January 1, 2015 Mayor’s Message Dear Neighbors, Having been a resident of Upper Saddle River for the past 23 years, each year I become more convinced that our beautiful community is one of the best in which to live and raise a family in Bergen County. We are blessed to have amazing volunteers, who through ingenuity and tireless efforts, make this not just a place to live, but a true community. Thank you to all of our emergency responders, including our brand new CERT members (see below), our board members and commissioners, coaches, civic and community organizations, school volunteers, scout leaders, historic society members, and everyone else who pitches in to help make a difference. We have a close knit, vibrant community because of your efforts, enthusiasm and willingness to serve. Please know that each and every one of you is appreciated. The past year, like those prior, brought both accomplishments and challenges. Nothing positive is achieved without strategy, hard work and persistence. I assure you, our challenges will be addressed likewise. In review: - The Borough won its Clean Water Act litigation against the Rockland Sewer Authority after seven long years. The result of this litigation demonstrates that Rockland County lacks the requisite infrastructure to support additional development at the Upper Saddle River border. Rockland has paid the Borough a monetary settlement totaling $950,000. Under the settlement, an environmental protection fund, to be administered and controlled by the Borough, will be used for measures to protect the environment of the Saddle River as well as full reimbursement for all legal fees incurred in the prosecution of this litigation. - Communication between the Governing Body and residents continues to expand with SwiftReach 911 monthly e-mailed bulletins, Twitter and Facebook updates and important text messages. The November referendum polled our residents’ opinion on the One Lake Street re-zoning request, giving the Governing Body public input. The town hall public meeting on October 22, 2014 had approximately 600 in attendance. It is clear that public forums and surveys on important topics are well appreciated and similar opportunities will continue as a result. - The Department of Public Works completed the de-snagging and de-silting of the Borough’s waterways. The final effort cleaned the Borough owned pond at the corner of Lake Street and West Saddle River Road. All work was done by the County and our DPW workers. A massive undertaking, the Department, under the leadership of Superintendent Robert Fleshman, deserves accolades for their hard work on this vital flood mitigation work. - Nine residents successfully completed Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. The graduation ceremony held on December 1, 2014 culminated 13 weeks of training in the areas of Disaster Preparedness, Medical Operations, Fire Suppression, Animal Preparedness and Incident Command. This is the first group of residents to participate in the USR Cert program. The importance of having a CERT team became evident after Hurricane Sandy and other past severe weather events. The implementation of this program will undoubtedly benefit all residents. These additional responders available to assist our local OEM and Emergency Service personnel will surely help during times of severe weather events and other types of disasters. - The USR Police Department again received an Outstanding Achievement Award from AAA of North Jersey, as well as an Award of Excellence, Award of Merit and Traffic Safety Commendations. The Outstanding Achievement Award gives recognition to communities with exceptional traffic safety initiatives. The receipt of this award clearly shows that the traffic safety programs the Police Department utilizes each year are recognized as some of the best and most effective within Northern New Jersey. In addition, the Police Department received a Special Recognition Award for being one of the safest towns in northern New Jersey and providing safety programs for every resident, from daily walk-through to schools by the police, Otto the Auto in school, child registry for third-grade students, Stranger Danger, D.A.R.E. Program and teacher training, to name just a few of the safety programs for schools. They offer senior citizens fraud presentations, special needs and at-risk registry, crime prevention seminars and community outreach programs. - The Borough was re-certified by Sustainable Jersey for environmental efforts with additional points for important initiatives including expanded recycling opportunities. Thanks go to the USR Environmental Commission and Green Team under the leadership of Barbara Sena. - The USR Volunteer Ambulance Corps worked with the Leaders’ Organization, spearheaded by Denise Mercier, to raise monies for a new ambulance. Never before has every organization in town worked together on a joint fundraiser for such an important community need. The project highlights the unique character of our community. Plans are underway to purchase a new rig with delivery expected later this year. - Mack-Cali filed a lawsuit on October 2, 2014 against the Borough, the Mayor and Council and the Planning Board, alleging that the municipality is not compliant with its affordable housing obligations. They had requested re-zoning for their property at One Lake Street in a letter to the Mayor and Council in March. Since the re-zoning would warrant changes to the Master Plan, the request had been forwarded to the Planning Board. Mack-Cali has yet to file an application with the Planning Board. According to Borough attorney Bob Regan, “The Borough is in compliance with its affordable housing obligations; its affordable housing plans have been approved by both the Superior Court and the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing. Special counsel has been retained to defend the Borough, Mayor and Council and Planning Board and to request that the litigation be dismissed as “frivolous.” - On October 2, 2014 Ridgewood Developers LLC filed an application with the Planning Board to develop the Apple Ridge Golf Course with townhomes and affordable housing units. Unfortunately, similar developments have become a reality throughout the state with golfing profits down while the value of land soars. In the early 1990’s, the Golf Course, during the Mount Laurel litigation involving the Borough, was placed by a court-appointed Master and approved by the Superior Court, into a Scarce Resource District. This zoning constitutes an overlay district for the R-1 Zone that the Golf Course has been situated in for many years. Section 150-10.5 of the Zoning Ordinance governs the Scarce Resource District. Should a scarce resource site become available for development, an affordable housing obligation for the property is required to be addressed. The Ordinance provides that the affordable housing obligation may be met by means other than development on the property as determined by the Mayor and Council. Over the past two decades, recognizing the possibility that the Golf Course may be the subject of a development proposal, the Borough has been proactively acquiring land within the community to accommodate the affordable units. Over this period, the Borough acquired approximately four acres of land on Crescent Avenue, and 7.8 acres in back of the Porcelanosa building on Route 17, which provides several acres of wetland as buffer for neighboring residences and egress onto Rt. 17 North. This land area is more than sufficient to satisfy any affordable component applicable to the Golf Course. The Governing Body passed a resolution to satisfy the affordable obligation on Borough-owned land on November 8, 2014. Therefore the permitted use of the Golf Course property is limited to single-family homes on 37,500 square foot lots as governed by the R-1 District. It is a pleasure and an honor to serve as your mayor. As in the past, I ask you to please feel free to contact me with any concerns or suggestions. I will continue to make every effort to keep all residents informed. I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. Sincerely, Joanne L. Minichetti, Mayor – [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 23:00:00 +0000
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