October 23, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 7 Area Hawthorne informs township of Vista hearing by John Koster The Hawthorne Board of Adjustment has informed Wyckoff residents that it planned to host a public hear- ing on the Christian Health Care Center’s Vista project as approved by the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment in March. The meeting was scheduled for Monday, Oct. 21. CHCC is seeking a use variance, a variance for height limitation, and a variance to permit off-street parking stalls. If approved and constructed, Vista would include 199 senior living units with 51 units in Hawthorne and 148 in Wyckoff. The total acreage of the CHCC site off Sicomac Avenue in Wyckoff is 79 acres, with 63 acres in Wyckoff and 16 acres in Hawthorne. Wyckoff approved the Vista plan after extended hear- ings that led to some revisions in the plan and a reduction of the size of the project. None of the legal requirements established by the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment may be changed at the Hawthorne hearing. The Wyckoff board’s unanimous March 4 approval included 55 stipulations. One of the key stipulations is that the existing driveway to and from the CHCC and its adjunct Eastern Christian Children’s Retreat will continue to provide access to both operations, and that all deliveries to the CHCC will be made from Sicomac Avenue. Signals will be provided at the entrance on Mountain Avenue and will state “No CHCC deliveries.” The existing access to Merrywood Drive will continue to be used as an emergency access only, and will remain closed and gated to through traffic. Traffic concerns were at the height of the list of neigh- borhood objections to the Vista proposal, which kept hear- ings going for more than a year and led to the planning board’s request for a reduction in the scale of the project and to agreements about the entrance. The application drew opposition from neighbors, who expressed concerns about traffic and drainage. Their input led CHCC to scale down the size of the project by about 25 percent. CHCC suggested that having adults who shop locally and pay taxes through their leases but do not send children to the school system would represent a financial benefit to Wyckoff. The unanimous vote to approve the plan came at the March 4 board meeting after the CHCC met the conditions for reduced size and minimal impact. Some of the key con- ditions included: The applicant agreed to deed restrict the property to pre- vent use of the project for any purpose other than congre- gate care use and to prevent the rental or use of the CHCC property for future uses of the property for a cell tower, satellite, and/or water tower. The minimum resident’s age is 62. All residential cooking appliances will be electric. A condition of the contract for each unit must be that resident is able to self-evacuate from the building. If they are not able to self-evacuate, the CHCC has the ability to have the resident moved to the next stage of care. There will be no increase in storm water runoff to adja- cent properties. Proper drainage measures must be maintained during construction. Proper soil erosion control measures must be maintained during construction. The applicant will provide for sufficient dust and air quality control measures during construction. All utilities will be installed underground. Refuse and recyclables will be stored inside the build- ing. HVAC/roof top equipment will be screened. Additional screening will be installed if required by township offi- cials. The applicant will install and maintain landscaping as approved by Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment, includ- ing the irrigation of ornamental landscaped areas. The applicant will explore providing additional land- scaping and buffering along the loop road in the vicinity of the residents living on Emiline Drive when the applicant seeks approval from the Borough of Hawthorne. Perimeter lighting will have back shields on the light fixtures. Most of the other stipulations apply to necessary per- mits and compliance with Wyckoff’s building code. School board president seeks public input on Highlands feasibility study The Midland Park Board of Education will discuss at its Nov. 5 meeting whether to commission an impact study on sending Midland Park High School students to Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale on a tuition basis. Comprised of high school students from Allendale and Upper Saddle River, Highlands receives tuition students from Ho-Ho-Kus and Saddle River. President William Sullivan last week said the feasibility study would cost an estimated $25,000. It would deal only with Northern Highlands, and would include enrollment, comparison of educational programs, the ability to house the students, the impact on staff and the facilities, transpor- tation costs and the effect on the taxpayers, Sullivan said. The board president asked that residents contact him via email to “provide input on the study and whether they want to proceed with it.” His address is wsullivan@mpsnj.org. Earlier this month Sullivan reported that Northern High- lands Superintendent of Schools John Keenan had told him his district may be able to accommodate Midland Park’s high school students in a send/receive arrangement. Mid- land Park has 335 students in grades 9-12 this school year. Northern Highland has 1,351 students. Interest in the feasibility study was sparked by parents who believe the sending option must be fully researched and discussed before any building referendum can be pur- sued. Last December, district voters defeated a $15.27 mil- lion referendum to upgrade facilities and athletic fields. The board of education has applied for state funds to complete some of the projects that were part of that vote, but any state aid received will likely have to be matched with funds raised through another referendum.