Councilor Baskerville Offers Commentary, Questions Many Issues at Montclair Council Meeting
“Dr. Baskerville was more enthusiastic about the resolution designating the block around the police station at Bloomfield Avenue and Valley Road as an area in need of redevelopment after the Planning Board approved the recommendation based on a study of the area. She supported the initiative to improve the area’s aesthetics, and she believed that the redevelopment plan would facilitate negotiations with property owners in the area that could come up with a reasonable plan so that no one feels they are losing their property to eminent domain. In the pre-meeting, Dr. Baskerville was initially concerned that the resolution would stoke eminent domain fears, and that she would not vote to approve the area as being in need of redevelopment if that were the case. She also thought it would be beneficial to help Richard Ricciardi, owner of the land occupied by the Delta service station, deal with the traffic problems around the station by initiating traffic calming devices to lessen the impact.
Mayor Jackson cited the Delta station’s difficult logistics in response. “Two county roads, coming in and out of Bloomfield Avenue, weird angles getting in and out . . . my opinion, I think it would be impossible to get that approved for that use today,” he said. Dr. Baskerville did note other Montclair gas stations, like Eastern Gas a block away, on diagonal corners, and she expressed hope that any of these stations could remain.”
Maginnis, Steven. Baristanet 17 July 2013.