good evening everybody Welcome to the November 14th meeting of the Jersey City planning board if we could come to order and please join me in a salute to the flag pledge allegiance to the flag FL the United States of America stands one na under God indivisible liberty and justice all Justice all right thank you everybody um just get my agenda open here all right cam could we have a sunshine announcement please yes chairman good evening everyone today is Tuesday November 14 2023 this is a Jersey City planning board meeting with a scheduled 5:30 pm start time uh this planning board meeting is being held virtually as a video conference that is open to the public 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 November 9th 2023 this meeting was also posted on the Jersey City division of City Planning web page and all distribution materials made available to the board were published and available to the public all right thanks cam could we have a roll call please yes chairman okay so I see I'll start with commissioner here all right um Vice chair Dr Gonzalez here commissioner Cruz here commissioner Dr Desai here commissioner green present commissioner Torres yeah and chairman Langston here okay we have seven Commissioners present and um we are expecting commissioner stamato as well but for the time being we have Quorum we have seven Commissioners okay great thank you uh could we swear on the staff please Mike I see Cameron Liz Matt Matt Junu and Francisco do you guys swear any testimony tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes yes thank you all right thank you everybody um do we have any correspond this cam yes we do so um quite a few things actually um I'm gonna start with just by reiterating for the public that um under item six on the agenda adjournments um just again to repeat uh address 152 to Ogden Avenue it's a preliminary final major site plan they will not be heard tonight they this is getting carried with preservation of notice to the November 28th meeting um it's listed there under the adjournments but I just wanted to make another announcement because um I know there's quite a few members of the public that are here for that case so that is not being heard tonight that is going November 28th with preservation of notice um and also under adjourn um we have letter C this is address 110 Town Square place it was for a preliminary major site plan with variances this is actually not being carried this is actually uh withdrawn um so they are withdrawing their application they will resubmit to the planning department when they're ready if they're ever ready um so uh that covers adjournments um then we are going to move all the way into new business bu um item 16 on the agenda that's case p23 075 uh address 319 to 321 4th Street they have requested to carry with preservation of notice to November 28th um and then item 18 on the agenda case P22 d227 address is 605 to 607 Grove Street they're requesting to carry with preservation of notice to November 28th um and then item 21 on the agenda case p23 d85 it's a preliminary final major site plan with C variances address is 549 to 551 Pavonia Avenue they're requesting to carry with preservation of notice to November 28th um and then right after that we have 22 on the agenda uh case p2023 d004 it's a site plan Amendment for 319 fth Street and they are requesting to carry with preservation of notice to November 28th um and then the very last item on the agenda uh that is item 27 that is case number p2023 d23 it's for a preliminary and final major site plan address 30 uh and 40 Newport Parkway they've requested to carry um to the December 12th meeting and they will actually be Ren noticing um so yeah they will notice again and that's it that that's everything okay so the cam case number 27 is actually adjourned and there will be a re notice we'll see if that happens happens for the December 12th meeting or not uh cam what is going on with this p23 d75 um is this the case that's been kicking around it's three me now they' carried yeah three meetings now and it's because the engineering letter that came in two days prior to their hearing date said that they need to get rid of one parking space so now they're playing um they're working with their client to to get rid of that parking space um they're they're not happy about it so yeah so Mr Higgins is gonna have to form wave any time for the board to act on this so I believe he's raising his hand I can bring him up yeah let's get him up on the screen okay here we go what item number was that it's item 16 commissioner you very much thank you good evening everybody uh Stephen Joseph uh not Michael here for the for the applicant we we do apologize for carrying this item uh so many times as Cameron said we did receive an engineer engineering letter pretty late um and did not have enough time to make the revisions requested um in the 10day window prior to this meeting we thought we were going to be able to get it done in time but we didn't so we will be ready for the next meeting um we just you know we didn't want to present anything as an exhibit or or anything like that and we we do formally we do uh of course wave the board's time to act on this application thank you Mr Joseph and Mr Joseph just so that I understand it is the intention of the applicant to make some revisions to the plans and submit those to the board prior to the 1128 hearing correct the engineering letter requested some changes where we've made most of those changes we intend to comply with that letter uh we just felt that the the changes the engineer recommended on the parking was a little too much to just agree as a condition all right I just want to make sure obviously the board has enough time to take a look at those plans in light of the fact that we have the Thanksgiving holiday right before that meeting so understood thank you Council thank you all right thank you Council um okay so let's move move on to Old business item eight is case P22 d210 is a preliminary and final site plan with C variances for 27 to 29 fiet AV promoting Thomas lean and cam just for the record um this was originally heard on September 19th uh present at that meeting were Vice chair Gonzalez commissioner Torres commissioner gangan uh commissioner Cruz commissioner lipsky commissioner stamato commissioner Desai uh I did state it at our last meeting when uh this came up and we carried uh I did watch the video uh I feel comfortable voting on this application tonight um who else do we have uh commissioner green have you had a chance to review the record on this application unfortunately I had a matter and I couldn't I couldn't review it I'm I apologize not a problem not a problem um okay so you wouldn't be eligible to vote on this application tonight uh so no I will not take I would love to say take five I think it's going to be longer than five but uh that's fine all right we'll see you in a few darling thank you okay Mr lean the floor is yours uh thank you chairman uh for the record Tom lean of Connell Foley as was previously stated uh we did notice for the September 19th uh hearing where testimony was taken from our experts uh it was carried to the October 10th meeting I don't believe there was any expert testimony taken but there was a discussion between myself and and the uh board members um and uh the the issue was essentially um uh the jmua letter that um we had received unfortunately just the day of the 10th uh we have received a new letter that was posted and provided to the board dated October 30th uh it seems we've already cleared up the issue about who should be voting on this application so I think the only remaining issue is um for Council just to confirm that jurisdiction is still proper before the board based on notice thank you m Leen uh the board accepts your recitation of the facts I agree that there was testimony taken in September and that the October meeting was discussion between yourself the board uh and no expert testimony was offered at that time Mr lean I think the best way to proceed in light of the issue that was open and laid out is perhaps to address that issue head on I don't know how much additional testimony uh the Board needs to hear I'll defer to the board and the chair as to if they feel they need additional expert testimony but my understanding of the open issue was the connection uh and chairman correct me if I'm wrong as to the connection we're talking about but it was the connection with respect to sewer and water at the subject site uh and how that was going to be facilitated and what the JC mua's position with respect to that was they had put out a letter that the board found confusing uh we conflicting if you will so that's my recollection based on my notes chairman but I will defer obviously to to yourself and the rest of no that's that's what I have too Council um yeah we really just wanted a letter from the MUA stating their position um and you know various scenarios that could work out um so I'm satisfied with that letter uh if there's any questions from anybody on the board if they want to address that this commissioner Tes um but besides the letter that we were requested because music with mua there was no clear uh it wasn't clear to us myself the way they are Distributing the waste from the building and taking out of the building with um with the pumpkin station and stuff like that uh I don't think the uh or the person that was was speaking to do the pum the waste out of the building and the storm water out of the building um we got I got more confused on the cat spacing and how the PIP was gonna be okay I think there's there's a previous mua uh communication on here somewhere uh I did see that they did address that um but you know by all means we can hear testimony on it um chairman Langston um this is not me in the way of testifying this is me in the way of trying to provide uh a little bit of clarity here um I did provide to uh planning and uh councel for the board today a previous approval that was um granted by this board for the properties uh directly to the east of us namely those at the corner of Wales and fi um what I had profer to the board uh at the last meet the last time I was before the board was it was indeed the intent uh of not only um this board but um the prior approval that the portions of uh fiatt street that are currently in private property where those lines run through were to be dedicated to the city um why that dedication never happened I can't speak to that uh but the fact of the matter was uh or is that uh There Was An approved design not only for those properties uh but for my client's property for those connections uh to be run from Wales to my client's property um we have a jcmua letter that um approved that design uh this board approved and uh the the developments that are currently on Wales and Fatt with the idea that the street was going to be given back to the city unfortunately that never happened so my client is left holding the bag a little bit here in that that connection uh while approved still runs through private property um what the letter before the board says is the jcmua will accept one of three options essentially either we will get easements from our neighbors uh and that will allow us to utilize those lines or the city will accept dedication of the property as was originally contemplated uh as a condition of approval for those properties failing either of those options the jcmua has agreed that my client is allowed to run lines from their property underneath fiet to whales and that the plans as provided along with the calculations are acceptable in any three of the scenarios that play out so essentially what you have is a conditional approval from the jcmua saying however the chips may fall whether it be my client gets e ments whether the city essentially uh eventually uh accepts the portions of fiet that were always meant to be part of the public right of away or if he is unable to do that in a timely manner or just wants to proceed uh with construction as soon as he can he can run lines under Fire to connect to Wales and all of those are acceptable to the jcmua all right thank you Council yeah um I I'm fine with you know any of those scenarios uh that's the jcmua Wheelhouse um so yeah I'm fine with that that conclusion from them uh cam I do see uh councilman Boo's hand is up do we want to promote the council chairman I think before we start opening it up to public I don't know commissioner Torres does that answer your question or is your question still open no um my question is still open because it's um I understand clearly what the MUA is saying and the removal of the waste from the building into a sewer system and the three um scenarios that they gave um going back to previous meetings I just um want to I I don't see any upgrade cre a request or any backup on the arent Jans that shows the pumping stations that they pumping the stuff out with they only show one pump for the sanitary one pump for the storm and they're still doing the same thing and I would like to know if there is any backup electrical like I asked in the first meeting that we had about um right now um it's it's not I I did Take a Walk on that property um I am okay with this letter from the anyway it can happen it's not a difficult thing to do either scenario but um what I am not comfortable with as a member of the Jersey City planning board is that we have 20 units and no backup electrical for what's gonna pump the waste and the sanitary if anything ever happens in a 100e storm basically if there is a power shortage for more than one day what of those 20 families going to do it and uh same as um what if one of the pumps go bad right if a pump goes bad how do we switch it over to having the waste and the of the families that are in that building leave the building or you know it's just too many units not to have backup plan um that concerns me so I was wondering if that I I didn't notice in this um what was sent to us in this application now I don't see any changes on that and I'm wondering why so commissioner is it satisfactory to you that as a condition of the approval a backup generator for the pump be made a condition that would be and a backup pump I would think you would need what if you we're not saying that you could get a pump and stall the fix in one day yes if it takes more than one day you would have to stop everybody in that building from using the facilities and it's 20 families so it's a it's a larger amount and what they have there now what they have there now is a pump outside you can see it outside the front side walk in a building and what they have is uh four families okay so I could you could you could manuver four families a little easier much difficult to maneuver 20 families and a storm or a blackout that happen more than two or three days long basically oh I I I like the idea of pumping draining into the uh the third option that they giv it Ario whale street that looked good to me that looks it looks feasible but I don't find so commissioner we're we're going to impose that condition on Mr lean right now that's what's about to happen question is what is that condition that it's a backup pump equal to the pump proposed with a generator yes with a generator system that's needed especially on the sanitary um component of the building um sounds reasonable to me Mr lean it certainly sounds reasonable to me and I believe that the developer will accept that and it will certainly be part of the resolution thank you Council that that that that was a very concern of mind um thank you very concern for me and for the city the city of City to put something that has no backup for 20 families is U uncomfortable and thank you for that agreed agreed thank you Eddie we appre appreciate it um cam I it's not my intention to open up public comment yet but uh just you know as the courtesy uh let's bring councilman boano up um if he wants to get a statement on record now or if he wants to wait for a public comment I'll leave that up to him chairman before we allow the councilman to speak I don't know if the board wants to hear any testimony or if Mr lean intended on putting any testimony uh before the board I think we clarified the two issues that were open so um thank Council uh we left off at the September 19th hearing before my planner testified we got in the engineering testimony and we got in the architecture testimony we did not have our planner testify so I do plan to uh have uh Mr height come up and testify this evening I was also planning on giving just just a quick uh run through of the uh the architectural plans again given that it's been uh almost a month and a half since the last meeting but uh I have no problem if the uh if the councilman wants to get up and make a statement now all right okay all right can you hear me councilman we can hear you uh are you able to turn your video on yeah uh hold on a second sure no problem all right the pl uh to planning board members first we appreciate your re time and service to protecting our community it is a thankless job but I do want to remind you that you have a responsibility to the community and not just to the administration of Jersey City last meeting you voted in support of 124 Glennwood Avenue because legal counil advised you if you believe that the developer is not a good neighbor then let the developer sue the city now you have set presidents and all the lawyers for these developers know that you will bend to the threat of a lawsuit stand strong wrong with your neighbors and your community do not let developers bully you 2729 fed Avenue the developer has met with this community with councilman Prince Ary over two years ago the community asked for Less height and density this the developer responded by adding an additional Flor and more density how can this type of developer be a good neighbor and I ask you board members to consider this because there's a lot of issues with this here yeah and it should be considered okay all right thank you councilman we appreciate your time okay Mr lean the floor is yours then um before I proceed I just want to make a quick um response to uh the councilman uh yes we did meet with uh the community uh it was it was not two years ago it was in in 2022 but we also met with the community on September 6 of 2023 after we adjourned this matter from July 25th all the way until our hearing on September 19th uh I made multiple outreaches to both councilman uh councilwoman pinar's office and councilman Boo's office uh we were not able to schedule something until the 6 when we met with the community uh only a few a handful of people showed up but we did make those Outreach efforts we were also um in protracted discussions with uh the neighbor JD Trucking facility because they had some concerns that they would not be able to operate their business uh we were able to resolve that with them uh and they have uh no issues as far as I'm aware uh as far as the development so we have been in communication with the community um the change here was essentially that uh the affordable housing overlay was adopted uh by um by the uh the city council and this planning board um we are utilizing that there are two affordable units in this building um and that was essentially where the uh the change over the year came from um so with that uh I'll just uh bring up uh Charles height um and uh he can run you through uh the proposed variances and also give a little bit of an overview as the pro of the project as a