At least a dozen Township residents opposed to a proposed 48-unit senior “adult independent living” complex planned for a 3.1-acre parcel at 450 Pascack Road are mobilizing opposition to it based on its high density and out-of-character development for their quiet suburban neighborhood.
As of press time, no final plans had been submitted to the Township Zoning Board of Adjustment, but the proposal’s developer, Nick Tsapatsaris & Associates, said a preliminary and final site plan would be submitted soon. If that occurs, the proposal could be scheduled either July 21 or Aug. 18.
Area neighbors also said Tsapatsaris had provided several with tentative plans for the proposal and informally reached out to them. Nick Tsapatsaris is a registered engineer and architect, and serves as president of Lakos Construction, Inc., who will build the proposed complex.
“Given that Washington Township is a unique sleepy bedroom community, a great deal of care was taken to design a project that would deliver that feeling. The design was intentionally split into three buildings consisting of one building with 44 units and two townhomes with two units each,” said Tsapatsaris via email July 6.
“The massing of the smaller freestanding homes near Pascack is intended to blend in with the surrounding single family homes. The larger building which contains 44 residences is purposefully hidden in the center of the property where the topography permits the entire parking area to be completely underground and hidden from view,” Tsapatsaris wrote.
The proposed 55-plus development would transform a 3.1-acre vacant, wooded plot between the backyards of homes on Ridgewood Boulevard East and nearby Washington Elementary School and Memorial Field. Currently the forested area is used by students as a cut-through to school and is home to wildlife and a couple hundred mature trees.
Neighbors said the proposed development will be within about 25 feet of a half-dozen or more residential backyards on Ridgewood Boulevard East.
“He’s testing the waters by showing residents these maps. He wants to see the reaction of the town,” said Joseph Scalia, a nearby homeowner in early July.
Another nearby homeowner, Michael Proto, said the preliminary plans show two proposed four-story-high elevator housing shafts. Neighbors said the developer plans to remove nearly 180 mature trees, which could affect stormwater runoff, as well as affect access to and use of a nearby public school and park.
Moreover, they were concerned about intrusions on nearby homes’ privacy by residents in the new senior complex.
“There are plans to jam a three-story senior living complex between the elementary school and the residential homes on Ridgewood Boulevard East. The property is designated a Class AA District. As I understand it, the complex would require 5 acres while the property in question is only 3.1 acres,” said Proto.
Proto sent out a message to Washington Elementary School Facebook members including a copy of the preliminary development plans.
Tsapatsaris told Pascack Press that the complex will rise only two-and-a-half stories.
“After very careful design the architecture looks and feels like a series of federal and colonial homes no higher than two-and-a-half stories, not three stories. That was accomplished by meeting all of the requirements of the residential zone such as a height of no more than 30 feet, only two-and-a-half stories not three, and building coverage of no more than 20%, leaving 80% of the property open to preserve existing vegetation while adding over 500 new trees to screen the property,” emailed Tsapatsaris.
Previously, neighbors said, the 3.1-acre lot’s original owner tried to sell the parcel to the town to preserve as open space but was not successful due to the above-market-value price he requested.
Initially, the proposal was said to be submitted to the Planning Board, although several residents said the developer needs a use variance, a parking variance, and a height variance based on initial site plans. However, Pascack Press confirmed that the application will be submitted to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, which handles applications requiring variances from township code.
The proposed site for the 55-plus senior living complex is in the Class AA Single-Family, half-acre Residential District Zone.
At the June 29 council meeting, most council members did not appear to know about the application when resident Joseph Scalia, Ridgewood Boulevard East, voiced concerns about “overdevelopment in town.”
Scalia told members that the proposed multifamily development is less than 50 feet from the school. On a flyer circulated among neighbors opposed to the development, the development’s boundary is alleged to be “only 26 feet from adjoining residents.”
Scalia said the planned development directly impacts students attending adjacent Washington Elementary School, located on School Street, which lies in front of the proposed multifamily development. The elementary school is part of Westwood Regional School District.
On June 29, Council President Stacey Feeney said “we will closely be monitoring” the proposal. Mayor Peter Calamari urged residents to make sure their voices are heard and to speak out at Planning and Zoning meetings.
He repeated the same points in his “Mayor’s Letter” to residents mailed out June 30.
Also being proposed a few blocks away at 620 Pascack Road is an 85-unit, 100-bed assisted living facility on the site of Washington Township Tennis and Fitness Club. Its next hearing before the Zoning Board is set for July 21.
“The boards weigh the applicable zoning ordinances and codes as well as the Township’s master plan in making their decisions. But they also weigh another factor, HEAVILY. And that factor is input from the public,” said Calamari in his June 30 Mayor’s Letter.
“The nature and type of comments and opinions that are expressed can range from quality of life, traffic, property value impacts, population density, tax implication, school enrollment, emergency services impacts and many many others,” added Calamari.
A half-dozen Ridgewood Boulevard East residents met with Pascack Press in early July to note objections to the proposal. They oppose the high density of rental units on a narrow strip of land (3.1 acres) inside a residential zone which normally permits only single-family homes.
Moreover, they feel the development poses a safety risk to the local elementary school and recreational field due to increased traffic.
However, most neighbors expressing concerns declined to provide their names “because the developer asked that nothing be said which could damage the perception of the project,” said one homeowner who lives several streets away.