June 18, 2025
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Public Awareness WIN for AIA New Jersey! Westwood Mayor Ray Arroyo Op Ed in NJ Municipalities Magazine
For those who don’t believe public awareness makes any difference to the architectural profession, this one’s for YOU! Whether you agree or disagree with his position … we know there are local politicians listening to our AIA NJ Public Awareness messages. AIA NJ PA co-Chair William Martin, AIA, received permission to share this article from the author. It appears in NJ Municipalities Magazine June 2025 issue.
Attached is an Op Ed from Westwood Mayor Ray Arroyo.
AIA Architects League Past President Anthony Iovino, AIA, read the article and agreed with the premise that the state should not dictate such locally specific zoning regulations. Each community has its issues in terms of infrastructure and resources that can not be addressed at such a broad level. That said, in counties such as Bergen, where we live, where we have areas with small towns, I do believe a more regional approach is appropriate. Case in point is the obvious increase in vehicular traffic over the past 5 to 10 years because of the increase in density of residential structures.
Iovino messaged the mayor:
Mayor,
I read and appreciate your article in the current issue. Thank you for acknowledging the importance of local governance and local professionals’ (architects and planners) input on such important community issues.
Anthony Iovino, AIA
To which the mayor replied:
Anthony,
I very much appreciate you reaching out.
I was a member of the Westwood Zoning Board of Adjustment for 5 years, a Councilman (and Council Land Use Liaison) for 7, before becoming Mayor. That experience informed what I’d written. It sets the priorities for my administration.
Local land use planning and zoning, guided by thoughtful, LOCAL professional planners, engineers, and architects, are at the core of the livable, successful, and demonstrably desirable small-town New Jersey model.
A community model very much worth preserving via incremental growth respecting physical context; as well as public health safety and wellbeing.
It also happens to be a crucial component of “small d” Democracy.
Thanks again!
Ray Arroyo
Westwood Mayor
And so relationships develop and the Value of the Architect is recognized. We are so proud of this win and encourage more members to engage with your elected officials and contribute to all press opportunities.
By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in Members & the Community | Tagged: #AnthonyIovinoAIA, #WestwoodMayorRayArroyo, wjmarchitect | Comments (0)
