##VIDEO ID:14YfKe9oIbA## like I say not only because she you daughter she's so pretty did you get it commissioner I do not have access to P can you open we go you're welcome what's the to get to the agenda there okay I think I can take here Y and we'll get to the date there we go thank you oh yeah know I know everywhere in the building we're working on the agenda from 3:30 today um he's be THS Council council president [Music] court it's like you're there and like the know what I'll go sit by you the this way I can uh wow look at that I can kiss up to the board B Council woman a [Music] come I'll over there I I see Eevee that's good that's what happened W they over oh we got USD right there s so those three are not coming no no the doctor not coming oh my God all right so good afternoon everyone uh welcome to the planning board meeting today for Tuesday August 20th calling the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. about Pledge of Allegiance please stand pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for stands Nation indivisible and justice for all cam roll call please yes so councilwoman priner here commissioner lipsky here commissioner stamato here commissioner Cruz here commissioner Dr Des yeah okay we have five Commissioners present we have a quorum cam I missed the sunshine sorry okay no worries um so today is Tuesday August 20th this is a Jersey City planning board meeting with a scheduled 5:30 p.m. start time and in accordance with the open public meetings act notice of this meeting has been given to the editor of the Jersey journal the Jersey City Reporter and posted with the city clerk on August 16th of this year this meeting was also posted on the Jersey City division of City Planning web page and all dist distribution materials made available to the board were published and made available to the public saring the staff Matt and Francis do you guys any testimony tonight the truth the whole truth the truth yes okay and now correspondence yes we do have one item under correspondence and so that is under new business item 12 12 um case p2023 d0110 it's a minor subdivision with C variances at 296 C View Avenue and they have requested a carry with preservation of notice to September 24th of this year and we could go through the adjourned under old business if you think that's necessary the old business we're going to go through so you want to talk about the carriage oh sorry yes so item six adjournments all right only because we've had people from the public that haven't been uh I guess looking at the agenda on the portal so if you're here on case p2023 d71 it's a preliminary and final site plan for 70 6 to 82 Liberty Avenue that's not being heard this evening it is carried to the September 10th meeting there will be no more notice case p2023 d39 preliminary and final major site plan for 2115 van vorce that is being carried to the September 10th meeting there will be no further notice of that matter case p2023 d002 it's a minor site plan for 540 Route 40 Route 440 if you're here on that matter that matter is also being carried to the September 24th meeting there will be no further notice of that matter case p23 044 604 to 606 Communipaw Avenue preliminary and final major site plan that matter is being carried to the September 24th meeting with no further notice case p2024 d019 it's preliminary and final major site plan with variances 248 eerie Street and 209 to 215 15th Street that matter is being carried to the September 24th meeting with no further notice case P2022 4-33 it's a minor site plan at 721 Newark Avenue that matter is also being carried to September 24th and there'll be no further notice of that matter case p2024 d34 it's a minor site plan for 54 Cottage Street if you're here on that matter it's also being carried to September 24th with no further notice case p2024 d88 it is a amendment to a previously approved application at 87 Bright Street if you're here on that matter that matter is being carried to September 24th with no further notice uh in addition case p2024 d 0148 it's a one-year site plan extension request for the property at 212 Culver Avenue Council I know you're here we're going to carry that matter uh to the September 24th meeting as well thank you thank you Council Cameron I don't have any other matters that are listed as carried the only other item Madam chair that I I did want to address was uh under new business we did have case p223 d009 on 85-87 Monitor Street this was on previously and was carried uh Mr Salan was instructed I guess not to appear at that last hearing so we had made a mistake and we had told Council that we would list that as first under new business I know Mr Salan has an old business matter as well so if we can just have his matters coupled together uh and address that at that time I think that that would be the appropriate course of action on that matter Madam chair that's fine okay so with that Madam chair we should get right into Old business case p2240 1114 it's a one-year extension at 3646 Street Mr Harrington yes thank you uh for the record Charles Harrington of Connell Foley on behalf of the applicant I'm uh standing in for Mr lean uh tonight I do have the uh original Public Notices that I'll provide the council so Mr Harrington I do recuse on these matters uh because I have a conflict so if you could just give those to Fran Isco he will review those and Madam chair it is a one-year extension okay uh so I do have a conflict that I do recuse oned Mr hington what's normally customary is whenever I recuse obviously we explain to the app comfortable going forward without and needs an attorney carry the matter understood okay thank you yes uh as noted on the agenda oh I'll let Francisco do you want to review the notices before I begin it it looks good okay thank you so uh as noted on uh by uh Council this is for a one-year extension um my client approved uh approval uh from the board in December of 2022 uh the property is located in the Enis Jones Redevelopment uh uh development Redevelopment plan um so the the initial approvals are due to expire on December 13 2024 um so we're we're still valid now uh but my client sees the reality that he's not going to be ready uh by then he still has to do a number of things uh including working with the jcra on finalizing a designation so we're getting ahead of it and requesting a one-year extension through December of 2025 okay thank you any questions no matter no all right no questions um if there's any members of the public that would like to come and speak on this say come forward come forward hi everyone good evening yes Street 6th Street 6th Street correct is not 808 no no no not yet right not yet I received this letter I called the lawyer they even don't say they said they don't know this so so they sorry it's okay seeing no other member of the public wishing to speak I move to close second it okay um the roll call to to CL please bear with me this is my first night chairing so a little bit of patience and Grace I'm hoping for for um nothing else so staff does recommend approval with prior conditions um and then from there we can do roll call oh oh great thank you okay so then um I'd like to have a motion for item number P0 P20 2024 D 0114 for approval Madam Madam chair I'd like to move for approval case p 23- 04 for preliminary and final major site approval for 604 606 commun no that's the wrong that's where we're on 7A 7A okay case then the nness right so I'd like to then move for approval case p2023 D 0071 no old business okay no German try it a third time for the charm I'd like to move for approval case P 2024 d114 for oneyear extension for 364 6 Street second Pat second it all right on a motion to approve commissioner lipsky I commissioner Dr Desai I commissioner stamato I commissioner Cruz I en acting chairwoman princer I motion carries all in favor thank you so um next case um item number p2023 d87 um 150 v v Street that's you miss Kumar good evening good evening um thank you so much uh representing SSB goar LLC and this is regarding an extension for um 150 Broom Street in Jersey City Block 12107 Lots 2728 previously on June 25th we got an extension or reped for extension for a subdivision for the same project um this they received an approval in 2022 um January 4th 2022 um it expired in January 4th this past year so we're requesting a um extension I did request for a threeyear extension um I saw on the agenda that is a first only one year right now uh I would like to still request for three years we're still going through the pro um we're going to be filing the subdivision shortly and would like to start hitting the ground but just in case in a scenario so we don't have to come back um again every year to ask it so Madam chair we normally do not give three-year extensions we do them one at a time per the statute so uh that's been the policy of this board especially on an application of this size so while I understand what council's saying we carried or we didn't hear this extension because obviously the subdivision had to happen in order to then consider this so Madam chair I'm not surprised to see it on the agenda I knew it was coming based on the subdivision that was extended previously at a prior meeting so I think the oneye extension's in order obviously we'll hear from staff on the matter but uh that would be my legal opinion as to the okay the request for the threeyear extensions doesn't hurt to ask it does not okay and I I would agree with that so all right Council thank you nope that's it thank you Publican staff okay so are any members of the public wish to comment on this item number see no one from the public wishing to speak I move to close second staff report um yes certainly um thank you chairwoman um so yeah obviously the applicant requested a three-year extension here um traditionally this board has only given a one-year extension um it's completely the board's prerogative whether to honor that three-year request or not and staff defers to board opinion here um I believe the applicant um in the interest of making a subdivision filing deadline submitted a resolution for memorialization today as well um there might need to be a um a small correction to that resolution given that the board is choosing to give a one-year extension here um so staff can work with the applicant's attorney to submit a revised extension to the board's Council for review we can change the resolution and still Memorial just change the words three years to one year okay um then can I get a motion to approve case number p2023 d87 um for the one-year site plan extension second second commissioner Stato I commissioner Cruz I commissioner Desai I commissioner lipsky I acting chair councilwoman Prince AR I motion carries 5 Z thank you thank you counc okay so now uh next item case number p2024 0151 um onee site plan extension for 900 Bergen Avenue okay uh good evening again Charles Harrington of conell Foley on behalf of the applicant uh I do have the original notices uh as well that I can give the council thank you Council mam chair these do appear to be the same notices that I review electronically Affidavit of publication proof of mailing we're going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the record okay great okay thank you so for uh this request tonight it's for a one-year extension it is the last extension available uh with regard to this project um the project was approved uh in 2021 uh February of 2021 it's an eight story uh building with 50 units it's in the uh Jal Square Redevelopment uh plan area uh and we did receive a 2-year extension um some time ago that brings us out to February of 2025 so similar to the one that I I was uh presenting a few minutes ago we're kind of getting ahead of this because he he doesn't think he's going to be able to start uh by then a part of that reason is he is um current my client is currently developing 855 Bergen Avenue so his hands are full with that uh so in anticip or because of that he he wants to push this out a little bit um so this extension would would take us take us to February of 2026 and that's that's pretty much uh the reasoning okay great thank you any members of the public wishing to comment seeing nobody from the public wishing to speak I move to close second it okay go ahead um staff believes this extend is appropriate here um not much else to add okay so going to get a motion yes Madam chair I'd like to move for approval case p2024 d151 for a one-year site plan extension at 900 Bergen Avenue um commissioner stamato hi commissioner Cruz I commissioner Desai I commissioner lipsky hi um acting chair councilwoman princei I motion carries 5 Z thank you rocking okay so that's carried over next case number is p2024 d26 Mr Salan Madam chair lady and members of the board Mr lampy I have the hard copies of this service thank you Mr s M chair I'm in receive the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing with respect to the case p2024 d26 306 Johnston Avenue here in the city does appear to be the same as the uh digital one that I reviewed all does appear to be in order we're going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the record great thank you if we may just have one moment until she sets up to you can I plug in um okay hello okay uh just preliminarily uh I'd just like to explain where we are on this project we were before this board a few years ago Mr Salan is that mic on Can You Hear Me can I'll use this okay I'm sorry and if we need another one we got one there and potentially that handheld as well Mr ly uh this project is in the Mars Canal Redevelopment plan the to North District uh we did receive approvals a few years back uh for building eight residential units during the uh planning of the construction uh it was determined that certain Mater building materials were required to be changed and some modifications to the rooftop had to be made so we stopped the foundation construction came back and that's why we're here tonight so it's a it's a minimal change but I'd like Nicole uh our architect to explain exactly you know what we're doing Nicole Robertson the architect thanks Mr I do your name Nicole Robertson r n i o l e r o b e r t s o n I'm plugged in can you see what's on my screen no you're not seeing it I've plugged in the HDMI Cameron's Cameron's coming to your Aid okay Francisco can you tell whoever's in the hallway to walk down the hallway am I I'm just plugged into this HDML original I can try the other one maybe you should try I actually used this in I was before this board in June okay and was able to project did that work no okay any number of these sure what do you have there's a new dongle every week I was literally here in June and was able to project so I don't know wait this might work we don't have any exhibits to plans that were uploaded to the portal yes you need plans the plans were uploaded to the portal you don't have any additional exhibits no nothing additional we don't all right so let's do that did it work yeah work oh terrific okay thank you so just before we begin thank you so much all right there we go so Mr Salan I know the witness has been here before uh you're the original architect on this project yes you're licensed in the state of New Jersey correct and your license is current yes it is mam chair I move that we accept this witness as an expert in the field of architect okay great floor is yours okay Nicole would you walk us through the modifications to the original plan that we requesting this board to approv tonight yes so the as Ron um as Mr shaan explained before um our client uh originally the project was designed as a 4 over2 construction so four stories of combustible uh wood frame construction over two stories of non-combustible um really in an effort to create a better product the client um asked us to change the construction type to all non-combustible um to create a fully concrete cast in place concrete structure um which is a higher quality um better fire rating overall safer building um Better Sound uh privacy between the units um we thought it was a great idea the only challenge with this was that the um floor assembly becomes a little bit thicker so we have an 8 in concrete slab so originally we had a 1T um thick or maybe 14in floor assembly in the original design um the design that thickness of the floor assembly has increased to 1 10 1/2 in um accommodating a concrete slab and then dropping a ceiling to accommodate mechanical duct work and recess lights that sit below the floor slab um so the proposed um you can see on the um updated uh zoning tabulation chart that we're increasing the height from 55 ft which was originally approved to 58t six is that still within the permitted height yes it's still within the permitted height it's actually 6 in lower and we've created um our presentation uh drawings show the approved and the proposed uh drop plans I'll go quickly through those to just highlight what has changed because nothing has really changed in the floor plans um Sor now my my mouse isn't connected anymore sorry so um what did change unrelated to the building height change um we were asked by Cameron to comply with the gar regulations for um management of storm water um so we just add a little bit of additional information to these sheets originally so on the top of this drawing is the approved original approved plan which shows at the perimeter a kind of um uh uh extensive green roof on the fifth level and we have the same thing happening on the fifth level again we've just added a measurement for that and then at the roof we've actually increased the amount of um Green Space that can um manage the storm water on the so now we have um in bright green you can see an outline of uh modular green roof trays that outline the um roof deck area so we've increased that in order to comply with the gar and we've also removed uh some storage that we had um in the top you can see that and we uh kind of reallocated that area to um an enclosed uh uh mechanical kind of screened in space we're still within the original approved 32% um we had originally gotten a variance for that we're still within that 32% but I did want to point out uh those adjustments so the fifth floor was on sheet a11 the roof plan is a112 correct thank you yes and then uh we have our proposed elevations which look very similar um to our original approved uh exterior elevation and I'll just jump to the comparison sheets because it really highlights how similar these are um there's no change to the materials um I see that there's a little bit of a graphic issue but we're still doing all the same materials red brick um that kind of thing but we've just increased the um so the original floor to floor height was 10' 6 from floor to floor and now we're just going to 116 floor to floor to accommodate the additional um thickness of the floor assembly so our proposed uh overall Building height is 586 which again is within the allowable Building height per zoning what variances are triggered by this change uh none okay what variances are triggered by the rooftop uh uh none I mean we we had an original approval for a variance for the 32% um to accommodate the reality of the um mechanical area that's needed so that's a prior approval for that variance that we're just um uh reconfiguring the the square footage of coverage and we're continuing with that percentage correct yes I have a calculation on here that shows that yeah so the top drawing shows um the calculation here the roof apperences calculation so per the zoning um we're allowed 20% of rooftop apperance and we've outlined that in red and shaded the square footage so the original scheme had some outdoor storage here for like deck furniture and um miscellaneous storage on the roof deck and then we had this um square shape here was for it was a screened in mechanical area um but the as we've been developing the project that mechanical screened in space um increased in size so in order to stay within that 32% that was already approved we eliminated the storage and um reallocated that to the mechanical equipment it's still at the rear of the building it's still you know screened um and are these changes necessary to complete the building as it's planned now yes okay y I don't have any further questions of thank you Council second so just one thing Council then so the rooftop apperances are there's no variance being sought and so the only thing on the application says that's the only variant so with that it's your is it as of right yeah it's as of right now I mean based upon what the architect has said the height of the building uh is within the permitted height the only changes are within the building where the unit Heights are changed because of the the HVAC and the and the Mechanicals that have to go through so uh you know based on that U can you speak to the microphone so oh I'm sorry so so based on that it is it is an as of right uh amendment that we're requesting and I have I have no further Witnesses if you have any questions of the architect any questions no no okay no all right so yeah anybody from the public wish to comment Madam chair see Noone from the public wishing to speak I move to close okay Kim um so the applicant worked extensively with planning to accommodate the updates in the green area uh floor ratio um and they um Incorporated new species of trees to their uh Street scape and um they are in compliant with the objectives and goals of the Redevelopment plan and there is no detriment to the master plan with the variance that is existing so um ultimately planning staff recommends approval with the conditions stated in the planning staff memo dated August 13th of this year are those conditions acceptable yes they are okay then planning staff recommends approval and cam obviously if the board were not to Grant the application the applicant could proceeded with the prior plan still have the variance that was in place and the site plan approval that was in place right that's correct oh anything else no I have nothing okay all right I have a motion Adam chair I'd like to make a motion to approve uh case p2024 d26 to amend the preliminary and final major site plan with well no variances for 306 Johnson Avenue uh commissioner lipsky I commission project and good updates thank you commissioner Stato hi commissioner Cruz hi commissioner Dr saai hi and acting chair uh councilwoman priner I motion carries all in favor with conditions okay thank you so moving ahead we are going to move to New item number 18 case p2023 d009 okay you stay here thank you Council I'm chairman receipt of the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing with respect to case p23 d009 85 and 87 Monitor Street here in the city I've had the opportunity review this digitally it does appear to be the original of that digital file that was uploaded it does appear to be in order we can go ahead and Mark it as A1 for purposes of the record okay again Mr Salan thank you Mr lampy um this project uh consists of uh two existing two