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Finally-Residents Get to Input A New Master Plan



PUBLISHED BY TEANECK VOICES

6/6/2023

Contents:


Finally - Residents Get to Input New Master Plan

Race Amity Day Picture

Planning Board -at long last - OK's Open Space Recreation Plan

Juneteenth Observances

This Week in Teaneck - June 12-18

Still Waiting For.....

  • A Negotiated Settlement on Holy Name Expansion
  • A Township Website Re-design
  • User Friendly 2023 Municipal Budget


Announcements:


Master Plan Kick-off - 6/14

JUNETEENTH - 6/17 to 19

PRIDE Film Festival - 6/23 & 6/30


Contacting Teaneck Voices

FINALLY - RESIDENTS GET TO INPUT NEW MASTER PLAN

Teaneck Voices views Wednesday night’s(6/14) 7:00 pm Master Plan Kickoff Public Meeting in the Library’s Auditorium to be the single most consequential public meeting in recent years. Here is how the Township itself has issued the invitation:


The Township of Teaneck INVITES YOU to attend a public meeting focused on the development of a new comprehensive Master Plan for the first time in 16 years! The kick-off meeting will be the first of several opportunities for the public to be involved in this Master Planning process, including through surveys and in-person and virtual meetings focused on specific topics of the Master Plan.


A Master Plan is a municipal policy document that evaluates existing conditions and creates a vision and blueprint for the future of a community. The plan takes a long-range view of a range of topics, including land use and buildings, roads and traffic circulation, community resources and educational facilities, climate change adaptation, and natural resources.


Policy recommendations in a Master Plan become the basis for zoning regulations, which effect how a place is developed in the future.


We need your help to ensure the vision for Teaneck is representative of all of you! Please come out to Teaneck’s Master Plan Kick-Off Meeting on Wednesday, June 14th at 7:00PM at the Teaneck Public Library Auditorium. 


Thank you! The Master Plan Steering Committee


ZOOM INFO FOR 6/14/23 Kickoff Meeting:

·       When: Jun 14, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

·       Topic: Teaneck Master Plan Kick-Off Meeting

·       Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89555233946

Passcode: 765357


·       The Town would prefer that you attend this meeting in-person at the Library Auditorium

 

Why is this meeting so important?


The last time the public was invited to– and did engage –  in shaping the Town’s Master Plan was in February 2007 (Click Here) when literally hundreds of residents attended meetings first at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and then the High School Auditorium. 


Residents who attended will remember those meetings where the 9 Goals and 12 Objectives, which constituted the state-required First Element of the 2007 Master Plan, were hammered out in meetings that lasted long past midnight. Listen to the participants in those meetings describe how electric was the atmosphere - and how significant they believe the wording of those Goals and Objectives were in defining what values the town wanted its land use decisions to support.


Two months later, the Planning Board adopted the resulting 147-page document (Click Here)


No similar meetings have occurred in the more than 16 years since. That reality does not mean the Master Plan has not been re-examined. Three times (IN 2011, 2014 & 20217) the Planning Board assigned Town Planner Richard Preiss (Phillips, Preiss et al) the task of making zoning change recommendations in specific town blocks and these documents became Master Plan Re-examinations. And in 2019 the MP was amended to incorporate the legal agreement reached by the Town about its fair share affordable housing obligations.


But it is very significant that the exact wording of the original 21 Goals and Objectives in the 2007 MP were preserved in the subsequent re-examinations.


Please do not think that the consistency of the Goals and Objectives wording means that those Goals and Objectives have been accurately and appropriately incorporated into all subsequent changes in Town zoning and/or in the variances from zoning ordinances that have been approved by our land use boards. They have not.


Indeed, the very hallmark of Teaneck development since 2018 is found in the decision by prior Councils and land use boards to designate 9 Town areas as blighted and in need of redevelopment (AINR’s). These AINR's are viewed by many residents as a repudiation of some key Master Plan Goals.


(See Voices stories on how the decision to build a six-story rental facility cheek-by-jowl of Margaret Baker’s home and residential neighborhood on Decatur Avenue cannot possibly be reconciled with Master Plan Goal 3).


But now the Town is apparently ready to invite all Teaneck residents and communities into the long overdue process of sorting out whether what we have for 16 years said were our land use values remain the same – and if not, what restatement of them would best project to our Town leaders and boards what it is that we want Teaneck to be and become.


To-date the new Master Plan Steering Committee has not published the full format for this 6/14 Kick-off Meeting – although it is reported that Planner Hughes will present a short Power Point description of what a Master Plan should include.


Teaneck Voices urges, nay implores, the Master Plan Steering Committee to adopt a format in which:


·       The residents voices are the voices primarily heard

·       The public is assured that the meeting is fully videotaped

·       A secretary/scribe be simultaneously writing down audience questions and suggestions to facilitate extracting critical material from the videotape

·       A promise be made to attendees that notes of questions and suggestions will be distributed by a specific date.

