WOODCLIFF LAKE—A proposed comprehensive Master Plan update to help guide the development of the borough has drawn sharp opposition from several residents and a local watchdog group opposed to overdevelopment.
The document is expected to get a vote at the Planning Board meeting of March 16 at 5 p.m. If the Planning Board approves the plan then, it will advance to the Borough Council for final vote.
A former councilman has urged the Planning Board to table the plan following its review at the Feb. 16 Planning Board meeting on Zoom. Approximately 20 residents were present for the session, approximately six of whom called out high density zoning being permitted on the borough’s east side versus no such similar zoning on the west side.
Several who spoke out wondered when the Planning Board would post the document so residents could fully review it in advance of its March 16 hearing.
Master Plan Committee Chair Josephine Higgins said she hoped to have the plan online at least 10 days prior to the March 16 meeting.
After struggling to move forward on an update to its Master Plan, last fully updated in 2002 with several reexaminations over the last two decades, the Borough Council approved a contract for $50,000 with Preiss, Griegyl, Leheney and Hughes LLC for $50,000 in early 2021.
This effort has included a Master Plan Update kick-off meeting, residents survey, and a virtual public forum and workshop.
Later in November 2021, the council approved an increase of up to $20,000 to complete a new circulation and utilities element as part of the plan. That part was left out of the original Master Plan update proposal.
The borough’s Master Plan came under fire during 2019 Zoning Board hearings, for a proposed 60-unit rental apartment complex at 188 Broadway, for being outdated.
In most cases, master plans are overhauled every decade or so, while reexaminations are generally undertaken every three to five years.
In addition to public comments Feb. 16 opposed to the plan’s density allowances, a local overdevelopment watchdog group, Woodcliff Lake SHINE (Sharing Helpful Information Now For Everyone) has come out against elements of the plan
So too has former councilman Craig Marson, who, in a letter to the editor in this issue calls for the Master Plan vote to be tabled “until the governing body proposes resolutions to the density and zoning that treats all Woodcliff Lake citizens fairly.”
He also says, “The Planning Board’s (remember they are appointed and not elected) proposal of significant zoning changes with no useful analysis and disclosure exposes Woodcliff Lake to ‘spot-zoning’ litigation and smacks of impropriety and self-dealing.”
Resident Ann Marie Borelli said the density being allowed — she alleged 10 units per acre — along Broadway by the new Master Plan will only add to traffic woes, adding she strongly urged the Planning Board members to reconsider the plan.
She said the new Master Plan “basically segregated the town” and questioned why the Broadway corridor “deserved less” than the west side of town, including higher-density zoning.
Borelli charged an application for 216 Broadway (requesting six apartments where three exist) could equal 16 units per acre density “and will set a precedent for a big piece of property also along Broadway.”
The applicant’s planner said that a Zoning Board decision would not set a precedent for another application related to density along Broadway.
Resident Gwen Levine said the Master Plan “definitely affects” future density and height that may be allowed “because it sets the starting point for negotiation” between the borough and developers.
She said, “We want to start the starting point (for height/density) lower so that it’s more favorable to the east side. Why are not all residents … being treated equally?”
Master Plan Committee Member Corrado Belgiovine, a former councilman, noted that “everyone has cried about the looks of it (Broadway) for the last 20 years.”
Added Levine, “If this is our downtown, why is it so neglected?”
Veronica Appelle, a SHINE member, noted that 132 trains traverse the nearby railroad station daily and suggested whatever standards are laid out in the Master Plan, developers “have the ability to add 10% or more on height.”
She said previously, allowed building height was 36 feet, 2.5 stories. Now, she charged, the Master Plan allows 40 feet and 3 stories.
“If you start at 40 (feet), it can be way higher than that,” she said, adding “let’s try to continue developing by ordinance and not variance.”
She said that the “areas in need of redevelopment” designation is “a real slippery slope” and suggested not moving in that direction.
“Lower the density and lower the height so there’s wiggle room, so we don’t have terribly high density,” she added.
Woodcliff Lake SHINE sent out e-blasts to notify members about the proposed Master Plan’s alleged deficiencies. It noted the new plan makes Broadway “vulnerable to high density. The planner is proposing 10 units per acre on Broadway with mixed use retail/commercial on the ground floor.”
The group states that the plan allows heights to rise from 36 feet to 40, and maximum floors allowed from 2.5 stories to 3.
“Broadway has approximately 26.5 acres of potential land that could be developed. Depending on developer lawsuits, Broadway could see from 265 units up to 500 units,” the group said in a recent mailing.
They charge that the proposed Master Plan, “could eventually filter to the whole town following Developer lawsuits.”
The group notes “Broadway has approximately 26.5 acres of potential land that could be developed [and] the Planning Board has the power to reduce the planner’s recommended density and protect the whole town from overdevelopment.”