the planning board for site plan evaluations.

Separately, the council (in conjunction with the planning board) will consider applying for the state "Transit Village" designation, which opens eligibility for state programs and other funding. It also seems likely to create a Transportation Improvement District (TID) which will provide a funding mechanism for any developer that strains the municipal infrastructure to pay for costs. 

Brancheau's memo, outlining his pluses and minuses on zoning models, will be further discussed at the planning board's March 19 meeting. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in Village Hall.