reminder to the testimony you heard back on September 19th okay thank you Council hey Charles swear yes good evening good evening do you swear any testimony you give tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do for the record can you st spell your name please yes Charles height last name is spelled Hy DT thank you Mr height good evening we've qualified you in the past uh your license is current tonight as a planner it is current in the state of New Jersey as a planner okay thank you sir you're qualified thank you um Mr Hy I'm giving you the unenviable task of trying to sum up all the testimony that was heard on the 19th but I think the board could probably use a refresher before you go into your direct testimony related to the variances that are being requested yeah um it it would be my pleasure to give a a quick summary to just um keep the board fresh and all the particulars about the uh the plans that are being proposed uh I will be sharing my screen so if you give me one moment um we are proposing a multif family development in the R3 which is the city's multif family residential district so from a US standpoint um The Zone does Envision um properties of this size uh to be redeveloped developed um for multif family use um as hang on sorry I'm just selecting the right screen um so what I'm showing on the screen now and these have all been um these documents have been uploaded and then downloaded from uh the city website so what you see here has um been submitted to the city um well in advance these documents have been um updated updated and uploaded um prior to 10 days of this meeting um and a lot of that has a lot of latest documents have been in coordination with the MUA that we previously discussed um with respect to the proposed development um we are proposing a six-story structure um I'll reiterate that the r three uh does permit um building structures up to eight stories um that has been part of the discussion through the design team as well as um where the site sits um but at this point in time with this application um we are proposing uh ground floor um parking that's enclosed in the ground floor layer with the residential floors above um we are along fiet uh F place so I'm referencing the architectural plans um in terms of location um we are located on fire place which is adjacent to uh the clown rail line um which is immediately North across fire place um we are uh including two lots four and five um the overall property um it has a substantial depth of 137 ft um with an overall width of of 50 ft um as was mentioned we're near the intersection of whale Street um the main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Broadway um other properties just to give some context and I believe we do have an aial included and we have some photos um but other properties in the neighborhood range from um to the immediate Northwest and industrial property um that's probably the largest property on the Block um there are residential um that range in in unit sizes along Broadway uh and um and W Wales um to the immediate West uh to the immediate East is also a residential property uh on F so the large dominant characteristic of the block is residential um there's a large industrial user that does access the site from fet um and then obviously the Conrail line to the north is also a major land use a corridor in the neighborhood um in terms of General context uh I can say that most of these proper properties that front f it um from this block also East are all located in the R3 um and um what I'll mentioned later is that they are all um under underutilized from a Redevelopment standpoint and being reviewed um in terms of uh a greater use a more appropriate use uh than the current um what what I would call is light industrial uses that are located on um on the properties that have Frontage on Fay at Avenue so that those are the properties to the West which are all um a variety of either commercial or light industrial and some properties are even uh vacant uh industrial buildings further east so just getting back to the plans again this is a mockup of the ground floor plan in terms of a site plan um we are proposing uh 12 off street parking spaces um we have uh basically a full building footprint for the ground floor which is permitted under the R3 standards um we did work through several design layouts to accommodate the the 12 spaces and we felt that this Arrangement um was probably the most uh efficient and um safe in terms of having an appropriate Drive aisle parallel parking spaces a suitable Ada space and then four um parallel parking spaces to jump up to the upper floors again just in simp summary fashion um I can come up come back to this uh for a planning context um but the site is vacant while we're on this sheet um we did discuss at length the um utilities and sidewalk within the front yard so as you can see our intent is to be consistent um with the upgrades um that are currently there in the street um there are the property does extend into fet um but we are working closely as as the board is with the MUA uh and the city engineering to uh coordinate the improvements for the proposed development as well as the streetscape utilities and any access to the to the site for the for the off street parking um with respect to the floor plans uh we do have um as as the architect provided testimony earlier in the presentation on on prior nights um we do have a total of 20 units two of them will be affordable uh as under the affordable housing overlay um which was introduced uh at the time of this application being prepared and submitted um so we are incorporating uh the affordable housing units um we have a total of 10 three-bedroom units five two-bedroom units and five Studios um they're all within an appropriate unit layout uh in terms of the sizes so our studios are about 600 square F feet our two bedroom units are uh little short of 1,000 square feet and then the three bedroom units are over 1,000 square F feet at ,85 square feet and 1,168 square feet so it's a good mix um they're integrated in uh all the different floors um so you can see the uh the second floor here shown we have a Studio unit two three-bedroom units and a two-bedroom unit um one thing that I do want to call out just while we're on this PL on this plan the Upper Floor the ground floors permitted to be covered by 100% of the lot um the upper floors are required to have certain setbacks so we do need relief from them um we are implementing that relief at at the second floor so just to call call some setbacks out in the rear yard we're proposing the setback of 20 ft and along the sides um we have uh a few sections that are at zero feet um where a total of five feet of total setbacks required in the R3 District um but to accommodate the staircases um we are we are coming to the property line in this um stretch of the property so that's the zero foot side yard setback and then um lastly in terms of of setbacks um the the as we shared with the board and covered the property actually extends into F right of way in terms of its improved location um the front yard requirement is a maximum of 10 feet and that's measured from property line to the proposed building given the RightWay improvements and where we want to coordinate the sidewalk and the front of the building we're setting the building back uh 13 feet 4 in um to accommodate what the RightWay needs the curb as well as the sidewalk um so we're greater than that maximum step back that's permitted in the R3 but again it's um in terms of the physical improvements on fet um the fact that fet is uh um adjacent to uh the Conrail and the width is um is constructed as it is today our proposed improvements will be coordinating with the existing conditions so those are the setback uh DV Mr height I just want to be clear on that we'll start with the front yard yes front yard setback Max is 10 you're providing more than 10 ft because of both the manner and which it's measured where the property line actually is and the building next door that you are lining up with is that accurate yes in terms of the side yard the requirement is 5 feet combined and if I understood what you were saying you have bump outs for the stair tower that provide a zero lot line setback but the rest of the residential units are set back that combin five feet throughout the building correct yes on the um what would be the Western elevation their setback um a three foot setback for the whole sidey yard and on the Eastern it's I believe a three foot yeah both sides are 3 foot one inches step back so that's correct it would be a total of 6 point 6 feet 2 in but for the staircase bump out and if I'm reading your plan and highlight that is 10 fet of the building that that bump out exists and is a zero lot line condition correct and then the rear yard you're proposing a 20 foot setback again understanding that this is on the second floor and higher as the entire ground floor is allowed to build lot line to lot line to accommodate the parking what is the requirement of the rear yard so the requirement is a percentage of overall lot depth um so doing the math with 137 feet of lot depth it's 25% required which equates to um 34.25 ft and 20 is what's being proposed correct all right just so that I have the the actual numbers down thank you yeah no thank you it's important to clarify the the requirements and the relief so I appreciate you taking the time to walk that through again for the board and myself um part of the uh analysis that we did go through in terms of the massing um is with respect to uh the permitted Zone um again we're trying to reduce the overall height of the design project by making the proposed stories two through six accommodate what would be appropriate unit mix and appropriate unit sizes um in other words we're not entertaining a seven or eight story structure with uh a shorter building footprint um based on the architectural design and input we felt that this balance of of the floor plan of the floor units um is would be the better way to go um for a six story structure than a seven or eight story structure that complied with the rear Yard part of that analysis also included um that the massing and shadows that would be created uh would fall north of the property into fet right away and the light rail um Right light rail Corridor so from a a shadow impact um there's very little impact to the adjacent Residential Properties that are located on Broadway to the South um also we did have input from the community on uh the community meetings that we had um we did hear concerns from the immediate property owners in terms of um the uh intensity of the overall building um where at one point we were proposing uh multiple Terraces which are encouraged by the city uh in terms of uh roof Terraces rooftop Terraces outdoor uh common outdoor space um we omitted um the lower level Terrace to reduce the intensity uh and that can be shown here um on the above the ground floor to provide for an additional buffer um to the adjacent properties to the to the south in addition um there is on the adjacent properties um uh garage structures that are are at their rear yard uh their rear yard property line which is also our shared rear property line so those structures create a little bit of a added buffer and separation um from the proposed building and the upper residential floors and that was taken into account in the overall design in the rear of the of the proposed building um that's really it I can go through the upper floors um Miss Ren I don't know if if you want me to do that or if I can jump back into some of the planning testimony um uh I'll leave that up to the board we did provide that testimony um however I think at this point I think it's it's better for you just to proceed with uh the remainder of your planning testimony right so while the um screen is shared I did want to um bring up the the shadow study that we prepared um whenever we are proposing uh structures that are greater than 40 ft uh in the city a shadow study is required uh not if relief is needed or not but just by the sheer mass of it to understand what the impacts of the development are on the adjacent property so um in our course of our work we uh take the architectural plans uh we create a model uh a render of existing conditions obviously there's a vacant property involved um and model the proposed structure this is all to scale um we also do a view shed Corridor study um so we've we've indicated uh images um and you can see uh to the west and north and south uh you can see um the con right of way some of the industrial properties in the area um to the south of the residential buildings um that are along Broadway this is to the West with the industrial property immediately adjacent to the subject property um and to the east um you can see some of the older industrial buildings uh and then Journal Square uh further in the the rear of the image so that's where you get a lot more graduated height as you get closer to Journal Square um but again this is a mix of industrial and Residential Properties from a a visual impact we're not obscuring any views um or any Scenic uh Scenic byways that that are referenced in in the assessment from a shadow study um and I won't go through every sheet of this but um in terms of your Peak impacts you're looking at any law any any area of adjacent properties that are 100% of the time within shadow um or uh a substantial impact on any rear yards so uh one of the areas that we look at is in um the morning and afternoon summer hours um you can see in the morning in June um we are casting Shadows just into the adjacent property um which is the industrial lot um again there's no point which time that any of these properties are fully within Shadow uh but at no point in time I should also mention are any of the adjacent Residential Properties along Broadway uh in Shadow as a result of the proposed structure so again the the Shadows are falling Northwest um in the morning as the sun comes up in the East and then as we get into the afternoon you can see 3 pm in June um the Shadows are again North uh north and east there are Shadows on the rooftop um of the adjacent Residential Building um but again that uh sidey yard is permitted the building height is permitted um along this run we've set the staircase uh you can see here just beyond um that structure so in other words we've designed the proposed structure to be compliant with the zoning um and create what the intended impacts are from a built perspective um not needing any relief along the sidey yard okay um so one of the other uh variances that we need I'll stop sharing um one of the other variances that we need outside of the yard variances that I I kind of already covered and we walk through um is with respect to parking uh the R3 standards uh require a three unit uh3 space per bedroom um when you tally up all the bedrooms we have approximately 45 bedrooms the requirement is uh 14 spaces uh as I mentioned earlier what's being proposed is 12 um with respect to um the lack of two spaces um we thought it was an appropriate uh design we didn't want to uh include another uh parking space um that would be difficult to maneuver into um we did consult with the traffic engineer on this project um who also felt it would be appropriate to provide um the the that proposed 12 unit layout on the ground floor um we are within um uh a little bit of a a walking distance to Journal Square so we're about 0.9 miles to Journal Square Plaza um there are people who uh do commute um along zp Avenue Broadway uh into Journal Square um that's about a 15minute walk um so that's that's within proximity um we are also uh near Sip Avenue and Westside Avenue which do have bus routes um that carry people throughout the city in those north north south corridors um that are located along those Road roadways so with respect to available public transit um it is uh in in the area um we also thought just from a sheer demand standpoint that not every future tenant in this development will require a parking space um that also reinforces the goals and objectives of the master plan which I'll get into um but that was the overall design thinking in terms of the balance of parking supply for the project um and utilizing that ground floor layout um I believe that's the testimony that we covered with respect to the positive criteria um we talked about the yards the front sides and rear um we talked about mitigating the impact of the rooftops um we also have designed the upper FL uh the upper story uh common roof to be set back even further from the rear uh property line to again further mitigate um the proximity of the common roof deck um we did also discuss if the board uh required it as a condition to install um what we often find is planed um plant uh planted uh buffers or vegetation roow Hedges along the the limits of the roof to create that screen and buffer um so no one can get to the edge of the roof that's a that's a technique that we incorporate on other similar projects so um we can do that in this setting as well again we're we're not at the roof to begin with we are step further back um but to just create that vertical screen for the common rooftop um with respect to the negative criteria um we uh had a lot of work to coordinate with uh the utilities um and the overall right of way on F so I I do want to thank the board for allowing us to go through that process um it was was one of the first times in in my uh professional career and experience in Jersey City that there were uh a lot of uh history to this site um and it did take a fair amount of coordination um not only from um our project engineer and project team but also on the city's part to make sure all the appropriate upgrades and connections were being included so um to Mr commissioner Torres um I do think that at this point in time um getting the coordination um with the MUA um having the available design Solutions um and incorporating the backup system will serve as a way to substantially reduce any substantial detriment from um utility and future uh tenants for this location uh again it's it's a vacant property um there were prior plans what's being Advanced today as you you know is is a six-story apartment building which is in keeping with the zoning um but we are uh going to make the necessary upgrades for the utility connections um we did also talk about the parking um with respect to any congestion um in the area I know that was a an issue that was raised by the neighbors um we don't anticipate um all uh all of the future tenants based on the traffic engineering review that all the future tenants of this building will require parking um that's why we landed at the 12 spaces um we don't anticipate an O A spillover effect of parking um in this neighborhood um it is to uh B place is uh used as uh an access point to the industrial property um that was part of the conversation with that property owner um along the lines of construction but also uh moving forward um our plan is to not have vehicles Park um on on the street on fet uh to keep that uh free flowing um traffic free free uh flowing to the traffic along fet place um I think I already covered uh the impacts with respect to the building Mass uh the shadow study that we did we did take time and look at all the property uh property lines to understand what the zoning envisioned and permits um also as well as mitigating the impacts that we felt uh from what would been a higher