Ridgewood council hears final Shedler Park design as residents demand answers on turf, safety and tree loss

Suburban Consulting Engineers presented the final design for Shedler Park on June 3, and council members said remediation is nearly complete and the plan conforms to a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approval from August 2025. Kevin O’Keefe, the project manager, said the design includes a multi‑purpose synthetic turf field, inclusive playground, a self‑cleaning restroom, concrete walking loops, an arboretum and about 60 on‑site parking spaces plus 18 bump‑in spaces along West Saddle River Road.

"So tonight, what I would like to do for everybody is present the overall scope of improvements with this project to demonstrate its compliance with the NJ approved plans," Kevin O'Keefe said during the presentation. He described layered safety features along Route 17: a 4‑foot retaining wall backed by an earth berm, an internal guardrail, chain‑link fencing and landscaping intended to supplement the state’s existing steel guide rail.

The presentation, which Suburban will convert into full engineering plans and bid specifications for submission to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), drew sharply divided public comment. Several residents who live adjacent to the site urged the council to reconsider key elements, especially the synthetic turf field’s proximity to Route 17 and the plan’s tree removals.

"This is anything but safe. It's not enriching," said Amy, a Cambridge‑Midwood neighborhood resident, describing what she called a living forest and warning that the removal of nearly 200 trees would destroy habitat and local ecosystem services. Ellie Gruber, another resident, said the proposed playing surface was "more than a 330‑foot field" and urged residents to visit the site and judge safety for themselves.

Residents raised multiple technical objections: noise levels from Route 17, the potential for debris or balls reaching the highway, the adequacy of a 4‑foot wall and chain‑link fence to stop heavy vehicles, stormwater management, the effect of turf infill on private wells and long‑term heat and environmental impacts from artificial turf. Several asked for detailed dimensions; staff later said the field footprint is roughly 300 by 200 feet (about 100 by 66 yards) and that the presentation shown at the workshop used public‑facing renderings, not the full engineering sheets.

Council members and staff said many of those concerns were considered during the multi‑year design process and that concessions were made. Council members emphasized that the current design omits lights, bleachers, field goals and football, and that the diamond was reduced in size. Councilmember Siobhan, who has served on the council during much of the project’s history, said the council is prioritizing public access to the rehabilitated Shedler house and noted the village previously spent $2.6 million to stabilize the historic home.

"The remediation has done that in — there's so few trees left standing there after this," Siobhan said, describing remediation‑related tree removal and urging residents to participate in replanting efforts and stewardship. Keith and other staff told residents that all fill and soil removed from or brought onto village property is tested and reviewed by a licensed site remediation professional (LSRP).

Council members also described specific safety redundancies: the replacement earth berm will be slightly lower than the removed berm but will be supplemented by a four‑foot retaining wall, an interior guard rail, removable safety netting and a double row of evergreens between the field and nearby houses. Council rep Evan said the council has repeatedly sought to balance field needs with neighborhood impacts and pointed out that the field element has been part of planning documents since 2017.

Next steps: Suburban will finalize full engineering plans and the bid specifications, then submit those documents to SHPO for review; those engineering plans will include the detailed dimensions, stormwater and structural calculations residents requested and will become public records once submitted. The council said the project team will provide additional information to residents as the plan advances toward public bidding.

No formal vote was taken on the park at the workshop; council members described the meeting as an information and public‑comment session and said technical plans will be posted when they are filed with SHPO.