·       A timeline of the full Master Plan process is presented

 

As they prepare for this 6/14 meeting, not all of our readers will re-read the full 147-page 2007 MP. (again, Click Here) Few will probably reread the 3 subsequent MP re-examinations and amendments. (Click Here). But we urge everyone of our readers to re-read several times those 21 MP Goals and Objectives (which follow) and decide whether they do or do not say what we want them so say. So here they are:


Teaneck’s Current Master Plan Goals & Objectives–

(verbatim 2007 Master Plan State-Required

Element 1: Goals & Objectives)  


1.    STATEMENT OF GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The Township of Teaneck has played a special and unique role in the development and growth of suburban communities in the United States in the second half of the 20th century. From the honor of standing as the U.S. Army’s Model Town of the United States in 1948 to the historic 1965 referendum that resulted in Teaneck becoming the first community in the United States to voluntarily bus students in order to racially integrate its schools, Teaneck has firmly established its status as a role model and a leader.


Now, in the early years of the 21st century, Teaneck continues to be a leading municipality – this time in the definition and design of the mature suburban community. With its small-town quality and balance of land uses, Teaneck can increase opportunities for people to work and live within the Township and capitalize on the quality of life that attracts people to establish roots, build families and create lifelong friendships in the community.

 

As such, the Planning Board has established the following Goals and Objectives upon which the Master Plan is based:

 

 Goals:

1. Advance the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) as contained in 40:55 D-2;.


2. Preserve the character of existing low-density residential neighborhoods forming the predominant character of the Township;


3. Provide zoning protection for existing multifamily housing, and encourage its expansion only in areas where it would not have detrimental effects on single-family residential neighborhoods;

 

4. Provide a balanced land use pattern and appropriate development controls;

5. Guide appropriate development and growth in a coordinated and managed approach;

6. Strengthen the vitality of existing commercial districts;

7. Preserve, protect and enhance parks and open space while protecting environmentally sensitive, natural, and unique physical features at the same time;


8. Maintain the historic resources and natural beauty of our Township; and

9. Embrace, reflect and bring together the diverse sub-communities within the Township.

Objectives:

1. Ensure practical and appropriate development controls in order to preserve and protect open space, conserve the natural landscape and protect the sensitive ecological areas of the Township;

2. Protect neighborhood characteristics including the enforcement of buffer areas between non-residential and residential land uses, between different residential types, and along sensitive ecological areas of the Township;

3. Encourage the revitalization of vacant buildings and encourage the rehabilitation and restoration of brownfields and other contaminated buildings and land;

4. Maintain and upgrade the existing system of parks, recreation and open space to provide for Township residents of all ages, abilities and disabilities consistent with current and projected community needs for recreation and open space;

5. Preserve the high level of public services and encourage the creation of new facilities where necessary, in order to accommodate population changes, economic growth and the changing needs of residents;

6. Provide mechanisms to encourage the needed upgrade of the existing utility infrastructure including public water, stormwater management and wastewater treatment;

7. Provide for the Township’s fair share of affordable housing as may be required by law as set forth in the Housing Plan Element;

8. Preserve and enhance the low-density residential character of established neighborhoods, maintain a reasonable balance of housing choices, and provide for in-fill development, adaptive reuse and affordable senior housing.

9. Promote historic preservation efforts that will maintain the Township’s unique historic resources as designated;

10. Promote building and site improvements that have reasonable limitations on size, bulk, and site disturbance in relationship to the existing fabric of the community;

11. Encourage the development of a circulation system that accounts for roadways, mass transit, pedestrian/bicycle routes, greenway corridors and existing freight and goods movement facilities;

12. Coordinate land uses with transportation facilities, including but not limited to bus stops and parking for resident commuters to facilitate access and encourage alternatives to driving;

RACE AMITY DAY - JUNE 11, 2023

Planning Board - at long last -

OK's Teaneck's Open Space Recreation Plan

At the 6/8/2023 Teaneck Planning Board Meeting, Council member Mark Schwartz proposed that the Board approve an unchanged draft of the Open Space & Recreation Plan (OSRP) that it had first reviewed in 2019. (Schwartz had previously opposed OSRP passage and Board Chair Bodner has not placed it back on the PB agenda.)


Schwartz in the video of his statement which follows, acknowledges that OSRP passage would help gain access to state Green Acres grants. After Schwartz’s statement and one by Council member Belcher, the Board then went on to vote to approve the unchanged OSRP draft unanimously (9 -0) Click Here for access to the approved OSRP.

 

The reason that PB approval of this OSRP is crucial to making Teaneck eligible for Green Acres state funding is that this OSRP document clarifies how the Town’s all-important Recreation & Open Space Inventory (its ROSI) currently identifies far fewer protected (Open Space/Recreation) properties than the State believes the Town has long-since previously declared as protected -which in NJ means that it is protected in perpetuity.  


The PB’s OSRP approval, and particularly its citation (see its Appendix H) of protected open space along Route 4’s Greenbelt then, should clear the way for the Town and State to agree as to what properties should be listed on the Town’s ROSI –thus making the Town eligible for State Green Acres funding again..

 

Not clarified in the 6/8 Planning Board’s discussion is the fact that the state’s rules governing the Open Space Recreation Plans (OSRP’s) and their passage are different than those governing Recreation Open Space Inventories (ROSIs).

