Enclave Attorney Files Brief in Support of Multiple Amendments in Ridgewood

Attorneys for the Enclave, one of four properties under consideration for master plan amendments to allow luxury residential development in downtown Ridgewood, have filed a brief advising that the Ridgewood Planning Board is required to consider its application individually.

“The formal hearing process utilized by the Board has allowed each applicant the opportunity to present expert testimony in support of its individual request for a Master Plan amendment,” says Tom Bruinooge, the Enclave’s attorney and the author of the brief. “The CBR has presented testimony and cross-examined witnesses, and the public was allowed to question the expert witnesses and place comments on the record. All of this has contributed to the development of a substantial and thorough record.

“There is an inherent unfairness in deciding my client’s application in the context of another property owner’s request for a change,” concludes the brief. “Basic fairness requires that each application for a zone change and each proposed zone…. should rise or fall on its own merits.”

Bruinooge noted that at several points in the process the Planning Board advised the applicants that the Board would use its discretion to formulate action based on information revealed within the process. An original amendment drafted by Village Planner Blaise Brancheau was also delivered with the disclaimer that it was deliberative and would be used as a placeholder for the ultimate amendment language that would be drafted after the Board heard testimony and considered its options.

“Each of the applicants submitted differing recommended standards for critical planning issues such as height and density,” says John Saraceno, managing director of Onyx Equities, which is developing the Enclave. “The applicants’ proposals are separate advocacies and the Planning Board has the flexibility to determine which offer advantages that warrant master plan amendment. The alternative, of trying to bridge each of the proposals into a single amendment, is inconsistent with the process and impracticable as well.”

Enclave is seeking to build 52 apartments in a structure whose square footage would be permitted for office space under current zoning, but not for residences. The Board’s work is advisory to the Village Council, which ultimately may accept the recommendations of the Planning Board or alter its suggestions or reject them.

The master plan amendment process is entering its fifth year and there have been hundreds of hours of research, meetings and testimony. Through testimony and work product contributed by developers and Village consultants, the process has revealed an extensive set of benefits from the master plan amendment and only modest temporary impacts.

The Enclave hosts this material, as well as a “rumor versus reality” section, on its website www.downtownridgewood.com.