Ridgewood April 11, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 9 Environmentalist proposes tighter cell tower standards by John Koster Ridgewood’s Doug Goodell, a wildlife photographer and environmentalist whose previous career featured multiple degrees in the sciences, urged the Ridgewood Village Council to add some tighter standards to the local zoning code to prevent the proliferation of cellular communication towers in or near residential areas. Goodell, a past chairman of the Ridgewood Planning Board, said he was concerned about an application which, he said, would effectively rezone areas without proper due process. He said the T-Mobil application before the Ridgewood Board of Adjustment calls for “extreme variances.” “This tower is proposed for a residential zone, though it may be shifted to an adjacent business zone,” Goodell said, referring to the application for a cell tower near Maple Avenue and the border of Ho-HoKus. “Either way, it requires a use variance and, among others, a variance for height which is three to four times greater than the height permitted in either zone.” He added, “By any common sense definition, this is a substantial deviation from our zoning code. It is a major rezoning, not zoning adjustment. As such, it warrants broad review in the context of the community as a whole.” Goodell said that an approval of the TMobil tower would be a blow to the entire community. “Neither the planning board nor the council can deal with the current T-Mobil cell tower application,” Goodell said at last week’s work session, “but similar situations can develop in the future, and you can act now to assure they will get more thorough consideration. I suggest that our ordinances be amended to provide guidance to applicants, limits to such uncontrolled changes, and more deliberate public consideration.” He proposed tentative changes to the general code that state that changes in magnitude of more than 50 percent before the Ridgewood Board of Adjustment should also be subject to review by the Ridgewood Planning Board. He said special standards should be enacted against variances to allow restricted uses in a specific zone, and against construction of any structure with a height more than either 10 feet or 10 percent above the established maximum On April 17, Ridgewood’s registered voters will be asked to cast their ballots on the $86,150,328 tax levy associated with the Ridgewood Board of Education’s 201213 budget of $95,430,393. Voters will also select their representatives to the school board. This year, four candidates will vie in two contests: one for a one-year seat and the other for a threeyear seat. Gina Damasco, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education and a Ridgewood High School graduate, will face off against Vincent Loncto, an appointed incumbent who earned his MBA and CPA designation. Both are seeking a full three-year term on the board. Incumbent Robert Hutton, who has an MBA in accounting and has served nine years on the board, will contest the avail- School election is next week able one-year seat with Jim Morgan, who has an MBA and a CPA and extensive corporate financial experience. Ridgewood is one of the few local school districts that opted to retain the traditional April school board and budget election. This year, the state allowed school districts the option of moving the school election to the date of the November general election. Districts that chose to move to the new date are not required to submit their budgets to the public as long as the tax levy increse falls within the state-mandated cap. The cap is currently set at two percent. Ramsey and Midland Park are two of the other local districts that opted to retain the April budget and trustee election. Ho-HoKus, Allendale, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Northern Highlands Regional, and Glen Rock shifted to the fall date. height in a particular zone. “There may be alternate and better ways to accomplish this, but something along these lines is necessary if we are to control the character of our village and its neighborhoods,” Goodell added. While boards of adjustment traditionally deal with such matters as adding extra rooms or an extra story to existing houses, or a slight expansion of lot coverage, the appearance of variance bids for cellular towers before local boards of adjustment are seen as ominous by neighbors concerned about residential property values, aesthetics, and the possible menace of electronic transmission. Mayor Keith Killion, who had taken a firm stand against the concept of adding a commercial cell tower to a Ridgewood firehouse, was not present at last week’s work session. The four members who were present received Goodell’s printed statement after he read it aloud. The council pledged to consider his recommendations. Ridgewood Board of Adjustment officials said last week that a tentative variance bid for yet another cellular tower, this one at Valleau Cemetery near Route 17, had been cancelled at least for the time being.