family houses at 85 and 87 Monitor Street uh that are owned by the same uh owners in the previous application as a matter of fact um and the application is to tear down the uh existing two buildings and create 10 residential units ground floor retail and u a roof rooftop deck uh variances for rooftop a perance coverage building set back step back on the sixth floor and a balcony variant uh I have uh Nicole Robertson as my witness I have uh Charles height as a planner to justify the variances in our civil engineer is available but I don't think his testimony is necessary unless the board has questions so I'd like to start with Nicole Robertson the project architect you Nicole Mrs Robertson you're still under oath yes understood okay Nicole would you give us an overview of the project and uh what variances are required and why are they required okay so as uh Mr shaan has um explained we have uh three variances that we're seeking tonight the first is for the stepb back at the sixth floor um a step back is required at the sixth floor Penthouse um the the plan States a sixth floor Maybe sixth floor Penthouse may be constructed with a step back of 5 ft from the front facade our building proposes a no step back um our building wall is aligned from the ground floor up to the sixth floor uh with no step back that's the first variance um the reason that um the kind of logic behind that is that the ab building the building adjacent to us at 95 monitor um known as the Hazel new construction building is very similar in that it doesn't set back at the six floor it has a kind of continuous building wall um and the building uh on the other side is um also does not have a step back so in order to be consistent with uh what's occurring on the Block uh we are proposing the same uh to not step back to create a kind of um sense of continuity on the Block um and I'll uh share the plans um but I will go through the other variances we're seeking um the next is very similar to what we just spoke about at 306 Johnston and we were anticipating what um we find occurs is that the um 20% um for rooftop apperance coverage is allowed and um we are proposing 32% um as a kind of um reality for um what we find um is occurring with the layout of mechanical equipment um and that keeps us you know we we think that we're citing it in a logical location it's not visible uh it's at the rear of the property which I'll share with you when I present the plans and then the third variance is for the rear balconies um we're proposing uh balconies that are um more than the 60% that's uh Allowed by the plan so the plan allows for uh uh balconies to um extend uh 60% of the width of the facade um we're proposing a little bit more than that but we are are not extending the entire width and we're actually um pulled back at the sides with the balconies so I can share those um as we walk through the plans okay would you take us through the plans please okay so um this photo here shows um the existing property which is uh three um single family there's two well they're highlighted in red um uh there's two uh single family attached homes 85 and 87 monitor um 83 monitor is not included in this project um and will remain um it's not uh owned by our client but we will be uh demolishing 85 and 87 um as part of this work there has been a demolition report prepared by our structural engineer uh guy Lago marcino of optimized enging Associates um so we are very mindful of how careful we need to be during the demolition of these um two houses and then you can see the Hazel which I mentioned before is a new um six-story building which you can see um is has a kind of consistent Street wall from ground floor to sixth floor does the building that's proposed on our property anticipate any retail space uh yeah yes it does okay yes we do propose retail on the first floor okay so you can see um our the two uh 85 and 87 monitor our two-story woodf frame dwellings that will be demolished as part of the proposed work um and our new construction on the site plan um the proposed site plan shows that we have um 100% lot coverage proposed at the ground floor which is as of right and at the ground floor we are proposing of course a um the retail space that um Mr shalin just referred to which is about 1734 Square fet um with a glass door front on the street and then we have a resident residential entrance um the main building entrance we're referring to as an elevator passageway um because we are not allowed to have any kind of um occupiable residential space on the ground floor as we're you know it is a um a flood zone um but this elevator passageway provides entrance to the building access to the elevator and then we have um all of our utilities and a bike room in this area um and we also have a second means of eass um door that leads to the public right of way this plan shows our uh trash and bike PL so we do have a large trash room adjacent to the elevator which is convenient um and um there are trash rooms on every floor so um trash is disposed of out the front door to the street um and then we have a bike room for 10 bikes uh which is basically is one per unit um which is I think more than what's required and then our first floor plan I'll zoom in on it a little bit you can see our oh I'm sorry it was 1785 Square ft of retail space I misspoke um and you can see the elevator passageway entrance to the lobby um access to the primary stair our bike room and then um we have a series of utility rooms towards the rear of the space at the second floor we have a 25 ft rear yard setback per the plan and um and the rest of the the building is basically stacked from floors 2 through six uh the plan is essentially um uh copied on all levels so it's essentially the same we have a two-bedroom at the front of the building uh fronting on Monitor and then a two-bedroom uh two bath um at the rear of the building at this level this um rear unit has access to a private roof Terrace which is 8 ft um 8 ft deep and um 31 1 ft wide and then at the rear um the remaining um uh 17 17 ft um is an extensive uh vegetative Green Roof System uh using um 8 in tray modules so this is part of our um compliance with the um uh the uh green uh the green roof um requirements for storm water management and the plans are essentially repeated as we go up with the exception that we have um the balcony that I was um mentioning um at the beginning of my presentation that we have a large balcony um because we felt it was really important that everyone as many people as could could could have access to private um outdoor space um so we have a balcony that's uh 27 fo 10 wide and 5T deep um it is pulled back on the sides from uh the neighboring properties so as not to infringe on anyone's privacy um tried to be mindful of that while still maximizing the outdoor space for the unit owners the plans are essentially repeated so I won't go through those in detail um and then the roof the roof plan um the stairs lead to the roof as does the elevator there's a small elevator vestibule so the roof is totally accessible it's a common roof deck for everyone in the building so um and it's quite large it basically um you know circles around the elevator and then we have our mechanical area at the um at the um rear of the building could you give us a summary of the materials that you're using on the building uh sure we have um so we have uh the modular um actually these are I'm sorry excuse me we have uh the vegetative Green Roof System up here in the um upper left hand corner is an 8 in kind of grid grided tray and then these kind of boxes that you're seeing that are 4 foot by 4 foot are deeper Planters um which are planted with um um a a maiden grass and Russian sage which um our landscape consultant uh confirmed would would grow well and it provides like a beautiful um surrounding for the roof deck and um is is also great for our storm water management and then the roof material of the deck is um I have the epe we have um epe uh uh pavers which um uh it's kind of modular uh EP system which is very nice and then the uh bulkhead is clad in Stucco and what about the exterior of the building what are the materials on the exterior of the building okay so um we have our um elevations our proposed elevations are uh primarily brick um at the upper levels floors uh two through 2 through six uh the white material that you're seeing is a brick which I'll I have samples of everything with me that I can pull out um the windows have black metal frames and then we've added some visual interest with a kind of ribbed um metal uh panel that spans um from the top of the window units to the bottom so there's a kind of vertical expression um to the building that and un unification of the um windows and then at the base we have a different material which is um which is uh decton uh radium which is a compressed Stone product which has like a kind of um really nice pattern I'm I will pull that out as well and then the other thing that's marked on here is the underside of the overhanging sopit um because actually the um upper floors is Project over um there's a there's a small overhang and the underside of that overhang is clad in Wood um which will be visible in the um in the rendered view okay I can so this is the the Brick sample it's a white brick wire cut I'm waiting for Mr height to get up and help you oh that's okay I don't have an assistant today I know exactly Mr San's got this big binder can't this is the of this RI metal panel is to match the windows this is radium which is the compressed Stone which has a kind of and white the radium is the um compressed Stone uh which will be at the base it's a very durable material you can spray paint it although I hope no one does but it can be easily cleaned so it's it's very resistant and then this is the material for the underside of the saet so we're softening the kind of hard feel of the um facade materials with a warm Uh Wood material at the underside of the SOP and then we imagine carrying this into um the lobby the residential Lobby and our rendering shows um how you would see um that uh from the exterior oh actually I shouldn't try to jump ahead but um this view shows the underside of the saet with wood and our residential interior carrying that um wood through but the rendered view um shows how um our new building really unites the block um it relates to the buildings on either side um for the most part um matching the street wall which we thought was important really matching the amount of glass um we feel there's a a good consistency there between the new the new structures and and our proposal and we do have a series of details in the plan that that go into um the articulation of the windows and um the use of the ribbed metal panel and then we also have a a metal frame um around um the perimeter of the uh you know the main volume uh main residential volume so we're differentiating between the residential units on Floors 2 through six and then the ground floor which is primarily um commercial space good I think that's it yep good thank you if if anyone has any questions of the architect okay Charles height I do yes Charles height last name spelled h y DT Mr height your professional plan or your LIC is still in effect is it not it is yes you've testified many times here I have okay I would ask that it be accepted Mr rampy if you don't mind Adam chair if the board so pleases I suppose go ahead Mr height you got you got through that one very close you know my pleasure and honor see if it holds up all night Mr height Mr uh height would you go through the variances that are triggered by this application and the reasons why this board should Grant the variances yes so just as a reminder we are in the Morris Canal Redevelopment plan area um the to Transit oriented de development West District so we're advocating for uh Redevelopment added infill added density in and around the Light Rail and and mass transit um much of the deviation relief tonight is really about the design of the building where I would offer that the C2 criteria where the benefits of the proposed design outweigh any Associated detriment um first and foremost with respect to the massing of the building that six story setback where we have to provide a 5 foot relief from the floors below um we've heard from the architect uh who did re reference um the uh the the Hazel building to at 89 Monitor Street uh just to complete that uh logic in terms of consistent context the Bella which is shown here um at actually the Bella is 74 Maple Street which is a little further south is an 8 story building um which is at 90 ft there is no setback there um and then across the street uh across Monitor Street there are several um fivestory structures that also don't have that setback uh at that upper most floor so um it isn't a consistent design theme along this block um we are holding true to the full flush um front facade uh you can see from the renderings the architectural details that are incorporated into this design um help the building stand out from uh adjacent multif family buildings um but keep that overall consistent massing um with respect to the other two deviations one being the rooftop of pertinence coverage um 32 seems to be the appropriate balance of mechanical space and other amenity spaces uh on the rooftop so that maximum app pertinence coverage of 32 uh is being proposed where only 20% permitted um we are uh screening the mechanical equipment uh we are also locating a generator on the roof of this that will be um prevented um outfitted to prevent for any sort of large sound at the property lines um but also uh it's in a flood zone so locating that on the on the upper story or the rooftop is part of the part of the design um with respect to the balky de Dimensions um any portion of the proposed balcony could occupy itself if it were a smaller width so could be on the left side of the property could be on the right side of the property this design has the balcony spanning the full so we are proposing larger balconies um there is benefit to the future tenants for that outdoor uh part of the the unit um but um that is part of the design one thing that the architect did mention is that we don't encroach on the rear side yard of 18% or more which is part of the requirements that regulate against balconies so we're not infringing about that it's really just about the the width of the proposed design um that's the descriptions and justifications from a design standpoint with respect to other reasons um I find that this advances um purpose a guiding appropriate development it's a Redevelopment project in mors Canal achieving all the Redevelopment goals and objectives uh it also um is a uh exercise in promoting a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good Civic design um we've heard the details from the architect about how we um conceived how the the how she conceived this building and and the materials and the overall mousing so I do think it furthers that purpose of the municipal L use law in terms of the negative criteria um most of these are targeted at massing and any impacts to the immediate Jason Property Owners I think we screened located the balconies located the mechanical equipment in appropriate location so there's no impacts and the massing at the six-story is really just more about consistent Aesthetics um there's no substantial impact on light and air by filling in that six-story space on the on that uppermost floor um we still are also um meeting the the goals and objectives of the Redevelopment plan so there's no impairment just to name a few that we called out um providing opportunities for growth of the neighborhood level retail services and Community pH facilities for the Lafayette neighborhood uh ensure a positive land use impact and maximum benefit from the Light Rail Transit by encouraging the Redevelopment in areas closer to the light rail transit station as mixed use and higher intensity development consistent with the principles of smart growth and the state's Transit Village initiative um this is a recognition of those goals um in in its kind of overall form um I will also say this board often asks compliance with any affordable housing obligations the Morse Canal Redevelopment plan does have requirements we are meeting those requirements um that's the direct testimony I had thank you I have one other witness unless the board has questions of Charles I have one other witness who is available our civil engineer but if there are no questions we'll stand on the civil engineering drawings that were submitted and the reports that were submitted thank you Council no any questions no okay thank you Charles my pleasure do you need to hear from the civil engineer anybody need to hear from the civil engineer okay uh I rest at that point Mr all right so Mr Salan obviously will give you the opportunity to comment after we open the public and hear from planning staff any members of the public wishing to speak about this project see no members of the public wish in to speak on this case I move to close the public portion staff agrees with the testimony provided by the applicants professionals and ultimately supports the variances requested uh staff just requests that the applicant agrees to the conditions of approval uh enumerated in the staff memo dated July 5th 2024 other than yes I acknowledge receipt of the July 5th 2024 report and we uh accept the terms and the conditions of that report staff recommends approval right so no other questions I'll take a motion Madam chair I'd like to make a motion to approve case p202 3-0 009 for preliminary and final major site plan with a c variance or C variances for 85-87 Monitor Street second commissioner Dr Desai I commissioner lipsky I love the L out I think it's a great addition and good luck I vote I commissioner Stato hi commissioner Cruz I acting chair councilwoman Prince r hi uh motion carries all in favor thank you very much thank you for the accommodation you're right Mike or certifications okay so back to top of new business item number nine for the artist certifications thank you yes I I'm like a oneman band [Music] today um so out of habit I got up here even though I could have just easily said it from my station but um the artists that uh have submitted for the artist certification they meet criteria 1 two 3 and four uh 1 two 3 4 and five of the artist certification board they've been recommended to us to vote for approval to recommend to coun Council and planning staff has reviewed the applications we find them to meet the criteria and we recommend approval any questions no anybody from the public wishing to be heard seeing no one from the public wishing to speak I move to close the public portion okay staff recommends approval okay M chair I'd like to make a motion to approve the certification of artist danani David beon Moors Cheryl gross and Helen Lang is there a second second okay on a motion to approve commissioner lipsky hi commissioner Stato hi commissioner Cruz I commissioner Dr Desai I and acting chair councilwoman Prince r i motion carries all in favor to certify artists okay all right so next item is number 10 uh case number p2024 d00 98 hello Stephen hello good evening everybody Stephen Joseph of castano quigly tramy for the applicant uh this is a notice application I do have my notices right here thank you Mr Joseph thank you all right this uh 77 Forest this is a a cannabis conditional use application this is a Class one cultivation this is not a retail location I think this might be the first uh cultivation in Jersey City um so it's a little bit different from what the board's used to seeing um we do meet all the conditions of approval we have an architect who will testify about the plans we also have a representative um from the applicant here to testify as well if the board would like to hear um some more detail about the security plan the order mitigation and all that I know it's a long agenda so whatever the board would like to do in terms of um hearing from the applicant himself let's bring our architect up um we should enter the notices yeah we should yeah mam chair I in receive the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing does appear to be the same one I reviewed electronically does appear to be in order we're going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the record okay thank you all right thank you sorry um we'll bring the architect up and uh get war did you let them know I yes's great thank you yes Jeremy finel last name is spelled f i n n l l okay and you've been qualified by the board before I have and all your licenses are current yes okay so I just need use of the board's technology here one moment architectural click open file yeah good thank you all right we go okay so uh this is an existing uh about 7,000 ft Building located at 77 Forest Avenue um so we're not showing the entire building uh it does extend a little bit uh to the left here of the plan uh but we are only proposing to occupy about 4300 square fet of the building um so we're showing that um and the proposed work on the exterior is limited to creating a new uh entrance Door uh on Forest and um there will be no new lighting or signage on the exterior so that's it for the exterior on the interior uh there will be just zoom in here so the the layout uh will consist of spaces on the the first floor um for a vehicle um and then rooms for growing processing and storage of cannabis plants uh there's also a a break room and a male and female restroom and a small Janitor's Closet uh so that's it for the first floor and then on the second floor there's a a small existing uh it's not really a second floor it's just a small existing mezzanine uh with a small office space and restroom and that is just going to remain um so that's really it uh the I know there are certain conditions for cannabis establishments uh and and the class one cultivator license uh that need to be met so I'll just list um some of those uh there will not be any residential uses in the same structure or on the same lot there will not be any outdoor cultivation and there will not be any barb wire or razor wire so um if uh that concludes my testimony unless you have any questions for me can can you just confirm what if anything's being done uh outside in the rear yard and anywhere exterior uh yes so I I did have an opportunity to review some site plans uh or a site plan that was prepared by Hudson engineer Ing and it appears that there is one new tree and tree pit uh being proposed on Forest Avenue and another tree and tree pit U being proposed on the um the side street which is uh or Alleyway to the west of the building um and that appears to be the extent of the site improvements great thank you yeah and this is not a a site Point application but the detail is uh yeah is is helpful um yeah uh that's our architectural testimony I do have a representative from uh the applicant here to talk about some of the other points if the board would like to hear from him yeah I