Politics & Government

Ridgewood Eyes Glen Rock Property for Site of New Municipal Garage

Glen Rock mayor is wondering why Ridgewood hasn't contacted him.

The state apparently wasn't too keen on the phrase "sharing is caring," so Ridgewood officials have moved on – they'll be taking a harder look at relocating its downtrodden municipal garage to property it owns in Glen Rock.

According to Mayor Paul Aronsohn, the NJ Department of Transportation declined to let Ridgewood share or take over its inspection site on Franklin Turnpike near the Park & Ride.

Added Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli: "We then turned our attention to the second site on the list, which quite frankly upon further inspection...really in many ways looks very good, very suitable for requirements of the fleet garage which were identified ideally as two acres."

Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Two vacant lots exist at the site off the village owned Water Pollution Control facility on Prospect Street – a 70,000 square foot parcel near a cell phone tower, and an ajoining 20,000 square foot parcel. It would form an "L-shaped" lot.

"That would easily accommodate the ideal building that we've designed," Pucciarelli said.

Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The village will require an outside consultant to study the feasibility of the Glen Rock site. If it all comes to fruition, the village would sell the current Chestnut Street facility to developers, using the funding to pay for the new construction. Ridgewood officials are hoping the facility could accommodate the needs of other towns, creating shared services agreements.

Glen Rock Mayor John van Keuren said Wednesday that he's only been made aware of the village's interest in the property through media.

"They've never contact me directly to say anything," he told Patch. "To me the devil's in the details and it perplexes me a little that they havent contacted me to tell me or the borough of their plans. So I'm wondering why not, why haven't you contacted me? We're partners in our dispatching services, so it would be nice if we were informed of their plans and the rationale behind it. I'm taking a wait and see attitude."

Village Manager Ken Gabbert said he would be discussing the matter with Glen Rock officials as the initiative moves forward.

The potential construction of a new facility wouldn't see the sharp teeth of a planning or zoning board hearing and vote, according to Village Attorney Matt Rogers.

If and when plans are designed, the village would be subject only to a courtesy review in Glen Rock, he said.

Some Ridgewood residents expressed apprehension over a potential fight with Glen Rock should the village pursue the relocation of the garage. The Water Pollution Control Facility is in a residential area, though there are some buffers for nearby residents.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here