Planning Board Public Meeting Minutes 20141007
The following minutes are a summary of the Planning Board meeting of October 7, 2014.
Call to Order & Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: Chairman Nalbantian called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The following members were present: Mr. Nalbantian, Ms. Bigos, Mayor Aronsohn, Councilwoman Knudsen, Mr. Reilly, Mr. Thurston, Ms. Altano, Ms. Peters, Mr. Joel and Ms. Dockray. Also present were: Gail Price, Esq., Board Attorney; Blais Brancheau, Village Planner; Chris Rutishauser, Village Engineer, and Michael Cafarelli, Board Secretary. Mr. Abdalla was absent. Chairman Nalbantian made opening remarks regarding safety issues and the hearing process.
Executive Session - Mr. Nalbantian called for an executive session and the Board left the courtroom for a closed executive session.
The Board returned from executive session at 8:30 p.m.
Public Comments on Topics not Pending Before the Board – No one came forward at this time.
Committee Reports - Ms. Dockray provided an update on the open space and recreation plan and stated that Mr. Brancheau will work with the open space committee on updating the plan.
Correspondence received by the Board – Mr. Cafarelli reported that Board members received correspondence from Wells, Jaworski & Lieberman, LLP, Bruinooge & Associates, and Beattie Padovano, LLC on the Board’s process related to the proposed amendment of the Land Use Plan concerning AH-2, B-3R, C-R and C Zones.
Public Hearing – Land Use Plan Amendment – AH-2, B-3-R, C-R and C Zone Districts
Ms. Price summarized the prior discussion and correspondence and the best procedural course, and recommended proceeding with the testimony of Village Planner and then deliberating on the issues.
There was a Board discussion on several issues. Ms. Dockray talked about the density issue and Mayor Aronsohn agreed with the procedure to consider amendments prior to a vote.
Ms. Dockray discussed the COAH factor in Multi-Family Housing policy to include incentive options in report.
There was a discussion on the existing and proposed Village Planner report.
The hearing was continued to October 21 for the purpose of continuing public notice and the November 3 meeting was expected to be a special meeting date, moving the meeting from Tuesday November 4, to be confirmed on October 21. It was noted that the Planning Board Secretary would give notice of the change of meeting dates.
Housing Element Preparation - Mr. Brancheau submitted a tentative scheduled overview of the process of amending the housing element in accordance with proposed new rules of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). The Planning Board approved Mr. Brancheau's draft schedule.
Mayor Aronsohn discussed considering the special needs housing in the preparation of the housing plan.
Future Meetings and Agendas
Upcoming meetings and agenda items were discussed:
- Move the November 18 meeting to Monday, November 17, 2014
- Church of God – tentative for December 2, 2014
- Tito's Burritos, tentative for the October 21, 2014
- Ridgewood United Methodist Church tentative for November 4, 2014
- Institutional Use Regulations.
- Permitted Use Schedule. The preparation of a permitted use schedule to replace the existing lists of permitted uses in the central business district was discussed. Mayor Aronsohn asked that Mr. Brancheau seek input from the Chamber of Commerce and landlords.
Discussion of Open Public Meetings Act and Municipal Land Use Law
The Board held a discussion on the provisions and requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act and the Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL).
Ms. Peters raised a question regarding the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and a recent request for Ms. Dockray's report of the sub-committee regarding the pending land use plan amendment for multifamily housing in the CBD.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Cafarelli
Board Secretary
Date adopted: January 6, 2015
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