Ridgewood moves forward with controversial artificial turf fields at historic property

RIDGEWOOD — The Village Council has voted to proceed with its plan to install an artificial turf multipurpose/baseball field for its historic Schedler house property.

In a 3-2 vote, the council on Wednesday moved ahead with the controversial, resident-opposed plan.

In response to the vote, Ellie Gruber, president of Friends of the Historic Zabriskie-Schedler House, announced that her organization wants the council to return the $40,000 the group donated to the village that was intended for repairs to the house, at 460 W. Saddle River Road.

"We've hired an attorney," said Gruber, who sat on the ad hoc committee that produced the often-mentioned 2017 alternative design. "We're going to fight this."

The council also voted 4-1 to hire consultant Peter Primavera Partners LLC of Summit to shepherd the proposal through the state-approval process, for a maximum of $8,600. Primavera estimated at the council's April 3 work session that it would take three to four months to review the property's history and six to nine months to get through the entire process.

Shouting audience

Mayor Paul Vagianos struggled throughout the evening to maintain control of the standing-room-only crowd, which began arriving at 6 p.m. for a chance to speak at the 7:30 p.m. meeting. He had to repeatedly interrupt speakers to quiet audience members shouting at them, the council, and each other during the meeting.

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Among the 16 speakers during the pre-vote public hearing was 15-year-old Ridgewood High School sophomore Lauren Bond, who wept through the start of her statement supporting the proposed design. Her father, William Bond, executive vice president of the Ridgewood Baseball & Softball Association, later explained she was upset when her twin sister left in tears because "a woman opposing Schedler thought it appropriate while waiting in line to refer to my wife as a bad mother and my children being rude."

Speakers debated whether small or large playing fields attract more traffic, whether artificial turf fields or grass fields cause more injuries, what studies said about per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) from artificial turf causing cancer or contaminating the water supply, how many trees and wild animals would be displaced, preservation of the property's historic value, and how to protect the neighborhood from traffic exiting off Route 17 to the property on West Saddle River Road.

Residents of West Glen Avenue additionally argued that since work on Schedler had to wait for the consultation process, the $500,000 in capital funding proposed for Schedler this year should be diverted to a sidewalk project for their heavily traveled cross street. However, financial decisions will be addressed at the April 27 budget hearing.

Vagianos called an end to public comment after 45 minutes, over protests from Councilwoman Lorraine Reynolds. She argued that an exception should be made to guidelines about the number of speakers and allotted time for important issues. However, Vagianos argued that "we have work to do" and that it would set a precedent if the council started making exceptions. An additional 14 people spoke after the vote, from 10 to 11 p.m.

Project changes

The 7-acre site, east of Route 17, was bought by the village in 2009 for $2.7 million, offset by a $1.57 million open space grant, which required the property to be used for active recreation.

The purchase was intended to preserve one of the county's last Dutch American wood-frame farmhouses, built by John A.L. Zabriskie around 1825, and last owned by Florence Schedler, who died in 2007. As a bonus, the purchase also prevented a commercial strip mall similar to one on the west side of Route 17 from coming to the single-family neighborhood.

The house and property received state and national landmark status in 2019, imposing additional restrictions on how it could be developed, two years after the ad hoc committee recommended a child-size multipurpose grass field, playground and walking trail. Work began on the property, but the pandemic stalled progress through 2020 and 2021.

Last spring, several of the village's fields flooded several times during heavy rains, including at its high school. Games on grass fields were canceled, leading to a heightened discussion about the need for more weather-friendly surfaces such as artificial turf, and more fields in general.

The new plan calls for an artificial turf, adult-size multipurpose field overlaid with a 40-60 softball field, meaning 40 feet from pitcher to home plate and 60 feet between bases, not quite an adult-size 60-90 field. Restrooms, parking, a walking path and a playground are included.

Councilwoman Siobhan Winograd called it the village's "most expensive capital project," and former Councilman Jeff Voight labeled it a "sinkhole" in 2020. Of the $7 million allocated, $4 million has already been spent.

Council vote

Councilwoman Pamela Perron and Reynolds voted no on the plan, maintaining their position from the April 3 work session that artificial turf is a potential carcinogen. Reynolds cited Village Engineer Chris Rutishauser, who had already run a version of the plan by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which has approved projects on landmarked sites. He testified that the state frowned on artificial turf fields and would require additional review steps.

"He told us the grass field would pass right through SHPO, and the other way might take two to three years," Reynolds said.

Vagianos, Winograd and Weitz voted in favor of the plan.

"What comes to mind is the coach who runs the softball program in town who came and said, 'I don't have enough fields to schedule all of my teams,'" Vagianos said. "And the other coach who said, 'All of our practices are in Waldwick.' Imagine a community like Ridgewood, and we have to go to our neighboring towns to have practices and we don't have enough fields."

The April 12 meeting video can be viewed on the village's website, ridgewoodnj.net.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ridgewood NJ approves artificial turf fields at historic site