Why is there so little development in northern Bergen County?

I’ve been wondering about this for a while. When you look at places like Hackensack, Fort Lee, or even Englewood, there’s been a noticeable amount of new development. High-rises, mixed-use buildings, more housing options, and some revitalization of downtown areas. But in most of northern Bergen County towns like Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Upper Saddle River, Mahwah, etc., you don’t really see the same kind of growth.

It feels like many of these towns have stayed pretty much the same for decades, with very limited new housing, almost no large apartment complexes, and small downtowns that haven’t expanded much. I’m curious why this is the case. Is it mainly zoning restrictions and strict planning rules? Is it residents opposing development to preserve the “suburban” feel? Or is there simply not enough demand or infrastructure to support denser housing and bigger downtowns?

With housing prices in Bergen being so high, it seems like there would be at least some push for new options in these northern towns, but instead the growth seems concentrated in just a few areas. For those of you who live in or know these towns, what’s the real reason development has been so limited compared to other parts of the county?