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To the editor:
The Montvale Planning Board is holding hearings on a 24-townhome development proposed for 90 Spring Valley Road. The property in question is zoned for single-family homes. The proposal includes five affordable housing units.
In my view, the zoning changes required for this development represent an onerous and inappropriate intrusion into a
single-family neighborhood that will dramatically affect the value of our homes and is of no benefit to our community.
Rather, it represents a continuing trend to continually urbanize our community. This trend is characterized by many as Paramus North. Project by project, our once suburban quality of life is being diminished by highly dense developments.
There is no need to provide for additional inclusionary affordable housing units above the 615 included in the agreement Montvale negotiated with the Fair Share Housing Center as reported by Mayor [Michael] Ghassali in a December email [to residents], and I quote: “We are now awaiting the Fairness Hearing scheduled for Jan. 25 and after the appeal period we will be immune from developers’ lawsuits until 2025, unless a change in status or some other nonsense lawsuit forces us to reopen the files. Our work now continues to ensure that we are ready for 2025.”
With the hundreds of new multifamily housing units already approved by the mayor and council, we do not need any more
multifamily units in the Borough.
The Borough’s fairness approval does not require the inclusion of the proposed multifamily homes on Spring Valley Road. We have already provided for enough multifamily units.
Arthur E. Lavis
Montvale
The writer is a past member of the Montvale Planning Board and Montvale Borough Council.