Second Time's the Charm for Ridgewood Water

A rare "do-over" will allow Ridgewood Water to complete a remote communications system that requires the placement of antennae at a variety of installations throughout Wyckoff.

On Thursday, the Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment reopened and approved a previously rejected application to install a new utility pole on Franklin Avenue, just south of the Franklin Lakes border, that serves what's known as the Lawlins interconnection. The pole, in front of 573 Franklin Ave., will be 45 feet high, and will replace an existing pole that is approximately 15 to 20 feet shorter.

Confusion over the exact location of the pole largely prompted the "no" vote in May, after months of hearings on seven applications. The balance of the applications were affirmed after repeated testimony over antennae and pole placement's impact on neighbors, aesthetics and general maintenance at the Ridgewood utility's multiple Wyckoff sites.

But the Franklin application was denied although it received a majority vote. The 4-3 margin, with members Carl Fry, Erik Ruebenacker and Jim Donkersloot in opposition, was not enough to grant a use variance, which requires five affirmative votes. Thursday's vote was 6-1, with Ruebenacker (who voted against all of the applications) in the minority.

Board attorney Harold Cook said Thursday that there was "some confusion relative to the location of the pole" when the application was denied, and that the "applicant would have been willing to accommodate the board." While the board could have chosen to force Ridgewood Water to file a new application, Cook felt such an exercise would be "unduly burdensome" on the utility. The attorney said confusion was a valid reason to simply re-open the hearing.

Ridgewood attorney Matt Rogers and utility engineer William Mowell testified Thursday that the new pole will be approximately 2 feet to the east of the existing pole, plus or minus a foot.

"We're trying to pinpoint for the board exactly were it is," Rogers said.

Rogers and Mowell have testified that the system, as mandated by the state, is necessary for off-site monitoring and communications, allowing Ridgewood Water to get real-time data on flow rates, tank levels, water pressure, etc. from a facility in Midland Park. Ridgewood Water serves Wyckoff, Ridgewood, Midland Park and Glen Rock.

Rogers had said that the Franklin Avenue installation was integral to the entire system's performance, with the utility unable to simply move on without an approval.

The stipulation was enough to assuage members' concerns, some of whom worried the new pole would be closer to the road.

"My concern was it would go 2 feet in any direction," Fry said, with Donkersloot in agreement. "I looked at it as a safety concern... [but] it looks like you addressed that."

Ruebenacker was the lone holdout, with Fry and Donkersloot voting "yes." He has said that lingering questions on the need for the antennae placements, rather than underground communications systems, prompted him to vote against all of the applications.

With the Franklin Avenue approval, new communication equipment also will be placed at the following locations: the Ames wellfield, at the northeast corner of Hartung Drive and Covington Place; the Cedar Hill wellfield, between 416 and 466 Cedar Hill Ave.; the Lafayette well, between 437 and 451 Lafayette Ave.; the Franklin well, at 265 Voorhis Ave.; the Newtown Well, at 276 Newtown Road; and at the Vance reservoir, at the northeast corner of Vance Avenue and Evergreen Drive.

Nicholas Loffredo is the editor for Wyckoff Patch.