Upper Saddle River Election 2020 – The Burning Issues That Haven’t Changed

With literally a matter of days before the Upper Saddle River election the question residents should be asking is  – who to vote for. Two parties, four candidates, a long run of control of the borough by 1 party – Republican. And a legacy. 

But what is it? Before you vote you might want to do some research. Surprisingly there is nothing new here, it’s an ongoing carry on from many years.

In 2000 Upper Saddle River mayor and council embarked on a plan – Vision 2020 – that was not too grand, realistic and achievable and aimed at securing the future of the borough maintaining the character of this desirable locale. But did they achieve their goals? You decide.

Now in the year 2020 Upper Saddle River is quite a different place from the outset of the writing of the plan. And not really for the better. So what should you be thinking about as you got to vote?

The Apple Ridge Golf Club Fiasco
Gone, and with it hundreds and hundreds of trees, open space and it has been replaced by a ‘luxury’ development that has given residents huge headaches. And the homes aren’t even built yet. The site has been destroyed, the developer Toll Brothers has shown a blatant disregard for good construction site practises and unless pressed uses the Pleasant Brook as their own disposal unit.

Unless pressed. This only occurs after intense pressure from irate residents. It’s not unusual for repeated demands for something to be done before something is. The town has not been proactive on their own, has not had sufficient oversight, interest or care. Literally letting the developer run the show, as they want. And the question is – why? 

Toll Brothers
The ‘luxury’ development that straddles Upper Saddle River and Mahwah, and the townhouse units at 1 Lake Street have ensured that many new residents are arriving in town. But the roads, infrastructure, schools are the same. Is there a plan to be able to ensure these new people don’t  swamp the town, and cause chaos? Driving to and from the Garden State Parkway from the far side of town has ensured long lines at the traffic lights at East Saddle River Road and Lake Street for years. But the arrival of hundreds new residents? How will the roads cope? And what about the schools?

Toll Brothers came into town and took over the land from Mack Cali to build. At least for one homeowner the deal and issues caused considerable head scratching. It was never clear enough how Upper Saddle River misjudged or mishandled or were out played in the dealings with both Mack Cali and Toll Brothers. And somehow the deal appeared to have a questionable side to it. But now the town is left with a behemoth developer basically running over the town, polluting the water, having few to no sanctions. And laughing all the way to the bank.

Transparency
You hope your elected officials have the best interest of their constituents at heart. You hope they are working for you. You hope they are looking after the place you and they call home. Except in the event history of Upper Saddle River mayor and council it never, ever is that way. Yes, there is the Mayor’s newsletter with nice bits of information on what is happening, sports, achievements. 

But access to information is difficult and makes residents work for what they want. Meeting agendas aren’t posted with sufficient time. Meeting minutes have a history of taking months to appear. The accuracy of meeting minutes have been questioned, as they appear to be vauge recollections of what occurred. Interpretation is questionable sometimes. Toll Brothers has had Stop Work Orders, at least twice. But where is this on the Borough website? The first one you can find some information on – just – if you are prepared to hunt. The second one is…..nowhere to be found. Don’t residents have the right to know what is going on….why? how? when? Nothing. 

The mayor has consistently refused to live stream town meetings. For years a small number of residents have asked for this, so those working, or senior citizens who are unable to attend council meetings could follow what was happening. Be involved and take part in what is going on. They were ignored  – and laughed at. Recently with the arrival of coronavirus stay at home orders the meetings have been held via zoom, which affords some access. But zoom won’t accommodate hundreds of people and many people won’t or can’t use it, particularly senior residents. But streaming live with recorded meetings accommodates the residents and at least gives the pretense the mayor and council want the residents to be involved. Come on, they have it everywhere – even in Airmont!

Hillside Avenue and The Eruv
Another very sticky issue is the handling of the arrival of a religious accommodation, and the proposed development on Hillside Ave. A mikvah and lots and lots of housing. And the draining of the aquifer. And rural roads swamped with vehicles. And the very real likelihood there will be no water. A frightening reality. 
On both of these issues the mayor and council were late out of the gate. They mishandled the eruv, there was a lawsuit, the town was in the press and it wasn’t pretty. With Hillside they appear to be slightly more proactive, but with the lack of communication, and face saving who knows what is really going on?
And how many residents know / knew / remember that the lawsuit regarding the eruv had restrictions that are going to end in a matter of months? Anyone? Again the lack of transparency and poor communications results in residents not knowing the facts, or truth. Aren’t these the same residents, paying taxes, who funded the legal fees? That were quite avoidable had the mayor and council been awake and attentive at the outset. It’s your tax dollars.

Taxes
This is one of the major talking points that the republican mayor and council consistently crow about their achievements in Upper Saddle River. 7th lowest in Bergen county.

Except they aren’t. 

Upper Saddle River mayor and council employ some very interesting record keeping of the finances for town. Basically unreadable to the average person, finances are presented in a way that confounds. Last year the mayor and council parted ways with the town Chief Financial Officer who was not actually running the finances of the town inside the legal requirements set out by the state. 

A very few residents are able to read the town books, or want to. Only one resident picked up the fact that the town wasn’t actually fulfilling it’s financial obligations. And it seems that is the way the town wants it. Nothing clear, everything a little fuzzy.

Low taxes? Nope, not quite. Based on the figures of the N Division of Taxation 20 towns have lower general tax rate and 14 town have a lower effective tax rate than Upper Saddle River. The the mayor and council use this as their talking points. Except, wasn’t there a tax increase sometime this year? As in 5%!!!!? And there is one on the ballot right now for more taxes.
And don’t forget the town is likely to have reappraisal of properties next year which will increase taxation.

Historical Preservation
Despite intending to protect the environment, character and the small historical relics in Upper Saddle River it appears the town as usual doesn’t honor its commitment.
The old Creative Gardens property had a characterful old house on its grounds. The property was sold…..again no one is quite sure what is going to be built there – what transparency? – and the new owner bulldozed the house. Gone.

 

The Slave Cemetery. Did you know Upper Saddle River has one? In recent years the graves were found,  marked and cleared thanks to the pastor of Old Stone Church and an Eagle Scout. However, this historical property isn’t accessible at all. Unless you walk on private land, and disturb a homeowner. And there is no signage. How is that respecting history? Or even acknowledging it? 
Hennion House, the second oldest house in Upper Saddle River – from the 1700s, with sweeping lawns and rural country aspect has now been trashed with the subdivision of the property allowing a multi-million dollar development. Where is the protection of the town’s character? Adding this to Toll Brothers The Grove and whatever is going to happen at Creative Gardens the town is going to swamped with properties and people, and traffic. Lots and lots of traffic.

 

Conclusion 
Sadly voter residents will not have a chance to address any of these issues with the candidates. It appears that once again there will be no debate. A long time habit of the fair and open Upper Saddle River elections the Republican candidates have never felt the need to debate. In previous years they haven’t even replied to requests. They run their campaigns as they run the town, sharing the little they believe will feed their followers, and ignore everything else. They believe their policies and actions speak for themselves. And with the enormous apathy of the majority of the residents in town they have never been pushed to justify their actions. 

Unfortunately, the town is suffering. As Upper Saddle River morphs into another Jersey suburb the rural charm and country feel gives way to regular old suburbia. Just with multi-million dollar homes. 

So why bother live in this zip code.