think that would be helpful considering this is the first cultivation appliation my client's uh very passionate about this so great thanks come on up we're going to get you sworn in and then just wait until they swear you in to start talking raise your right hand sir thank you just the truuth yes Eli Terry e l i t e r r y all right Eli if you could give the board some of your background talk a little bit about your business um how it's going to to function practically logistically and then touch on the the odor and the security uh very similar to what the T you provided at CCB okay so you actually okay you guys already appeared before the CCB back in February and the application was approved by the CCB and recommended that is correct okay were submitted to this Bo I think we want to hear about the operation but I don't know that we got to completely go over no I don't the same testimony but I absolutely want to hear cultivating what it is what's different obviously the abbreviated uh version of of all that and the board will ask if they want more detail okay how you guys doing um it's okay my name is Eli Terry I'm a class one cultivator I'm a legacy operator and social Equity applicant um I've been cultivating for about six years underground and now I'm turning off the leaf to do everything legally um we're going to have a cultivation facility on 77 Forest it's a small operation um but it's it's it's Unique we're going to be developing craft cannabis um just exploring the market the market doesn't have a lot of craft and just provide a new cultivator a new face and a brand for Jersey City and I'm actually born and raised in Jersey City um as far as the odor mitigation goes um we practiced that for these years as far as keeping a smell down um through our filtration systems and filtrating the air to make sure that the smells are all the way down and with this professional um facility that we're going to be having we're going to have thermal panels that's will also keep in the smells and have our filtration systems work even more um efficiently so um and as far as Safety and Security we're going to be using United fed Federation us systems as far as uh fire and alarm systems and security systems and they decked out the security from the parameters of the building and the interior of the building to make sure that we're fully protected and we're going to be using RFID systems to scan in so only our people be able to get it any questions yeah so how you are you using um hydroponic I mean how you growing Hydroponics um it's going to be rdwc all water um we're going to be using less nutrients so it's all good for the environment right and then distribution is within the city or outside the city outside the state um within the city and around a few counties within uh the state so uh what kind of uh security you go you going to have around the building um we're going to have advanced security as far as motion s there's uh cameras and uh the RFID systems to make sure the trans anybody coming in and out is going to be logged in so yeah by the car David he's been waiting patiently explain to meij okay so craft is basically when you uh really take your time and then using all of the proper ingredients and instead ofing skipping steps for yield we want the full quality of the plant so we get the best tasting and just an experience um being a different between us and a lot of other cultivators um we definitely going to be doing some breeding but that's um definitely it's not the same though it's not the same one more question as as systemtic car um I can't uh say for sure the exact name of it um critical climing is a advisor that we're going to be using and they specialize in commercial industrial um cannabis cultivation yeah got an easy question from the time that you start and from the time the plan is ready how long does it take 63 days um it's going to be an extra 45 days to make sure our mothers um are up to speed and getting the rooms filled but around 63 to 65 days per strand there are no more questions we will open up to public if there's anybody who would like to speak on this application seeing nobody from the public wishing to speak I move to close second it okay good okay um so this application is located in the canal Crossing Redevelopment plan within Zone a which is the mix use District um this is one of our first as we mentioned earlier uh class one cultivation application the jcra has waved its right to approve or disapprove of this application the applicant did receive approvals from the CCB on February 26th of 2024 um class one micro businesses are a bit different than class 5 micro businesses in that um they permitted conditional uses in all industrial zones light industrial zones industrial overlays uh commercial automotive Zone Highway commercial Zone as well as any structure in all zones and Redevelopment plans which industrial Light industrial Warehouse Auto Repair Garage or auto body shop is deemed as pre-existing in this case the warehouse that the applic is um moving into and doing their uh class one cultivation is a pre-existing Warehouse structure um the the the conditions for this application is a bit different so that there is no uh separation distance there is no uh concern about schools um and then I do want to just briefly talk about um how this class one cultivation application is actually encouraged by the master plan so the master plan has a goal the first goal is to promote development of a diversified economy and in this case it says um to preserve adapt the city's industrial base so the the city should remain should retain existing industrial uses and recruit viable commercial industrial users to preserve the industrial base in this case the city should also uh continue efforts to leverage shifts in modern industry um such as the Cannabis ordinance that allows Jersey to capitalize on new and growing sectors in this case the applicant is providing a new growing sector to the city as well as adaptively reusing um un un underutilized or vacated industrial spaces within the city um just like many other uh retail or job creation centers like Canal uh that are in Canal Crossing like 902 Brewing Company and others in that area with that said staff does recommend approval with conditions thank you yes we've reviewed the nine conditions in the staff report we find them uh acceptable and uh 902 is also one of my applications okay well then I'll take a motion whenever you guys are ready take a motion I'd like to move to approve case p224 d009 eight for conditional use for a uh class one uh cannabis cultivation space at 77 farest Street second okay on a motion to approve with conditions commissioner lipsky yeah I support the Homegrown and this certainly has a nuanced interpretation of that so congratulations Mr Terry um and as was mentioned 902 was around the corner I mean it's I think it's a great location uh and if you're going to put out top quality stuff and it's going to come from Jersey City I mean we got great breweries we've got great pizzas we've got so you get the munchies you get something to drink and now you can uh get some bud I vote I commissioner Dr Desai I commissioner Stato hi commissioner Cruz hi and acting uh chairwoman Prince Arie yeah it's um great to see this next new step in the Cannabis space here in Jersey City I wish you the best of luck I know it's highly regulated and it's very challenging to have come this far as is commendable I vot I yeah just also for the record I want to commend you for saying how you did this prior and now uh you know now you're going legit it's almost like uh godf father to which has its 50th Anniversary Michael moved to Las Vegas and takes the family legit so good luck with your legitimate operation motion carries all in favor good luck thank you um do you want to take a break five minutes okay y we're going to take a fem minute break we'll be back did good Madam president so yep let's go ahead and get meeting back to order feel no okay so we're on uh item number 11 case number p2024 d97 61 we have filed an Affidavit of mailing thank you Council Madam chair I receive the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing with respect to the application at 601 Tunnell uh this does appear to be the same electronic version that I reviewed does appear to be in order going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the record okay great backround first 651 tunn Avenue is an affiliate of daylight transport Transportation uh daylight has assembled 11.2.6 acre parcel of land on tunn Avenue the property is located in the tunn Avenue light industrial re Development Area plan area the applicant is a designated developer is proposing a 4,714 foot Cross Dock Service Center uh back in June 2022 this board granted preliminary and final major site plan approval and two uh deviations construction on the across doc service center is virtually finished the building is up if drive by uh uh 651 tunnel we now comes to the board asking for an amendment for the to the s appr and six signage variances the site plan Amendment requests approval for a larger guard house which will allow for a larger handicap accessible restroom and a temporary reconfiguration of the corner of the parking lot to allow some environmental remediation to take place none of the proposed amendments will trigger any new deviations have two deviations granted previously for the guard house but none of them by the increase in theare um in particular we comply with all parking sidey requirements during the temporary relocation of the uh the parking area and on a permanent basis the applicant seek does seek six signage variances will present one expert witness Sean morsky who is a professional planner and he'll explain the changes to the S plan improve the variances permission call Sean I do Sean San morony m o r o n okay now it is wow um oh before you start have you been qualified by this board before yes okay and your licenses are all current my license is current and in good standing great thank you thank you madam chair okay Sean would you tell the board what you do to prepare for your testimony tonight uh in preparing for my testimony um I review the application package uh the the site plan the signage uh specs that were included I reviewed the the Redevelopment plan I visited the site and surrounding area and I reviewed the correspondence uh from board staff and would you tell the board about the area surrounding the site and the current conditions on the site yes sorry about that let me just we're um our site is uh in the Tunnell Avenue light industrial Redevelopment area um it was the subject of uh previous site plan and variance approval in May of 2022 uh the area tonle Avenue uh commercial uh commercial uses the holidan express to the north uh various Auto related and other commercial uses along along Tunnell Avenue to the West you have the Conrail railroad line and you have light industrial uses around as well um with regards to the current site daylight transport as Mr Zimmerman noted the site is almost uh complete uh the building is 4,714 square ft uh with 100 loading docks it's a cross do uh situation 9854 Square ft of office space 111 car parking spaces and 145 truck parking spaces now Sean we have an exhibit up on the uh on the board uh that shows a s plan with some areas highlighted in yellow would you explain that to the board yes and um my cursor is pointing at uh toward the left what would be the southwest corner of the site um it five parking spaces will be temporarily removed at that corner to remove PCB soils from the side as part of the cleanup and after the soils are removed and the cleanup is complete those parking spaces will be reconstructed and we will be back to 111 parking spaces moving the cursor a little toward the entrance at Carrol Street um we're expanding the uh guardhouse it was approved at 104 ft we're proposing 235 Square ft it's 15t 4 in square um on each side uh the setbacks and the buffers that were approved in the prior application are remaining the same so there's no change in that regard and the expanded guardhouse it allows for the handicapped accessible restroom and it also allows for greater visibility of the site uh from the guardhouse enhancing security there's no variance relief related uh to either the guardhouse or the removal of the five parking spaces okay would you move on to the signage plans yes um on on this plan this is the site plan that was uh submitted to the board but we've marked the locations of the signs um where they are and I'm going to start with the wallmounted signs and there are there is one on the the left or the South side of the building one another on the east side toward the southeast corner and one on the North northeast side these are three internally lit wall signs they're each 130.5 Square ft and they're mounted uh 35 ft above grave the building height is 37 1/2 ft there are also two freestanding signs along Tunnell Avenue one near the southern driveway um that is a pylon sign its height is 20 ft um the sign area is 50 square ft and the maximum letter height is 12.25 in as you go toward the north approximately 1500 feet away uh to the north there is another freestanding sign that pylon sign has a height of 25 ft uh it has 147 Square ft area and the letter height is up to 202 um inches and so would you explain the variances that we're requesting yes um all the variances are related to the signs um in terms of the building signs um we're allow in terms of location we're allowed one per primary entrance one per Frontage um we have two signs on the Eastern facade uh in terms of the sign mounting height um we're limited to 25% of the maximum height above grade that would be approximately 9 ft from the grade level and we're proposing at 35 ft which is about 94% above grade level we also require uh freestanding sign variances we're allowed one per multi-use Center we're proposing two and the maximum letter height on those freestanding signs uh respectively up to 202 Ines on one and 12 and 1/4 in um on the other and this is relate on on on the related to the North End pylon sign so in terms of the justification um requesting the variances under the C2 criteria where the overall benefits of the project um outweigh the potential detriments that concerns about signage of which I believe don't believe there any given the size of the lot the length of the the length of the frontage and also the length of the building and I'll start with the building signs let me go to so this is a view of the building signs in terms of um in terms of where they are okay that sign is a partial sign along the East Elevation that's in the Northeast section just to give you a sense a little shaky there just to give you a sense of what the signs look like and then the two other signs just to show that they are uniform signs and that uh they are consistent with The Branding of of daylight transport and their trademark the two signs facing the Eastern Frontage is a greater than 500 foot distance between the North and northern and southern signs on the Tunnell Avenue facade I believe having these signs at this location allows for more efficient identification for vehicles on Tunnell Avenue in terms of prepare in terms of identifying the site for both cars and trucks the mounting height greater than 25% grade signs for this type of use are typically mounted higher on the building it's more effective for identifying the site um the ground level differential between the building and Tunnell Avenue tunnel Avenues at elevation 14 uh no The Bu building grades at elevation 14 and Tunnell Avenue ranges from an elevation of 14 to 18 when you add in the proposed Landscaping the over 100t setback from tunnel Avenue the fence and the landscaping that's going to be put in it would make it practically difficult to see a sign that conforms at that 25% mounting height as opposed to what we're proposing which is more typical um for a light industrial use so uh are you saying to the board that we're proceeding under C C2 or C2 not C1 not C1 this is we're proceeding under C2 we could say C1 in terms of the distance um and the length but I do believe I I feel that C2 is the stronger the stronger argument in terms of the freestanding signs um the number of signs and that also is related to the length um there's a substantial distance along the frontage much like the building sign and this also allows for efficient identification of the site and the maximum letter height as you can see on the screen um daylight is is larger on all the signs it is part of part of their trademark it's how their their signs uh come about uh the sign area does meet the requirements the height meets the requirements and uh the I believe that for the sake of consistency not just for the brand but also for the sign as it lays out on the sign face um that the the sign letter height uh certainly does not take away from the um from the from the visual impact regarding what we propose in terms of the purposes of zoning um purpose a encouraging Municipal action to Pro the health safety and general welfare and also purpose G in terms of allowing for a variety of uses um in compliance with environmental regulations uh the plan allows for the Redevelopment of this site which is consistent with the Redevelopment plan and the signage uh variance contribute to the Redevelopment of the site and the effective ID for vehicles on and off the site also safety considerations safety considerations absolutely so in terms of accessing the site in a in a safer and efficient manner and in terms of Aesthetics um it certainly does further those purposes of zoning we have to address the negative criteria there's no substantial detriment to public good um the wall signs on the Eastern facade and pylon signs are placed due to the long Frontage along Tunnell Avenue uh the letter size on the pylon signs and the mounting height provide a more effective ID for vehicles approaching the area and moving at the speed of traffic um the wall signs do meet the area requirements the freestanding signs meet the area and setback and height requirements uh the temporary parking space removal is attributable to the PCB soil removal and those spaces will be rebuilt and the guardhouse expansion contributes to more efficient uh security and Sh during that temporary period when the REM remediation is going on we'd still comply with the parking requirements that is correct we would have 106 bases remaining which would which would comply and there's no substantial impairment to the Zone plan certainly not the Redevelopment plan we further several goals goal a uh redevelop the Redevelopment area through the elimination of blighting influences remediation of environmental contamination uh and providing the opportunity for the expansion of existing Industrial Development or new light Industrial Development which this application does and gold D providing the land necessary to accommodate the need for light industrial space in Jersey City the requested variances um with the new signage with the modern um with the modern light industrial building uh the deviations uh help to facilitate the Redevelopment of the site which supports the greater goal of site cleanup and getting this property active again uh so for the reasons that I've outlined request you grant the relief request it thank you that's all I have of Mr morony okay any questions no all right uh we'll open it up if there's anyone from the public that would like to comment see no one from the public wishing to speak I move to close the public session second it okay staff believes the proposed signage is appropriate for the site and th supports the variances requested um to the or for the signage um staff recommends approval um so as long as the applicant agrees to the conditions um enumerated in the staff memo dated August 15 2024 the applicant agrees okay we'll take a motion Madam chair I'd like to move to approve case p2024 d00 97 for final major site plan Amendment at 611 tunnle Avenue second second commissioner yes with variant I stand corrected so still second commissioner Dr Desai I I commissioner lipsky yeah I think the signage should be added the nicity over there so I vote I commissioner samato commissioner Cruz hi acting chair councilwoman Prince r hi Motion in favor or motion carries all in favor I do thank you counc good luck okay item 12 has been carried next will be item 13 case number p2024 - 0052 Cambridge welcome back hello uh Steven Joseph casano quickly trami for the applicant this is a notice application this has been carried um and I do have our notices here and this time I will wait to Mark those into [Music] evidence mam chairman received the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing with respect to the application of 192 Cambridge Avenue here in the city I've had the opportunity to review the digital version this does appear to be the original version of that does appear to be in order we're going to mark it as a one for purposes of the record thank you Stephen good thank you all right 192 Cambridge Avenue um this is a little interesting because this was actually previously approved at the zoning board with a d variance but the zoning has since changed uh so the applicant changed up the plans a little bit is now proposing a three-story 4 unit building with an accessory dwelling um the use is now as of right so we're here at the planning board we do have a variance for the front yard landscaping um we have an architect who who will show you what that is and why that is and we have a planner to explain uh the proofs on the record so let's get our uh let's get a v sworn intim get tonight going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do avard Patel a a v a r t p a t e l thank you your license is current in good standing the thing yes that is correct so uh situated here if you could walk us through the plans has he been qualified uh sure I and you've been qualified by this board before yes I have okay okay and your Li yeah thank you thank you all right uh I'm going to quickly go through the um the floor plants um give you a little more um information about the site um the site is about uh 3900 ft uh about uh 38 ft wide and 100t deep um going to quickly jump to the um the site plan uh as you can see one on the the left off the page is the proposed site plan showing the primary structure with the uh accessory dwelling unit in the back I'm going to move to the floor plan uh the one on the left uh is the the first floor plan uh we're proposing a a a double wi garage uh with a with a side by side parking and uh um uh a unit about th000 Square ft towards the back of the building um the front of the building you have the uh 16t wide garage door and then entry to the uh to the building uh with a pathway leading towards uh some of the support spaces and uh unit number one towards the back and then the staircase going to the uh to the upper levels um as part of the garage you know two car uh parking uh plus uh uh four