20210415 - CBDAC Minutes

Central Business District Advisory Committee  (CBDAC)

Minutes

Thursday, April 15th, 2021;  Zoom Call: 8:30 – 10:00am

Present: Pamela Perron, Philip Davis, Max Viola, Gary Kolesaire,  Michael Velicu

Jordan Kaufman, Michael Pickholz, Anastasia Bamberg, Steve Aspero, Jacqueline Luthcke, Paul Vagianos, Kathryn Schmidt, Jeanne Johnson, Stacey Tsapatsaris

Council Update 

• Franklin Ave/North Maple Corridor plan approved--includes ump outs and other safety improvements. Plans are available to be viewed.
• Grab and go signs. Would like to continue past May 1. Paul is starting to get funding. Sponsors should not have to pay for Saturdays on Oak and Chestnut while streets are closed. Plan is to continue the program for the foreseeable future in 6 month increments.
• Village wil resume enforcing regulations in residential areas. 24 hour parking in the train station and Cottage Place lot will be available for $200 for 3 months. Residents will need to apply. Overnight parking is also available in the CBD to all residents (not just downtown) in designated areas. For commuters, premium and non-premium parking will be available prorated for the  year for both  residents and non-residents.
• RFP is going out in the next few weeks for the Health Barn Gatehouse. Incremental charge for change of taxes will be added.
• Bond ordinance to buy the street sweeper passed -- can be used for garage and other downtown areas.
• Ridgecrest Housing pilot project for payment in lieu of taxes.
• Transit Village packet being submitted to be on Agenda for April 28. Please join for public comments.

Parking Garage safety issues

• Avocados and donuts have been thrown at customers eating at Pearl.
• Impossible to patrol all the time, and new legislation regarding juveniles limits what can be done. Also cannot pursue cyclists for motor vehicle violations. AG’s office has interpreted the regulations.
• Village council is getting costs for fencing.
• Could we add greenery? Artificial would be easier to maintain. Something to help mask the look of the fencing.
• Better cameras might help. Or a motion detector that records when it senses motion and speaks. Hard to set so that it only picks up people doing something wrong.

Vacant Storefront legislation

• Artwork from the Arts Council has been catalogued for potential use.
• Jeanne suggested that Tick Tock could be helpful. 12 Wilsey Square has display from Tick Tock. Sandy Santangelo(sp?)  is the contact.
• Joan Groome has been filling vacant storefronts with Chamber and Guild members’ packaging. Would be good for instances where there is the potential for sun damage.
• Perhaps we could get support from interior designers and others? Adopt an empty storefront.

Real Estate Forum update

• Wed April 28 in the evening is the new date.
• Bill, Rob and Stacey are working on this. Paul will also attend.
• Draft email sent with agenda to the landlords. Need to get emails from Costar but may have to resort to calling some of them to get emails. Bill has quite a bit of contact info.
• Bill has reached out to the landlords and interest is positive. Should not be officially sponsored by CBDAC.
• Vacant storefront is on the agenda. Information sharing is important.

Outdoor Pedestrian Mall

• Having the streets closed all weekends July and August is currently under discussion. July 4 through Labor Day.

and August are not as busy for retailers. May and June are better months for retailers.

• Having consecutive weekends helps with understanding, scheduling, etc.
• Paul and Gary are going to assist with getting retailers to engage more and draw in more traffic to their stores. Gary is going to canvas the retailers for their opinions. Hoping to have an answer in a week or two.
• Both retailers and restaurants must succeed. Need a good mix of businesses.
• Pam will contact Tracy Jeffries about bubble machines and balloons which are currently not allowed. Possibly see if we can relax enforcement of some regulations. Sandwich boards are currently allowed but you need a permit. It would be helpful for merchants to have a list of what is allowed and what isn’t.
• Whatever you put on the sidewalk needs to be approved by the building department. Restaurants need to apply for a cafe license and submit plans. Signage goes under the code section. Objects can’t go on the walkway.

Transit Village Follow Up

• Name is off putting. Implies more density, which is what we don’t want. Use examples of villages that have the designation that are comparable to Ridgewood (Summit.)
• Overlay of zoning ½ mile radius.
• If it has burdens for businesses, we can't do it..if it requires denser zoning, we will not do it.
• We already have all the requirements. They might request that we move the bus stop to the train station, which Ridgewood is considering already.

Other

• Marketing pamphlets for real estate agents and attractions in the CBD-June Delivery. Design is being worked on. Bill helped secure the funding. Multifamily really appreciates it.
• Jeanne Johnson presented ways to create experiences for pedestrians. Inviting spaces. Children’s activities. Provide outdoor seating with sun shades. Create colorful visuals. Cater to pedestrians and walkers--they visit more stores than motorists. Market Ridgewood to other towns who don’t have downtowns. We need to focus on getting Ridgewood people downtown. We also need to help businesses get shading. Could we also focus on drawing people from Hoboken, Jersey City and Manhattan via the train?