Three youth basketball teams celebrated as league champions
The Township Committee honored three Wyckoff youth travel basketball teams: the 3rd grade girls team (19-3 overall, Northwest Bergen-Passaic Champions), the 3rd grade boys team (22-4, North Jersey Junior Travel League Champions), and the 5th grade boys team (32-4, their third consecutive league championship with a combined 51-2 record over three years).
AH compliance certification expected by end of May
Fair Share Housing Center sent Wyckoff a draft compliance certification agreeing with all of the township's affordable housing filings. Township attorney David expects to submit the paperwork to the Bergen County judge within days, with formal compliance and builder's remedy protection expected by month's end.
Wyckoff Community Foundation granted 501(c)(3) status
The IRS has officially granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to the Wyckoff Community Foundation, meaning donations to the organization are now fully tax deductible. The Foundation supports community programs in the township.
Tom Gentimer retiring after 25 years
Tom Gentimer, Wyckoff's construction official, will retire this summer after 25 years of service. The township is actively seeking his replacement; qualified candidates holding both construction official and building subcode official certifications should apply through the township website.
Helena Ave sewer project complete
The long-running sewer project on Helena Avenue has been completed. Committeeman Boonstra thanked the homeowners along the street for their patience during construction and recognized Michael Scolese for managing the project.
Government
STATE HOUSING BILL WOULD LET DEVELOPERS BUILD 8-STORY TOWERS ANYWHERE IN WYCKOFF
A pending Trenton measure, S1836, would override all local zoning for projects with affordable units — allowing densities 40 times current norms — drawing alarm from the Township Committee.
Even as Wyckoff's officials congratulated themselves for getting ahead of the state's fourth-round affordable housing requirements, a new Trenton measure threatened to render that work irrelevant.
At Tuesday's Township Committee meeting, officials sounded the alarm over Senate Bill S1836[1], a piece of state legislation that would establish three tiers of 'as-of-right' residential development — meaning projects that cannot be denied by local planning or zoning boards, regardless of what the municipality's master plan or zoning code says.
Under the bill's framework, a developer proposing 20 percent affordable units could build at 40 units per acre[2], one story above whatever height limit exists in the zone. At 35 percent affordable, the allowance jumps to 60 units per acre and two stories over the height maximum. At 50 percent affordable, it reaches 80 units per acre and three stories above current limits — effectively legalizing eight- and ten-story buildings in single-family neighborhoods wherever a developer chooses to act.
Township Administrator Matt described the bill in his briefing, and Committeeman Rudolph Boonstra added a visceral reaction.
'This is not a modest planning tool. It changes the entire complexion of a community,' Boonstra said[3], comparing the density levels to the urban housing projects of the 1960s and 1970s. 'We called them towers of misery, and they wound up being torn down.[4] Now they want to move them into single-family neighborhoods.'
Mayor Lane connected the bill directly to the overlay zoning Wyckoff adopted in March, framing the township's March 15th compliance push as the best available protection. 'The actions we took are protecting our residents from this type of legislation,' he said.[5] 'We knew it was going to come.'
A second bill drew concern from Committeeman May Bogdansky. S1421 would require municipalities to formally budget for emergency medical services[6] — a change she said could effectively end volunteer ambulance corps like Wyckoff's. 'Unlike fire and police, where we've always had to budget, this would now require us to budget for EMS too,' Bogdansky said. The bill had moved from the Senate to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and more than 200 emails opposing it had been sent. 'We'll see what the final outcome is,' she said.
On a more positive note, township attorney David reported that Fair Share Housing Center had sent a draft compliance certification confirming Wyckoff had met its fourth-round obligations. 'It looks like they're agreeing with everything we filed,' he said. 'Hopefully by the end of this month we'll be done.' Once the judge signs the order, Wyckoff will be formally protected from builder's remedy suits through 2035.
Road work on Franklin Avenue was complete and Godwin Avenue paving was expected to wrap up Wednesday, officials said. The new crosswalk at Spring Meadow and Franklin Avenue has been painted, and work on Lawlands Road began last week in advance of paving.
The Memorial Day parade is set for Monday: a 8 a.m. ceremony at Fire Company Number One, a 10 a.m. veterans service at Wyckoff Reformed Church, and the parade itself beginning at 11:30 a.m. — down a freshly paved Wyckoff Avenue. 'You'll be walking on a beautifully newly paved Wyckoff Ave,' Mayor Lane noted. 'No tripping hazards.'
The township's primary election is June 2nd. There will be no Township Committee meeting that day; June meetings will be held on the second and fourth Tuesdays.