Ridgewood council introduces four zoning ordinances and settlement steps after judge warns of losing zoning immunity

Ridgewood — Village officials on Wednesday introduced four zoning ordinances and approved settlement steps tied to the Kensington assisted‑living project and the state’s fourth‑round affordable‑housing rules after their attorney said a court could remove the village’s immunity from developer lawsuits.

Village counsel Matt Rogers told residents the amended Fair Housing Act and recent court practice require municipalities to provide a realistic opportunity for affordable housing and that a settlement judge had signaled the village could lose its zoning immunity — a move Rogers said could let developers pursue ‘builder’s‑remedy’ projects that override local height, setback and density limits. “Failure to comply with the fourth round would result in our losing control over development in the village,” Rogers said.

The council introduced ordinances by title to establish an S‑1 senior overlay for the Kensington area (ordinance 4071), create a TO‑1 townhouse overlay (4072), add a CR‑1 commercial‑residential district (4073) and modify B‑1/B‑2 district standards along with a mandatory affordable set‑aside…