20220920 - Planning Board Public Meeting Minutes

Ridgewood Planning Board

Regular Public Meeting

September 20, 2022

The following minutes are a summary of the Planning Board meeting of September 20, 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 7:45 p.m.

Roll Call – The following members were present: Mayor Knudsen, John Young, Councilwoman Reynolds, Richard Joel, Dianne O’ Brien, Melanie Hooban, Frances Barto, James Van Goor, Darlene Johnson and Igor Lyubarskiy. Also present were Lina Corriston, Esq., substituting for Stephen Wellinghorst, Esq., Board Attorney; John Barree, Village Planner, and Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary. Sergio Alegre was 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 no comments at this time.

Public Hearing on the Village of Ridgewood Master Plan – Mr. Joel made opening comments regarding the Master Plan hearing and the process.

Members of the Master Plan Consultant Team, John Barree and Annette Schultz, were in attendance to present the Master Plan. John Barree began the PowerPoint presentation and he and Ms. Schultz discussed how the Master Plan is to be read and went through the goals, objectives, and the various elements.

There were no questions from the Board.

Public Questions:

Joseph Tauriello, Esq., representing Valley Hospital, referred to a letter sent to the Board commenting on pages in the Master Plan that mentioned Valley Hospital and suggested changes to the language regarding Valley Hospital.

Cynthia Halaby, 1 Franklin Avenue, made suggestions to add to the draft and made comments regarding the minutes of the meetings where there was discussion about the Master Plan which have not been posted. Ms. Halaby commented that there were few meetings where the Master Plan was discussed and the public given a chance to give their input.

Hans-Jurgen Lehmann, 234 Union Street, commented that this has become a political issue. Mr. Lehmann addressed what he felt were shortcomings of the Master Plan, including the Central Business Area, high density housing, special needs, seniors and assisted living.

Nancy Brennan-Hill, 136 Doremus Avenue, spoke regarding trees and suggested including the specifics of the tree-inventory done recently in the Master Plan.

Caitlin O’Leary, 420 Bedford Road, from the Green Ridgewood committee, spoke regarding the Green Building and Sustainability Element. Ms. O’Leary said the Green Ridgewood Committee is open to assisting in coming up with the green building checklist. Ms. O’Leary said there should be more of a sense of urgency in light of climate change.

Terri Anzano, 464 Fairway Road, asked about the H-Hospital District, mentioned in the Master Plan. Mr. Barree said the Valley Hospital property is part of the Village’s Affordable Housing plan and explained the Ordinance which was adopted last year amending the H-Hospital District/Redevelopment plan. Ms. Anzano asked for clarification regarding the matter and what is happening on the hospital site. Mayor Knudsen explained the settlement agreement with Valley Hospital and the current redevelopment plan.

Pam Perron, 123 Kenilworth Road, commended the committee and the document and made suggestions, such as adding a keyword index, having the Village professionals review relevant elements, correct the typos and grammatical errors, review the corrections sent by the Open Space Committee, and add a photo of the butterfly garden.

Carolyn Jacoby, 160 Godwin Avenue, from the Shade Tree Commission, commended the work which has gone into the document and was pleased to see how the trees were in so much of it and said the Shade Tree Commission is preparing to go to the Council with specific recommendations for moving forward.

Denise Lima, 319 E. Glen Avenue, appreciated everyone’s work and asked how the recommendations would be prioritized and asked what was being done with the Historic Preservation Commission, and thought that the history of Ridgewood should be included in the plan and on the Village website.

Catherine Schmidt, 123 S. Irving Street, asked who is responsible to move forward with the strategic planning. Mr. Barree said the Council is in charge of the budget, the Council and the Planning Board are involved with ordinance adoption, and there are various activities, groups and departments involved with policy change. Ms. Schmidt said someone needs to say what is going to happen. Mayor Knudsen said different departments need to look and make recommendations and that the Planning Board has the opportunity to prioritize.

Sheila Brogan, 302 Kensington Drive, complimented the Master Plan and commented on the marriage of keeping historic traditions and housing as well as updating and being progressive. Ms. Brogan recommended that the possibility of auxiliary dwelling units should be looked at and other ways to help Village residents age in place and commitment to universal design. Ms. Brogan would like to see more community programming and recommended more street furniture and better bus shelters.

Rurik Halaby, 1 Franklin Avenue, commented that pedestrian safety is very important. Mr. Halaby said the Master Plan should be drafted in a user-friendly format and that there should be a section on how to improve governance.  Mr. Halaby feels that the document concentrates too much on the streets and structure of the Village, but not enough on the residents and volunteers that make it work. Mr. Halaby is concerned about the lack of input from the Board members. Mr. Halaby commented on the implementation matrix section of the document and his concern about when any of the changes will be implemented.

Yu Sun, 420 Racetrack Road, from the Open Space Committee, thanked those involved in the Open Space section. Mr. Sun feels that what is lacking is a section on the diversity in Ridgewood. Mr. Sun feels that due to the size of the document more time should be given to the public to read and comment on it.

Glenn Carlough, 200 Dayton Street, spoke on behalf of the Central Business District Advisory Committee (CBDAC), commented on the Downtown Economic Development Element and the Circulation Element appreciated the research put into them. Mr. Carlough said that the CBDAC agrees with the goal of maintaining the aesthetic qualities of the CBD as well as promoting a variety of businesses. Mr. Carlough said the possible formation of a special improvement district was something the CBDAC has been exploring and their Committee is looking forward to assist with accomplishing the items outlined in the Master Plan.

Board members discussed when the hearing on the Master Plan should continue.

The hearing was carried to October 4, 2022 without further notice.

Adoption of Minutes:   The minutes from July 19, 2022 and September 6, 2022 were adopted.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:08 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                      Jane Wondergem

                                                                                      Board Secretary

Date Approved:               October 4, 2022