Planning Board Carries Glen Ridge Country Club Pool Expansion Amid Noise and Setback Concerns

Glen Ridge's Planning Board opened 2026 with its January 21 reorganization meeting, swearing in new members Ms. Soto and Mr. Tsekhanskiy alongside returning member Mr. Mehrotra, who was reappointed Chair; Mr. Hegarty was named Vice Chair, and a new Affordable Housing Subcommittee of Bojsza, Schuster, and Soto was created. The Board adopted its by-laws and a 2026 meeting schedule running from February 18, 2026 through January 20, 2027, noting its November meeting would fall on the second Wednesday rather than its usual date.

The bulk of the meeting was devoted to Application 26-01 from the Glen Ridge Country Club, 555 Ridgewood Avenue, seeking preliminary and final site plan approval with C variances to replace its kiddie pools with a new zero-entry kiddie pool, expand paver patios, add underground stormwater improvements, build a new dumpster enclosure in the front parking area, install a four-foot wrought iron fence with landscaping along Ridgewood Avenue, and remove two dead trees. Attorney Anthony Bocchi represented the club; General Manager Rose Baez-Mabli testified the redesign would make the kiddie pool safer and wheelchair-accessible, described the pool's seasonal hours (Memorial Day through Labor Day, extendable two weeks, generally 10 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays) and said the club has never been cited for violating the noise ordinance, though police have been called about noise in the past. Board Engineer Paul Ferriero disputed testimony from the applicant's engineer, Jeff Egarian, that the pool's new, larger free-form shape and closer distance to the side yard (46.8 feet from the main pool) was necessary, suggesting the same side-yard setback could be preserved by reshaping the pool; Ms. Robinson suggested simply rotating it 180 degrees. Planner Thomas Ricci testified in support of the variances under the Municipal Land Use Law, but acknowledged no noise study had been done, and Councilwoman Moody raised concern that switching the surface from grass to pavers could increase sound reflection toward neighboring homes.

Members of the public raised concerns about setting a precedent for granting variances, noise, privacy from homes near the expanded pool area, increased impervious coverage and stormwater runoff, and questioned the actual public benefit of the project; one resident spoke in favor, saying noise should be an expected part of living near a country club. Rather than vote, the Board adjourned the application to its next meeting on February 18, 2026, with no additional public notice required. Separately, Secretary Erik DeLine reported that two legal challenges to the Borough's Housing Element and Fair Share Plan were settled in late December, meaning the Board must re-adopt the plan under the settlement terms and review a new affordable-housing zoning ordinance for Master Plan consistency at the February meeting; the Borough must adopt that ordinance by March 15, 2026.