store a higher building um with a lower structure albeit a little bit larger of a footprint than the zoning allows with that rear yard setback um but again we felt we mitigated the impacts with 20 fet of a setback no lower roof deck and um a lower overall story to the building um I believe that's um the negative criteria um I should also say that this project will realize to Affordable units um so that's part of the new affordable housing ordance overlay um which also does um is encouraged throughout the city in all zones um not just Redevelopment plans but um in all zones um with respect to any substantial impairment of the master plan or zoning ordinance again um we're in the R3 we're permitted use uh we are permitted Building height and we're Le two stories less than the maximum um so in terms of the zoning um the overall size of the building the square feet we are less than what could be contemplated with an eight-story structure um we are also advancing the master plan affirmatively um with respect to ensuring the city's available housing is balanced and meets the needs of all F all current and future city residents so this is transitioning a vacant property into a development that is recognized in the r R3 as a permitted use a multif family development it'll produce 20 uh future rent uh future units and two of them will be affordable um that I believe is my direct testimony uh Mr lean I know we prepped multiple times over if I missed anything um please let me know if and as always if the board has any questions um I'd be happy to answer them uh just one question Mr height as it relates to the affordable housing overlay uh two of the requirements when you provide the uh necessary housing under the overlay uh one is it eliminates any density requirement correct that's correct there there's there yes that's correct and the second is it actually eliminates any parking requirements correct correct yes but despite that we are providing 12 on site uh which is fairly close to what is required under the RC uh R3 requirements correct um the affordable housing overlay is uh the goal is to incentivize affordable housings to be incorporated in new development um which we are doing um we are two two parking spaces shy of what the R3 zoning standards have so 14 is required 12 is proposed and so it's somewhat of a balancing act to provide that parking uh while also providing the affordable housing correct and we're we're basically meeting that by coming close to what is required uh while also providing the affordable units exactly I think it was a matter of of an appropriate layout for the 12 spaces not cramming in too many um from a safety standpoint in circulation um but also realizing what in a likely anticipated demand for parking for future tenants would be so yes thank you Mr Hy I have no further questions uh I do have Lee Klein as a traffic expert available uh however I don't believe his testimony is needed at this point uh so with that we would conclude our presentation all right thank you Council um Mr hey I do have uh one question that I didn't hear testimony on uh there's a requirement of two Street trees uh what is the reason that they're not on the plan yeah chairman langson thank you for for bringing that up um so it's it's a little interesting with respect to treat Street trees because the sidewalk will be at this point time running along private property um we have a curb cut a fire hydrant a street Pole to relocate So within 50 feet um we're somewhat Limited in locating the necessary Street trees we also have an issue with the sidewalk width so um Street trees are supposed to be planted in a width of five feet which would further reduce the space for anyone walking by the street tree along the sidewalk um so depending on um the board and and City Planning um if variances are required then we do need relief from that there's the payment in Li uh but that's that's where we landed with the overall design um let me I can pull up the uh plan if it might help as you as uh chairman if I may and please pardon me I have a swear throat um so the only thing I would ask or bring to your attention is is uh board I'm sorry staff recommendation number four says aside from spacing um that it comport with the city ordinance so maybe when we come to the point of voting if it's you know moves forward then if that number four could be stricken based on this exchange of ideas thank you all right thank you commissioner a and just to put on the record uh I've already spoken with my client about this and we would be willing to pay the uh fee in low if the uh the board is so willing to uh to grant that relief okay thank you Council um that's my only question for Mr height anybody else any questions I have a question from Mr just to be piggy back off the Chan L's question U you mentioned the movement of the light pole you're going to be moving that light pole that is on the U left hand side of the property or is that but I I again the actual relocation of I think still has to be coordinated um with psng but uh all the upgrades when they take place and if any any relocation is possible or needed um is being discussed but I know from a physical standpoint that has to exist um moving forward um I don't I'm not the professional to answer if it can can be replaced with another means but I think that was part of the street tree discussion because that street pill is at the front of the property today so my my question is just going back and I and I know I can see the answer in the pictures of the vendors that you showed the property line is to the chain Ling fence right uh where you do the first level on the left hand side the setback second floor going up the you are not passing that you're not going up against the other poppy that's alongside right there is a walkway there that will stay in existence so are we talking about the side yard or the front yard I just want to be clear okay your side your side setback so you're property line to the if you're off uh I want to say fired looking on the left hand side where the property is next to you that that your your property your your building on the first floor is going right up to the chaining fence um so if you look at your architectures you'll see the picture on the on the ground floor yes um upper Stories the majority building sets back 3 feet 1 inch okay so you're not if you're not going to interfere with the person next door's property and the utilities that are there or anything like that that's not that's not I wanted to be clear about that you see the gas meters see some stuff that that would have to be moved around okay thank you very much my pleas that's what I have all right thank you commissioner anybody else anything for Mr hyp nope all right thank you Mr height we appreciate it thank you um Mr lean one uh one condition that I would like to talk about I I always bring this up when affordable housing is involved uh that all the units that are affordable are the same fit and finish of uh the rest of the units same appliances same counters everything I absolutely will incorporate that all fixtures all uh finishes uh all uh appliances everything will be the same uh as in the market rate units okay thank you appreciate that um Council anything else I have nothing else to add uh unless uh the board has additional questions or questions for my traffic engineer that is uh that's our testimony okay does anybody have any questions on uh traffic no you have Mr Klein available no okay no so uh with no more questions I'll open it up for public comment at this time anybody from the public if if you'd like to comment on this application please raise your hand and if you're calling in you can press star n to raise your hand promoted Janetta rotundo so Janetta declined but Mike Mano oh no Mike Manzo also declined um they may have walked away from their computer or something oh now Mike is joining us okay hi Mike if you're there you can unmute turn your video you want I saw you unmuted Mike but we don't hear you and we obviously don't see you well I promoted Janette again okay uh yeah let's come back to uh Mike Manza then and Janette if you are there you can unmute and turn your video on and it appears Janette has left us no she just moved up she's still here oh dear God Janette I hear you Janette I don't see that I hear you I don't care if you see me what it doesn't I do we need to see you though so if you're able to can you turn video on I don't see video I can't figure this out it's right next to where you unmuted start my video yes yes good good I have I have I'm a little bit annoying hang Mr tundo you have to wait for the camera to turn on okay thank you thank you so much I'm not used to this all right sure you did the red line go off the screen okay you let me know what to do so next to the mute there is the start video it looks like a box a little I pressed that I did I pressed that and is the red line showing no no red line oh Mr R it appears that your camera is not functioning then start my video okay that's I'll press it again oh I have no idea I would hate to not speak no we're gonna make sure you speak Mr randoo okay you let me know because I'm dying over here um Mike are you comfortable going forward without video Yeah problem so m r i just what I look like so just before you speak Mr Rondo normally I would just swear you in so if you could just uh you swear that any testimony you give tonight will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir and could you give me uh State and spell your name and give me your home address please uh Janette with two NS 2 T's rundo and my address is 45 condic Street Jersey City New Jersey 07306 thank you Miss rundo good evening we have three minutes for you yeah I'll do uh I speak very fast first of all they're talking about the rooftop where they might go up there is that going to be monitoring that so I'm speaking on behalf of the people that lived there for years forever their quality of life of being quet quiet silence this is going to be a mess I know this is going to be a mess because nobody's going to be monitoring the roof and the generator what side is it going to be for flushing out the water or making sure the water doesn't back up into the neighbors homes or the street because we know everybody knows and Marion that we have flooding between west side and Broadway I don't know what it is late because it hasn't been that bad but it does get really terrible and last meet the meetings that we had with Mr lean I was present and I had asked them or someone did but I asked them too was there any going to be any affordable affordable apartments of home uh rooms and they said no way even the developers said no so now there's develop affordable buildings then I think the building is just too high it doesn't go it doesn't match up with the rest of the the complex there I am so sorry for these people that are there because anybody that goes I I'm speaking very fast and excuse me but I want to get take advantage of the three minutes if I was there I have lines coming underneath my home anywhere near me to cause me to have trouble and be uncomfortable I will definitely go to a lawyer I will have an attorney ready I don't care I will be a nervous wreck when it rains when it storms and uh the gentleman Mr lean he said that only a handful of people were there he's lost I know he's lying he'll do anything to get this project in because it wasn't a handful everyone was against it and I don't think I don't really think they're going to be good neighbors and that's what that's what I'm I'm trying to be very very um honest um if anybody knows me they know I'm an honest person and I speak my mind those those issues those issues are going to make these poor people that pay their taxes live quietly in that in that area right there in that little corner this is going to be too much too many people and one more thing everybody that's going to move there their tenants they're going to say they got one car how do you know they're going to have one car most family members have two between two and three cars they're going to use the parking outside take away parking from people that live there this is all for me I wouldn't accept it I would want to know more I would hold on to get all my information because these are the lives of the people that live there and I love people and I watch out and I make sure with all the people that are Maran that everyone has a quality of life and that is my concern my concern is them happy I don't think anybody that there wants to live with these people you don't know what's coming in are they are they going to be renters or that that's or that going to be condos I don't think they're going to be condos anybody can move there you're going to have more people than they ever expected hanging out late at night whatever they do go to the roof what's going on it's going to be under control is the is the landlord going to live there what side is the garbage going to be put out and where which side is the generator or or the thing that's going to pump out is it going to be on the outside of the street or in the back and one more thing and I'm thank you very much for letting me speak the people that have no problem that are working across the street the auto people whatever people there that that are working they don't have any problems you know why because they do not live there they do not live there they don't care they don't care they go home with that anyone want this in front of their home I don't think so I wouldn't I'd have a lawyer ready and willing to do and do my bidding if anything happens because this is gonna be a m this gonna be to me it's gonna be tragic this is Mr way over your three minutes but I appreciate your comments thank you very much for you allowing me to speak thank you very thank appreciate it all right I see Mike Mano Mike are you are you able to speak we cannot hear you un we can't hear you Mike no we still have nothing no we can't hear you I can see your lips moving at least we can see you where they are there is a Callin number on the agenda if you wish to call in um when you call in you'll have to raise your hand chairman let's move along to the next member of the public if there is one and if Mr Manzo can figure out how to get his audio working come back to sure okay if we could let's um move on with public comment I do want to hear from Mike Manzo though tonight my night's not going to be complete until I hear from Mike promoted Pam from councilman Boo's office hi Pam I'll swear in you swear any testimony you give tonight is gonna be the truth the whole truth nothing go the truth I do and for the record could you just State and spell your name please Pam Andy a n like Nancy D like David E S like Sally thank you Miss Andy good evening we have three minutes for you thank you thank you Commissioners good to see everybody um as uh I just wanted to thank commissioner Torres uh for his comment on the electric uh backup electric for the pump um that definitely happened in uh Sandy and also the last storm in Ida with a couple of these high-end buildings um with this new condition um question for the chairman Langston can you carry this to the next meeting so that the new drawings can be properly studied by the planning board so that's my first question um my comment on the community meetings there definitely needs to be a proper community meeting the last meeting was not convenient to the council members uh council person Prince s and councilman boiano um are have been active with this community and um just another question for the architect where is the nearest Green Space or is there dogs Park um is there Greenery since there are no trees that's a common um request from the community and to also to the AR architech are the parking spaces standard parking spaces this is a common complaint from hi I just moved in and I you know these are compact cars so um that's a common complaint from new people and board members um I ask you to encourage the developer to meet again with the community before they go to the zoning board um it would be great you know we do have these Community meetings on a regular basis so um it should happen um also the idea that residents will not require parking I I do appreciate that this development has some parking um but I just wanted you to know that a lot of these new residents also ask for their street to be permited parking so that will happen and thank you um for the setbacks um and thank you for the affordable housing so there there are two I know everybody wants more but um there are two so that's good and I think those are all my notes um thank you again all right Miss Andes thank you we appreciate your time um Council if we could just address uh the the parking space size they're they're regular size spaces right they're not listed as compact um I think it would probably be better if that was through testimony instead of me just um agreeing to that so if Mark Campion is here our architect I would have him come up be sworn and um have him testify to that hi Marcos where you in sure you raise your right hand yep do you swear any testimony you give today is gonna be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you st spell your name please mark Campion c m p i o n e thank you Mr Campion good evening um unfortunately we do have to qualify you uh you've testified before is your license current tonight yes it is it's a current standing yeah okay thank you sir you're qualified thank you uh to address the question with regards to the standard parking Dimensions that typically range between 8 and 1 12 feet wide to 9 feet by 18 feet long and we are proposing 9 feet wide by 18 feet so we are well within the standard size of a parking spot they are not compact okay thank you sir um one other question while we have you uh a generator location the proposed location without getting into design and reviewing it with the engineer we would be probably proposing it um beneath the garage level adjacent to um the stair area Okay so it would be internal to the building correct correct okay so Mr lean without seeing that um I would want that as a condition of approval that the generators located internal to the building not exterior absolutely and that will be incorporated into our conforming sets should we approve this saing okay thank you okay if we could Let's uh continue on with public comment any luck Mr Manzo Joseph has joined the panelists hi Joe I'll swear if you can raise your right hand do you swear any testimony you give tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you state and spell your name and give us your home address please sure my name is Joseph capoli C like Charlie a p like Peter o two Z's like zebra o l i I reside at 12 Bryant Avenue Jersey City thank you Mr capoli good evening I have three minutes for you good evening Commissioners and thank you for the opportunity I just want to speak for myself and also for some members of the community that weren't able to attend this evening uh the community met with the owner and his Representatives about 18 months ago and at that time the owner presented a project of five stories and 16 units the community was not in favor of a project of that size at this location the community did Express uh they were fine with uh two two or three family homes that would um be structures that mirror would is currently there at the location now the owner agreed to consider the community's input and would planned on meeting