Neighborers press council over landscaping and buffer violations at Landmark development

Kara Donski, a Woodcliff Lake resident whose property backs the Landmark townhome development in Park Ridge, told the council the project's buffer planting violates borough code and leaves neighbors without privacy.

Donski said the developer planted trees 2.5 feet from the property line, with a fence at five feet, leaving an insufficient buffer for the plantings to reach mature size. She cited borough code sections she read from the record (e.g., code 101-63, section c(2)(f) and section c(2)(a)) and said some specimens already appear dead or dying. "These trees are 2.5 feet from our property lines...they're going to grow into our properties," she said, asking the borough to inspect and enforce the landscaping plan.

A borough representative said Keith Dalton (who was not at the meeting) would perform a site inspection and that the borough engineer would review the landscape design. The borough agreed to accept photos and to have staff visit the affected yards. Donski and neighbors offered to meet with the engineer and provide photographic evidence of spacing and plant choice.

What happens next: Borough staff and the borough engineer will conduct a site inspection and review the planting plan against the requirements cited. Neighbors will provide photos and the architect's plan to help staff determine whether the buffer, species, and maintenance obligations have been met.

Sources: Public comment by Kara Donski at the Park Ridge Borough Council meeting on July 8, 2026; borough staff commitment to site inspection (meeting record).