Hearing on appeal of the development approval scheduled for September 5

Judge Jonathon N. Harris will hear on September 5, 2008 the appeal made by the Save the Ravine Alliance of the Wyckoff Planning Board’s approval of the subdivision planned for the 11-acre Deep Voll Ravine tract. Among other arguments, the Alliance’s trial brief states that that the Planning Board’s failure to comply with Wyckoff’s steep slope ordinance and its approval of a faulty storm water management plan is “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” and that the approval should be reversed. The brief also argues that the Planning Board’s refusal to allow cross examination of the developer’s witnesses until months after they had testified was prejudicial to the Save the Ravine Alliance.

This cornerstone, dated 1893, was uncovered during an archeological dig at the ravine. It is unclear whether it came from a bridge or a building, such as a mill.

“The approval was a bad decision,” said Save the Ravine Alliance attorney Stuart Lieberman, “the ravine is not sufficiently protected and frankly, it ought to be preserved as open space.”

The hearing is scheduled for September 5, 9 a.m. in New Jersey Superior Court in Hackensack. To read the brief, please click here.

Donations sought to offset cost of appeal

The Alliance is seeking contributions to its legal fund to offset the cost of the appeal. Donations should be payable to the Save the Ravine Alliance and sent to the Save the Ravine Alliance, P.O. Box 476, Wyckoff, New Jersey 07481.

The citizens of Wyckoff expressed their support for open space preservation when they approved the creation of its open space trust fund in 2006, and it makes no sense to be chasing these ravine ratables when we have alternatives. A study on the Barrister ravine development showed it would actually cost Wyckoff taxpayers a net $75,000 in school and municipal service costs (see below). Eighty percent of the funding for the purchase of the ravine site can come from the state and the county, and we should use those grants and the Wyckoff open space trust fund to do exactly that. more

The Wyckoff Planning Board steamrolls the Ravine — and the public

See our newspaper ad. Our thanks to the individuals whose special donations made this ad possible.

Wyckoff Planning Board gives variances to allow Ravine project to go forward

On October 10, 2007 the Wyckoff Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the Deep Voll Ravine development with no material revision. The Save the Ravine Alliance is very disappointed in the Board’s decision. We do want to thank the community for its support in our effort to preserve this beautiful tract--the encouragement of so many people has really kept us going. We are now appealing this decision in New Jersey Superior Court.

The Wyckoff Planning Board bowed yet again to the wants of a developer and failed to enforce its own ordinances when it had every legal reason to do so. Its failure is a slap in the face not only to the people of Wyckoff and surrounding towns, but to the eight separate environmental organizations and the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders who called for protecting and preserving the entire ravine tract as parkland.

Board ignores expert testimony
The Wyckoff Planning Board has repeatedly ignored expert testimony which exposed significant deficiencies in Barrister’s storm water management plan and by doing so, it has made a clear statement to the people of Wyckoff that it wanted this beautiful tract built out.  This Board fully understands the legalities of land use issues, and there were ample legal reasons to deny this application. The State has given us the tools we need to protect ourselves from unwanted or over-development, but the Board deliberately chose not to use them. The steep slope variances granted here are 100% to 280% more than allowed by town ordinance. Members of the Board who claim they were “protecting” the ravine from high-density, affordable housing are misleading the public. The zoning for affordable housing, which affected one of the four lots in this subdivision, was removed when the adjacent Barrister development was built years ago. The Planning Board did not save the ravine from anything, and Wyckoff could have negotiated to purchase the tract if the Planning Board denied the application.

Conservation easement is not real protection for the ravine
The Board’s claim that a conservation easement will protect the ravine does not stand up to scrutiny. There is no public access and homeowners can do what they want with the land as in the past the Planning Board has either given them further variances or often ignored when homeowners impinge on easements.

Thanks again to the more than 50 residents who came to witness the decision and to hundreds who have shown their support. At the September Planning Board meeting over 30 residents expressed concern about the clear cutting of 275 trees, blasting, and flooding at the site, as well as traffic hazards on Grandview Avenue. Two Ramapo High School students described how the school’s Environmental Club conducted two fundraisers on behalf of the ravine.  Pointing out that the ravine is an environmental treasure, speakers against the project asked that the Planning Board think about the generations to come and defend Wyckoff’s zoning ordinances now. The Planning Board now has chosen to ignore them.  Click here to read Attorney Lieberman’s summation at the September meeting.

New Jersey environmental groups support preservation of the Deep Voll Ravine

Eight environmental organizations have expressed their strong support for the preservation of Deep Voll Ravine in Wyckoff and oppose the approval of the controversial application from Barrister Home Construction to develop the 13- acre site.

The Sierra Club, Passaic River Coalition, Fyke Nature Association, New Jersey Audubon Society, Lower Passaic and Saddle River Alliance, The League of Women Voters of Ridgewood, the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation have all written opposing the development and asking that the ravine be preserved. more

Community planning expert reminds Wyckoff of its obligation to the ravine

June’s planning board meeting heard the testimony of David Zimmerman, a professional planner with 30 years of experience engaged by the Save the Ravine Alliance. He showed that the state master plan designates the ravine as “Planning Area 5,” a designation reserved only for the most sensitive environmental, scenic and historically important tracts in the state. That the ravine is in Planning Area 5, and that Wyckoff’s own policy is to protect such sites, was not brought out in reports on the development by Wyckoff’s own planner or any other official in any hearings to date.

Hydrology experts uncover big problems in developer’s storm water drainage plan

At the Wyckoff Planning Board hearing in July, an engineer from Princeton Hydro, a nationally recognized engineering firm engaged by the Save the Ravine Alliance, pointed out major errors in the developer’s storm water run-off calculations and drainage plan.  These errors, when corrected, will make it significantly more difficult to build on the site.

Bergen County Freeholders support preservation of the ravine

Declaring the Deep Voll Ravine in Wyckoff “an important environmental, natural, historic and cultural resource,” the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders passed a resolution in support of the preservation of the ravine at its May meeting.

Although the final fate of the ravine is entirely in the hands of the Wyckoff Planning Board, the Freeholders’ resolution shows that the preservation of the ravine is a county-wide issue. The resolution, which was sponsored by Freeholder Julie O’Brien from Ramsey and passed unanimously, said the ravine was “unique and remarkable” and cited especially its importance to the history of the area as well as its beauty.

“It truly is one of the most beautiful spots that you’ll see in this area, in this part of the county or this part of the state….It really does warrant preserving,” said O’Brien.

Among other things, the Freeholders’ resolution cited evidence of Native American activity at the site 8,000-10,000 years ago. Early Dutch settlers, including members of the Blauvelt Family, recognized the value of the ravine as a watercourse and created a thriving mill at the upper end of ravine. A homestead built in 1760 adjacent to the ravine is now on the National Register of Historic Places, and General George Washington’s surveyor, Robert Erskine, included the ravine on a map used to plan troop movements across New Jersey during the Revolutionary War.

To read the full text of the freeholder resolution, click here.

Wyckoff residents, get ready to pay if the development is approved, tax study says

An analysis of the projected tax revenues that will be raised by a nine-house Barrister Home Construction development at Deep Voll Ravine shows that it will cost Wyckoff taxpayers at least $75,000 more per year to provide school services to children living there than the school tax amounts that will be collected. more