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Residents press council for design standards and question Willow Field spending; council says process ongoing
Summary
Public commenters urged the borough to adopt unified design standards and raised concerns that open-space-funded Willow Field improvements are proceeding without a full project vote by the council; officials said steps including bonding and bid awards will return for formal council approval.
Longtime redevelopment and planning volunteers told the Borough Council of Pompton Lakes on Jan. 27 that the borough should adopt formal design standards and a pattern book to guide future development and redevelopment.
Abby Novak, who identified herself as a longtime member of the redevelopment agency and planning board, urged the council to fund a design-standards effort and said the absence of consistent standards leaves the town's development to individual designers rather than a single community vision. Novak said prior planning documents recommended design guidelines (a pattern book) and asked the council to convene representatives from planning, zoning, redevelopment, shade tree and historic commissions to craft a single, townwide standard.
Mayor Michael Sarah and the council responded that the borough has placed funding for design standards in the current budget and has begun forming committees representing the boards Novak cited. Administrator Michael Brown said the program is in the municipal budget for 2025 and that staff will work with consultants to develop the standards, distribute plans to boards and present a draft for council approval.
Separately, during the meeting several council members and residents questioned the Willow Field open-space project process. A council member said open space had voted to allocate funds (including an additional $150,000 contingent on council approval) but that residents were concerned the engineering and permitting work were advancing without a formal council vote to approve the full project. The record shows open-space recommendations and a straw poll at a prior meeting to move the project into the engineering phase; council members explained that the governing body votes on appropriation (bonding and award of contract) and that those formal actions will be put before the council at future meetings.
Administrator Brown and other officials said the borough plans phased work at Willow Field: the playground (phase 2) is on track for 2025 construction and suppliers estimate roughly 12 weeks from order to delivery; phase 1 (storage-shed renovation and flood-permitting work) has experienced delays with DEP permitting and structural analyses and remains under review. Brown said the council will be asked to approve bond ordinances and, later, bid awards; those will be the formal council votes that determine whether the projects proceed.
Residents and several council members asked for clearer public notice and for the council to present project plans and costs before using open-space funds. Officials said they will schedule further briefings and that engineering and permitting documents would be shared before any contract awards.