with us again the community never heard back from any of the representatives or the owner and as a matter of fact we only learned about them going or wanting to go in front of the planning board uh when someone within the 200t radius of the project received the notice in the mail that's when I was contacted and we reached out and we were able successfully to have them postpone that the meeting with the planning board um we did meet again and actually it should be noted that not only didn't the owner contact the members of the community to meet a second time they also upped the size of the building from five stories to six stories and from 16 units to 20 units without even having the consideration to come back to the community to explain that before trying to go in front of the planning board when we finally met a second time on September 6th uh the community once again expressed their uh displeasure with what was being proposed so therefore I'm asking for myself and respectfully for all the members of the community for you to vote this down this evening that approve the application and again thank you for uh giving me the opportunity to speak okay thank you sir we appreciate your time Mr Manzo any luck I if you could um you could leave your video on and maybe call in that's his hand up yeah we just can't hear him we're having some trouble with the audio on his end it looks like there any maybe he has called in and there are numbers dialed I don't know anyone knows whose number oh there we go there we go and I believe you pressed star six is that you Mr Manzo hello hello oh yeah I'm not Mr Manzo you are not Mr Manzo Mr Manzo since you're here I'll swear you in do you swear any you give tonight will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do and for the record could you state and spell your name and give us your home address please for Shireen McCormack s sh i r i n m c o r m a c k thank you address isw good evening Miss McCormack we have three minutes for you thank you when I look at this project I don't support it and the reason why is because it begs the question how much is enough is too much Ever Enough when they you know you have this huge giant deep lot and there's Green Space there's a vacant lot there's so much opportunity to do something really really good here uh and yet I see you know really no set back at the front because of the building next door but what what does that do to set the president for the next building that comes on the other side of this and then there's you know the required 34ot set back and proposes only 20 I feel like if you know we're trying to build community do community building create beautiful walkable neighborhoods there's a really great opportunity here as we all know Jersey city has a lack of green spaces and tree canopy especially near that one nine area that cir the circle and uh you know I just don't I I just feel like without even the street trees you know being planted that are required you know pay the fee whatever but it still doesn't make a nice living space for the people who will be here and the people who are already there um I also you know think there should be a situation of give and take so you know if you're going to ask for variances you have to give something back to the community that just makes rational sense and include the community and I don't see that happening here um as Pam Andy's mentioned there was a lack of that community meeting the guy the person who spoke before me said as well and from what I understand the developer agreed to a four story building with no rooftop um that's what I've been told by various members of the community and then they went back and added stories at least one and added a roof deck so you know I mean some's definitely not aligning here um I'm happy to see the parking I don't know why they need relief from the extra two I just include the required parking you know um there's no hardship it's a huge lot there's no variant is needed um I also think that it was pretty egregious to present this to the board with the storm water issues that were there back a month and a half ago in September you know the 2-inch pipe suitable for a home um it just shows like disregard for the community and disregard for the board um it's just a negligence that shouldn't have even you know it should have made them fix that before they even came to this board um also the surrounding homes are only one to three stories all if you look at 120 Broadway behind the property it's only one story so this won't blend it all with the surroundings and um you know um I I have recent experience in my neighborhood at 124 Glenwood with owners promising to do something agreeing to do something and then doing the exact opposite uh unfortunately that was passed when the he was the case was reheard at this board but you know I don't like an owner going back on their agreement I find very concerning I think that wraps up my statement I'm not for this project I'm for responsible development thank you thank you Miss McCormack we appreciate it Mike Manzo do we have you yet give me a uh a thumbs up if you called in yet okay and so it's press star n to raise your hand if you have called in there is a call in with the hand raised can can you hear me now we hear you and we see you fantastic I'm glad that this is finally so Mr meno I just want to swear you in before you speak okay if you could raise your right hand you swear any testimony you give tonight it's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you state and spell your name and give us your home address please Michael Manzo m n zo o 82 W Avenue w r i g HT Avenue Jersey City New Jersey lifelong thank you Mike good evening always a pleasure to see you uh just for the record I think I should uh make it aware I do know Mr Manzo I'm sure most of the board members know Mr Mano uh we have never discuss this application outside of this meeting and um I just feel like I need to put that on the record and if you could just confirm that we've never talked about this application Mike no we have not we have not okay all right thank you sir and like many other people on his board this is a community we're neighbors we see each other that's what a community is all about okay and that's what hurts me because Mr height you are good you are smooth okay but Mr Lane this is much more than a mathematical equation here okay there are people that are are hurt by this there are people that want to be heard we never had a meeting with the changes that you induced after the R3 zoning changed okay the roof deck wasn't part of it Amir came to us and we had a pretty good meeting the meeting in July nobody even wanted to be there anymore you guys were like strong arming everybody okay then the last meeting we had the MUA thank you Santo you did a beautiful job on bringing up discrepancies with contracts and paid permits and stuff like that it sounded like Mr Lane this was the leverage you wanted to make the project go through you're putting the the the project before any of these approvals okay this is not right and Mr height you said we felt who's we you excluded the community with this you make a beautiful presentation but there was nothing wrong with what the community resolved with Mr Amir and then all of a sudden it went away and nobody came back after the changes were made I'm just reading my notes Here uh it is a give and take okay it has to be a balance and act we understand that uh it has been a vacant land it's been a neglected vacant piece of land numerous citations it it's it's been neglected and it was an eyesa for the community by the same owner that here for this very same application the affordable housing that doesn't make everything right the rents that they're going to ask are far beyond what is Affordable here in Jersey City parking you want us as good neighbors to wave the parking requirement okay Mr Lane I'm sure you found a loophole we don't need that parking space okay then you want to to cut 14.25 ft from the back because of a good neighbor thing come on man you think you're really entitled to that after you slamming the neighborhood falling on deaf ears to what we're saying the roof deck wasn't supposed to be part of that Amir agreed to that what happened now there's no way to monitor it we see what happens to these multif family unless Amir is going to live there is he going to live there now that he change his mind Mr height it's fet Avenue and Wales Avenue you went to F fet place and Wales Street it's Wales Avenue and FY Avenue commissioner Torres I thank you for your knowledge with plumbing uh there is a lot of problem back there this is a floting area and I got the gut feeling that after everything is sun and said and done it's going to be an imposition on a city and a taxpayer to fix flooding provide sewage sidewalks it's not the right thing to do and and to to Mr Lane to turn to everything and say it's compliant with zoning there's a community here please listen to the community I thank the board for its time and the involvement here I thank you all of my neighbors thank you thank you Mr Manzo we appreciate it all right if anybody else is here from the public that wants to comment please raise your hand and if you're calling in you can press star n to raise your hand I still think we have someone right uh commission chairman no that's no public wishing to speak on this item I move to close the public for second okay motion is made and seconded public is closed uh Francisco do you want to wrap up yes so I will be very brief um staff does agree with Mr Height's testimony again the purpose of the our three zone is to provide for a broad range of multif family housing options uh the multif family midrise District contains mid-rise buildings of three to eight stories where the applicant is proposing six stories for this application overall staff recommends approval with conditions that are outlined in my report which is also uploaded on the data portal um and I believe there were several other conditions included during this uh hearing so that also will be added um with that said staff recommends approval with conditions okay thanks Francisco and and Francisco just for the record uh being this is the R3 this could be an eight-story building as of right correct yes that is correct okay hey Mr chair I'd like to make a motion at this time to approve case P22 d210 as presented to the board tonight with the additional conditions of um having uh as you said chairman all units affordable as the market rate units uh and having a backup pump and Generator uh which has to be in inside the building uh and not outside okay we have a motion do we have a second second okay we have a motion and a second for approval okay on a motion to approve Vice chair doc Gonzalez I'd like to thank the public first for coming out this is what this is about you know we uh we're all in a community uh Jersey City um and so you know you guys have the right to come out and we love it when we hear from you um having said that you know this this applicant uh this application has been in front of us before and they've sort of um initially when we were confused about stuff they went back to the drawing board uh kind of you know reassessed and reassembled and came back with what we were asking them to do um as it relates to the R3 Zone and the variances that are being requested uh you know um this board can only look at what's being presented and not Aesthetics or not anything like that so in terms of that um I think that the variances that are being sought are um not the minimist but they are uh Fair uh and again this is in our three Zone this this building could go up to an eight story building uh it is permitted to do that so uh I I will have to vote I okay commissioner Torres oh you're muted commissioner Torres yes I'm sorry about that um you know this project just kept coming back and forth to us and everything and I'm kind of um glad I took a drive over there and took can walk around the side itself um it's nice to see somebody wanted to develop in that area but um and this is clearly understandable that um the conditions with the pumping station backup generator I appreciate that that is a condition and I appreciate that it's R in that way um with the amount of units that there are 20 units and even with that condition um well let me let me go back when I took a walk around there um I'm that's why I'm glad I did the way the ejection pump outside on the sidewalk is being maintained and uh taken care of was not impressive at all um um tripping hasz it um I didn't like the way it looked and um whoever maintains it should um have more consideration I st well and I was uh disappointed in that but the um going back to the 20 units I am not still not comfortable with the situation and design on that so um with that I'm going to vote a no on this thank you commissioner Dr Desai out P engineer they really gave their mind to this project but you you guys could have gone back to the community the apartments from 16 to 20 uh you have affordable housing uh two units there are there are quite a few parking but outside public parking on the street is allowed for everybody so you cannot say no to that and other thing is makeup generator which is inside the building so that's fine and you did good you came back before and then you we asked you to do so many things which you guys did it and I think I'm going to vote Yes uh commissioner lipsky so use the same stream of thought that Dr desite did to a point and then diverge by saying that this project has come a long way a lot of uh boxes have been checked off I just don't feel uh super comfortable when a Aid to a council person and Community activists who were well uh trenched in the area and who do a lot of community work com and say that they're perplexed or not really uh happy with it so I think if we can go back to the community get a understanding I'm not saying that they have to I think agree and to disagree is even okay but at this point it just seems like there's uh bafflement and so I'm going to vote nay okay commissioner Cruz hello how you doing um Chris chairman are you there Mr chairman I'm here David I have a question is there enough time for them to go back and talk to the community and to the council people and the community activists is it is it a good time to to ask them if the attorney wants to go back again um we're in a motion right now I don't know if we could backtrack out of a motion we cannot we're in the middle of voting I just wish that they would go back with the community and talk to the council people might my opinion I'm gonna vote no [Music] 155 uh we missed commissioner Green Oh I thought she was sitting this one out because sitting oh I'm sorry I apologize um so I I it's a tough one because um you know while while the height is you know it could have been eight stories uh they're providing six stories the the unit mix I I really like um you know we need more three-bedroom units in the city um it's not often we see this number of three-bedroom units in a project um I I think the the deviations I don't think are egregious um I think there's a a you know a competent reason for all of them uh Mr Height's testimony proves that uh planning staff recommends approval I think they're uh in agreement with Mr Height's testimony um you know they did agree to all our conditions um they did go back to the MUA we got as much clarity as we could possibly get from the MUA uh so I'm comfortable moving forward with the MUA conditions in there um there's three different scenarios where they could build this uh so that being said I think uh overall I think it is a positive project with the affordable housing uh so I am going to vote I okay so there are three 3 three the motion does not pass that is correct okay so Santo do we entertain a new motion for approval do we entertain a motion for denial CH chairman before we proceed I I I know we moved quickly here I I didn't get a chance to respond to any of the community input and I feel like it had a major impact on the vote um I don't know if it's possible at this point now that we've had a vote already that ended in a tie for me to to respond to somebody that Community input and possibly go back for another motion uh for this for approval I I apologize Council you're actually you're absolutely right um I didn't go back to you after public comment I should have um so that being said do you want to uh comment on any of the public comment I I do um because there there was a lot of it um the fact of the matter is is that personally I was not present for either exor excuse me attorney I know you want to comment on what they said but there's also a lot more people in the community That We're Not Gonna engage in okay no problem who's saying what to the community please so Mr I'll say this Mr I will say that apologize we've had a vote and it did not pass so at this point Mr lean obviously you can uh respond to the comments but right now we have a motion that did not pass and I board does not have to do anything further Council right that is correct and I don't know that speaking is going to do anything for tonight but Council lampy let me ask this given it's a 33 and as councilen has has stated just seconds ago on the record there were a lot of people from the Comm Community who spoke and it obviously had an impact on decisions tonight so um is it I mean so what's the ramification of getting this back on it or on an agenda if they go back and meet with the community so again the community comments are the community's comments okay we've gone through this now multiple times this board is not impanel for the purpose of uh approving or disapproving applications based on the community's feelings generally speaking that's not an appropriate consideration while we have to take the community into consideration this is a preliminary and final site plan application with C variances for front yard setback side yard setback rear yard setback and parking the size of the building the density of the building the affordable housing units those things have already been decided by the nature of the actual zoning in place and the affordable housing overlay so this board's charge and its Duty and its statutory obligation is to weigh the positive and negative criteria and determine whether or not the applicant has satisfied its burden with respect to the C variances being sought which in large part was the testimony provided by Mr hey and with respect to the site plan application the issue of utility connection is absolutely in play this board is well within its power to get into that and to dig into that and make them go to the MUA and make them jump through all of the Hoops that this board made them jump through either two or not to this board satisfaction same thing with the backup generator and the pump that is all absolutely proper at the end of the day what we have right now is we had a motion to approve there were three yeses and three NOS the motion failed but for the purposes of the record Mr lean should be allowed to make his comments uh I think that that is proper But ultimately it's up to the board whether they want to entertain any other motion or not tonight or in the future Mr lean May file a request for reconsideration based on what happened here this evening and the only reason I bring that up is because the board just went through that legal process and that is what it is so that's where we're at chairman it's up to you and the