Ridgewood Board to Vote on Controversial Valley Expansion

The fate of a long-debated hospital expansion in Ridgewood will be decided next week.

The village posted on its website an updated Planning Board meeting schedule which will see the Board on Monday receive instructions about what it can and cannot consider when voting on the proposed H-zone Master Plan Amendment that would need to be approved in order for Valley Hospital to enact its proposed expansion plan, and on Tuesday deliberate and vote.

Both meetings are happening at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., the post said.

The meeting comes after a contentious Planning Board meeting this week during which the board reportedly told Valley reps they were presenting only selective information, and that some of what they were proposing to the board was confusing.

According to a NorthJersey.com report, board members said they felt like they were presented with new information at the meeting, which was meant to be only for attorney summations.

The hospital is seeking a Master Plan amendment that would allow it to expand from 562,000 square feet to 995,000 square feet. 

The hospital and its proponents say it will benefit the residents of Ridgewood and allow the hospital to stay competitive, while opponents say the project would cause congestion and parking issues, among other complaints. The proposed expansion has been debated in front of the Planning Board for the past 15 months.