BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF PASCACK PRESS
RIVER VALE, N.J.—A proposed local development to convert golf fairways to 249 units of housing and a hearing on the township’s affordable housing plan—both related proposals to have impacts on the township—will take place in mid-January during the same week.
The affordable housing plan up for review by a Superior Court judge Jan. 14 and 15 includes the 24 affordable units included in the proposed 249-unit Fairways at Edgewood, scheduled for its first public hearing Jan. 16.
Township Zoning Board of Adjustment members decided Dec. 20 to postpone a hearing on the proposed Fairways at Edgewood 249-unit housing development until Wednesday, Jan. 16, 7:30 p.m. at Holdrum School auditorium.
After waiting in the rain for half an hour as a long line of residents submitted to security screening, Zoning Board Chairman Scott Lippert polled board members who agreed to postpone the hearing to a larger venue to accommodate the 100-plus residents who showed up to express their concerns despite inclement weather.
Lippert said the new venue should accommodate residents wishing to attend and hear testimony from professionals and experts testifying for the proposed Fairways at Edgewood.
This is the second postponement of the application hearing initially scheduled for November.
Proposed $1 million homes
The proposed 249-unit housing development, which includes 24 affordable housing units in a separate building, includes 225 luxury units—a mix of townhome and quadplex units—costing approximately $700,000 to
$1 million, according to Mayor Glen Jasionowski’s online update to residents.
The affordable units are included as part of the township’s affordable housing settlement plan, which is up for review and approval at a Superior Court hearing days before the development proposal’s first public hearing.
In response to questions about the affordable housing units proposed at Edgewood, Jasionowski’s Nov. 30 online message included links to the state affordable housing program and income guidelines. There was no link provided to the affordable housing settlement plan.
Affordable plan hearing
The affordable housing settlement Fairness Hearing is scheduled Jan. 14 and 15 in Superior Court, Hackensack, to determine whether the plan “is fair to low and moderate income households” based on recent court decisions. It will need to “create a realistic opportunity for the satisfaction of [River Vale’s] affordable housing obligations pursuant to Mount Laurel decisions and their progeny” including the Fair Housing Act, Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) regulations, and the state Supreme Court’s 2015 decision on municipal affordable housing obligations from 1987 through 2025.
The township’s website home page displays the public notice about the fairness hearing Jan. 14 and Jan. 15 and states Dec. 31, 5 p.m. is the deadline to submit objections in writing for the hearing.
Objections, with supporting documents, must be sent by mail or email to the Hon. Judge Christine A. Farrington, 10 Main St., chambers 323, Hackensack.
The notice requires copies of documents sent to Special Master Shirley Bishop, the township clerk, two township attorneys, and an attorney for Fair Share Housing Center.
Three variances requested
At its Jan. 16 Zoning Board hearing, the proposed Fairways at Edgewood development seeks three variances: a proposed new maintenance building to be 33.5 feet where maximum permitted height is 25 feet; a permit for front yard fences to be five feet in height where only a three-foot maximum is allowed; and to permit three freestanding signs about 221-square-feet in size and up to 14 feet high where only one freestanding sign a maximum of 32 square feet and up to 8 feet high is permitted.
The agenda notes the applicant will also seek such variances, waivers, exceptions, and/or relief that may be required upon a review of the plans, testimony and other materials.
The proposed 249-unit development will comprise approximately 44 acres of the 187-acre Edgewood Country Club, using nine holes of the 27-hole golf course for the new development.
In previous posts, Jasionowski urged residents to review the proposed site plan and application at Town Hall and promised more updates on the application and hearing.
Pascack Press reviewed the applicant’s preliminary and final major site plan documents, which include reports by several consultants hired to assess possible community impacts.
All property owners within 200 feet of the proposed development—including residents at nearby Holiday Farm townhomes and condominiums—are among about 250 homeowners who were notified of the proposal.
In two online updates, Jasionowski noted estimated property taxes to decrease about $1,145 with the Fairways at Edgewood development; noted Edgewood Country Club, once near bankruptcy worked with the town to save the golf course and only develop nine holes; said traffic and safety improvements will be recommended by police for Piermont and Rivervale roads; the upscale housing units won’t lead to many new school children.
He further noted that 18 holes (about 130 acres) will remain a golf course and “preserved as recreational open space free from development”; and that school enrollment has been in “steady decline” since 2010, down from 1,376 in 2010 to a projected 1,083 next year, and adding school children could help “preserve the excellent programs we have experienced.”
However, in a separate demographic analysis by Cofone Consulting Group included as part of its “Environmental Impact Statement” submitted for the applicant, the group projects a possible 31 additional school children from the new development, including 11 from affordable housing and 20 from 225 townhomes and quadplexes.