board whether you want to allow Mr lean the opportunity to make his comments uh I find nothing improper about that uh given the fact that he wasn't able to provide those comments prior but I do not want anybody on this board or Mr lean for that matter to feel as though uh their considerations of the variances and the site plan ISS issues was not what they were voting on so with that chairman I'll stop talking and let you and the board take over yeah I um of course want to hear from Mr lean uh I apologize I didn't give you that courtesy after public comment so uh the floor is yours and then uh we'll go back to the board and see if uh they'd like to make a new motion um chairman I I'll make my comments brief I know there was a lot to address there um the first thing I'd like to say is that um I I was not involved with this project when it first went to the community back in 2022 um when we finally got this application deemed complete and it took some time to get it deemed complete largely because there was a change in the zoning uh for the affordable housing component which allowed us to to go back and and change the The Proposal uh it wasn't just the addition of the six story we changed the the prior setback from 10 feet to the 20t that's being proposed tonight we we were in the process of dealing with JD Trucking who is um our neighbor and we were having open Communications with them and despite the fact that I noticed and scheduled for this matter everybody on this board is aware that just because you're on an agenda doesn't mean you're going to get heard that night the next meeting or the meeting after and in fact I have a me I have an email here here uh on July 24th the day before the meeting on the 25th when this was originally scheduled informing councilwoman Prince Ari councilman boano and county commissioner uh Billy o day that we would not be proceeding that evening in fact I continued to adjourn this matter until we could find a time that was acceptable for everyone in the community to actually meet and hear on this so while people kept saying that we never went back to meet with the community that's just not true we did meet with them on September 6 and we presented the new application um so I I just wanted to dis spel that there wasn't any communication with with anybody in the community we were actively seeking I have emails here from July 24th August 12th August 13th August 15th August 18th going back with councilman Boo's office Mr capoli who spoke all asking if we could meet and the the time we were finally able to meet was on the 6th I was away during that time Robert ver verell from my office handled that meeting and what he reported to me was there were only a few neighbors who attended the meeting so I I just wanted to spell any idea that we were trying to pull a fast one on anyone or not with meet with the community we always intended to do that um I I I really just kind of want to leave it at that um I I think the project does speak for itself um the multiple things were said uh regarding the the site specific conditions um we don't have a neighbor uh to the the uh the East uh west of us we have an industrial facility we've accommodated to the the buildings to the the west of us we are building within our property line and setting it back to match the street and the sidewalk that is uh that was already constructed on the site this board has heard and has adopted a Redevelopment plan for the Pini site for sites that are far larger than the one that is proposed this evening we are in keeping with the R3 and as I said adding the uh complying with the affordable housing overlay is something that is uh consistent with the master plan and something that I think makes this a far better project now I say all of this not because I'm asking the board to uh to reconsider this this evening I think based on everything we've heard it might be best if we go back and have another meeting with the community I don't know if the board would entertain a journeying this until we do that uh to move this forward uh but I I I just I I just wanted to make make sure that the board was aware that we did make extensive efforts to reach out to people for over two and a half months to try and schedule a meeting all right thank you Council um so chairman just for purposes of record uh for both the board and Mr lean I don't doubt that there were Community meetings and we've gone over the requirement and what the statute can require in terms of reaching out and speaking to the community uh the reality of the matter is as sit here tonight the application was denied because there was a motion to approve and the vote was 33 under the law that means the application was denied so Mr lean is free obviously to go back into the community talk to the community and attempt to address whatever Mr lean and his team want to address but as it stands this evening the application was voted on and denied by this board this evening and to your point Council as you said earlier that we had you reference 124 Glenwood which is apples and oranges but they the only thing that's comparable is that it uh that there was a reconsideration and I I love love love Mr lean's instincts and his willingness to Rego out make the extra effort that Jersey City and meet with the community because as far as I'm still concerned it's a republic for the People by the people and with the people and not a technic py thank you so Santo just to be clear um the motion did not pass we have not moved to deny the application we could entertain a new motion on a motion to approve a 33 vote the application is denied okay understood um so Mr Mr do we do as we've done recently have a reconsideration and a not distant future that's up to the applicant if the applicant wants the board to reconsider but let's be clear what the board would be reconsidering the board would re be or would be reconsidering whether or not the applicant satisfi their proofs with respect to both the site plan and the variances sought so the positive and negative criteria of the Varian is being sought and the site plan issues is what would be reconsidered by this board if Mr lean so chose to seek that relief from the board so Santa I do have one question um as far as a reconsideration goes if Mr lean reached out to the community met with the community again and then came back for a reconsideration are we Bound by the original design and test yes okay yes the record is what it is okay the fact that he goes back into the community is not really relevant to what was denied and the relief being sought so he can come back in make a substantial change based on his meetings with the community maybe add another parking space something of that but then that's something else that's not a reconsideration yes reconsideration is is exactly what we heard the last time as far as we think the board missed the mark in plain English here's what the statutory criteria was here was the testimony for the variances that we were requesting here's how we addressed the site plan can you look at it and see if you made a mistake okay and and and Council I just want to be clear on the record if we do come back for a reconsideration and a seventh member reviews the transcript or watches the video they're allowed to vote on that reconsideration that would be true okay okay so the motion has not passed um Mr lean I and the application was denied chairman the application was denied uh Mr lean I think were crystal clear here understood and um I think we'll move on with our night then as uh I think you're gonna as well um so I appreciate your time I appreciate the the applicant's time and the Public's time um it is 7:26 uh Mike let's get you a 10-minute break and uh we'll come back under new business and uh we'll be back at 7:36 thank you for the board time all right if we could let's come to order again please okay so let's move on to new business we have item 10 is discussion of annual planning board reorganization I'd like to start things off with uh the position of secretary uh I would like to nominate Cameron black and Matt Ward as cam how are we referring to a co- secretary uh deputized okay so we'll go uh Cameron as secretary and uh Matt Ward as deputy secretary second okay we have a motion in a second do we have any other nominations okay so uh none close the nominations I'm sorry nominations are closed okay hearing none nominations are closed um so I would entertain a vote right Santa we don't have to open up for public comment on this right okay so I'll entertain a roll call please um Vice chair Dr Gonzalez you know how we feel about Cameron and Matt you guys have been phenomenal uh on the board and a great pleasure to work with now almost I I don't even know 9 10 12 13 15 years I have no idea and um you guys have always just been uh helpful uh diligent uh intelligent uh and hard work ethic and so I absolutely will vote yes thank you commissioner lipsky Dido Dr Gonzalez I vote wholeheartedly I commissioner Cruz i i i i i all the way to the top okay commissioner Dr Desai yeah you do are the best person I would vote I thank you commissioner green absolute I okay commissioner Torres I you chairman Langston yeah um I I couldn't ask for two better guys in there um you have the board has no idea how much I rely on these two uh behind the scenes so uh absolutely it's an eye for both of you thank you motion carries all in favor to uh designate Cameron as secretary and Matt Ward as deputy secretary okay thanks cim uh so let's move on to Vice chair I would like to nominate uh commissioner Gonzalez as Vice chair second it all right we have a motion in a second do we have any other nominations the best okay hearing none nominations are closed could we have a roll call please cam okay um so I will be skipping Dr Gonzalez on rooll um and going to commissioner lipsky all vote for himself oh really okay this is America baby first vote's always for yourself a little narcissistic but yeah makes sense okay uh on a roll uh for approval of Vice chair Dr Gonzalez uh Dr Gonzalez yeah now I feel bad I don't know what to sayain I do want to help uh but okay I would I good choice I would have done the same commissioner lipsky pleasure Ser it's a pleasure serving with Dr Gonzalez he's a a friend a valued colleague and a vodi thank you commissioner Cruz CCC that's that's I in Spanish I I I I and uh commissioner Dr desde yeah it's a capital I okay commissioner green I okay commissioner Torres um to commissioner Dr Gonzalez I just want to um really everything that you do in judgy City whatever you do in the community um you do a lot more than just on this board and um I'm so glad that you're accepting this and to take this time and um I really appreciate you uh and I want to thank you utmost uh very knowledgeable very down to earth and you've been a uh something to look forward to um meeting on this board and uh with that i b a very big eye for you thank you thanks brother and chairman Langston yeah doc um you've been with me from you know day one uh even before I got to the board I appreciate your Insight um I I know it's you know believe me I know it's a heavy lift for you um you're a busy man and uh I absolutely cherish every you know every meeting that you're here and uh you know I rely on you immensely so uh I'm happy to vote I thank you brother thanks bud motion carries all in favor um to designate Dr Gonzalez as the vice chair for 2024 so um I'm obviously not gonna go to Dr Gonzalez route here and uh moot for chair Commissioners I'd like to uh to nominate uh chairman current chairman langen second okay we have a nomination in a second uh are there any other nominations all right hearing none nominations are closed could we have a roll call please he uh Vice chair Dr Gonzales I feel like these nominations are are crazy because we're become off all family and at some point you know we have to give up the Reigns and move on uh but you know I have to obviously I have to say commissioner langon and I are uh have been friends for a very very long time before we were co-c Commissioners on this board um he's one of the most respected people in the community I think everyone knows that uh and uh he he's a he's a force to reckon with I I have a feeling that there's a lot more that he's going to be doing um for the community and uh really for the maybe even for the state I don't know uh but uh he's he's he's such a a pleasure to work with he knows and you guys know he directs this board um brilliantly he knows he knows the the laws the rules uh inside and out and when he doesn't he never has a problem asking for direction uh and so with a huge pleasure I vote I for my friend thank you doc I appreciate it commissioner lipsky yeah so I mean I think it goes beyond the if it ain't broke don't fix it uh uh certainly it's it it excels that uh meaning the commissioner the role and the person in it uh Chris Langston and it's a pleasure to serve and he is a guy just for public knowledge that even if we disagree he agrees to disagree uh amenably and so it's a real pleasure we have good critical conversation he makes things clear for me and I vote wholeheartedly I uh commissioner Cruz yes thank you thank you chairman for everything from teaching me about bike racks bike lanes and teaching me how important it is in Jersey City I I I learned a lot from you and to this day I'm still learning a lot of things in Jersey City but thank you for everything you do I David Cruz look up to you because when you speak you speak very well and you know I think you're one of the smartest people I ever met so I vote I thank you David yousef's not in the room with you is he oh he went to Atlantic City where everybody else that left me here okay good only thing is no Spanish for no Spanish for the chairman b b bimo well he he knows his things he knows about everything you know I I listen to him all the time and I and he's very smart about the buildings even though I go to the buildings check it he finds things down if it's not him it's Eddie that finds everything out okay um commissioner green uh I can't imagine any other chairman but you at this point um you lead with uh what's the word effortlessly so uh a definite eye commissioner Dr Desai since I'm in in this board more than six years I know only one person who is so courteous he guides Us in everything and it's a pleasure to work with him even I meet him outside the board meeting he's so courteous and I miss his dog my goodness always I used to see him in the park with a dog and I think there's nobody as good as him he knows everything about this uh board and everything and then of course I'm going to I thank you Doctor commissioner Taurus so being born and rais as you said I think I have to take for Lon and Dr Gonzalez Vice chair to make you two guys officially honorable lifetime Jersey City residents because you guys really really care for Jersey um and uh to my brother in The Building Trades um you know I always tell you you do an outstanding job here you do an outstanding job Workforce and then uh industry but most of all you um I would never thought that you wasn't born and raised in Jersy City because you love this city um and without a doubt and then anybody wants to argue me with the point of um how long you've been here there's no argument 21 years for the record 21 years good and I want to just say that for you and the doctor both you make me feel that way so um yes Chris a big ey for you thank you for and thank you thank you for your service appreciate you everything you're doing thank you and chairman Langston um I'm going to abstain as I always do that is a faor one exstension motion carries to elect uh Mr Langston as chairman Langston for the year 20124 and um I'll say first before I suppose Matt follows me up but it is always a pleasure to be working with you uh Chris and um you know you have this like stoic uh like wisdom that uh you know you you don't break you know your uh uh your emotions and you you're always leading with just a a very rational intelligent hand of reason so uh for that um I'm always very happy to have you as the chair thank you I appreciate that and I'll just take the opportunity to say uh thank you for the nomination I'm proud to be serving again as the deputy secretary I want to thank uh the chairs for your hard work and Leadership over the years um I think it's been about almost 10 years years uh for the record there Dr Gonzalez and and I want to also thank the rest of the commissioner as well you guys everyone here every other week we're here and uh you guys do a tremendous job thank you for your commitment all right thanks Matt and thank you everybody I appreciate the kind words it's always uh it's always nice to hear once a year that's it no more than that all right so uh if we could let's move on to item 11 is the review and discussion of the 2024 planning board meeting calendar uh one thing to note is uh let me just bring this up so I don't [Music] misspeak okay so everybody's had a chance I hope to look at the calendar um one special note on the bottom is uh a new addition to this year's calendar all meetings will be be begin at 5:30 pm easn and will take place in the boardroom of Holloway building at for Jackson Square so uh it's happening everybody yeah we finally get to see uh some of you in person there's Commissioners that have come and gone over the last few years that I've never seen met yet um so I'm excited uh you know to get back in person see everybody in person all the applicants the attorneys the public everybody um and you know carry on like we used to uh so um does anybody have any uh questions comments problems with the calendar no just chairman um our current uh planning board meeting notices and for the future it says no new matens and under advisories it says no new matter involving an applicant will be started after 11 might that need to be changed to 10: um to be honest I haven't seen that I I haven't dug that far into it I appreciate that Steve um so cam I'll uh I'll leave that up to you just update to our current policy no new testimony um no new applications will be opened after 10 and um we will not hear any testimony after 11 okay yeah I I I see where there the look yeah I see where you see that on the agenda um it it also says after that you're looking at the agenda right yeah but right but also going for us particularly in uh public I mean it'll I'm just saying it should reflect what we do so for the next couple meetings for this year and then for next year should say we will not be started after 10 and if we we say at 10 p.m. the board and I did see the next line I read it okay decide and advise um maybe we say uh I don't know keep it at 10 but uh because that's kind of like what we do anyway so it ends at 10 we'll kind of advise that um unless you feel different commissioner it should be changed it should state that no new matter involving an applicant will start after 10: at nine o'clock the board chair will advise everybody whether that's what we've been doing okay okay yeah so shift one hour got it um and so everybody understands what that means obviously is exactly how we've been practicing it we will go past 10 if we're in the middle of an application and the board wants to continue that application past the 10:00 hour but we will not start an application after 10:00 and obviously that's a policy and procedure of the board but if the board is so inclined we've got an application that's going to take 15 minutes and the board wants to grant