Mayor Michael Wildes has injected new blood into the city’s Planning Board, claiming that the appointees "have a pulse on what the city’s missing."
Residents Curtis Caviness, Rev. Vince Monden, Dr. Gerardo Yablonovich and Eric Hershmann were appointed to the Planning Board earlier this year. Appointed by the mayor, they replaced members that have served less than a year or others who were not re-appointed.
According to the mayor, some previous members could no longer commit to the volunteer positions – either because of conflicts with family or work engagements. In turn, Caviness left his alternate spot and replaced Vernon Walton; Rev. Vince Monden then accepted the alternate position; Yablonovich replaced Warren Finkel; and Hershmann filled Fitz Haney’s seat.
New members include a "tenacious and committed" reverend, a "gentleman of the first order," and a leading business executive, the mayor said.
The composition of the Planning Board and the quality of its members are important because they have ‘heavy responsibilities,’ local and state officials said.
The Planning Board’s main responsibility is to ensure that businesses conform to the city’s master plan for economic development while maintaining the character of the city’s communities. That includes traffic, parking, historical preservation and other regulated factors detailed in the plan. Other responsibilities include the review of site plans for private development referred from the city’s zoning official.
Members also approve or reject new plans for existing building and residences, as well as declare an area "in need of redevelopment," according to the state Department of Community Affairs.
"They are citizen volunteers, but they undertake a heavy responsibility – to know certain things about what is best for their community," said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg of Teaneck.
None of the current members has professional planning expertise. And that’s exactly what the mayor said he wants.
"We need people that run businesses and have a pulse on what we’re missing in the inventory of businesses," said Wildes.
The board’s current members, he said, spend much of their time in Englewood and are familiar with the city’s "industrial, commercial and residential corridors."
Planning experience is secondary when the Planning Board has its own attorney and access to professionals well versed in city and state regulations, Wildes said. Moreover, the state requires all new members to have passed a basic planning course within 18 months of their appointments.
The Planning Board exercises a crucial role in city government because it essentially regulates how much the city may profit or lose from new business, said state planning officials.
For more than a year, local residents and former Planning Board members have criticized planning board decisions on new businesses that they allege are not beneficial to both the city and its taxpayers.
In their most recent April 3 decision, the Planning Board approved a plan for a new restaurant on Palisade Avenue that did not include sufficient street parking for its customers. The plan passed despite the city’s chief planner adamantly objecting to it.
And in February of 2007, the City Council threatened legal action after the Planning Board reversed one of its deals with a private developer.
The Planning Board originally required a developer to build condominiums on property off of Route 4. But when the developer changed its site plans to apartments a year later, the board granted the developer permission.
City officials said the move would have significantly reduced the amount of revenue to the city by $2 million.
Defending his recent appointments, Wildes indicated that a fresh new approach to urban planning may be what the city needs.
"I would take five genuine, unbiased [residents] against two political hack architect [candidates] any day," he said.