 

 An Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) is a seven (7) year plan developed by municipal residents and officials to inventory and assess the conditions of open space, natural resources, parks, and other recreational facilities and is adopted by the municipality’s Planning Board.

Readers who want to understand the full set of Green Acres rules and requirements for OSRP.s Click Here


A Recreation Open Space Inventory, by contrast, is an inventory required of each local unit (municipality or county) prepared as a condition of applying for and receiving Green Acres funding.. The ROSI lists all Green Acres-funded properties (“funded parkland”) as well as all other lands held for conservation. Because Green Acres restrictions are contractual and statutory in nature, a property may be subject to Green Acres restrictions even if it is omitted from a ROSI. The local units’ chief executive officer and Planning Board Chair submit ROSI’s to Green Acres. Their list must, to be accepted, as identical to the state’s. For more information Click Here

Teaneck's Juneteenth Observances

Juneteenth in Teaneck has been underway – at least for our Teaneck kids – since June 1.


For adults and families, the holiday celebrations will begin early (8:00 am) Saturday morning June 17 at the MLK Monument on the FDU’s Hackensack Side for a “Silent Walk” (about a mile round trip ) to the Enslaved and Indigenous People’s Burial Ground on Pomander Walk in Teaneck.


On Sunday the 18th at 2:00 pm the focus is on the younger folks when parents are encouraged to bring their children to the Teaneck Library for the final reading of “19 days Juneteenth” that is followed by Juneteenth crafts.


Monday the 19th at 12:00 noon will be the Juneteenth flag raising and program at the flagpoles in Votee Park.


(See the Town’s Juneteenth flyer in our Announcement Section. For readers who want to know more about this new national holiday and its origins, we suggest NPR’s piece, Juneteenth: What It Is And How It Is Observed. Click Here).

 

But for our kids, every day this week is a Juneteenth “read a book”  day – at 3:30 at the Library. See the specifics in the flyer below. 

This Week in Teaneck - June 12 to 18, 2023

Advisory Board on Community Relations – Monday, June 12 at 8:00 pm – Apparently by zoom Click Here – No agenda information


Teaneck Council Regular – Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 8:00 pm Hybrid In-person in Council Chambers and by Zoom Click Here and type passcode. For full Agenda Click Here


·      In the Ordinances Public Hearing: Expect some fireworks over whether Council should approve the capital purchase of the Fire Department’s new ladder truck this year (See Ord. 27-2023). In Good & Welfare some residents will question the content and who is/are the developer presenter/s of the announced Wednesday eve. 6/28 public meeting on the American Legion Drive Area in Need of Redevelopment (AINR). Expect some clarification of this meeting by Council.

Also, clarification is needed about responsibilities of the two proposed engineering companies being proposed for engineering positions (see Resolutions 184-2023 and 185-2023)

Even though not on the agenda, Council nominations for new or re-appointment of statutory board members whose terms end on June 30 may be discussed and possibly adopted.


Municipal Open Space Trust (MOST) Committee – Wednesday June 14 at 6:30 by Zoom Click Here. For agenda Click Here


Cedar lane Management Group – Wednesday June 14, 2023 at 6:30 pm at 555 Cedar Lane – Suite 4


Youth Advisory Board (YAB) – Wednesday June 14 at 7:00 pm at the Rodda Center   


Master Plan Community Kickoff - Wednesday June 14 at 7:00 Hybrid In-Person (preferred) in the Teaneck Library Auditorium and by zoom Click Here and passcode 565357 (See story in this Voices edition and flyer in Announcements)


Senior Citizen’s Advisory Board – Thursday June 15, 2023 at 1:30 pm in-person only in the Rodda Center 2nd Floor Game Room

Still Waiting For ...

Still Waiting…..


Holy Name-Neighbors Settlement – the seemingly endless effort to achieve this negotiated settlement to the litigation challenging the legitimacy of the Town’s hospital zone expansion ordinance could conceivably be announced at Council’s Tuesday night meeting, but no one should hold their breath. 


A Township Website Redesign – It has now been several weeks since Voices pointed out that not only did the Town not get a new website design by the promised “end if 2022”, but it has now been months since the Town got 5 seemingly strong website designer bids for the redesign. For inexplicable reasons, no one has said an official word about the issue since their bids were open. What about at least a “status” report at tomorrow night’s Council?


User-Friendly 2023 Budget – The state unambiguously requires that municipalities publish a User-Friendly budget once its annual budget hasd been approved. Many towns new require their CFO’s to produce earlier versions while their budgets are still in negotiation. Not Teaneck!~ NOW, just where is Teaneck's adopted budget User-Friend;y budget.


Good News – We did not have to wait long last week after we published the Still Waiting… item about the missing Board of Adjustment June 1 video. It was there the next morning! Thanks!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Contacting Teaneck Voices


By Email: teaneckvoices@gmail.com

By Phone: 201-214-4937

By USPS Mail: Teaneck Voices, PO Box 873. at 1673 Palisade Ave. 07666

Teaneck Voices' Website is www.teaneckvoices.com


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