bicycle uh parking within that same garage space um and uh the there building sprinkle room would be located off of uh the garage and the garbage uh room is uh from the main lobby um the G garbage path will will lead through the main lobby to the front door and to this uh sidewalk I'm going to go to the second floor plan actually sorry um unit number one which is a a three-bedroom two bath unit uh fairly straightforward layout uh uh um you know open kitchen uh with the with the living dining combined space and then three bedrooms are um the side of the building um where the the the 3ot 2 setback is uh all the windows are going to front uh the setback and uh the window from the uh living with the with the patio door is going to lead to the to the backyard um the the unit is about uh 1,50 ft um going to the uh uh second floor plan um this level has two units as you come up the stairs uh there's a door leading to unit number two which is located towards the back of the building uh this one is a a two bath I mean a um um two-bedroom um a two bath unit um similar layout like the first floor where there's a open kitchen when you enter the the unit with the living area located towards the back of the building with a with a triple wide window uh and the bedrooms are on the the side of the building where the 3 foot2 setback is um now towards the front of the building is the unit number three uh with the the common Lobby uh accessing the unit uh this will have um a large kitchen and open to living area uh one bedroom at this level with a with a common bath and then a small office d space towards the front of the building uh and then staircase leading to uh the upper level so this is a part of the duplex um going to go to the third floor um so as you come up here uh we'll have uh two other bedrooms uh with uh two bats uh for for unit number two and then um we'll have unit number four towards the front of the building uh which is going to be uh a three-bedroom um to Bath unit um similar layout for kitchen and and living area like uh the unit below uh now going to the roof uh will have both unit number three and unit number four will have access to their own private uh uh roof decks uh with a with a green roof uh located in one of the corners and uh the roof decks are are set back from the the the front facade of the front of the building um as they required um about 12 ft um I'm going to quickly before we go to the elevations can uh can you just let the board know how many square feet of green roof we have uh yeah sure the the proposed green roof is about uh 453 square feet um and uh um can you also go over to the site plan correct that's uh I was about to um okay so the uh one variance we are seeking is the um the frontier landscaping and the the reason being uh the the front facade of the building needs to uh align with the adjacent uh or neighboring buildings so the location of the facade is is uh uh basically set based on the the adjacent building and uh whatever room we have left uh some is taken by um uh the access to the garage access to the front door uh with the with the paver uh or paved areas uh and the the rest is uh shown as a as a green areas but we are still deficient of about 25 Square fet yeah let's and let's go on to the elevations now uh quickly before we uh sure bring up Sam um so the elevation is uh um um you know fairly straightforward we have uh the the the lower level is is going to be predominantly brick with uh uh some um wood look sighing uh accented around the um the main entry door um there is a there is a box Bay which kind of centers on the uh the garage door um you know with a with a brick uh surround um and uh black color Windows um and then the rest of the facade is a is a beige um U color uh Hardy U panel type material uh with a with a metal corness uh uh up top um the windows are proposed with a with a um transm unit and a and a and a casement uh module with a operable um Swing Out type uh setup um there's a elevation for the Adu side uh on on the right side of the uh the the main building facade uh again we are keeping the material similar to the uh the uh main structure um the the brick would be at the the first floor and then the Hardy above with some accent wood siding between the between the windows um I'm going to quickly go to the the other um this one is the the uh primary structure rear elevation um we we are proposing um a hearty or or vinyl type siding on the on the uh three sides um the two long sides in the the back of the building with a with a stule finish around the the first floor and the the stco Finish is a smooth finish that is correct if the chairman were here I'm sure he would ask that I to get that on the record um yes it is a a smooth stco finish was your day not to go Smo we always go for smooth but I like it smooth uh and uh going back to the uh the side elevation failure straightforward you know Eris type Windows uh stuck along the first floor um siding on the upper floors um and similar treatment at the Adu sites as well uh this is along the adjacent building uh we are attaching to the building on one side since the the neighboring building is on the proper line so um this is the profile of the adjacent building building um I think that's pretty much it uh unless you have any questions no questions okay all right thank you let's uh we have Sam here this evening anytim T truth truth truth yes I do Samuel Bellamy last name b l l a m y okay you've been qualified by this board before yes and my license is current in a good standing okay thank you go ahead great um so as Mr Patel said in his uh in his testimony it's just the one variance that we're seeking to tonight for the front yard uh lot coverage um that's established by the front yard setback that we're proposing that matches the adjacent building to the north um the property is located in the R1 Neighborhood Housing District um so we are conforming density use and the Ada units also conforming um we're asking for 199 Square ft of coverage or 56% of the area where 176 squ ft or 50% of the um front yard area is permitted so it's an increase of 23 sare ft or 6% um with that we're proposing the driveway area that does taper down from the garage entry into the the curb cut also the main Residential Building entryway and then the um Side Access that provides access to the uh Ada unit in the back of the property um we are proposing the 44% of the front yard area to be landscaped areas as as demonstrated by Mr Patel um and overall we are removing some existing encroachments into the the building I did have a chance to go out to the site um there's currently a stoop and step area that encroaches into the sidewalk area as well as the building itself so by demolishing the building proposing this new structure um we actually are bringing the property into conformance and are overall improving the the streetcape here um in addition we are adding new sidewalks um curbing in a new Street tree um which would further enhance the the streetcape so I think overall that the variants can be granted pursuant to the C2 criteria where the benefits would outweigh the detriments here um the project also does advance the purpose of the municipal land use law again it's an appropriate use and development of the site um as it's permitted and consistent with all the other bulk standard setbacks and coverage of the Zone um we are providing adequate light air and open space that's consistent with purpose C of the municipal land use law um and in addition to the the coverage um we are overall in uh inconsistent uh consistent with the impious law coverage of 90% on the property and are above and beyond the uh 10% performative uh green roof ratio that's required here um overall I don't see any substantial detriment to the general welfare here again I think this is largely in line with what the R1 District calls for with with the exception of the uh minor front yard coverage variants I think like likewise I don't see a substantial impairment to intendent purpose of the Zone plan or zoning ordinance um this is what the R1 District calls for and and that's what we're proposing um I would just wrap up to say the the R1 District does allow little additional lock coverage for Ada units but it doesn't likewise allow for additional coverage front yard coverage for those units so again I think that additional sidewalk area that we're proposing is really the increase that we're asking for for and again is is appropriate um so with that I think the positive and negative criteria have been met and uh be happy to answer any questions the board might have questions no sir so each unit will have ADA compliance or I think art could answer that question uh so the unit on the first floor that's the only accessible unit um all the other are on the elevator without without the elevator itself thank you thank you anything else all right great that uh does conclude our direct testimony I I did mistakenly say front yard landscaping in my intro it's a front yard coverage variant um but that does conclude our Our Testimony uh this evening anyone from the public wishing to speak on the application seeing no one from from the public wishing to speak I move to close the public portion second it second it thanks I'm sorry oh yes um so um yeah staff um circulated memo dated July 30th 2024 um within that memo um it recommended seven conditions um does the applicant amendable to those condition yes uh we are in receipt of the staff memo we have reviewed the seven conditions and we agree to those seven conditions excellent um with regards to uh the requested variant so um the principal intent behind the front yard coverage limit is to prevent illegal front yard parking um which I think as anyone who lives in Jersey City knows is a bit of an epidemic we want to make it so it's physically impossible to leave a car in your front yard and and uh clutter up the street cape and make it hard to navigate um in this case this variance is being requested for enhanced pedestrian access and for ada8 compliance with level level access to the building um staff thinks this variance is appropriate and supports it so one thing on that is is that um so is the building uh adjacent to that driveway is that part of the parcel isn't there a driveway way to the north to I'm sorry let's a look is that part of the entire parcel I I think that is correct it is the the entire parcel The House of the driveway right yes so what I do is on my phone I don't check my emails or anything I look on Google right and so on that particular site there's like a row of cars that are going there so I think that you know helps with what that was saying too so good job thank you there no more questions I'll take a motion sir uh yeah let me just uh so this is the C right so I move to approve case p2024 d524 minor site plan with variance for 192 Cambridge Avenue second it f all right um commissioner hi commissioner Cruz hi commissioner Desai hi commissioner lipsky yeah I think that the project certainly meets the Criterion both negative and positive I think it's an excellent design the block has a bunch of three-story buildings on and I think design Blends in well with it and I think it'll complement a residential component so I vote I acting chair councilwoman prince arry it's um nice to see some of these projects coming forward with the access R dwelling unit to see how that's going to play out for us in Jersey City that I vote I motion carries 5 Z thank you all have a good evening okay next case number 14 p2024 D 0136 um staff will be presenting on this okay um so in front of the board today is a proposed amendment to the scatter site Redevelopment plan um to add nine Parcels that were previously designated as an area in need of Redevelopment by city council back on June 26th um these Parcels are all located um in the downtown area in Ward e um and they consist of vacant and underutilized properties um the principal purpose of the scatter site Redevelopment plan is essentially we have these you know dead zones or holes in our existing Fabric and this permits um and facilitates the repair of those holes um under a simple principle of uh whatever you used to have there you can rebuild it um so um the addition of these Parcels um is certainly appropriate because um a lot of these are vacant some might be structurally unsound um the concurrent use maybe isn't um what was historically there maybe doesn't align perfectly with how the parcels zoned um the scatter site Redevelopment plan does always preserve the option to rebuild under the underlying zoning but it also allows for the option of um being able to rebuild what you can prove historically was there um this is consistent with the master plan because um it advances the goals to repurpose and reuse existing structures celebrate and beautify the public realm continue efforts to enhance residential neighborhoods and create a balanced housing Supply okay any questions yeah just real quick so there on the uh rate development plan there are about 65 other Parcels throughout the city correct correct right and but just for a sense of understanding because I don't know I mean I've seen some in my neighborhood the Heights and throughout the city I mean to what extent ises is this fostering the uh the or triggering the mechanism to improve these the other parcels certainly um well one by designating them as an area in Redevelopment in need of Redevelopment that opens up lots of options with regards to things like designated developers and the like secondly um the Redevelopment plan allows you to rebuild um at historical uses and densities without having to necessarily go to the zoning board for a variance I guess what I'm saying is the utility of it I get the concept and I think it's great but you know words without wings to having don't fly says Shakespeare and H so are we flying are we M are we taking some of these sites and improving them um so that would be beyond the purview of the planning department um that did you work for no it said beyond the perview okay so um fair enough we're just one division within housing Economic Development and commerce I thank you any other questions anyone from the public seeing you're going to speak for the public Charles Arington of I represent property owner 155g Street I don't think it is it's uh yeah 155 Morgan Street which I I've represented in the past and they contacted me after they got notice of this so really the purpose of me um being here tonight and I had a conversation with Matt and he touched upon it in his comments earlier is just to confirm there's in section Roman numeral 6 C uh there's there's a section there that that speaks to where the number of units cannot be determined um then you revert back to the underlying zoning so for 155 Morgan it's R3 the issue here is is is kind of a little bit of a a new Nuance in that this is the building um if you people refer to it as the Queen latifa's Building uh the firehouse so I don't believe there were any residential units there previously so I know the purpose of that section the first two sections is to kind of Grandfather um uh your rights to to build back to what the the non-conforming you know residential density was but this this one as Matt says I believe the intent is that we always have the right to do to to develop under the uh underlying zoning which is here uh in in a instance the R3 so that's what I just seeking clarification or confirmation because I don't I don't want to be before the planning division three months from now and say gez you know we we missed that we we're not sure I just want to try to get clarification ahead of time and then kind of to touch upon your question to Matt I I think this does help because the proofs in the putting it these these people called me right away and and now they're they're going to move they did have a project a few years ago that didn't go anywhere but now they're inclined to to move and and get something done there so that's that's all I'm just asking for clarification again on the record certainly um the Clause you referenced is one that is um the structure of which is more or less unchanged from previous versions um of this plan and as City Planning has um enforced this plan historic ly the option to rebuild at um to utilize the underlying zoning always exists no matter what and there are um in the objectives as well as the general Provisions it makes that clear thank you anyone else from the public Madam chair saying no one else from the public wishing speak I move to close second it any addition questions um yeah I guess I'm I I guess I already spoke that case I like to motion to approve case p2024 d01 36 to amend the scatter site Redevelopment plan to add to the plan nine Parcels identified as part of the study area 5 and designated as an area in need of Redevelopment second it commissioner Stato hi commissioner Cruz hi commissioner Desai hi commissioner lipsky glad to have got schooled and I'd like to thank Matt for the explanation also Council and I'm glad to see that this thing is working I vote I acting chair councilwoman Prince arry I motion carries 5 Z okay to item number 19 case P2 0 24- 0067 right good evening Commissioners for the record Tom lean of Connell Foley here on behalf of the property owner uh this is a notice case for a subdivision uh I posted it on the portal however I will provide council with a hard copy mam chair I received the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing with respect to the application at 213 Congress Street uh this is appears to be the original of the electronic version that I had previously reviewed it does appear to be in order this matter was originally scheduled for a prior hearing back on July 23rd and it was Carri with the preservation of the notice we're going to Mark as A1 for purposes of the record okay thank you thank you Council uh the subdivision before you is an as of right subdivision for uh 213 Congress Street uh it is located in the R1 uh both of the lots that we are creating will be uh conforming Lots with one slightly bigger than the other we're creating at 25 by 100 and a 26.75 by 100 um I do not have any testimony I believe that the Subdivision plat speaks for itself however I will say that I have provided um I provided City Planning with a memorandum from historic uh saying that we are allowed to demolish the property it is not a historic property uh and we have agreed to the condition therein that we will only have one curb cut there and it will go to the larger lot of the two as opposed to a shared curb cut um because this is as a right because it's a minor subdivision we will do it by deed we will include that uh there will only be one curb cut uh within the deed as a uh condition of approval great any questions no anyone from public wishing to speak Madame chair seeing no one from the public wishing to speak I move to close okay great okay um I would just ask the applicant to agre to the conditions in the Seth report I am in receipt of uh your report of June 17th and we agree to the conditions therein okay thank you uh Steph recommend approval thank you I'll take a motion that case I move to approve case p224 d67 for a minor subdivision at 213 Congress Street second it okay uh commissioner lipsky I commissioner Sado I commissioner Cruz I commissioner Dr Desai I acting chair councilwoman Prince I motion carries all in favor great thank you very much you're welcome right next up number 16 case number p2024 d72 good evening acting chair Commissioners Benjamin wine of prime tal and melli on behalf of the applicant 982 Summit LLC just a little bit of housekeeping this is for Mike good to see everybody as always the uh property address this evening uh for which we're seeking an application for development is 982 Summit Avenue that's block 2802 lot two and we are zoned in the rc2 zoning District the property currently consists of a vacant lot that measures approximately 50 ft wide by 106 ft deep and we are surrounded by residential uses with uh that with a a little bit of commercial and mixed uses as well um within the area there are some four and five-story buildings around the neighborhood and it's predominantly surrounded by three-story buildings we're here seeking minor site plan approval to construct a three-story building at the property that would contain six residential units above ground floor Active Space along with landscaping and lighting improvements the proposed development does comply with all of the zoning requirements in the zone and as I said we're only seeking minor site plan approval um as Mr lampy has informed this board before uh simply because we are over that 5,000 s foot threshold of gross floor area uh interestingly enough uh we we do believe you'll find this a unique in a good way application whereby U most times developers come before this board and seek to maximize the buildable potential on a particular lot actually what we're doing here is underdeveloping the lot in some manner um we are permitted eight residential units on this property we're only proposing six uh you'll see that are setback are also in excess of what's required and our coverage both building and lot are actually under what is uh permitted the reason being this particular developer in this particular development are looking to provide a quality product and focus on quality a little bit more than quantity um and highlight outdoor space for all of the units which is why our coverage is well below what's permitted and I know that that's a unique feature before this board but I think it's worth mentioning as well we reached out to uh to several different uh Community organizations the heights Coalition the persing field neighborhood association and the friends of the persing field uh in order to share our plans um we did not hear anything back from any of those particular neighborhood associations which is somewhat par for the course when you have an as of right application I intend to call one witness this evening uh it's our our project architect Tom leaport is going to be sworn in um and hopefully accepted as an expert in the field of architecture and then Martin Moreno who is the project lead designer will deliver the bulk of the testimony so unless you have any questions of me I'm happy to proceeded with my witness goe thank you Council I do have notice on this application yes you do do you have the original um I definitely have a copy uh I don't believe we qualified it before so for purposes of the record I have reviewed the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing this application was previously scheduled for the July 23rd meeting it was carried through tonight with preservation of the notice Council has just now handed me the original does appear to be the original of the electronic copy that I had reviewed previously it does appear to be in order going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the right thank you now you can continue perect truth yes Thomas leaport L a p o r ta and you've