We are pleased to announce that the Final Draft of the Village of Ridgewood Master Plan – Section 1: Our Village, Our Future is complete. Click here to download the Final Draft from the Village website. A Planning Board public hearing on its adoption will be held on October 20.
Back in March, just before the pandemic took hold of the country, we posted a link to the Draft of the Village of Ridgewood Master Plan – Section 1: Our Village, Our Future (dated March 17, 2020) for residents, businessowners, and other interested parties to review and provide feedback. We created a Comment Form to collect feedback. We extended the review period several times, added an alternate method of commenting to encourage more feedback, and then closed the review period on June 30.
On July 7, we presented the Draft to the Planning Board, summarized the nature of the comments received, and discussed next steps, the main one being the production of the Final Draft.
What parts of the report changed between the Draft and the Final Draft?
There were two substantive changes made to the Draft, based on comments received, that are now reflected in the Final Draft. The first is the addition to Chapter 1.7 Trends (see pages 50-51) of a discussion about Covid-19 and its potential impacts on the Village. It highlights of some of the Village's responses to the pandemic and recommends several actions to consider into the future as the Master Plan elements are being put together.
The second is the addition to Chapter 1.5 Structure of the Village (see page 28) of a discussion about architectural styles in Downtown. This section previously had not included much discussion about architecture, which is an important quality that contributes to the "small town/village feel."
What was the nature of the comments received on the Draft?
Click here to view a PDF that contains all of the responses to the open-ended questions received through the Comment Form. A number of comments were focused recommendations or ideas involving topics such as trees, natural resources, and downtown development, which would be appropriate to consider during the next stage of the process, when the various Master Plan elements are put together.
All Village Offices will be closed on Monday, September 7, 2020 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. There will be no garbage or recycling pickup on September 7, 2020. The Recycling Center will also be closed on Monday, September 7th..
The Ridgewood Police Department will be seeking reaccreditation with the Coalition of Accredited Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The Ridgewood Police Department was initially accredited in 1996, and is currently the longest continuously accredited law enforcement agency in the State of New Jersey.
On August 18, 2020 a team of assessors from CALEA will take part in an examination and assessment of the department to determine if our department follows the best practice standards used by many of the best police departments throughout the international law enforcement community.
This assessment consists of several interviews with personnel for an in-depth look at the internal working of our department and how we conform to CALEA’s best practices, not only in theory, but also in actual application on a daily basis. These interviews take place after four (4) annual assessments of the department’s policies, procedures, rules and regulations where the department provides proofs of compliance to CALEA’s standards by granting access to files showing such compliance. In total, the Ridgewood Police Department must meet and practice upwards of 484 individual best practice standards.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of this assessment is going to be conducted virtually. As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer public comments to the assessment teams members during two events. The first will be a “call in session” on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 3:30pm. Persons who wish to call the assessors may do so at that time, and will be limited to 5 minutes. The telephone number to contact an assessor is (201)857-5734.
The second is a public hearing to be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 which will be conducted virtually on a Zoom Session. The Session ID and password are below and will be posted on our site.
Telephone comments, as well as appearances at the zoom session, are limited to 5 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards. A copy of the standards is available at the Ridgewood Police Department, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. The local contact is Joseph Youngberg at (201) 251-4534.
Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Ridgewood Police Department’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (“CALEA”), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia 20155.
Once the Commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to be granted accredited status.
As always, we are proud to serve the fine community of Ridgewood as we have since 1894 and we look forward to continuing our service to you through professionalism and pride in the future.
If you have any trouble with accessing information contained within this website, please contact the MIS Department - 201-670-5500 x2222 or by email mis@ridgewoodnj.net.