that courtesy to an applicant and their team the board is always free to do do that or not do that yeah I was just gonna add that Santa I appreciate it um you know there's been a handful of times where um I I ask a little more of you guys than I usually do and uh we're never going to go past 11 again that let's just make that crystal clear but um you know if if there's something quick that uh we don't have to drag somebody out now that it's you know we're back in back in person um I'd hate to drag somebody out for something that takes 10 minutes and um you know I I'll certainly Reserve that right but um you know again it's up to the board the board can just get up and walk out if they wanted to on me so that's fine too but see you so um all right any other questions about the uh schedule yeah I just um commissioner us I was just for the record I was Wai for my wife to come back into the room so she could hear this you know but one of the dates falls on my anniversary and for the love that I have for my marriage I will let you guys know right now that I will not make that me okay we'll keep that on a record thought you there she go she gave me a yes he doesn't want to sit next to you that nighty bring her bring [Laughter] her all right so uh if there's nothing else uh I'd entertain a motion to uh adopt the 2024 calendar I'd like to make a motion to adopt and accept the uh planning board 2024 planning board meeting uh calendar I second it all right we have a motion in a second okay Vice chair Dr Gonzalez hi commissioner lipsky hi commissioner Cruz uh you're muted commissioner Cruz hi okay commissioner Dr Desai Commission green hi commissioner Torres hi and chairman Langston I can't wait to see you guys in person again it's gonna be great motion carries all in favor all right thank you everybody uh so let's move on to item 12 is the board attorney contract uh I do we nominate this I don't know how we hand I forget how we handle this but um I'll uh a motion to uh accept uh the board attorney contract for Santo lampy for 2024 okay motion and a second for Santo um do we have any other nominations I guess I should ask at this point well who's nominating is it you yeah do I have to have an attorney license or all right cam Let's uh let's do a roll call for uh Santos contract please okay Vice chair Dr Gonzalez yeah I I mean I'm sure everybody agrees with me but uh um Santo there's many many I mean thereare to say almost every meeting that I'm at where there's this guidance that you hear uh coming from your mouth and it makes it all better like it it clears things up uh you've done that without um manipulation without duress for us you've uh given us clear um legal advice that then you say I'm going to stop talking and I'm going to let the chairman and the board the Commissioners decide and um it is just so for me personally it is it is is when you when you do leave on occasional meetings where or you know agendas where you have to leave um I actually get I think blood pressure goes up a little bit because I don't know who I'm going to ask for help if I need to and it's just such a reassuring feeling to have you there uh you're a friend you're a great guy to top everything off but I think that you're the most qualified person to sit in that chair and I'm I'm super happy to have you uh as my board uh counsel and I would I of course uh commissioner lipsky yeah so um I've gotten to work with Santo over the last year and 11 months and it's been um a great experience I think he's a excellent planning board attorney so uh your honor or I mean your chairman I rest my case so I vote I commissioner Cruz attorney I feel comfortable thank you for protecting us thank you for when we're getting attacked by other people thank you for rushing in there and doing what you do best but I also found a good attorney and your your sister's a good attorney for the board too she's the backup remember she's a good she's a good attorney but I vote I a I vote I 100% but don't forget about his sister so when he's out want his sister in okay commissioner Dr Desai yeah you know Santo you are like a teacher and we are all students so if we make mistake you are there to protect us and we appreciate that and of course you have done such a good job in all the occasions when you give all your advice and everything that's the best thing of course I'm going to what I commissioner green uh I appreciate Santo uh to the fullest um I love the way he protects us I love the way he brings order how he uh just kind of bring everything in perspective as to what's law what's what's what's legal and what's law and very sharp I love it I I'm obsessed with when you start like chopping people down and like putting everything in perspective so it's definitely a eye for me um commissioner Taurus yeah um I just want to say the all the years on this on this board and stuff um and the couple of counsels that we got to see um Mr lampy you um have given us the best guidance I have seen um the guidance where you would tell us exactly what's law and sometimes you let us know what we might be missing in an indirect way and then you give us the respect like Dr Gonzalez said I leave it up to the chairman and the Commissioners now and uh I always appreciate when I hear you say that you're not putting words in our mouths letting us know what the law is and then you let us make our decision for city of Judge City for the judge city of Judge City and all everybody out there that's listening this is a man you better hold on to and keep him around as long as you can because he is good for the city we give you a big eye for that thank uh chairman Langston um Eddie can we uh put Santo in as honorary Jersey C Jersey City guy hey man I'm doing it today babe you just out all over the place not going that easy they're not going that easy but I'm in I'm I'm just I'm gonna Echo everybody else's sentiment Santo uh obviously you know you're our guy um you you have that way about you that you know you know the law inside and out but you somehow find a way to explain it to to this dummy um and I I appreciate that and and you definitely have a a Jersey Way about telling us what's right and wrong and um you know you you do have our backs 100% but you also have the back of the law and that's what we decide on and uh you know I've been through God doc Eddie how many one two one four three four is it four yeah you're probably are the fifth attorney I've worked with here and um they save the best for Less so uh I appreciate uh everything you do for us uh absolute ey for me okay thank you everybody I gotta tell you the words are just they're moving to hear people talk about you and respect what you do it's so it's so moving and I'm not an emotional person but I got to tell tell you it just it makes me want to do it and you guys know this I practice all over the state I'm in front of boards every day and you guys don't realize the sacrifice you make the time you put in I go in front of the bench and I am happy to say I represent the Jersey City planning board and I tell every judge the same thing this is the hardest working board in the state of New Jersey and it's not even close the time that you guys are putting in the agendas that you are tackling what is happening in this city the public can't appreciate what you guys are putting into this they just can't they think that you know okay it's one matter when they show up or a couple of matters we have a couple of members of the public that are here with us every other Tuesday night for six hours but when you're giving up your Saturday and your Sunday plowing through these packages we don't get them in paper anymore but I used to get them delivered to my office you're talking about 10 12 15 inches of paper that you guys go through and read and do not get compensated phenomenal absolutely phenomenal everybody in the city should recognize that you guys are volunteers and you're giving time because as commissioner Torres said you guys love this city and you should and you should be proud of the city and you should be proud of what you do I'm just trying to help everybody and make sure you guys move this city to its best possible vision of itself we've got an amazing staff they care but you guys are the back BL you care you put in the work you get no accolades for it and you deserve it you deserve the accolades you don't have to do this but you do it because you love it and uh uh the sacrifice is immense it's not missed by me uh I thank everybody I thank you for your work I thank you for your time I'm happy to put in the work because you guys put in the work and it is a joy and it means the world to me so thank you thanks Santo we appreciate it I a black robe for Santo yeah there you go I see a black R for him uhuh I have a second I have a second it's funny I I forgot to say it um you know occasionally I I have a conversation with a council person after the fact or or something to that nature and uh you know they always say where where did you find that guy that guy's Dynamite where did you find that guy it's Carmine kid that's all I got it's car Carmine's kid yes Santo we appreciate you buddy chairman ma ask a question sure absolutely as it relates to once we're in person what if one say me for example can't be in person will I still have the option to do a zoom if I can't be there like in person or no it's either you're in person or not yeah it's either in person or not um okay I don't think we're gonna have the ability to do like a hybrid meeting um so yeah we're we're 100% in person or or you're just not present and you know believe me it's going to be a stretch to to get back to that grind that we used to do of of being there on time and you know I'm gonna have to start or I'm gonna have to stop wearing sweatpants all the time amazing oh my God what am I gonna do just make sure the day is covered properly have to walk in you know from behind a sheet or something I don't know what's gonna happen but um we're gonna figure it out it's a new room it's a new uh new spot and uh yeah we'll get there uh um I I don't think uh you know it's going to be Rocky at the beginning there's going to be a lot of new things that we're tackling in person um you know the last time we met in person we were still using paper and uh you know thankfully I tried for years to get rid of that paper and uh it took a pandemic to do it but um we're there I don't mind if you bring it back I'm gonna work with you on on [Laughter] the um so yeah we'll uh we'll iron everything out I'm gonna try and get over to to planning and do a a walk through before that initial meeting um try and report back to everybody and uh it's a good thing we got away from paper my dog ate a few of those plans so uh yeah speak I think Cameron's uh I think his cat wants to run for something he keeps making cameos yeah anyone no cat they want to get fed which I won't be able to do when we're in person so yeah same here cam all right if we could let's move down uh down the list item 13 uh the Precision reporting contract uh um I wholeheartedly will entertain a motion to approve this contract motion to approve second all right we have a motion and a second to uh approve uh Precision reporting okay Vice chair Dr Gonzalez but uh of course I am gonna vote I this guy is amazing I have no idea how he does this uh it's I mean if you guys think that the uh just for the public if you think that we're tired um as a as the Commissioners and and uh and and Santo um I I mean this guy is uh dictating uh typing every single word uh that chairman Langston talk says and all our commissioners say and Santo who can talk a lot like he as we want him to and then the public and the present I don't I don't know how my man does it I really don't um and you know and then we only take a couple breaks um phenomenal phenomenal professionalism uh phenomenal work ethic I don't know of a time when he's not hasn't been here actually um and uh of course I gladly nominate Precision I would I I'm sorry I would I sorry commissioner lipsky in addition to all that there's that cool backdrop so uh go with that so I vote an extraordinary attentiveness and perseverance and dedication and uh I commissioner Cruz definitely I I like the back commissioner Dr Desai doc I can't hear you sorry not that I want to hear you say good things about me but you are perfect for us so I will die commissioner green I definite I commissioner Torres I like you're definitely man of Great Character bro um it's so hard sometimes just to sit here and even when we were live and uh stay there and listen to these uh faces um pretty sure wish sometimes I don't ask so many questions guys for that but um you stay there never complain and you do your job and then afterwards you show us all a lot of respect like you're like well you guys are good and you make me feel good about what we we accomplished that day and you're doing all the work I can't stay still and you're right there plugging um yeah you're definitely great without a doubt and with that I'm g v a very big ey and chairman Langston yeah I mean Mike and uh obviously Bridget's not here but um Mike is is like the unsung hero of this board um he doesn't speak often which I I would assume he's happy about but um you know I've read back the transcripts they're dead on they're amazing um but I I mean just the the fact that Mike you do not stop and I know I'm trying to speak slow so you get all this and you can read it later um you know the board sits here and and we just have the luxury of just listening sometimes you know I have cup of C here I have my you know turkey and stuffing potato chips next to me Mike you don't have that like I don't know how you just do not stop working the entire time uh it's amazing a and I appreciate everything you do believe me um it's no small task what you do and I don't think we uh recognize that enough so happily vote I all right motion carries all in favor and um as a secretary uh Mike and Santa we are very happy and lucky to have you on the side of the city and not the other way around so thank you hey thank you guys I just want to say I appreciate it uh I've been coming here for 13 years I think about so it's a long time and I've seen a lot of faces and and Chris everyone said a lot of good things about you already so I don't need to say anymore obviously this whole board has been great you guys are good to me and and Chris you always think about me which I very much appreciate because it's it's not normal in a lot of places we get forgotten about uh it'll be good to see you guys uh I'll try to bring a picture of my background I'll please so everyone remembers who I am all right but uh and on top of that precision's been covering Jersey City for probably close to 40 years now W so uh yeah this board is kind of been doing its thing and and we've been here all along so we're glad to be coming back thank you no we appreciate it Mike wow all right so let's uh dispense with the pleasantries I guess and uh get back to what we do let's call uh item 14 on the agenda is case p2023 d46 is a site plan Amendment with variances for 278 Grand Street okay I'll be promoting Michael Higgins um but while I do that I do have an announcement uh Mr wine did request to carry his one-year extension it's listed as item um 26 on the agenda case number p2023 d59 uh address is one MLK Drive uh requested to carry to the uh November 28th meeting no preservation of notice needed um no notice was required okay thanks Kim so I'm promoting Stephen Joseph because actually there is no Michael Higgins in the audience so steepen um and you know any other attorneys out there if you're down that list uh Mr wine is the uh smartest man in the room tonight I believe um so you know I I certainly don't think we're g to get through everything tonight like uh usual but um we'll give it a shot for you good evening everybody uh even fortunately fortunately you get me tonight and not Mr Higgins um Stephen Joseph for the applicant uh this was carried from a previous meeting I think we confirmed notices then but um if we just reconfirm we have them thank you Council uh that is correct this matter has been carried as a matter of fact it was carried uh since the beginning of October with preservation of notice I aminy the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing had the opportunity to review it it appears to be in order we can mark it as A1 for the record all right thanks Santa um Mr Joseph uh always a pleasure to see you but um more importantly than seeing you do we have your whole team here tonight we we should have the whole team here tonight so we have uh Sam Bellamy or somebody from Dresner um should be on and Jing Jun is our architect who I know was on at 5:30 when it started um they're here I promoted them they're here you promoted them okay great um I don't see them in the there's we have a bunch of attendees tonight um but cam you're saying you promoted them wonderful okay thank you Council the floor is yours go ahead all right thank you so much uh Stephen Joseph for the applicant we're going to try to be um fairly quick tonight uh we're here asking for an amendment for variance the variance is for height uh height we are requesting is 1 foot 7 and A4 Ines over what is is permitted we are going to bring Mr belly up first um to do his brief testimony about it and then Jing Jun will confirm uh the plans and and and the architectural testimony to try to expedite this whole thing so let's get Sam sworn in and um get moving Hi Sam do you sp any testimony give tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you state and spell your name please Samuel Bellamy last name b l l m y thank you Mr Bellamy good evening always a pleasure um I do have to ask uh We've qualified you in the past but is your license current tonight good evening yes my license is current and in good standing as a professional planner in the state of New Jersey okay thank you sir you're qualified great um so I am going to share my screen and pull up the plans as I go through the variance request um as you may recall we um there was a previous hearing um we're back at this board for a site plan Amendment and also for a a bulk C variant for the building height um the building itself was actually constructed taller than what was approved back in 2017 and with that it was also constructed taller than what is permitted in the zone one triangle development District of the brigh street Redevelopment plan um I know there was some prior questions and and confusion after the last testimony and we're starting fresh with this um the plans were updated this is the plan set dated October um 30th of 2023 um and we did clear up the the building height calculation um Building height is a very technical matter um adding the elements of this being approved back in originally 2017 the area isn't the property isn't a flood zone and also um the building being constructed taller than what was approved um so the first thing we did was EST establish the average finished grade um that's important in this case of uh as Building height is measured from the finished grade um the property is in the flood zone as I mentioned so the base flood elevation um shown here is 9 fet UM Zone one allows for the building height to be calculated from the base flood elevation plus one so that's why you're seeing this this measurement start at the 10t elevation um and then here you could see what we're request and what was constructed is a building height of 44.5 ft um so that's 2.55 ft