been ified by this board before and all of your licenses are in good standing in good standing great thank you go ahead all right so with that I would like to bring up Mr Moreno who is going to speak to the application do we can you move your folder and before you get started I have you've been qualified by this board before I have Madam chair yes and again all in good standing and current uh yes y okay great thank you continue oh sorry jump in the gun I do um Martin Moreno m a r t n m o r n o so Martin the only thing I would like to ask you just for qualification I you have been accepted um but if you can just confirm that the plans that you're going to share this evening um were under Mr laporta's guidance and signature and seal is that correct that is correct okay so with that Martin I'll turn it over to you if you can walk the board through uh the existing conditions and what we're proposing at the site today sure not con it's not connecting yeah is it HDMI all right can try again okay try again try again why something happened it's good okay perfect okay per thank you so good evening everyone my name is mar Moreno speaking on behalf of Tila Port architect PC here to present our project at I2 Summit Avenue as previously mentioned we are proposing an as of right three story six unit building in the rc1 zone better shown here in our proposed rendering um I'm going to go a little bit into detail in regards to the exterior design and some of the choices that we made for set design but since we have the exterior rendering up I just want to go briefly over a few things for starters we are proposing two faces of the building both are set back from the property line this breake face here that you see is set back about 3 ft from the property line the white signing face is set back about 6 fet the reasoning for that was for two purposes one was to create a sort of buffer between the sidewalk and the front part of the building and also create a sort of Al Cove here at the entrance for more privacy and a better entrance to the uh building um in regards to the siding the brick the window design the window type a lot of that was made in regards to the adjacent buildings we really studied the site to make sure that whatever we were proposing was going to be compatible with the streetscape and match a lot of set elements such as height massing materials things like that also in our cover page towards the bottom we have our location plan there is some construction going on uh on this street you can briefly see it here on our working site photo at the sort of tail Left End there is construction going on to the left of the property if you're looking at it from the street as well as across the street so we did hire a sort of um we did take these photos personally with a drone team just to get a more upto-date current um shot of the site so you can get better reference in regards to what's going on um in the neighboring buildings moving on to our next sheet which is our zoning analysis sheet I want to focus first on our site plan as Mr wine previously stated we are proposing a 3ot and a 6ot front yard setback uh we have two faces as I've previously mentioned for the buffer um the zoning requires that we provide zero but as mentioned we are providing a 3 foot and a 6 foot in regards to the side yard setback we are proposing a 4T side yard setback where both zero and 3 ft are required and And in regards to coverage we're about 20% less as Mr wine previously stated we are proposing a slightly smaller building footprint and proposing less units proposing six where eight is required uh and focusing really on the quality of the building rather than quality of the units I'm sorry rather than the quantity to Pro to hopefully provide a more comfortable living environment for the future occupants also on our site analysis photo site analysis sheet that we have here we have some Street photos looking both directions of Summit Avenue as well as some Cur excuse me as well as some current aerial photos looking in all directions north east south and west again these were taken personally by us um just to once again sort of highlight the existing massing the existing height and scale that is on that street to show that we're more compatible with our streetcape in regards to the building massing and design uh towards the bottom right hand corner we have some of the bike parking details we are required three bike parking spots um half of the total unit count but we are providing four so we are just providing an additional parking space for um for the tenants I want to briefly just go back to what I was talking about in regards to the buffer on the front part of the building as mentioned we are providing a 3 and 6ot setback to create a little buffer from the sidewalk but we are also providing two Street trees as shown here in the site plan to also just kind of create a little bit of a buffer between the uh the Main Street and the building the next two sheets are Jersey City standards and um codes things like that so I'm just going to skip them and move on to our floor plans so this is our first floor floor plan the first floor will have two units both of which are ADA Compliant um both units will be two bedroom and two bath and they will both have access to their own rear yard setback I understand it's not being shown here but if I just quickly go back to the site plan you can see that the rear yard will be split and be given to both the ground floor units so the ground floor units will each have their own rear yard um their rear yard exterior space said space can be accessed through the master bedrooms the primary bedroom or through the side um through the side doors these side entrances here serve two purposes as we mentioned they provide a more sort of common access point to the rear yard they also provide accessib ability access for um for any accessible Ada comp any Ada tenants that may occupy these units we are providing 4 foot setback um side yard setbacks on the sides as required per the Ada code so if need be we have enough space for someone to wheel down the side and enter the unit through those um side entrances also on the first floor we have a we have active Street Frontage um that can be occupied by the by the building tenants we have our bike parking here uh which is going which is going to be accessed from the inside of the building and in regards to building uses such as sprinkler utilities refu room all of that will be accessed from the outdoors so the refu room which is located here that's going to be accessed from the outside we decided to be accessed from the outside so the refu can better be wheeled directly out into the front of the street and also having the access from the outside is better sanitation better Odor Control from going into the building Lobby things of that nature moving on to our second floor plan well before you do that can I I mean in the application it says that there's a ground floor active storefront so is that the uh building uh common room yes sir okay that's the active store Front which can also be used by the building OCC by the building occupants as well but would that in is the intention to lease it as retail or that is the intention possibility the applicant is definitely open to that as well using it as as retail or some other similar type of use moving on to the second floor plan we have units um 2 a and 2B uh both of these units will be three bedroom two bathrooms and they will also have access to their own exterior Terrace SP um Terrace space located towards the back of the building so per the RC Zone the second and third floor building have to be recessed back more from the rear property line by recessing the seg third floor back more we took opportunity this to create a ter space above the ground floor so both unit 2A unit 2B will also have their own exterior space similar to the two units on the first floor going on to the third floor plan which is on your left this is also similar to the second floor both units will have three bedrooms two bathrooms um And in regards to the roof shown on the right the units on the third floor will also have access to their own own roof deck that's going to be accessible from an interconnected stair from the unit that's only accessible to the unit itself so in recap each unit in the building is going to have an they're going to have their own rear yard either rear yard or exterior ter really nice comfortable um feature to complement each unit in the portions of the roof that are not being that are not being used by a Terrace we are proposing green roofs as required per zoning moving on to our elevations so in regards to the residential design standards this is a little bit more of what I was um talking about earlier we studied some of the neighboring buildings in regards to height scale roof line um massing things along those lines we notied that some of the buildings have this um have bump out features as seen in photos one two and six a lot of them are three stories a lot of them have a flat roof line there's um like a heavy corice Accent on the street as you can see better most detailed in a street photo 7 so we took into account all these sort of um elements from the street and we applied them to our project um that also goes for the windows there's a heavy ACC there's a heavy sort of casement window feature in the neighboring buildings we incorporate that into our design as long as the double hung Windows just to keep it a little bit more sort of traditional the side elevations are more the same we provided these sort of bump outs on the second and third floor to create a slightly bigger bedroom and uh once again very similar to what I was saying before in regards to the similar elements that are found on the street uh down here we have our list of materials that we're proposing for the building the sort of beige brick to once again kind of recap showing this photo here there's um I believe it's a church which is across the street and two houses over which is all beige brick so we decided to kind of take that color accent that color theme um you can also see the beige house that's two doors down on the third photo same concept we decided to take that sort of beige and white accent that white color palette and apply it to our um our building so we have our beige briak our siding the ground floor on the sides is going to be um smooth stucco I know you guys like Smooth so smooth stco um and the rear and side yards is going to be vinyl siding and regards to the front I don't believe I mentioned it the front will be fiber cement um I know that's preferred by the city so we are proposing fiber cement sing on the God bless youo we are proposing fiber cement siding on the front and vinyl siding on the side and rear elevations this is the other um face of the building where you can see the meters and some of the building uses that once as mentioned are going to be accessible from um from the outside something I forgot to hide High light my apologies is the 6 foot privacy screen that's going to be in between The Terraces for units for the second floor units and the first floor units so the first floor units um their rear yards will be separated by six foot privacy screen as required by the city as well as the second floor units their rear yard Terraces will be also be split by a six foot privacy screen and the details for that privacy screen are oh sorry are right here as uh mentioned um moving on to our next sheet we have our building section just to get a better sense of the floor ceiling height and the main egresses in the building and just a roof deck section once again showing the materials that we're going to be applying to the the roof deck and the green roof Terrace the green roof um details moving on we have a horizontal uh building section once again just highlighting the different spaces in the building the floor ceiling height the main egress access point and an additional um rendering from another point of view just to once again kind of showcase the the the project and that kind of wraps up the presentation thank you very much Martin um I have nothing further for this witness okay any question to be clear no further Witnesses no no question public yeah there public anybody from the public wishing to speak on this application Madam chair see anyone from the public wish to speak I move to close second okay yeah go ah um so I'll be covering for Matt Ward tonight um planning staff um just asked that the applicant agree to the conditions and the planning staff memo dated July 19th of this year we take no exception to that super and um planning staff just would like to add that this does meet the purpose and intent of the rc-1 Zone um it is an appropriate historical pattern along this Corridor continuing that and it's permitting a mix of uses consistent with the neighborhood center um City Planning staff sees no issues with the project and recommends approval take a motion Madame chair I'd like to uh put forth for approval case number P2 p2024 d72 9804 a minor site plan at 982 Summit Avenue second okay on a motion to approve a conditions commissioner stamato hi commissioner Cruz hi commissioner Dr Desai hi commissioner lipsky yeah I love the design I think the less is better is definitely you know great I mean CU even in your picture show south of it there's a four-story building directly across Southwest there's a four-story building so it's a great design I think it's going to work well on that block I put I thank you and acting uh chair councilwoman Prince I motion carries all in favor with conditions thank you everybody appreciate it okay all right so next case number p2023 0089 okay good evening uh again Charles Harrington of conell Foley on behalf of the applicant uh the application for you tonight is for a preliminary and final site plan with a c variance uh the variance we seeking is with regard to the maximum building coverage uh which we'll address during the the application we're seeking 89% uh versus the uh maximum permitted 85% uh the property before you is located in the rc2 zone this is one of the new zones that was created uh after the master plan was adopted um and it's a corner lot at the corner of uh Congress and and New York Avenue it's an undersized lot uh 25 by 67 um but we are um seeking um an approval consistent with the new zoning um because a little bit of a background this property had a zoning board approval um for a three-story building with commercial on the ground floor and two residential units on top under the prior zoning so with the new zoning it permits four stories uh a density of 75 units per acre which is 2.88 you can round that up to three so essentially what we're we're doing is we're amending the prior zoning board approval uh technically or un technically whatever uh to four stories instead of three and three units instead of two uh and seeking that variance so uh with that said I I have um two witnesses tonight of Jeff Lewis is our architect who will walk you through the project and um also Sam bamy is our our planner and just for the record two speaking of planners we we have been working very closely uh with the planning department on this design uh before we got here tonight counc do you have an original the no oh I'm sorry I I do have an original copy of the notices thank you mam chair I have the affidavit publication proof of mailing with respect to 387 New York Avenue here in the city this matter was scheduled for a prior hearing it was carried to tonight's meeting I've reviewed the electronic version of the notice it does appear that this is the original of that notice it does appear to be in order we going to mark it as A1 for the record okay thank you thank you so then I'll proceed with Mr Lewis yes I do Jeffrey Lewis JF re y l e w i and for the record my uh license is active and in good standing in New Jersey great thank you go ahead okay so 387 New York Avenue uh as was mentioned this is a vacant lot and we're proposing a new four-story uh mixed use building with ground floor commercial and three apartments above uh just to break that down the commercial space is going to be 941 Square ft and each of the three Apartments is a three-bedroom two bath apartment that will be 1,150 ft uh to achieve this we're asking for one variance for building coverage 85% is the required and 89.6 1% is what we are proposing uh looking at the site plan at the top left here we are proposing uh three new Street trees with uh conforming tree pits two on Congress Street and one on New York Avenue uh the building itself is being built to both front property lines and both side property lines with the exception of a 7' 6 x 23 foot area in the rear of the building which we are cutting out which uh complies with the rear yard uh setbacks for this property uh we do have a seller in this plan and we're looking at at it here at the uh bottom of the drawing and I want to start there uh what you can see is that we do have two stairs in an elevator and these are all going to the seller space uh down here we do have our meter rooms we have our sprinkler room as this will be a fully sprinklered building we have our trash and recycling area which is over here and then lastly we do have bicycle storage for six bicycles uh moving up here to the uh ground floor plan uh what we can see is that most most of the floor is a commercial space uh the main entrance to that commercial space is off of uh Congress Street and then there is a secondary entrance here off of New York Avenue uh the space also has its own ADA Bathroom over here to the left uh the rest is for residential the main entrance there is off of New York Avenue here uh this provides access to both stairways as well as the elevator and then also a door out to the rear yard uh the rear yard is just a lawn area enclosed with a 6ot uh excuse me a 6ft tall uh board onboard fence and this will be accessible for all the tenets of the building here we're looking at the upper floor plans and I want to start at the bottom here this is the second and third floor plans they're each the same um as was mentioned previously these are three bedroom two bath Apartments uh all the apartments in the building have washer dryer in the apartment as well as wall mounted Mini Splits to provide heat and air conditioning uh the apartments are accessed by both stairs and the elevator um there's a living dining kitchen area at the uh corner of the building and then moving back we have the three bedrooms two baths and lastly we do have a 3tx 6t balcony which is overlooking the rear yard uh looking up to the fourth floor above this is uh essentially the same plan as below with one minor change uh We've updated the second uh stairway number two excuse me the one in the the center here so that it could serve as an internal stair to go up to a private roof deck for that fourth floor fourth floor apartment excuse me so the fourth floor apartment the same as the ones below except there's a um a Stairway inside the apartment that goes up to the roof and then lastly here we are at the roof plan uh the roof deck itself is 262 Square ft it's set back 10 ft from each of the street lines and the rest of the space is used for condensers and then we have 896 ft of green roof trays okay these are both of the street facing elevations uh we did design a fairly traditional building for this site uh I'm going to start at the bottom go through the building materials uh the base of the building is a stone finish which we're showing over here um the main finish on the first floor is a red brick and then the second to fourth floor is a cobblestone colored uh fiber cement siding we do have a fiberglass cornice uh fairly large fiberglass Cornus at the top of the building as well as some fiberglass trim uh above the brick separating it from the fiber cement siding above at the first floor uh all of the windows and doors on the building have a dark Bronze finish for the frames this includes all the upper apartment Windows as well as the commercial storefront windows and doors uh lastly here we do have a 2T X 3ft blade sign that we're proposing we don't have any graphics or anything for that sign yet but we're just proposing the sign at this time and then lastly here we are on the side elevation most of this uh this main section is on the property line and we be finished with a smooth stucco finish uh this is the rear yard area to the right the ground floor will also have that same smooth stucco finish and the second fourth Flo fourth floors will have the same Fiers spin siding that will match the front and then lastly here we do have those balconies that I mentioned and they're going to be um finished with black aluminum for the finish of the base itself as well as the rails and post to the balcony um that concludes my presentation of the building I'll take questions I guess after Sam goes or now whichever you prefer after that's fine sure you want try to zoom in on it yeah perfect okay then we're gonna move right into Mr Bellamy's testimony I I recognize I'm still on their oath and qualified from before um so proceeding with my testimony uh as Mr Harrington said we are asking for just one bulk C variant here uh we are in that new rc2 District of the of the city um the bulk Varian that we're asking for is for building coverage um shown on the site plan here with the updated zoning of the property um there were also some changes to the yard definition so a rear yard now has two fronts and a rear lot Point um we are proposing to actually exceed the the minimum rear yard setback standards um with 15% on the ground floor and and 30% on the upper floors uh we're proposing 34.6% and and 30% so we are exceeding those requirements um we're also meeting the side yard setback and front yard setback requirements it's a it's a zero foot requirement here um usually what that meeting standards or exceeding standards usually gets you to an a permitted building coverage um but given the the corner lot nature of this property and the percentage now based requirement um we are slightly exceeding uh what's what's permitted we also do have a pretty substantially undersized lot of 1,675 Ft where 2500 ft is permitted so there are elements of a hardship here um but I think but with what we're proposing of meeting or exceeding the the setback um you could see as intended by the those requirements we are in line with those adjacent buildings both to the north um our our our setback kind of is actually a little under what their building depth is and then also to the West um we're kind of consistent with that adjacent building um by also having zero foot side and front yard setbacks we complet a complete streetscape which the zoning does intend for um with the permitted commercial use on the ground floor um so I think with overall what we're proposing the benefits do substantially outweigh the detriments we're also exceeding the minimum green roof uh requirement we're at 61.1% um which is exceeds the uh 50% requirement here um I