20220503 - Planning Board Public Meeting Minutes

 Ridgewood Planning Board

Regular Public Meeting

May 3, 2022

The following minutes are a summary of the Planning Board meeting of May 3, 2022. Interested parties may request an audio recording of the meeting from the Board Secretary for a fee.

Call to Order & Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: Mr. Joel called the meeting to order at 7:44 p.m.

Roll Call – The following members were present: John Young, Councilwoman Reynolds, Richard Joel, Dianne O’ Brien, Melanie Hooban and Igor Lyubarskiy. Also present were Lina Corriston, Esq., substituting for Stephen Wellinghorst, Esq., Board Attorney; Ron Reinertsen, Village Planner, and Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary. Mayor Knudsen, Debbie Patire, Fran Barto, Darlene Johnson and Sergio Alegre were absent.

Public Comments on Topics not Pending Before the Board –  There were no comments at this time.

Committee/Commission/Professional Updates for Non Agenda Topics – There were none at this time.

Adoption of Memorializing Resolution re: Fitometry, LLC, Minor Site Plan and variance approval at 129 South Broad Street, Block 3708, Lot 2 –  Nigel Gilbert, applicant, was present to answer to any issues the Board had. The resolution was adopted as drafted.

Discussion re: Ridgewood Village Fence Ordinance Analysis – Ron Reinertsen explained that the analysis which was submitted to the Board was completed by Maryann Bucci-Carter, who has since retired. Mr. Reinertsen went through the analysis and said that the Ridgewood had a comparable ordinance to other towns, commenting that higher fences are less inviting, but there are situations where 6-foot fences are beneficial for privacy and security. Board members asked if there were many variance requests for fence height and why. Mr. Reinertsen said he will look into what the issues are for homeowners who are requesting higher fences.

Adoption of Minutes:   The minutes from April 19, 2022 were adopted.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                      Jane Wondergem

                                                                                      Board Secretary

Date Approved:               July 19, 2022