greater than the 42 feet permitted in zone one um the previous uh approved and um project was at 42.9 5 ft again um we want to make sure we were compare comparing Apples to Apples here um so we're showing both um as being measured from the same finished grade and that same uh base flood elevation plus one so what we're requesting is 2.55 ft of additional Building height um and that was what was actually increased here was an additional 1 Point um 6 feet or that 1 feet 7 and A4 Ines is what was actually constructed greater than what was previously approved um I think the the bulk C variants can be granted here and that the benefits would outweigh the detriment um the building is is still in scale the the facade was um constructed in a manner that um you still have the window placement similar to what was previously approved and then now you have a little bit increased uh floor to ceiling height on each floor um so I do think the additional um 2.5 ft is um wouldn't really be uh disconcern and visible to the to the public um and again that the benefits would substantially outweigh the detriments here um the project itself does promote the purposes the m mpal land use law again this is an appropriate use and development of the property I think that the building um that was approved and constructed um would promote a desirable visual environment and complete the streetcape here on this triangle um triangle block um I don't see any substantial detriment to the general welfare here again we're talking about 2.55 additional feet of Building height I don't think it will have substantial impact as this is a unique lot um with two frontages and and triangular shape so each lot really does have 100% lot coverage so you don't have any impacts to uh any open space areas um likewise I don't see a substantial impairment to the ten and purpose of the Zone planner zoning ordinance um I tried to be brief there to to Really cover what the variance request was um but I'd be happy to go into any more detail if necessary all right thank you Mr bamy um I yeah I have no question on the deviation anybody else all right thank you sir we appreciate it all right let's get uh Jing Jun sworn in and qualified um just to confirm the the prior approved and then what's being proposed hi Jing Jin how are you hi do you SAR any testimony you give tonight it's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you state and spell your name please Jing zo z h thank you Miss zo good evening um we've qualified you in the past as well uh your license is current tonight yes okay thank you you're qualified all right yeah I'm sorry go ahead can you bring back to Elevation again yeah we've talked about this last time but I just want to reiterate um the the building was built 1 ft per floor um extra compared to what we designed so it's very difficult for the client to remove the top floor or top two floor to to be in the Conformity that's why we're requesting this variance and all windows are um taller than what they um what we initially will actually they are in the same proportion as what we initially designed and uh removing a few extra inches um one the window won't fit if we just remove extra inches from each floor um otherwise I think that's um that's it great thank you that will uh conclude our direct testimony here okay thank you um yeah I have no questions anybody else no okay and Council uh that's your presentation that's the end of your that that concludes Our Testimony I do apologize to the board for all the confusion surrounding this application okay understood um so at this time let's open it up for public comment if anybody's here from the public that wants to comment on this application please raise your hand and if you're calling in you can press star9 to raise your hand from the public wishing to speak I move to close on this um item I move to close the public session second okay motion is made and seconded public is closed yeah so I'll jump in here uh chairman linkston thank you uh so this this application and lights just went on on me here the this application uh received a stop work or this project received a stop workor order um and and they have uh they have abided by that stop order um other than I think some very minor um uh work to make it weathertight uh or or Shore it up a little bit while it was waiting uh to come before the the the board here tonight um they've been abiding by that stof recorder we went through the the work that had changed uh out in the field to um present you the these materials here tonight um there was another change that wasn't put on the record that I'll just mention as well was just a turning of uh the stairs on brigh Street uh which uh staff was in support of um and and was in leading up to kind of finding out the rest of these items um and uh I'm here for any other further questions um we believe this application is rather straightforward but uh if you have any questions for staff I am here all right thanks Matt anybody any questions for Matt no okay I'll entertain a motion then Mr chair I'd like to make a motion to approve case p223 d00 46 as presented to the board tonight second motion made and second for approval okay Vice chair Dr Gonzalez hi commissioner Torres I just want to for the I appreciate they they come to us and then back to us when we prin and then they came back again by but stop can can you start over I'm sorry I'm just losing you're kind of in and out apologize all I just wanted to state that uh you know the I appreciate Matt let us know that they did oblig by to stop work order that they did um and then you know they uh came to us and we had some issues with the plint or some little minor stuff on the package and they came back and they uh Bally still stay by the stop four quarter um we kind of like uh setting when these things happen to us but you know what I always took a stand before what upsets me more is when big developers get away with things that they try to do purposely and sometimes and I always say it on the record is these little Dev velers uh smaller building that um sometimes get punished harder and it's a shame um and we and this board made that clear that we don't like that we don't stand for that um if they developer decides to build again they know what they have in Jersey City we stick by what we approve and we hope that they built it um in good fith though um I saw this project it looks good and it's looking good and uh with that I just vote a big eye for it I am in support of that moov forward thank you commission lipsky hi commissioner Cruz I commissioner Dr Desai oh you I commissioner green I and chairman Lon so let me just get this off my chest um I know you know me and commissioner Torres we're both in construction we're both union members and um it it just it makes my blood boil when I see something that wasn't built according to plan um you know I feel like and you know Santos stop me if I'm I'm running a muck here but um you know I feel like Union projects somehow are held to a higher standard um you know something like this on a union project wouldn't fly it wouldn't happen um and I I you know I understand it's every project can't be a union project um but uh again th this this is unacceptable in my world um but that's you know these are all personal issues um I if if this had come to us in the beginning ask for a deviation on height you know it might be a different story um I I don't think it's it's an egregious amount of height um so you know I'm reluctantly voting I tonight um you know I hate to see this and uh I I don't know how many times I I can say that you know there's a sentiment out there a lot of the public just doesn't trust Developers and you know this doesn't help that case I I don't think all developers are are you know obviously it's a business they're in it for the money but um you know I I don't think they're all evil like like a lot of people do um but this doesn't help that case um so you know reluctantly I am G to vote I and uh let's move on with our lives guys motion carries all in F favor on a motion to approve all right thank you everybody thank you Council thank you right let's move on to item 15 is case p23 d71 is a conditional use for 638 communa Avenue uh Mr Nelson is sitting in for Zachary Cameron okay promoted Mr Nelson and Sir James Record all right Mr nelon you have the floor uh good evening thank you uh my name is Rodney Nelson bruss Amry and Ross on behalf of Kaner Group LLC uh the first and only witness testifying for the board this evening on behalf of canza will be the architect James L Robinson license number 11266 I think we have him pulled up right we do yep and then if we could just confirm notice was carried from the last meeting thank you Council good evening uh Ammon received the Affidavit of publication proof for mailing respect the application at 6:38 communal Paul had the opportunity to review it it was noticed for the prior meeting and carried through with the preservation of that notice it does appear to be in order so chairman we can go ahead and Mark it as A1 for the record all right thank you Council um so yeah this is an application for a micro dispensary proposed location of 638 commun paaul Avenue Jersey City New Jersey lot 7 block 17905 and Ward F no consumption area I with that I'll turn it over to uh Sir James Robinson I see two of them here I assume one of them we'll turn on a video evening gentlemen good evening sir how are you I'm fine thank you uh um I just want to swear you in before you go okay if you could raise your right hand thank you yes sir swear any testimony you give tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record tell your name please my name is Sir s i r James L Robinson r o b i n s o n like Jackie Robinson thank you Mr Robinson good evening um I don't believe we've qualified you in the past if you could just uh go over your um your licensing and uh your educational background please Okay I uh earned a bachelor of architecture degree in 1964 Southern University Rouge Louisiana I have a master's from Pratt Institute New York City 1974 I've taught at New York Tech I've taught at NYU medar ever and um I've practiced I've been in the field 62 years sure my my license is current and shall remain current all right thank you sir I would uh de you was more than qualified tonight so uh take it away thank you we are uh our our client is proposing to take a piece of property at 638 commun Paul Avenue and convert that to a u a center for uh cannabis distribution in fact uh this location it's has uh a front yard a front parking area which is AB which is 76 feet in depth um the square footage of the building is 1620 square feet and when you in put the load factor in one person per 60 ft is what the code allows so this the maximum capacity would be 27 people the structural calculation is three B is in boy the lots are lots 107b and 107d as I mentioned previously this is a restaurant so most of our work will be demolishing and removing equipment that was in the restaurant like deep fryers walks and uh three compartment sinks we will um be adding we're we're we're taking out part of the the plumbing B uh fixtures we're going to convert it to one one toilet rather than two um that's on our our plan a101 we will also be uh taking out leaving the uh what was a cooler we're using that space to store or to to uh work the marijuana package we've also taken out the front counter and created open space um and and our main concern with this project is the fact that it has a a building to its right that is actually the same Motif it's got the nice uh awnings that are green that are used to to Shield the the heat from from the space both buildings have that and so we will maintain where we are or what we're presenting we don't plan to put in lighted signs we're going to use signs that are created with in taglio you can read them but you won't be able we we're not waving our hands to say everybody we're here at night there is also in the front of this building a strip for landscaping and and I would certainly uh suggest to my client that that Landscaping be enhanced so that it provides a softer approach to the building itself it's a one-story structure we will not change the face of the building but now it has a a plethora of signs and notices and all kind of thing in the windows we are going to remove those and render the windows translucent up to the level of 6 feet from the sidewalk so that means that we won't have people out of curiosity walking along in front of the in front of the building off the street 76 feet peering into the space um the building next to us that has the same brick the same the same Motif with the awning we will maintain that same kind of of Mor to to show what we're doing um I I I'm reluctant to go into real deep conversation because i' I've waited here 15 hours for this opportunity and I know you've been working this and you know we we we're all are somewhat tired at this point but the reflected ceiling plan illustrates that we'll be we'll be in we'll be installed in high hats or or down lights that are incandescent to give us a soft kind of a light it's not a nightclub it's not a it's not an exhibition we want it to be dignified on the power plan we have also indicated that we're adding a number of power sources so that we have flexibility and how we serve our clients and how we move uh how we furnish the space um we also have indicated that we are installing a there's no Plumbing occurring except capping Plumbing fixtures where they capping where coming fixures were um one of the things we are doing is we're putting in security doors where where uh people would would be tempted to break into the to that area or that space um we have indicated that uh the exit signs are near the entrance safety is very important in the in in our minds and we have counters and and and sales uh booths that we have people can come and and look at the product that they're interested in and we don't want we don't want anybody standing around what we have are we have seven parking spaces that I counted out there and uh we expected I did not see a lot of foot traffic so we hope that people will get there come and buy their goods and and and not hang around outside the store um anything else I say would be repetitive and I really I appreciate Joan that you you got to us tonight because we were preparing for another long night with you I almost feel like I know the board already um thank you thank you sir sir honestly I think we've heard uh probably 25 of these at this stage in uh our careers here uh specific to cannabis so chairman I think as always if we want to direct the witness to those items that do concern us I think he talked about the security doors and such I think we need to hit the conditional use requirements under the uh the ordinance but outside of that security obviously point of sale I think is where our Focus generally is uh we understand it's it's a rehab of existing space and I appreciate it sir but I agree we don't need to go into into to that level of of detail and and and at that point we we still are not we don't we don't want to make our facade which is a storefront now it's very nice it's not a bad it's not a bad space but we want to we we want to deactivate we want to deemphasize that space so that we we're good neighbors to the houses behind us and the buildings the houses next door and I'm I'm of the op opinion that that's that that can be achieved and it can be achieved aesthetically rather than putting up fences agreed agreed Mr Robinson um yeah I think uh you know I've seen everything that that this board really requires on making a decision like this um so that said uh does anybody have any questions for Mr Robinson no no all right chairman the only question I have is if the signage will comply with these sign ordinances I just need an affirmative on that absolutely it will be the the percentage allowed on a facade and it's just going to be that one sign above the door and it's probably 18 in by five so that's that's 90 Square in so it's not a it's not a large sign and uh we we're we're trying to remain succinct in in our approach this is there's no need for us to put in uh fluorescent lighting and all that kind of stuff we're not we're not advertising we're just merchandising appreciate that yeah we appreciate it Mr Robinson and uh okay if you could uh please stop your screen share and I gotta tell you I'm doing the math in my head did you graduate college when you were eight no I'm 83 years old now God bless you you look great God bless you you look great you look good and I'm enjoying every minute of being an architect cool thank you thank you so much thank you all right thank you sir made you made my weight worthwhile um another question where'd you get the appalation Sarah I was kned by the king of Sweden King Gustav I'm I'm a knight of Malta oh Great accomplishments and and is because I did some Urban I I designed a a new town in Sweden called FAS f a r s a and he was and and the king at that time was a prince so he he he grew bigger and so did I interesting very V thank you cancel the rest of the meeting we're just G talk to Mr Robinson for the rest of the night this is fascinating all the all the years on this board and I get to greet a sir Robin so cool thank you gentlemen thank you so much all right thank you sir um are there any uh questions for Mr Robinson no okay thank you sir we appreciate your time thank you and drive safely home thank you I'm home already apprciate um okay Council anything else uh no I think that wraps up our presentation unless the board has anything specific which I don't think they do um I don't I've read the St memo memo I I you know you check all the boxes as far as what this board requires so uh you know if there's no other questions from the board um I'll open it up for public comment at this time so if anybody's here from the public that wants to comment on this application please raise your hand and if you're calling in you can press star n to raise your hand anybody from public sure I see no public I move to close the public second okay motion is made and seconded public is closed and this one is me as well this is yours as well yeah uh good evening uh so we prepared a staff memo it's dated October 2nd 2023 uh we do have uh five conditions that staff recommends should be there be a motion to approve this application um I don't believe it was mentioned on the record but this is uh a micro business as defined by the state law and our local ordinance um they are uh doing an interior fit out of this existing building and the Cannabis control board approved their application on March 13 2023 if uh there are no other questions um staff recommends approval all right thanks Matt anybody uh have a question for Matt anybody okay thank you and retain a motion I make a motion Mr chair I like to make a motion to approve case number p23 D 071 as it was presented to the board tonight a second it all right we have a motion and a second for approval I a motion to approve with conditions commissioner Torres I commissioner dror Gonzalez uh I'm abstaining commissioner lipsky thank Mr Nelson for his presentation I'm very impressed with the Regal presentation of Sir James um it's rare that we get royalty to come before us and I vote I commissioner Cruz I commissioner Dr Desai Sir James it was a great presentation okay commissioner green a pleasure hearing uh Sir James uh present tonight and I vote I chairman Lon yeah I mean this