Ridgewood Residents Vote Down Bonding $11.5 Million For Parking Deck

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — Residents voted down bonding $11.5 million Tuesday to finance the construction of a 325-space parking deck on Hudson Street.

Residents voted down the question of if the village council should approve an ordinance bonding for the money 1,425 to 2,671.

The vote was the result of a petition more than 1,200 people signed stating they wanted to hold a special referendum asking if the Village Council should approve an ordinance bonding the money for the parking deck — something the Village Council already did in March.

"I'm clearly disappointed," said Mayor Paul Aronsohn, "because this was a missed opportunity to provide much needed parking in our downtown."

The "no" votes means that the next council will need to decide if it wants to build a parking deck. If it i does, another bond ordinance would need to be adopted with at least four affirmative votes cast.

That might prove difficult. Incumbent Council members Mike Sedon and Susan Kudsen, and Councilman-elect Ramon Hache all urged residents to vote “no” to the referendum. They make up more than half of the five-member council.

“The notion that a single parking deck will solve our parking problem is in itself an outdated 90-year-old idea,” Hache said. “The Village needs a comprehensive and modern parking solution that is both innovative and reflective of the world we live in.”

Hache also said that he and others have already begun planning for “more cost-effective solutions that will require minimal expenditures.”

Related: Residents File Lawsuit Against Ridgewood Regarding Alleged Parking Deck 'Propaganda'

Six residents filed a lawsuit against the village last week claiming that the village placed “political propaganda” on the village website advocating a “yes vote” regarding the referendum. The “propaganda” is an 11-minute video and literature about the referendum.

The lawsuit also seeks the referendum’s approval set aside because the plaintiffs’ claim its outcome is based on “payments and expenditures” that are contrary to law and not authorities by the election or other laws” of New Jersey.

The village plans on defending the lawsuit “vigorously,” bond counsel Matthew D. Jessup previously said.

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PHOTO: Village Clerk Heather Mailander accepts ballots from workers at Village Hall after the polls closed Tuesday night. — Staff photo by Daniel Hubbard