Dear Ridgewood Planning Board and Council Members, 

     Please VOTE NO to the amendment that will raise densities for Multi-Family Apartment Buildings in our downtown to 35 apartments per acre and will forever change the small-town character of the Village we love. This amendment is truly reckless and poses great risk to the future of our to our schools, open space and fields, parking and traffic, which are already at or over capacity.  With four potential developments on the table, we urge caution.  It’s way too much all at once.

     While 35 units/acre is an improvement over the 50 units you initially considered, 35 still constitutes urban zoning and doesn’t belong in a Village like Ridgewood.  Excessive numbers of apartments will benefit the developers at the expense of Ridgewood’s current Residents.  Fact is, you don’t know what the full impact of this change will be.  Even our Village Planner has admitted this.  So please be careful with our town.  If you have to increase  density, go with something closer to Ridgewood’s current average of 18-24 apartments per acre, which we know works and minimizes the risk.

      We agree that adding some new apartments downtown will provide opportunities for empty-nesters and young professionals, while also fulfilling our obligations for new affordable-housing units.  However, these objectives can still be achieved at a much lower density, as evidenced by developments in nearby towns now being proposed with lower, more fitting densities.  We don’t need such a drastic change.  To date, there has been no data presented, or financial research done, to confirm that a density of 35 apartments per acre is needed by the developers.  Our Village Planner admitted this too. So go with less.  Be careful.

     We love the small town character of our downtown and are counting on you to make responsible and prudent development decisions.  Please DO THE RIGHT THING… limit the change, limit the risk, and VOTE NO to the current amendment, or lower the density to 18-24 units per acre.  Let common sense prevail.

Yours Truly,

Residents of Ridgewood