don't see any substantial detriment to the uh public litter General Welfare or impairment to the Zone planner zoning ordinance again this is a new zoning District I think we're largely in conformance with the requirements uh but for the building coverage which is related to the undersized nature of the lot um I also think we're promoting the purpose of that District um to recognize historic uh mixed Juiced areas in the city and that's also consistent with the master plan that calls for some neighborhood um scale retail uses at at appropriate locations um this project also is in line with the municipal land use law again it's a permitted mixed use building so I think it's an appropriate use and development of the site consistent with purpose a I think this with the setbacks we're proposing and the the nature of the lot um we are providing adequate light air and open space consistent purpose C and then developing a vacant lot with again a permitted mix use building adding the new Street trees we are promoting a desirable visual environment consistent with purpose ey um with that I I would conclude that the the bulk C variance um again does substantially outweigh any detriments and that the positive negative criteria have been met here thank you questions okay then that would complete our presentation but I would also knowe for the record that we have reviewed um Miss pereira's and Mr Ward's uh staff report dated May 3rd and we would comply with their recommended uh conditions of approval anyone from the public wishing to speak Madam chair seeing no one from the public wishing to speak I move to close second it great okay cam go ahead um on behalf of Sophia and Matt um uh thank you for agreeing to the conditions and the staff memo um planning staff agrees with the professional planner testimony regarding the variances and we agree that we believe there is no detriment to the Zone plan um or our master plan and the project does meet the purpose of the rc-2 zone and um yeah planning staff thinks it will be a great addition to the neighborhood so planning staff recommends approval thank you so I'll take a motion Madam chair I'd like to move to approve case p223 d89 for preliminary and final major site plan with variances for 387 New York Avenue second commissioner Stato commissioner Cruz hi commissioner Dr Sai hi commissioner lipsky yeah I agree with Mr Bellamy there's no I mean I think it's a great project and then it adds to that Corridor there's a number of restaurants and cafes and it's Firehouse at the uh Eastern corner and then uh two blocks away is the uh Light Rail so uh I vote I and acting Madame chair uh councilwoman Prince I motion carries all in favor with conditions thank you thank you we're going to go ahead and take a short five- minute break and we will return y um next up is item 19 case number p2024 d144 good evening Madam chairwoman uh planning board members Council and staff uh Jim mccan from the law firm of conell Foley appearing on behalf of the applicant K acquisition Corp um this is an application for for preliminary uh and final major site plan approval um the block and the block numbers referenced on the agenda are in fact correct the subdivision applies to those to those properties um this is a notice case so I'm going to take a minute and tender my uh Affidavit of proof of service to councel mam chairman receed of the appid of publication proof of mailing with respect to the application p2024 d144 here in the city was noticed for this evening had the opportunity to review it do appear to be in order we going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the okay thank you thank you Council uh this property is in the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment area um and just to give you a little background uh we're here for a very technical reason tonight uh the subdivision that we're going to propose to you was already approved by this board in 2022 in October of 2022 um my client care re um was the applicant at that time they're still the applicant they are the contract purchaser of the property and the designated redeveloper of the property um the reason we're back here is because as you probably know under the municipal land use law once you have a Subdivision plat signed you must record it with the County Register within a limited period of time and unfortunately the sale that was supposed to happen between my Cent client and the seller and that involved the JC could not occur within that time period because of the financial markets so the Subdivision plat that was approved by the board and signed by all the relevant officials the city clerk um the planning board chairman the County planning board and um and the city engineer that plat expired so we're here tonight to ask you to approve the subdivision again and the plat that we're going to propose to you is the exact same Subdivision plat that was approved in October of 2022 um having said that uh my first witness is Mr Len Savino he's the project engineer um he testified at the last hearing regarding the Subdivision plat and in fact um I'm going to turn it over to him um to start the presentation but Len can you just identify the uh the document that you have up on the screen for us certainly it is yeah I probably need to be sworn in oh sorry sorry I do sure it's Leonard Savino l e o n a r d last name saino s a v is invictor i n o okay and you've been approved by this board before qualified and your licenses are current good standing that is correct excellent go ahead okay thank you thank you okay l so the plan you see before you is a major subdivision plan cb103 which shows the uh five Lots uh on the top right uh and then being subdivided into two lots below that in the middle right um and but Len that that is the signed plat 2022 right correct you can see all the signatures in the blocks on the left side there okay that that's just so you you see that that's the plat that was signed in 22 so Len now let's go to the plat where proposed to the board now certainly so the plot you see up there now is uh also the major subdivision plan cb103 with a more recent uh revision block uh in the right corner right here above the title block um that's really the only dis difference and right substantively that's the exact same plat as the one that was signed correct that is correct and that's the plat that's been posted on the planning board portal and it's part of our application right that is correct okay thank you so Council legally this is a reaffirmation of the previously approved subdivision solely for the purpose of now being permitted the opportunity to record the Subdivision plat is that accurate yes if the board approves the plat again tonight we will then have it signed by all the relevant government officials again and then we will record it this time within the time period required by the ml because the county registar will not accept the plat if it's not within the statutory time frame signature wise it's got to be reaffirmed by the board in order for that body to actually accept it and record it within the chain of title and then for title insurance to Ure that is exactly correct that is why we're here so Madam chair from a legal standpoint this happens the for reasons that escape me as an attorney the statute does not provide a sufficient period of time for the number of signatures and the number of approvals necessary obviously as this body knows we hear the application then there has to be a resolution then there has to be signature somebody's away on vacation and then by the time you get it down to the county recording office if you're one day out of time it has implications that obviously when people are spending huge sums of money there's financial institutions involved etc etc these are the headaches that happen and Council has to come back and and redo the the request and reaffirm that that everything is proper and in order so uh it happens and here we are okay here we are Madam chair I would respectfully say we should open it up to the public to hear any comments regarding the subdivision uh Mr mccan I'm pretty sure that's all the testimony you have on the matter I don't know well further testimony on on the sub I do I do have Charles height just to confirm again there was one there was there is one uh deviation from the Redevelopment plan he could come up and just confirm the testimony just from his last record it'll take minutes all right so let's have Mr height provide that testimony and then we'll open up thank you oh yeah I am still under oath okay want to jump in yes there are a set of five Parcels that are being merged into two separate Lots uh some of the existing Parcels are irregular in shape uh when we're merging them to create the new boundaries we run into an issue with the shape Factor calculation so on uh 3401 we're requesting relief where the perimeter and the lot size don't comply with that maximum of 28 in my opinion as I testified previously uh there existing perimeters that are being merged into one there's no change or additions or increase increases to the to the actual overall property that amounts to a hardship because you're working with existing properties um so I would offer that as a C1 hardship case um effectively we're uh preparing the sites for redevelopment um with that are consistent with the Redevelopment plan uh I don't see any negative impacts in uh the one deviation request for shape Factor because we're really consolidating irregular properties to advance Redevelopment so I think it's in line with the Redevelopment plan there is no problem that was previously testify to uh again when you have irregular shapes and you're trying to the common term is re subdivide because you're changing the configuration but uh it is a subdivision five lots to two lots and how you can figure those lots I I I think it is a classic hardship in that regard okay so we'll go ahead and open up to public yes that concludes Our Testimony thank you can I speak so I okay right ton truth the truth truth yes spell your name and us your home address please my name is mie Le address 812 Pon Avenue sorry you spell your name for me m e l o d y l l e i okay I minutes for you 3 minutes it's okay I don't need three minutes I came here maybe can considers you guys think conspiracy or not related but I what I want to express for the represent the neighbor so many people you see this very late whatever early have the meeting no one available have time okay because we work hard every day we go through the past train we we think this project was related but the the lawyer says not the ponia Avenue there's alley pedestrian road was closed before when they Clos the inquire the P public we go there they they agree to make the small box whatever to go so right now suddenly o October 1st they closed it so after that we know that this project going to start it and they notice everyone parking there September 8 they're no longer parking there so we realize that everyone said neighborhood everyone said oh they prepare for their project therefore they close that alley to you know inconen give everyone's inconvenience because every day we we take that alley to go to the pass train for our commute save the save the time save everything so right now it's closed and also I don't know what's a project on the ponia um Bergen Avenue JFK there's one and along the sa Avenue that's a Kushner families project also they didn't finish every day we we suffer a whole two years more than two years when it's raining the little very little bit Eary is water paddle there everyone there's two direction to go it's horrible Hazard and like today I come back from the work and then it's pretty windy those Dusty wi I I have a with it's just come to you you cannot barely open your eye and the dust all come to your mouth so we are worri about this project started again so with neighborhood how we we live in there I'm here I was dougas 2018 I have COPD so I noticed that because environment is too bad too much construction everything so we barely can survive so I hope everyone you know when you give the this project whatever that project we hope they finish and start this one because it's really it's so inconvenient for us and also you SE the Manhattan and Manhattan the gold the land is much gold than here I think much more expensive when they do any project they have the alley they have the pestan road we hope we still can City can consider about our situation you know our struggling daily life to open that reopen that Magnolia alley Madam chair I don't think that that's part of this project I know it's not but all people said okay is prepare for them but ma'am it's not part of this project that's all I'm saying I hope you just said yes I said when I come here first and I said maybe you guys think I'm conspiracy I I my neighbors every is conspiracy because that that road is Clos right and then uh before you always go from the parking lot this project parking lot that's people's protection Road very heavy so right now when you close that no one will to go to the parking lot if they close it or open it they still go to this parking lot the parking lot project were Disturbed or inconvenient or they have more liability ma'am I'm just expressing I understand you came here and you thought one thing but now you understand that what you're discussing is not part of this application right yeah from the beginning I said maybe you think I'm conspiracy that's what I said I I'm not thinking anything yeah because right now you said not related I explained to you I saw I because lawyer told me I said no I know already it's not related but I want to express our mind any when you guys are City people City people consider about us I hope in general you guys can about it not person this project is fine I agree okay so right now okay I I think probably your next best step if you have not already done so is to reach out to your council person to to have that conversation and I can also we we sear separate separate and aside from my my PL planning board duties I can speak with him about that as well sure thank you very much yeah thank you we did yeah no we also we talk about project you're you're you have your 3 minutes your 3 minutes are currently up and we can have a different conversation with the council person after like I said the lawyer called me to outside and the master called me outside and then lat said I'm not allowed to talk we we understand but we do we I hope everything is recorded City will come behind me renge me I already received so many ticket I know this is the force our out Force us out I think why I keep receiv okay I just want to you swear any testimony tonight the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes my name is Bruce Ross I owner of Ed tunn the Avenue Bruce Ross yeah Ross regarding your your discussion about this not being relevant to to the application I I'm here to contend that it is because the property that you're you're talking about is a five lot subdivision being created into two what I'm concerned about is that the provisions of getting from Pavonia Avenue to the alleyway on johnf Kennedy are not being preserved I'm very much concerned that everything be taken care of to make sure that the that this Alleyway is preserved so that people coming up from that part of joural Square from the Marian neighborhood can get through to jonath Kennedy I don't think that enough measures have been taken there was a planning board meeting several weeks ago or a meeting that that that they said that they were going to make sure that that Alleyway was kept open and right now the alleyway is closed it may not be results of it may not be the results of the the developer but I'm here to say that somebody with the city is not preserving that Alleyway that's a major through path for people that walk through there if if you have that Alleyway open you'll find people walking there all times of the day maybe one or two seconds apart there's a very large neighborhood that relies upon that that Alleyway and I'm contending that not enough measures are being taken care of to make sure that that stays open the other concern is that make sure that when they do the construction of the property that they take care of mitigate dust and noise levels in in the that are GNA invariably impact the community so we want to make sure that our ver voices are are heard and adequate measures are taken to to preserve our our rights thank you very much thank you sir anyone else from the public please come forward any testimony tonight going to be TR the home truth and nothing the truth yes I do address please uh mimo by the address is 855 Pabon can you spell your name m a SS i m o that's name B like a boy a i a r d i so I've lived in this community Journal Square for about over 20 years it's always been residential I see highrises coming up but anyway they're there and I don't think we can stop that but the consideration I'm thinking about is that the development of this area should be more focused on the community so that this Alleyway even though it's not part of the project should has has been an access point for many of the residents that live there and cutting that off now abruptly without any input from the community has caused a lot of hardships for people that live there especially elderly people senior people so there there's been no consideration for that community of people and I'm also I'm also very concerned about the environmental impact the air the dust and everything else that's going on with the construction they're not mitigating th those effects on the community and I'm I'm concerned if they are given that consideration for for those aspects thank you sir thank you anyone else from the public any testimony give tonight going to be truth the whole truth and nothing but truth yes I do sanjie kadam 812 P Avenue S A NJ w e v k a d a m thank you so I'm resident here at at1 Pia Avenue and I would like to discuss two points the first is The Pedestrian Alleyway which is currently closed and it will be really great for us as residents of the community as we all use this Pathway to commute in our daily activities as we have to go to the pass station and currently as it is been closed and I hope that in the future certain May are taken certain sa safety measures are taken when the construction is going on and I understand the construction should be done but along with that there will be many dust particles and many noises that do affect us also today as recently our previous Community residents mentioned that there is also certainly a certain construction going on along the way which is affecting our uh when Whenever there is rain or whenever there is sand it does always affect us when ever we are working through that so I will really appreciate it if the council takes uh uh our concerns seriously and look forward to it thank you so much thank you anyone else from the public put that up yet come on sir yes I do give please uh Bruno Silva b r n o s Iva I live at uh 812 Pavonia uh yeah it's just a reiterate here I've lived on ponia for a number of years now and uh I just wanted to uh reiterate what everyone else said that make sure our concerns are heard because that lot might not include the actual alley but includes the walkway that gets from Pavonia through to magolia to the alley and uh it was abruptly closed and that has impacted you know the quality of life for like people who live for example Pavonia Magnolia Broadway that area down there and I just wanted to you know say that going forward with this you know the building's going to go up fine but as long as there's Provisions in place to keep that walkway open throughout that process to the alleyway I don't know what the plan is with the alley so far cuz as as we said there was a uh meeting a couple weeks ago they we were under the impression that it wasn't going to close and uh it abruptly closed the beginning of this month fine sure but you know just going forward at least we'd like to have a little more clarity on that front and uh would really appreciate the council's consideration with this new one here that that is uh taken care of Sir this meeting you're referring to the me meeting that you're referring to yeah did you attend that meeting I did where was it it was at the uh Hudson Community College on siav okay do you know who was hosting that meeting yep the developers working on uh that project that's for the low theater okay yeah so that was not in this room and that was not in front of this body okay yeah you're right okay I just mhm don't know meeting you're referring to that's why I asked okay yeah now that was I guess them trying to tell us uh that they weren't going to close it and I was just under the assumption that the developer went through the council and all that stuff but that's not this developer is my point M and and also in a different body this is the planning board and you are referring to the the council so I don't know if you are meaning the city council or if you're because they're two different bodies also and these are these are two different projects so they're in the same area but they're not related in that way I know I'm just re that that was kind of like the Catalyst for that so now that we have this new one we just kind of wanted to reiterate that the walkway not so much the alley itself cuz what we're talking about right now is the uh these two New Lots here and we just wanted to make sure that that stayed open or at least have that in your consideration that's it thank you thank you thank you mam sh that um Lo theater that's a city project right correct under city correct that's where they would have to address that scenario as as right well it's it's a little it's the jcra is involved the city is involved the um developer for that project is involved so it's it's a little more complicated um but I know I was also not at that meeting so I do not know what transpired at that meeting that would be that would be councilman boano and the JC the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency for those who don't know the acronym the Jersey City Redevelopment agency right anyone else from public there offices in this building right yes I do yeah uh it's satam KP s a t y a m k a r p e 81 812 P yeah uh so hello everyone so I'm a local resident over here at ponia a and I want to address that the mangula pation alley which is like a close and it's very crucial part that's connect P station and Beyond and if the Mongolia a is closed it's create a huge inconvenience for all of us we rely on its day-to-day commute I strongly urge to keep this path open so that residents can continue uh to have an easy and direct access to the public transit talk about the construction going on on the Bergen a and JFK Boulevard it's been dragging like too long and there is a lot of thirst which is overwhelming and the noise is constant and when it comes to rain we are all left with large buttles so I ask to prioritize this completing the Burgan