Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • September 12, 2012 Mahwah Skytop developer seeks driveway access to lot by Frank J. McMahon The developer of a Mahwah property has asked if the township’s planning board would permit a paved driveway access from end of the cul-de-sac proposed for the site to one of the lots that fronts on Wyckoff Avenue. The 7.7acre subject property is located between Skytop Drive and Wyckoff Avenue and has been approved for subdivision into eight lots in May of 2010. Michael Kelly, the township’s professional engineer, told the board of the request at a recent public meeting. He advised that the site has been cleared of trees and the roadway and drainage improvements have been completed. He explained, however, that the developer has since proposed the paved access. That access, according to Kelly, would create the benefit of eliminating that lot’s access to Wyckoff Avenue, which curves to the northeast immediately north of that lot. Kelly described that area as a tricky curve, where vehicles sometimes stop, thereby creating the potential for accidents. He said the developer is looking for some indication from the board that this paved easement might be acceptable before returning to the board with a plan to show how it would look. Kelly said the 30-foot wide access would be a paved easement from the end of the cul-de-sac, which extends from Skytop Drive toward Wyckoff Avenue and serves as the roadway access to the other lots in the subdivision. He cautioned that it would be necessary to make sure that emergency vehicles would be capable of getting to the lot from the cul-de-sac, and explained that an amended subdivision plan would have to be submitted by the developer. Board member Jeremiah Crean voiced the concern that the paved easement access might create a “flag lot,” which is a generally a rectangular shaped lot with a long slender strip of land resembling a flag pole that extends from the main section of the lot. Kelly said this lot with the paved access would not meet the definition of a flag lot. Planning board member Ward Donigian said he thought the access was a good alternative idea, but he also suggested that the bulb of the cul-de-sac might be extended to the west to provide access to the lot in question and the one to the east, which would eliminate the need for the paved access. Kelly responded, however, that extending the cul-de-sac might decrease the size of the lot that fronts on Wyckoff Avenue and create the need for a lot size variance because it is currently at the minimum size permitted. In the absence of a strong negative response to the developer’s request, Kelly said he would have the developer prepare a sketch of the proposed change and return to the board for approval. As approved, the subdivision plan calls for eight lots, including one fully-developed lot on Skytop Drive with cul-de-sac access to the subdivision from a point on Skytop Drive south of the elbow turn on that road. Six of the lots have frontage on the cul-de-sac, while two of the lots would continue to have frontage on Wyckoff Avenue if the paved easement access is not permitted. The strip of land on the northern edge of the property that separates it from property in the Borough of Ramsey, and is known as Division Place, will be located at the rear of the new lots that will front on the new cul-de-sac. Each of the lots will contain a newly constructed dwelling, except the existing lot on Skytop Drive and the northernmost lot on Wyckoff Avenue, where the existing house will remain. That house is currently being rented. Area The high schools in Mahwah and Ramsey have again been ranked among the top 100 public high schools in the state. In the September issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine, Ramsey is ranked 30th and Mahwah High is ranked 55th in the state. The high school rankings by New Jersey Monthly were based on data obtained from the New Jersey Department of Education’s most recent New Jersey School Report Card, which covered the 2010-11 school year. Only public high schools were included on the list. The data was analyzed by Leflein Associates, an independent research company in Ringwood, and the rankings were determined based on school environment, student performance, and student outcomes. Student environment data included the sum of the standardized rank scores for average class size, the student/faculty ratio, the percentage of faculty with advanced degrees, and the number of Advanced Placement tests offered, which was calculated as a ratio of the grade 11 and 12 enrollment in order not to penalize smaller schools. Student performance data included the sum of the standardized rank scores for average combined SAT score, the percentage of students showing advanced proficiency on HSPA, and students scoring a grade of three or higher on High schools remain among top 100 AP tests as a percentage of all juniors and seniors. Student outcome data included a single score based on a new graduation rate calculation (a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate formula), introduced by New Jersey in 2011 and mandated by the federal government. The adjusted cohort formula divides a school’s number of four year graduates by the number of first-time ninth graders who entered the “cohort” four years earlier. In this year’s ranking, that formula uses four years of data for first time freshmen who entered high schools in September 2007 and graduated in 2011. The 2007 freshmen plus “transfers in” minus “transfers out” over four years are divided into the number of 2011 graduates. In the past, the rankings distinguished between students going on to four-year colleges, two-year colleges, and other postsecondary schools. The data for students going to fouryear colleges was given extra weight, making it a potent driver of the results. The ranking did not consider a school’s athletic programs, extra-curricular activities, the availability of technology, or any other factors parents might look for in a high school. It also did not consider the availability of specialized programs such as the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District’s University Programs. (continued on page 19)