Franklin Lakes March 28, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 High Mountain Golf Course sold to developers by Frank J. McMahon The 131-acre High Mountain Golf Course in the Borough of Franklin Lakes has been sold to a national real estate firm that has been building residential home communities for 45 years. In a recent letter to High Mountain Golf Club members, Club President David McBride advised that the owners of the golf course property, the Galenkamp Brothers Partnership and High Mountain Club, Inc., which includes about 75 shareholders, some of whom are members of the McBride family, have been studying the extent to which the necessary governmental approvals could be obtained so the property could be developed. The property, which is zoned for residential use, would be developed after the lease with the golf club expires at the end of the 2014 golf season. McBride advised further that the owners of the golf course have entered into a contract with Toll Brothers, Inc. of Horsham, Pennsylvania to be responsible for obtaining those approvals while they remain focused on running the club during the remaining years on the lease. The approvals to which McBride referred pertain to municipal planning and/or zoning board approvals, and any county and state governmental agency approvals that may be required in order to develop the property. He advised that the owners of the golf course have already obtained all the necessary New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approvals and sewer service is available to the site from the Northwest Bergen Utilities Authority. “It’s just a question of zoning,” McBride said. “The property is now zoned for one acre single-family residential use, but I’m sure this project will include higher density housing such as townhouses, although it will also include single-family housing.” (continued on page 14) At 8:17 p.m. on March 16, the Franklin Lakes Police Department received a 911 report of a motor vehicle accident at Colonial Road and Summit Avenue. Responding officers discovered that a motorcycle that had been traveling south on Colonial Road had dropped to its side at that location. The operator of the vehicle was found lying on the curbside of Colonial Road. There were no other vehicles involved in the accident, and the motorcycle did not appear to have struck anything. Police officers investigate fatal accident The Franklin Lakes Ambulance Corps and fire department were dispatched as were paramedics from Valley Hospital. The driver, identified as Thomas Ruane, age 55, of Hawthorne was pronounced dead at the scene. The Bergen County Fatal Accident Unit assisted at with the on-scene investigation. Oakland Police Department assisted with traffic control. The cause of the accident is under investigation.