Hixon Place residents, who live across the street from Columbia High School’s Ritzer Field, on Monday appealed to the South Orange Village Council to oppose the South Orange-Maplewood School District’s proposal to turf all but half an acre of Ritzer.
Eight residents, including 10-year-old twins, spoke during the public comment portion of the Village Council meeting Monday, saying they are concerned for their health, safety and quality of life, and insisted that the Council act to represent their best interests — when members meet as the Board of School Estimate on August 27.
RELATED: SOMSD Board of Ed Votes to Turf Ritzer Field, Leaving Half an Acre of Grass
“I am here to remind you that this decision will directly impact my house — my biggest financial investment — and the physical security of my family,” said Hixon Place resident Annetta Hanna, who added that her biggest concerns are the health and environmental costs to turf.
Rebecca Scholl asked the Council to consider the legacy that the decision to turf Ritzer will have.
“It’s not too late to roll this back and show us that you actually mean the things you say about the environment, about equity and about the health and safety of our town’s residents,” she said, asking the BOSE require a commitment from the district to do a full application to the Maplewood Planning Board. “And I insist that the South Orange planning, zoning, and engineering professionals represent our interests as part of that process.”
Mayor Sheena Collum told residents that South Orange Village will be asking to the Board of Education Administration asking for a courtesy review, “not out of courtesy, but because I do believe it is a legal requirement. We are consulting with our land-use attorney.”
A courtesy review, she said, “is treated very similarly to a land use application where you have completeness, you have a checklist, and you have experts who are able to speak in significantly more detail than what has been prepared for the public to date. These include but are not limited to stormwater management, heat island effects, the way that lighting would be proposed and the way that it’s mitigated. Even things such as a traffic and circulation plan if there’s going to be additional uses at that field.”
Collum said she has asked Maplewood Mayor Nancy Adams, who is also on the BOSE, to consult with Maplewood’s planning board attorney as well.
“We think this is a critical step,” she said, adding that the review is where experts and paid professionals can answer community concerns about the project.
“The rest I will reserve for the Board of School Estimate meeting, where we will be discussing, obviously, the financial implications,” she said, adding that the increase in the cost estimate is a concern, as well as as not knowing exactly how much is going to be necessary for stormwater mitigation.
“So I think all these are concerns that, that can be addressed, should be addressed and must be addressed,” she said. “And we will continue as we always have to advocate on behalf of all of our residents, especially the most impacted area, which will be our residents on Hixon and those adjacent to the school.”
In 2019, a plan that included improvements and artificial turf for a portion of Ritzer Field for an estimated $2.2M was approved and funded in the original $157 million Long Range Facilities Plan. In 2024, the BOSE was asked to approve an additional $4M in funding for turfing Ritzer after the District administration reported that it had run short of funds due to inflation and supply chain issues before getting to the Ritzer project. But BOSE denied the request at that time.
Several of the Hixon residents who came before the Council on Monday suggested that those advocating for turf are part of the turf lobby or are wealthy, unlike those in the Hixon neighborhood, and Collum cautioned against making assumptions about other residents’ income levels and sowing division.
“I don’t believe that they are a part of a turf lobby or in the pockets of anyone. I believe that they are advocating to the greatest extent possible not just for student athletes, but a need that has grown and continued to grow for over a decade now. And unfortunately there are no good answers,” Collum said. “So we will do our best to come to some level of consensus, try and mitigate any impacts.
“But I hope that the nature in which residents speak to each other, especially about challenging topics, can continue to be productive and done in a way that brings good-hearted and well-meaning people together to look for the best solutions that represent everyone rather than any type of division.”
RELATED: Full Turf or No Turf? Amid Impassioned Debate, Officials Focus on Ritzer Field Hybrid Plans