am JFK Boulevard project before m to the new construction cool thank you thank you anyone else from the public testimon tonight be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes uh s s a r v s h s and I stay at 8 Tunnel Avenue and yeah that problem is like the same problem which the other people have over there like the alley it has been abruptly closed so it's very difficult for me to just take away from the different path and go it's like an important path for me to go to the part train because I go to NYC for uh my school and all so I hope hope you people like just take this more seriously and help us to find out a solution that's that's it okay thank you anyone else from the public Madam chair saying no one else from the public wishing to speak I move to close the public session second it okay um staff reviewed these applications um substantiates both um Mr Height's testimony about the validity of the variants um the path tracks create some very unusual shapes here um staff would also like to put on the record that though in terms of any temporary impacts from construction the division planning does not supervise construction with regards to the long-term term planning for the area that the um walkway in question is identified in the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment plan is a required pedestrian walkway so any development that happens in that vicinity is required to preserve and improve that pedestrian RightWay um if there are impacts during construction from a project that would be um best addressed somewhere else but in terms of the long-term planning and making sure that there is a long-term permanent pedestrian access um between Magnolia and Pavonia Avenues and the PATH station that is accounted for within the Redevelopment plans Provisions okay thank you okay I'll take a motion so we're doing the U 19 2024 got it01 got it um so I'd like to make a motion to approve case p 2024 -144 for preliminary and final major subdivision for 808 Pon Avenue 132-140 Van Ren Avenue 12 Brian Place 813 ponia Avenue and 270 Magnolia Avenue roll commissioner Stato hi commissioner Cruz I commissioner Desai I commissioner lipsky I chairwoman councilwoman Prince AR I motion carries 5 Z okay so next item 20 case number p2024 d0145 subvision good good evening again everybody James mccan uh from the law firm of conell Foley uh again appearing on behalf of the applicant K acquisition Corp um this is again a preliminary and major uh an application for preliminary and major final site plan subdivision approval with variances uh the properties in the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment plan um the block and lot numbers referenced in the uh agenda are correct um and again we're we're here to be brief we're here on this application for the exact same reason as the application that you just heard um I can answer any questions but I think you got folks all heard the explanation so should I go right to testimony I think we just got to Mark the notice oh sorry uh yes I have my hard copy of my affidavit a proof of service so just real quick is is that why do we need two of these things so we'll explain that to you and um at at the risk of of creating another controversy the reason why we had to do another subdivision is because we've been working with the city under the Journal Square 260 Redevelopment plan on this project and this subdivision that you're going to hear now is being proposed because a portion of the land is going to be sub is being subdivided and it's going to be conveyed to the Jersey City Redevelopment agency so that it can be incorporated into the Lowe's theater project for loading docks um so with that Council I am receive the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing it does appear to be in order we're going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the record okay great thank you I have two witnesses Mr Len Savino again the project engineer who will Qui quickly explain the subdivision to you and there are two variances um which Charles height will explain to you great right well still under Ro go ahead thank you um so what you have on your screen is the previously approved and signed uh major subdivision plan drawing cb23 as you can see in the bottom left corner all the boxes with signatures uh from the original approval I'm I'm going to go to the current one that was uh recently submitted again the only difference is the reference to uh the um resubmission right here where my my hand is there you can see that and this is the actual subdivision plan that's posted on the portal correct that is correct okay yep and Len let me just ask you a couple of quick questions so at the very top of that plan on the top right that's the five Lots correct that is correct and the previous application that we just heard that's where we started out and the approval that the board just gave us was the middle picture which is now two lots correct that is correct okay so that was just approved in the LA approved at the last hearing so now what we're asking for is the board to approve the bottom section and there's three lots there and the lot on the far right is the reason why we had to come back to the planning board this approval was originally granted in January of 23 after negotiations with the JC that's why we came back later for a second subdivision to create that little square 6,000 square foot lot to convey to the jcra to use in connection with their Lowe's project um correct I think that does it thank you Len uh well we'll get Charles to do it so there are two deviations um from one is from the municipal land use law the other is from the jld and the deviations are um you'll notice that little lot is not located on a public right of way and typically planning boards don't approve lot configurations uh that are not on a public right away but in this case there's a special reason why you should approve it and Charles is going to tell you about it yes so it's essentially the Mr height you're still under oath yes thank you okay you just heard the statement given by Mr mccan correct is it accurate it is um there's two different sections that we're requesting relief from and those are uh the subdivision ordinance with respect to fronting or AB buding a a street and then the municipal land use law with respect to Frontage on on a public uh right of way the intent of those is to allow for development to occur with access in this instance the Redevelopment plan calls for uh the Improvement a required Improvement to create a pathway from Journal Square through to Tunnell that's still being implemented nothing's being prevented in that in that intent and requirement of the Redevelopment plan and the benefits I would offer to this board is it allows for the further Redevelopment of these properties as well as the low's theater so there's a lot of coordination being being presented in this application um advancing the objectives of the Redevelopment Plan and there's no impairment of the intent of those requirements which which will still have access the the loading access for for this property will still occur from Pavonia and just one last thing eventually that lot that we're creating is going to be conveyed to the jcra and um subsumed or Consolidated into the Lowe's theater lot correct uh yes I I and then low will become part of the lows right Frontage on Kennedy Boulevard Journal Square proper there you go and that lock will be bigger it will be bigger with Frontage so this deviation would it's temporary in nature right if you think about it that way that's all we have oh hearing no other questions um anyone from the public Madam chair seeing no one from the public wishing to speak I move to close second um staff agrees with Mr Height's testimony um as to the appropriateness of this deviation here um there have been no changes to the conditions in this general area between the original approval of these of this subdivision and this current application that would warrant a re-examination of the suitability of the subdivision thank you I'll take a motion Madam chair I'd like to move for approval case p2024 d0145 preliminary and final major subdivision with variances for 808 Pavonia Avenue 132-140 Van ripen Avenue 12 Brian Place 813 ponia Avenue and 270 Magnolia [Laughter] [Music] Avenue commissioner Stato yes commissioner Cruz hi commissioner Desai I commissioner lipsky I acting chair councilwoman Prince Ary I motion carries 5- Z thank you everybody as always appreciate your time is 940 so got 20 minutes to roll let's rock and roll all right so yeah next is item 20 case p2024 d005 all right good evening Madam acting chair commissioners Benjamin we of prime toell and melli on behalf of the applicant rosf LLC uh just by way of uh some housekeeping this application was initially on your July 23rd agenda and did not get reached and was adjourned with preservation of notice till uh till this evening so I'll just confirm with Council that he is in receipt of notice and have that marked as A1 Council Madam chair we did receive the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing we looked at it uh and we determined that it was was or appeared to be in order so we're going to mark it as A1 for the record my notes and recollection were that the original notice was provided at that meeting so I believe that we have it but okay check on Kennedy too then so Madam chair this does appear to be the original of the digital version and that was reviewed we're going to Mark as a one for the record okay thank you go ahead so I'll be brief uh the application before you this evening is for a minor site plan approval um that is making use of the affordable housing overlay as well as the accessory dwelling unit provisions of your updated Land Development ordinance uh there again as with my prior application there are no variances associated with this application and ultimately what we're proposing is a new three-story residential building that will contain 11 res residential dwelling units inclusive of one three-bedroom affordable housing unit which you'll see momentarily as well as a single three-bedroom accessory dwelling unit at the rear of the property um this project has been approved by the division of affordable housing with respect to their review of the affordable unit and uh and I would also indicate as I said before that our proposal complies with uh all requirements of the R1 requirement we also did reach out we did reach out to uh through city planning to council Ridley and received comments from her that she has no further comments to this uh application and has reviewed it lastly I'll just indicate for the record that we did receive Cam's staff report and take no exception to complying with all of the conditions in that report and with that Madam chair I have one witness here with me this evening uh Jeff Lewis our project architect okay great thanks still grow go ahead thank you okay so 296 old Bergen Road I'm sorry you'll accept him as an expert yes I'll accept him as an expert yes all right Jee go right ahead so this is an oversized lot it's 50 ft wide by roughly 94 ft deep there's an existing uh residential building on the lot that will be demolished and we're proposing a new 12 unit multif family building that's 11 in the building plus the 1 Adu uh the units breakdown is two Studios that average 414 ft eight one-bedroom apartments that average 544 s ft and then two three-bedroom apartments that average 880 sare F feet and as was mentioned we do not need any variances for this application uh looking to the site plan uh we are eliminating an existing curb cut and we're having no parking here so we're providing new concrete curbs and sidewalks we're proposing two new Street trees where there are previously none uh the new building is set back 8' 7 in from the front property line uh we're using the space for walkways as well as 297 squ ft of lawn and landscaping area uh the building on the sides is set back 3 ft on one side 3' 8 ft on the other side um there's a walkway along each of these sides and that leads to the backyard where we have our one-story accessory dwelling unit uh the accessory dwelling unit has a0 foot rear yard setback uh two foot on one side and three foot on the other side and then there are 5T uh in between the accessory dwelling unit and our main building uh we are proposing additional walkways and a lawn area in between the two buildings um lastly we do have a storm water detention system on this property I do have the engineering drawing here I can go over it if it's something you would like to see but it is built to the uh City standards moving to the floor plans this is our ground floor plan we do have a centrally located front entry and Lobby uh this provides us access to our our meters a mail room our sprinkler room as this will be a fully sprinkler building uh the main staircase to the building uh there's also a hallway out to the back door to prob easy access to the accessory dwelling unit um and on on this floor the main building there are three Apartments um all the apartments in the building have Pacs uh to use for heat and air conditioning they all have washer dryer in the unit and all of the ground floor units including the accessory dwelling unit are Ada adaptable so in the main building I said we have three units two of them are Studios those are the two uh located at the top of the drawing and then the third unit is our affordable unit and that's the three uh three-bedroom apart um apartment located here at the bottom of the drawing um in the accessory dwelling unit we have the doorway here that leads directly to a three-bedroom apartment in that accessory dwelling unit the rest of the accessory dwelling unit actually has its own entry and it's used for our bicycle parking which will be for eight bicycle spaces and our trash and recycling area which both of which have a straight path down the alley out to the street uh looking at the second floor plan it's a very simple plan we have a Central staircase leading out to a common Corridor and then there are four Apartments uh wrapping around that one in each corner and each of these is a one-bedroom apartment this is the third floor plan um these actually are exactly the same as the third floor plan I mean as the second floor plan excuse me the only difference is we don't see the accessory dwelling unit here anymore and here we're showing the roof plan we do have a staircase going up to the roof it's only for maintenance purposes uh the roof is a flat roof that has 1,157 ft of green roof trays uh this is our front elevation to the building our main finish is a smooth red brick which is continuing all the way up uh to a builtup brick corness um we have uh some window Bay details that you could see on the right here uh we are providing brick surrounds around the entire Windows the windows themselves have uh black frames on the windows and also the main entry doors um we are providing black ptech rails which will match those windows beneath uh each of the window Bays uh and we're also providing these iron gray fiber cement panels as Accents in between the windows vertically um at the front entry we do have a aluminum wrapped entry canopy above the front entry door um and lastly at the top of the building you can see we have the setback stair Penthouse uh this will be finished in a white vinyl siding to be nice and Light this is the right side elevation showing at the top here the main building and the accessory building um to the right of it uh these are finished with at the base a h excuse me a dark gray smooth stucco finish and then above that uh we have thank you a light gray vinyl uh siding that same uh those same finishes are applied to the accessory dwelling unit on the side and as well as the front of the accessory dwelling unit which we're showing here at the bottom um the only thing to note here is that the right side door is the door to the trash area and that is a solid door and the accessory dwelling unit uh the apartment store is a mostly glass door here we're looking at the left side again same finishes as the right side uh smooth stco at the bottom light gray vinyl siding above and then lastly we're looking at both of the rear elevations of both the main building and the uh accessory dwelling unit and you could see the same finishes as we were showing previously um including the same black framed windows with the matching uh black aluminum PTEC rails Neath them um that actually concludes my presentation on this project anyone who has any questions I am happy to answer them Jeff the only question I have it's going to preempt what I know the board's question is going to be the three-bedroom affordable unit we would commit that that would be the in the principal building and not the accessory dwelling unit is that correct that is correct yes madam that concludes my presentation and Council would be made with the same materials and same quality as the others absolutely yes any additional questions no anyone from the public seeing no one from the public to speak I move to close the public session second cam go ahead um okay so planning staff thanks the applicant for working diligently with staff to meet all of the various uh requirements of the aho overlay and um working with the affordable housing division um Alex specifically um to designate that unit um planning staff believes that the project meets the purpose and intent of the affordable housing overlay and um planning staff is happy to see the incorporation of an affordable unit which will Foster potentially a family to uh be able to afford to live in Jersey City and uh you know have future Generations um and ultimately uh planning staff believes you satisfied all of the requests from our staff report and uh this does meet our master plan and the intent of the Zone plan and planning staff recommends approval thank you yeah take a motion so uh for I'd like to make a motion to approve case p2245 for minor site plan for address 296 old Bergen Road is there a second second okay on a motion to approve with conditions commissioner lipsky I commissioner stamato I commissioner Cruz I commissioner Dr Desai hi and acting chair Madame councilwoman PR I okay motion carries all in favor with conditions thank you everybody thank you yep okay next oneus so next one uh item 21 case p2024 D 0074 good evening councilwoman chairperson good evening board Council Jim Burke representing the applicant uh we appreciate you staying so late so we can uh hear this matter um first this is a notice matter so I'm going to hand uh Council the uh proof of uh service did you where's my stuff so we have a number of people here what I'd like to do because the hour is late is jump into um I think the questions that were raised in uh the planner report um you know involving certain aspects of the operation and so forth but we do have a number of people here uh the owners are sitting to my right and uh they are we've got three individuals here one is Kimberly green uh the other one is Tiffany Cardwell they're both owners and then the uh individuals sitting next to them um is a Michelle Balman and Michelle is a member uh sorry she she works for the third uh member of the LLC which is also an LLC they provide technical expertise um for dispensaries they also own and operate dispensaries but in this case their role is primarily to provide expertise setting up the uh security systems and so forth if we need to hear from her she flew in from uh Missouri so if we need to hear from her uh you know we can swear her in but in the meantime I I'd like to just jump right to the architect and and just start going through the important things such as uh I I understand the odor uh containment um so to my right is the architect would you swear am in Please Mr Burke why don't we Mark the notice uh Madam chair I receive the affid of publication proof of mailing with respect to the application it does appear to be in order we're going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the record Mike we can go ah head and swear in the witness we'll get them qualified and then Mr Burke we've done lots of these so I do Gerard Schubert g r a r d last name s c u b r t all right Mr Schubert you're a licensed architect in the state of New Jersey I am and you've appeared before this board and others I have all right would you accept him as an expert your license is currently in good standing sir yes it is yeah we'll accept Okay so what I'd like you to do this is a conditional use approval there invol okay there are no variances involved to my knowledge it's a conditional use only approval um so I I know there are certain aspects again odor and so forth um so uh the architect will walk through the design the facade and so forth and then if questions come up we will have Miss Balman come up if if need be Mr Burke you've already secured the approval of the Cannabis board the uh Jersey City cannabis board has approved this matter and I understand and I hope I get the technical term right uh there's a conditional use approval in Trenton and that's why it's important to proceed because the conditional use as the word condition suggest if you don't have approvals within a certain period of time it can go away do you happen to know off the time top of your head when the Cannabis board approved this particular application I not off the top of my head but it was in 2023 so yeah November November 2023 so my point is it's been some time obviously you've already gone through the technical aspect with the CCB yes so this is really to confirm distance and Zoning issues just so everybody is aware and so that the architect can really pinpoint he can tell us about odor and noise mitigation but presumably the CB CCB heard that testimony and dealt with those issues correct um so as I mentioned though since we have a planner's report which was very well done by Mr Espinosa uh we will focus on those things to make sure the board has a satisfaction level on uh the quality of this application okay so the address is uh 39 Park Avenue also known as 41 marind Boulevard it's down by the marina the building is an existing building we're not proposing any expansion of the volume uh the current use of the of the site is a campground um at the site plan up um sorry uh the site plan uh sorry current VI Uh current use is a campground and um the building that's the two supporting building structures that are on the campground uh house the bathrooms and the laundry facilities for the campers uh this area that we're taking over is approximately 700 ft it's at the one end of the building um closer to the marina um this is the interior of the building uh we are not proposing as I said uh any exterior uh improvements other than um a canopy uh some signage and some uh in uh the interior is mostly storage for product with a one room for it area and one room for um point of sale uh transactions all the transactions are going to be outside there's no one's going to be coming into the building um