WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—Hoping to continue its Open Space trust fund that expired in 2020, the Borough Council voted unanimously May 4 to ask taxpayers to approve the fund’s operation for another seven years at the upcoming Nov. 2 general election.
The fund was first approved by voters in 2005 for a five-year period, and re-approved by voters again in 2010 and 2015 for five-year periods. Due to Covid’s interruptions the fund was not renewed last year but councilmembers felt it important to renew it this year.
The ballot question will ask taxpayers to pay an annual tax levy of 1 cent per $100 of assessed property value. On an average $765,000 borough home, the annual open space tax amounts to about $76, said Borough Administrator Tom Padilla.
Padilla said that the open space tax generates about $200,000 annually for local open space projects, including preservation work on the Lydecker House, and ongoing efforts to remediate and improve the former Galaxy Gardens site into a passive park.
The borough uses its fund to both underwrite projects and the funds serve as local match for state and county grants often requiring a 50/50 contribution.
At the May 4 meeting, council authorized submission of a Bergen County Open Space fund matching grant for $136,349 that if approved would require an equal local match.
Those match funds would come from the local Open Space fund, said Padilla. The county grant applied for was for the proposed Galaxy Gardens park amenities such as a walking path, benches, gazebo and lighting, said the resolution.
Padilla said in the county’s next Open Space 2022 funding cycle, the borough planned to apply for more matching funds to complete its proposed park improvements. He said once the final site remediation cleanup approvals are in hand and submitted to county officials, the borough anticipates getting $500,000 in grant funds previously awarded for park development and construction.
He said the county may also explore safety considerations such as a traffic light at the busy Werimus Road–Woodcliff Avenue nexus as planning for the park moves along. Padilla noted that the planned Woodcliff Lake Reservoir nature trail walkway will likely tap into local open space funds to make it a reality.
The borough’s local open space fund remains unusual, as many towns do not have such funds and must rely on finding matching funds in operating expenses or surplus accounts.
Councilwoman Josephine Higgins asked that the trust fund be authorized for seven years instead of the five previously approved.