CHCC Vista Project Hearing Resumes Tuesday

The public hearing on the controversial Vista project wil resume Tuesday after a month-long hiatus.

A number of issues still remain in contention for the Wyckoff Zoning Board and SAVE Wyckoff, a neighborhood activist group, and thus the Christian Health Care Center.

Primary amongst those lingering concerns are what to do with the Sicomac and Cedar Hill avenue intersection that was originially slated to be "improved" via state mandate following the installation of a CHCC entrance ramp nearby.

Based on previous testimony, it's likely that CHCC officials will simply remove the additional planned entryway and divert potential traffic to existing entrances in an effort to alleviate this concern.

Another major sticking point for the board over the past several meetings has been the makeup of certain building materials. 

Original plans provided by CHCC officials had called for the 258-resident complex to be constructed with "non-combustible materials," but following the downsizing of the project in October that changed.

In subsequent hearings, including those final meetings of 2012, zoners and CHCC building officials hadn't bridged the gap regarding how the housing complex would be built.

Friends of Wyckoff, in a Feb. 8 letter to supporters, listed a much-talked-about-but-not-officially-proposed Ridgewood Water Water Tower and the proposed Vista building height among their concerns.

"The Water Tower remains a concern, especially to residents near Merrywood Drive and Holly Drive," wrote a Friends of Wyckoff representative in the Feb. 8 letter.  "CHCC's engineer stated several times that water will come from Hawthorne Water, and that they do not require a water tower. However, no agreement has been made with Hawthorne Water. We hope the Board will include a resolution that no water tower be built."

The next Wyckoff Zoning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m.