showing the exterior of the building we're proposing to paint the exterior uh black with the uh as I said said canopy with some lighting over three transaction Windows the sign is going to be paint painted as per the district regulations um for the interior the even though the aroma should be fairly mild compared to a growing facility we are uh specifying and this is a new thing and I think we you submitted the the drawings um a filtering system it's a standalone filter with a fan that does about uh it's good for up to about 1,000 square ft or facilities about about 700 ft and uh it's just a charcoal filter with a fan and it uh should clear the air U adequately uh we don't have a HVAC system per se we have a mini split system so we don't have any exterior ducts so no none of the the um air will go outside it's uh self-contained um as far as noise I don't know that this is going to generate any other noise than a simple retail uh facility but again no no one's admitted inside the uh no one's admitted inside corre so the business is transacted transacted at the outside window correct correct okay all right um and the signage and so forth will meet with code there's no variances requested for that right they asked us to we had it a little bit too large at the first go around so we made it a little bit smaller okay all right um what I'd like to do is just turn it back to the board for questions and and again we have a number of people here there's a union representative in the back who who's been patiently waiting who's from South Jersey so he's here if you have any questions of him because they did reach an agreement with the local union union rep uh and again we have uh Mr McAllister's here he does he's a contractor he does work um he can answer certain questions if questions come up and uh and again miss uh Michelle came all the way from Missouri so she's here to answer any questions you might have so so Madam chair uh Council thank you I thank the team for showing up uh Madam chair we've heard numerous of these CCB did what they do obviously uh Francisco seems to have left but according to his staff memo he has undertaken his review and finds that there are no other facilities within the buffer requirement separation from the school so it seems to me in reading his report the applicant has satisfied all the conditions uh so if you have questions obviously we can we can ask of of the applicant but it's pretty straightforward yeah I I agree I I I no questions any questions the only thing is is the with regard to the union is it for the workers or I mean to what extent one of the requirements is to enter a union agreement yeah so um yeah come on I'd rather let the he came all the way up from Blackwood New Jersey so let's uh have him speak justu the truth truth I do uh first name Hugh hu g h last name g orano g i o r d n o thank you now other being other than being a an Eagles fan um I'd like you to just [Music] explain well well now I'm just going to say keep it brief no problem I will please please explain the relationship between your union and the uh the applicant sure uh under state law um when applying for a license you have to sign what's called a labor peace agreement an LPA um and the saan has entered into a labor peace agreement which means that when it's up and operational uh the hope would be that it would the workers would have the right to form and join a union without the fear of retaliation um this employer has shown good faith in that in that way so it won't be a Jeff Bezos experiment here uh people will actually be treated with respect um it's part of the state requirement and uh not this employer is e exemplifies what our Union wants um in having long-term careers for working people in Jersey City is this for cannabis is this a cannabis yes so the UFCW um under the aflci um has official jurisdiction but we also represent shop rights Aces Kroger's kangs Goya Deets and Watson um they're all our represented facilities as well okay great thank you thank you thank you so much thank you um if there's anyone from the public no he I just remind him my mom was a shop steward is at shoppr in Livingston so he gave me a hug sometimes the less information is more no I'm just Kidd so um cam if you want to go ahead oh wait I'm sorry can we get it public there's we have to close public Madam chair seeing no one else from the public wishing to speak I move to close second thank you Cam um they already agreed to Francisco's conditions and uh planning staff recommends approval okay thank you I'll take a motion he hasn't spoken yet all right let me get it done um mam chair I move to approve case p2024 d74 for conditional use at 41 Marin bevard second okay on a motion to approve commissioner lipsky yeah I think it's a great location I mean it uh anyone who goes down that neck of the woods knows that cannabis is not unfamiliar from a certain establishment down there so uh they won't have to go as far to get product so I vote I commissioner Stato I like by the to go I agree with what you're wish all in the world thank you very commissioner Cruz congratulations to Joe's daughter and guys and I vote I commissioner Dr isai I and acting Madame chair councilwoman priner it's great to see women in this industry I wish you guys all the best I vote I motion carries all in favor with conditions thank you good night than one more yeah yeah let's call the uh let's go I've got my check and affid package ready one question Miss cot uh can can we have order we have one more application to hear so so let's let's just keep it moving Steve you can sidebar if you like yes okay thank you all right so we will hear case number p2024 d71 all right good evening again Madame uh acting chair Commissioners Benjamin we of prime Tu ell and melli on behalf of the applicant 3438 Kennedy Boulevard LLC um just a point of order I will deliver the affidavit P Council mam chairman receive the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing with respect to the application at 3438 Kennedy Boulevard here in the city it does appear to be in order can Mark is A1 for the record great okay go ahead B thank you so uh so very briefly the property in question is 3438 Kennedy Boulevard which is block 2605 Lot 1 we are located in the rc2 zone this particular property is a corner lot located at the southeast corner of JFK Boulevard and Bower Street and currently consists of you might be familiar it's a two-story mixed use building with the Dunkin Donuts right at the corner over there and uh and it takes up just about 100% of the lot um there is also residential use on the second floor and a second commercial use in the rear of the existing building uh there are varying uses around the neighborhood including multif family mixed use and higher density sites and what we're here proposing this evening is minor site plan approval with one bulk variance in order to construct an addition above the existing two-story building to create a four-story mixed use building that will consist of 10 residential dwelling units and ground floor commercial space I do want to note as well the owner of this property is also the Dunkin Donuts franchisee and he has every intention I know it's a pillar of that community and farbe from us to take away people's coffee who live around there he intends to reutilize the uh the front portion of the ground floor as that Dunkin Donuts um as well we are also taking advantage of the affordable housing overlay here as well which you'll hear about in detail and I want to note uh one more important thing because it is very relevant to this application this is an Adaptive reuse project of an existing site that currently contains three non-conformities currently there is no rear yard setback or from rear lot Point as this is a corner lot there's also 100% lot coverage and 100% building coverage we are eliminating two of those existing non-conformities by actually demolishing the back rear corner of this building to actually allow for that rear lot Point setback to be conforming and also to bring the overall lot coverage down into conformance below 90% the one variance we have is a reduction of the 100% building coverage we can't quite get it down to 85% but we are down to about 89% in change so to recap we've eliminated two of the existing non-conformities entirely and we've drastically reduced the third which is the sole variance that we're here seeking this evening with me this evening um I do have two witnesses I intend to call Jeff Lewis our project architect and Sam Bellamy to walk you through his testimony for the single variance so with that I will turn it over to Mr Lewis hi uh still under oath still under oath and still qualified yeah all right Jeff why don't you walk us through the plan okay so uh Benjamin did a lot of the work for me so I just want to start breaking down what we have in this building it will be a new four-story building with two ground floor commercial spaces and 10 Apartments uh that corner commercial space which is the Dunkin Donuts and will remain a Dunkin Donuts is 585 Square ft uh the second commercial space is a little more down Bower Street it's smaller it's 433 s ft uh the apartments breakdown as one three-bedroom that is 821 ft three two-bedrooms that average 677 6 71 ft excuse me and six one-bedroom apartments that average 560 ft uh looking at the site plan I'm actually going to go to the next sheet the site plan's a little clearer to see we are proposing all new curbs and sidewalks there are three existing Street trees which we will be uh upgrading those tree pits to be Jersey City uh standards uh and proposing one new Street Tree on Bowers there's an existing uh concrete ramp that goes up to the Dunkin Donuts which will be remaining uh um after that uh as was mentioned the building is built to all the property lines however we are cutting away a 76 x 30t uh piece at that back corner to comply with the rear setback uh that will be finished with open grid pavers so half concrete half um lawn which will allow us to comply with the block coverage uh requirement as well I'm just going to jump right into the floor plans here hold on I'm sorry I wanted this one I apologize okay so here we are at the seller plan uh there are two spaces here two main spaces uh the front space here is used for commercial storage this is accessed uh from the sidewalk hatch door which is existing uh the backspace is used for the residential we have a new staircase from the residential Lobby down to the space and here we have our trash recycling area our meter room as well as our sprinkler room as this is a fully sprinkler building here we're looking at the first floor and I should have mentioned this it's existing at the top and new at the bottom I'm not really going to touch the existing and look right to uh the new so as was mentioned this corner space here is going to remain the Dunkin Donuts however we are adding a new Ada bath and it will obviously be refinished uh moving down Bower Street you see that second smaller uh space which also we're adding an ADA bath to and that's it for the commercial everything else on this floor is residential uh we have a secondary entrance which is off of JFK Boulevard and leads directly to Stair number two the main entrance is here off of Bower Street uh it opens to a Lobby which has a little extra room for bike storage it provides access to Stair number one which I just mentioned goes up and also down to the basement and then also uh leads to apartment uh number one which is the ground floor 3bedroom apartment uh this this apartment is the affordable apartment and um let me just go over some of the amenities like all the units it will have a washer dryer in the apartment um W mounted Mini Splits to provide heat and air conditioning this is on the ground floor so it is an ADA adaptable apartment and also um has its own private exit to the back rear yard so it will have a private rear yard of its own and Jeff just before you go on to confirm that private rear yard is where that portion of the existing building is being demolished correct correct correct and so that will be private for the affordable unit perfect which is a nice little amenity I think uh here we're looking at the second and third floor each of these floors is the same uh there's two stairs leading to a common hallway three apartments on each floor at the front corner we have our two-bedroom apartment we have a one-bedroom apartment in the middle and a one-bedroom apartment at the back which has a 5T X 10t balcony which is overlooking the rear yard this is the fourth floor plan it's actually very similar to the floors below the only difference being the front two-bedroom apartment and the rear one-bedroom apartment have new stairs put inside the apartment which will lead directly up uh to their private roof decks and here we are looking at that roof plan so on this plan we have two private roof decks the one in the front is 225 ft the one to the rear is 246 square feet also on this floor we have 770 square feet of green roof trays and also we do have stair number two which is a common stair coming up to this roof and that's so they can provide maintenance to the AC condensers which are also located on the roof uh here we're looking at our front elevation the JFK uh elevation um we're proposing a traditional looking building with some Modern uh feel and color scheme uh going to the material starting at the bottom we are providing a gray cast stone base to the building then the main finish of the building is a smooth red brick uh this is broken up between the first and second floors uh with a um aluminum wrapped sign band and aing um we're using that same uh finish at the top with an aluminum wrapped cornice which is a fairly large Cornus uh the windows themselves all have uh black are all excuse me we have black aluminum frames for all of our windows and doors and looking at the upper level you can see we have these very large 16-in tall cast stone headers for all the windows this is our rear elevation uh the base is uh smooth stucco painted gray and then light gray vinyl siding above you can also see the balconies that we mentioned here those um the bases of the balconies are wrapped in dark gray aluminum and it's dark gray aluminum for the post and rails as well this is the Bower Street elevation uh as you can see it has all the same finishes as the JFK K uh elevation has uh the one addition is we have some of these larger empty spaces where we're proposing some decorative brick work to um add some interest to those areas and then lastly this is the right side elevation um the front half of this is right against the property line where it's against the building next to us here and then where it's exposed around that building we'll be providing that L gr vinyl siding and then in the rear yard area we're also proposing L GR vinyl siding and the same black aluminum frames for the windows and doors as we're proposing on the front elevations um that concludes my presentation I can answer any questions thank you Jeff um unless there are questions I'll move straight in to our last and Final witness Sam Bellamy who will speak to the reduction of two of the three existing non-conform or the elimination of two of the ex three existing nonconformities and reduction of the last one which remains a variance condition not much you can say and I recognize I'm on their oath and still qualified um so again this this property is in the rc2 district it's just the one variance for for B uh building coverage um we are reducing the coverage by 9% so it'll be 91% where 85% is permitted um we are it's 90 it's 90 90% sorry rounding um we are increasing the rear yard setback to bring that into Conformity with the 30% requirement actually exceeding it on the ground floor the side yard set backs in front yard set backs will BL you BL you will remain in uh will remain in conformance and then we're bringing the lock coverage into conformance with the uh 90% requirement um overall this project is consistent with a municipal land use law purposes AE and I um again this this is a permitted mix use building in the zone we're also utilizing the affordable housing overlay so the density is permitted um I don't see any substantial detriment to the public good or general welfare here or uh likewise any uh impairment to the Zone planner zoning ordinance again this is directly in line with what the RC District was created and intended to do um providing and maintaining uh neighborhood level retail um we are proposing green Roofing to mitigate the uh building coverage and overall I think with the reduction of the non-conformities um the benefits would outweigh the detriments here and that the positive and negative criteria has been met okay thank you that's all the testimony I intended to elicit um from Mr Bellamy I'll just bring it home by indicating as well which I should have done before um I did receive uh Mr D Silva's staff report and uh take no exception to complying with conditions I also want to thank him for working closely with our uh especially our architect on coming up with the iteration of the design that you see here this evening okay there are no questions um I doesn't I don't see anyone from the public here no public so close the public can we get a second okay Matt go ahead um before I begin my testimony I'd just like to formally enter into evidence um the staff report dated August 16th um due to a staff oversight it did not get uploaded to the portal until today um so just to keep everything even though it was shared with um Mr wine earlier just to keep everything formal and buttoned up I'd like to formally enter this as evidence thank you we don't have to but we'll mark to go home um as Mr Bellamy mentioned um this is a renovation and reuse of an existing structure that had three pre-existing non-conforming conditions and as part of this renovation they are eliminating two of them um staff felt comfortable with the remaining uh variants for building coverage especially as um a green roof is providing more permeable surface and storm water treatment um this project advances the purposes and intent of the rc2 district as well as the affordable housing overlay there will be one three-bedroom affordable unit in the property and uh staff supports approval with conditions thank you I'll take a motion Madam chair I'd like to move to approve case 2024 d71 for minor site plan for 3438 John F Kennedy Boulevard second it commissioner Stato yes commissioner Cruz hi sir commissioner Desai hi commissioner Lipski hi acting chair councilwoman Prince har motion carries 5- Z thank you everybody thank you so much you said it couldn't be done the memorialization of the resolutions so Madam chair we have a pretty decent sized list about 16 resolutions for everyone's edification I'll read them off and then you can entertain a motion first resolution is resolution of planing Board of the city of Jersey City case number p2023 d87 the applicant is SSB Gooler LLC for site plan extension 150 vroom Street Jersey City New Jersey block 12107 Lots 27 and 28 resolution of the city of Jersey City planning board case number p224 4- 0104 the applicant is 252 monell LLC address is 252 monello Avenue Jersey City New Jersey block 15203 lot two next resolution is resolution of the planning board of the city of Jersey City the applicant is or the case number is p2023 d73 the applicant is 438 realy Associates LLC preliminary major site plan approval for 438 Summit a Jersey City New Jersey block 10803 Lot 23 next resolution is a resolution of the planning board of the city of Jersey City approving final major site plan Amendment case number P 20 24-40 the applicant is 55 Hudson Street LLC it's a final major site plan approval Amendment with a deviation for 55 Hudson Street Jersey City New Jersey next resolution is a resolution of the planning board of the city of Jersey City case number p224 d58 the applicant is Mike Patel LLC it's for an interim use approval for signage 780 to 782 Newark Avenue next resolution is a resolution of the planning board of City Jersey City the applicant is K acquisition court for preliminary and final major subdivision approval with deviations block 10601 approved lot 34.2 also known as block 9404 portion of existing lot 34 and block 10601 existing Lots 38 and 39 block 10601 proposed Lots 34. 03 and 34.049000 [Music] 270 Magnolia Avenue and it's case number P 2024 0145 next resolution is resolution of the planning board of the city of Jersey City case [Music] number P22 d136 it is the application of K silverain 808 Bonia LLC for preliminary and final major subdivision approval with deviations block 9404 existing Lots 3435 and 41 block 10601 existing Lots 38 39 block 9404 proposed lot 34.010659 2 or 140 van ripen Avenue 12 Brian Place 813 Pavonia Avenue 270 Magnolia Avenue next resolution is resolution the matter of Zubin Mogul applicant 61 Liberty a case number p2023 D 0077 for a minor site plan approval next resolution is a resolution of the planning board of City Jersey City case number p2024 -105 vant Properties LLC extension of final major site plan approval with deviations 165 to 169 and 173 Academy Street next resolution is a resolution of the planning board case number p2023 d56 the applicants Newport Associates development company prary major site plan approval with deviations 44 Park Lane North block 7302 lot 3.15 next resolution is a resolution of the city of Jersey City planning board in the matter of grand Jersey Group LLC 185 Mammoth Street AKA 52 Anna street block 15801 lot 3.02 case number p2023 d93 resolution of the planning board case number p2024 d98 77 Forest Street Jersey City Block 21502 lot one it's an application for a proposed class one cultivation cannabis business next resolution is a resolution of the planing Board of the city Jersey City the applicants Newport Associates development company preliminary major site plan approval with variances 44 Park Lane North block 7302 lot 3.15 case number 2023 056 proving conditional use kof pot dispensary for conditional use approval 947 commun Avenue block 1873 lot 6 case number p224 001 Z next resolution is a resolution of the planning board of the city of Jersey City case P2 24-32 applicant is 626 Newark Avenue LLC it's an administrative Amendment approval with relief for deviation 626 to 632 Newark Avenue block 8101 Lots 28 and 29 final resolution of the planning board of the city of Jersey City case p223 d53 the applicant is psng it's for preliminary and final major site plan approval interim use at 675 to 695 Grand Street Jersey City New Jersey block 17301 Lots three and nine I'll take a motion Madam CH madam I'd like to motion to approve the memorialization of the 16 resolutions read by Council lampy on a motion to approve commissioner lipsky I commissioner Stato hi commissioner Cruz hi commissioner doai hi and acting Madame chair councilwoman priner motion carries all in favor to memorialize resolutions motion A J uh second okay we're J we did all y cleared the