Page 14 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 28, 2012 Wyckoff Wanderings Pancake Breakfast, Easter Egg Hunt set The youth group of Abundant Life Reformed Church will hold a Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, April 7 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church located at 475 Lafayette Avenue in Wyckoff. The breakfast will include pancakes, bacon, sausage, coffee, tea, and juice. Donations will support the youth group’s retreat at Camp Warwick, New York. At 10:30 a.m., an Easter Egg Hunt will be held. Children from age two years through students in grade five are welcome to participate. The hunt will be held rain or shine. All are welcome and participants are encouraged to bring a basket for their eggs. For more information, call (201) 444-8038. Roxey Ballet to perform at Y The Wyckoff YMCA’s Studio 691 will host the Roxey Ballet Company on Saturday, April 21. The 2 p.m. program will be held at the Y, which is located at 691 Wyckoff Avenue in Wyckoff. Members of the ballet company will present highlights from their classical and contemporary repertoires. The program will include excerpts from “Sleeping Beauty,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Swan Lake,” and more. There is no charge for this event. For more information about the Y’s performing arts programs, visit www.wyckoffymca.org. Students plan dinner for seniors Eisenhower Middle School students will host the Annual Pasta Dinner for Wyckoff senior citizens on Monday, April 16. The complimentary event will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the middle school located at 344 Calvin Court. The students serve dinner and provide entertainment. To RSVP, seniors should mail a card that includes the name or names of those who will attend and a contact telephone number to: Eisenhower Middle School, 344 Calvin Court, Wyckoff NJ 07481 Attention: Senor Pasta Dinner. Seniors may also RSVP at epastadinner@gmail.com. Seniors should respond by April 12. Wyckoff Y introduces ‘Parent Connection’ The Wyckoff Family Y is kicking off its new series of programs for parents with an open discussion about the current teen social scene by Dr. Steve Wruble, “Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll,” on Thursday, March 29 at 7 p.m. The program will be held in the Y’s Lake House at 691 Wyckoff Avenue. Dr. Wruble, a board certified child and adult psychiatrist and the executive medical director of the Venn Center in Ridgewood, will cover issues such as battling wills with your teen, developing positive parenting skills, and understanding the teenage thought process. This is the first session in the Y’s new series developed specifically to address the questions, needs, and concerns of parents. There is no charge for this event, but pre-registration is required. To register call the Y at (201) 891-2081. For further information, contact Kathy Scarpelli at (201) 891-1820. Flower Sale comes to de Snoep Winkel The de Snoep Winkel Gift Shop and Tea Room at Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff will hold its annual Flower Sale on March 30 and 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The sale will take place in the health care’s auditorium. In addition to flowers, the sale will include Dutch items, chocolates, and gifts. Call the gift shop at (201) 848-5946 or visit http://www. chccnj.org. Easter Egg Hunt planned Cedar Hill Christian Reformed Church will host a Community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 31 at 2 p.m. at the church located at 422 Cedar Hill Avenue. (Rain date: April 7.) Admission is free, and children of all ages are invited to participate. The church will be accepting non-perishable food items for New Hope Community Ministries. To register, visit www.cedarhillchurch.org. Spring Lake memberships available The Wyckoff Family YMCA is accepting summer memberships for Spring Lake, located at 691 Wyckoff Avenue. Members will enjoy the sandy beach and sparkling water of Spring Lake from June 2 through Labor Day. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekends beginning June 2, and daily beginning June 23. Along with full access to the amenities of the lake, members may order lunch or a light dinner at the Lake House Café, which is open daily. Membership also includes: special events, the “Fourth of July Blowout,” beach volleyball, and lakeside concerts. Children’s story time and craft programs are also available for a nominal fee. Call (201) 891-2081 or visit www.wyckoffymca.org. “We tried to keep it as a golf course and so did the Galenkamps,” McBride said, “but it wasn’t realistic.” Franklin Lakes Mayor Frank Bivona said the borough has been aware of the potential sale of the golf course for some time. “Quite frankly I’m against it, but we can’t compel private owners to keep a golf course,” he said. “We are concerned about the loss of open space and the potential for housing that has the potential of changing the dynamics of our town in some ways.” Bivona emphasized that the property is zoned for oneacre residential lots, but he expects the developer will come in with plans for something other than single-acre lots. “I’m sure their intention is to build dense housing there with some of it being affordable,” Bivona said. “That’s a shame. It’s not a good outcome for Franklin Lakes and I’ll do what I can personally to fight it.” Bivona advised that he understands that the developer paid $36 million for the property and he explained that no town or county would put up that kind of money for that land and maintain it as a golf course. He noted that the borough bought the Haledon Reservoir (now the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve) for $6 million, but the golf course has a higher value because it is dry, developable land. Bivona predicted that the developer would contest the single family zoning of the property and could seek to build 1,000 or more condominiums on the property, and the borough would have a fight on its hands. He said that type of increase in housing would require the borough to provide a great deal more in services while being limited to an annual two percent tax levy increase. “I don’t know how we can get that kind of housing volume in our neighborhood and maintain a two percent tax levy cap,” the mayor said. “We’re going to do our best to combat it and do what is right for Franklin Lakes.” Golf course (continued from page 7) He explained, however, that the inclusion of affordable (Mount Laurel) housing in the development of the golf course property is up to the borough, which has to deal with having 131 acres available for development. “We recognize our responsibility and if the town wants us to provide Mount Laurel housing we will provide Mount Laurel housing,” McBride said. “Toll Brothers also recognizes its obligation to provide up to 20 percent set aside for Mount Laurel housing but it’s up to the town. The town has to designate where they want Mount Laurel housing.” Under the Round II regulations of the Council on Affordable Housing, the golf course was not available for development, but the borough’s Round III affordable housing plan was rejected by COAH because, among other reasons, the golf course was not included and the borough was directed to revise its plan. The viability of COAH is not clear at the present time, however, because its function is the subject of litigation at the state level. McBride explained the owner’s decision to sell the property, saying the golf club’s membership has decreased from 1,240 members six years ago to about 200 members, primarily due to the impending end of the club’s lease and the lower cost of joining other private clubs in the area. He also pointed out that the lifestyles of the younger members of the owners’ families are not the same as the older members and they don’t have the same feelings about the golf course that the older generations do and they want to move on.