is an easy one um Sir James ticked the box when he he talked about being a good neighbor and uh that's that's all we can ask and um before I vote I I'm gonna do a deep dive tomorrow on uh Fara got check and uh all right thank you everybody and my vote is I motion carries 64 one exstension on a motion to approve with conditions okay than everybody James you've done so much in your life you're at that time where you're you're equal like with Biden and Trump maybe run for president God bless you thanks everybody all right thank you everybody have a good night yeah say say goodbye you want to say goodbye good night gentlemen thank you enjoy your night all right uh move on to item 17 and Ladies by the way uh move on to item 17 is case p2023 d004 is a preliminary and final major site plan for 118 to 130 Monitor Street hey uh Chuck is there anyone else on your team you need up here I need uh let's see Sean Savage is my civil engineer and then Jen poo is the architect ends up okay okay so um for the record Charles Harrington of conell Foley on behalf of the applicant while you are um bringing them them up as panelist uh I'll start uh first there although there are no deviations requested uh being requested as part of this application we did provide a public notice so I'd ask that that be reviewed and and marked into the record thank you Mr Haron I am reive your affidavit publication proof of mail with respect to the application at 118-130 Monitor Street here in the city uh it does appear to be in order this is one of the rare occasions where the notice I'm looking at is for tonight's meeting so uh it does appear to be in order in chairman can mark it his A1 for the record all right thank you councelor yeah we're almost uh almost running in the black here well this not not not the rubble but we we Reen noticed for tonight because we made a change since the last meeting but we can all have positive thoughts we're trying so uh yeah the application um before you uh is uh it's by uh my my client who's the designated redeveloper of of the property um and uh there is an existing eight-story building with 70 residential units with five parking spaces on the ground floor and what we're doing uh tonight is we're proposing an addition uh to the the building uh so it's it's you know kind of unique in that it's it's an addition but it's an eight-story Edition uh you'll see during the presentation that that it uh it's a you know good good uh chunk of land that we're providing but it's it all will take the property uh along along Monitor Street and and towards the South we are going to provide for this eight-story addition with another 70 uh residential units and then the change that we made since the last time this was listed on the agenda is that we were proposing a child care uh Center or use on the ground floor that is a permitted use uh by the the moris canal Redevelopment plan plan and this this property is specifically uh within the to North uh District so um my client um it's um he has is already developed uh on G Branch Street um so this is a continuation of of what he's he's been doing down there uh he also has a project um down uh further further south uh the baker building uh so he's invested in in the area and you know this this we believe is is a you know another great addition um to to the development in this area uh so as I stated we're not asking for for any uh deviations as part of it it's so it's it's uh it's as of right uh and with that said um I'll move right into our presentation with Mr Savage is is going to uh just take you through the site so you can become familiar with it and then uh Miss poo will follow up hi Sean I'll spring in okay you raise your right hand do you Spar any testimony you give tonight it's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you state and spell your name please uh Sean Sean Savage sa a g thank you Mr Savage good evening uh We've qualified you in the past your licens is current tonight correct it is okay thank you sir you're qualified right thank you uh let me uh just share share screen here real quick uh so you should be able to see this is uh referring to this is sheet three of the submitted site plan set this is the geometry plan um just to get reference to the site uh as previously mentioned this site is has Frontage on Monitor Street and it's addition it's an addition to the building that's existing that is located uh on lot 2601 uh right to the I guess sort of to the east of this property um and BAS basically we're adding as just mentioned an eight-story addition to this building uh containing 70 units um and it's going to be located on what what is currently Lots 20 through 25 which is uh just about uh3 Acres um the site is currently vacant but um is is going to be developed here um as part of this addition the the entrance for the the main entrance of the existing building will be utilized for this for this addition for the residential uses um there are some additional uh doorways proposed along Monitor Street for uh Transformer vaults you can see here the electric utility room and then um as previously mentioned the major change from the last time the plans were submitted is that on the ground floor um we are now proposing a child care uh use which is uh just shy of 5200 square feet uh that's going to have its own entrance here pretty much about Midway through the addition and um and and and that'll be a separate entrance uh you know an Administration desk for for people dropping their kids off excuse me H in in addition there's going to be a um some uh Co co-working space up here it's about 700 just shy of 900 square sorry just shy of 800 squ fet um there's an additional bike storage room that's being proposed here um that is going to contain uh an additional uh 35 bikes which will get us between the uh combin well actually for the additional 70 units that would be the uh required number of bikes storage uh a package room here to the back corner of the building and then also a gym um which is about 1300 square fet and then there's some space over here for um this new sport pickle ball um and and then in addition to what's being proposed here obviously all the residentials on the floors floors above uh the residential use uh as noted here as you can see on the plan the um you know as PR mentioned there are no variantes being requested so the the residential level of the building is is setback uh to the required setback or 25 ft um the first floor with the gym and and the uh package room Etc that does extend to the to the property line but that's only on the uh the ground level um as part of this development um we we are proposing a storm water management system if I can share another screen here give me a second so now I'm I'm just sharing sheet five from the submitted set this is the utility plan and uh this just a reference so the the existing building uh has its own underground uh storage system as part of the new addition to to meet the required uh percent reductions uh for the city and and D requirements um second here we are also proposing underground system here it's going to be located uh you know obviously back underneath the building here um and um that's going to have a backload rentor to you to prevent any backflow coming back into the building from that system um very similar system what we have existing already uh but this one here handles just the new addition of the building uh the rest of the utilities are all going to connect to existing utilities out in Monitor Street um sanitary water electric all going out towards uh actually sorry I shouldn't say the sanitary and the electric are connecting the water actually is connecting uh into the existing building um there's let me see if um that that's that's kind of the the bulk of it again it's it's uh no variances it's a total of 70 units uh on this new edition um one thing that might be good the uh in terms of trash collection this addition of the building will utilize a trash compactor and trash rooms that are located in the existing building um and uh the proposed addition uh is not uh proposing any additional parking there are the uh five stalls that were installed as part of the uh original the other building here um and we are providing a streetscape with some trees and uh tree planting grates along the frontage um and and a couple light poles uh as needed as well for that sidewalk um and I think that pretty much covers the direct testimony this point any questions for Mr Savage all right thank you Mr Savage um yeah I have no questions anybody else I feel like we've entered a new stage on this board uh we heard pickle ball for the first time tonight I don't think it's gonna be the last so uh I know it's not I know um okay so uh if there's no questions Council go ahead okay then I'm going to uh move right on with Miss poo to take you through the architecture again do you SAR any testimony you give tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record could you please State and spell your name uh Jennifer poo p a l r m o thank you Miss pmo uh always a pleasure we've qualified you in the past your license is current tonight yes sir okay thank you you're qualified thank you very much okay Jennifer take us away okay I will share my screen uh oh I lost it one second okay so uh as Mr Harrington um stated earlier um you can see by this line here um everything here to the right is uh the existing building at 130 monitor um this building was completed about a year and a half ago um and is fully occupied um when we were designing um this building there was um a glimmer of hope that we would be able to acquire the Lots next store so when we laid out our uh circulation we um located our elevator and our stairs in such a way that we were able to um use these this infrastructure to serve uh the potential addition so um so our eight story 70 unit edition only requires one stair um now it will then serve this whole building um which will now have three separate um stairs and means of egress from the upstairs floor but also as previously stated um we now have uh a child care center proposed for our ground floor um in this 5,000 foot area of the ground floor we have a co-work space that is a residential amenity space for the tenants upstairs um we're providing parking for 35 bicycles um and then we have a gym that is accessed off of the existing Lobby Lounge area um with a new package room the gym and then our pickle ball court which will be um indoors it will be beneath um the uh so above the pickle Bell Court is exterior um space it will be a second floor outdoor uh roof deck um so any noise we also have a very very uh Hefty 8 in slab um as a Podium here for this level so our sound will be able to be contained um and not uh disrupt any of our residential units um let's see we go to this typical Upper Floor Plan uh again we have 70 units we have um one two three we have four Studios on a floor um we have two three four we have five one-bedrooms on a floor and one uh two-bedroom unit on a floor um here in this corner um so you can see from this plan that um we've just continued the existing Corridor in um in the existing building and we now are able to uh create these additional 70 units while utilizing our existing infrastructure um this is the uh the roof deck I was discussing ing earlier about the pickle Bow Court beneath um and another interesting fact of this is um my client has constructed um a similar building on gbrand Street which backs up to uh this building um exactly and we were able to set the elevation of this roof deck um the same as it is a garbrandt and so um the idea is that we create sort of a um community of people who get to share amenities across the buildings um as additional amenities so um this is just the this the eighth floor has a a different uh plan where we have a utility room on the on the top floor that um will take up the space of one of the other uh units and so this unit here ends up being a one bedroom with a den um we have no roof deck amenities proposed um we have a really great roof deck here on the existing 130 monitor building and um I believe that uh my client is considering um solar panels to Adorn the roof of of this building or of this addition to the building I should say so here we have the um uh the visual assessment you can see as I was speaking earlier this is the gbrand building um this is the finished uh 130 monitor um this building has been demolished and so our addition will be occupying this space right here um and these are the different views looking uh from Johnson Avenue um and I've shown here sort of massing of what the addition would look like um in relation to the buildings next door and you can see here that the decks would be co-planner so this is our front elevation um this is the building that's been completed uh this is the addition um the main entrance to the building build will stay the same um and these uh entrances here are for um this is a a separate entrance for the uh bike parking as well as access to the co-working space from the street um this is the entrance to the um to the to the child care then we have the Transformer room our electric room and our erass um this is the detail of uh of the facade artic culation that um is exactly the same uh as its neighbor um we are just making it bigger um and this is the rear elevation showing the same treatment um these are the colors that are the this is the picture of our existing uh completed building the colors we are proposing are the same I believe I have here a colored elevation showing um how we will uh um continue the elevation while it will be articulated slightly differently it still creates uh a nice rhythm of uh continuing down uh Monitor Street and I believe that's concludes my testimony all right thank you Miss poo um I I have no questions my biggest question was uh where is the pickle ball Court located because uh santel I don't know if you're aware of your your neighboring town there of Ridgewood but they're having an absolute meltdown over the noise of rackets apparently um so very familiar with the pickle ball craze suburbs it's amazing um yeah I have no questions so uh anybody else yeah I have a question the mentioning of sharing the amenities on the roof uh from the they'll be at the same elevations but they will be going they'll be able to go into the other building and use the amenities they're not cross it over the rooftop all no no no the just the at the at the second floor there's uh the first FL the ground floor takes up the whole property um okay and then at the second floor the building is stepped back 25 feet for our setbacks and so that creates a a a second floor roof deck for lack of a better word um that is Contin contiguous with uh the building next door and then they can share they can cross back and forth they go into that part of the building that's correct okay that's correct all right anybody any other questions anybody else no okay thank you Miss P we appreciate it oh my pleasure okay so that yeah that would complete our presentation and I know for the record that we did receive Mr Ward's planners uh staff report and we would uh uh agree to his conditions of approval If This Were uh approved tonight okay great thank you Council uh so at this time let's open it up for public comment if anybody's here from the public that wants to comment on this application please raise your hand and if you're calling in press star N I see one hand up oted Steve herck hi Steve I see you Hi how are you I'm doing well thank you and I hear you I want to swear in before you speak if you could raise your right hand do you swear any testimony you give tonight it's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do but the record can you st and spell your name and give us your home address please yeah uh stepen with a v herck h r i c k and I live at 114 Monitor Street thank you Mr her good evening sir we have three minutes for you okay um yeah I don't I'm not speaking in terms of objecting to the the plan I just I have questions more about uh the construction phase um given that I'm just two two doors down uh and my neighbor 116 I'm sure has concerns too just in terms of I'm assuming there'll be pile driving uh for this new construction and so I just sort of wanted to know if there's uh a pile driving site plan and how many piles are we are we talking about and how far from 116 um we have a building that um has had um they did pile driving just a nearby over on Johnston Avenue on the corner because they're doing new construction there um it's bit quite a bit of vibration so I'm I'm sure and this will be a little bit closer so I'm just uh wanting to get a sense of you know how the impact of that um and uh yeah also I mean it's going to it's there going to be any excavation below grade uh how far down are they going to be doing any underpinning of the foundation at at 16 uh just don't want to you know incur any damage to the adjacent property um so that that's just another question I have and maybe the architect can address that um also is there it didn't there was no mention of any low-income housing as part of this plan is there any set aside for some low-income housing units on this site so no there's there's no affordable housing as part of this project um because since it's out of right um I'll let Jennifer address your your questions regarding the piling I believe Jennifer these are helical piles yes so we um we're very sensitive to the uh impact we will have on our neighbors um and we are working with the general contractor to um make sure that we use the um least um uh effect it's the word I'm looking for the uh so we're looking at helical piles and augers that are really more of a sort of a drilling type of pile as opposed to to an impact file um and you know that would certainly go a long way to minimize any effect that you would you would experience um my client is open to um communication uh during All Phases of the construction and um it likes to be a good neighbor and um will absolutely um be happy to be in contact with you during the process and I would add that typically um what what the developer will do and I know and my client here is is uh very experienced in the neighborhood who would go and and um uh coordinate a survey of your property uh meaning not not a property Ser but go in and and document everything inside your house before we start and that's for the benefit of you as well as the developer to to see you know if any conditions change everybody knows that and and we can address it right away yeah that was done for the the new construction on Johnston Avenue right here just a few doors down for me so I appreciate that um I guess uh well a couple other questions real quick is um uh is there a timeline that's projected for for when this project will start we have a lot of construction happening right nearby we've got just the one in the corner as well as across on the south side of uh Johnston Avenue um there's uh just just uh uh west of uh Monitor Street a pretty large building going up uh so there's a lot of construction vehicles in the area and I'm wondering if there's any thought of like where you going to have a staging area for all these vehicles because this street is sort of like overrun with construction vehicles and I've sometimes had been trapped in my driveway because they block my driveway um so I'm just concerned about multiple new construction projects happening at the same time um Mr har any other questions that uh we can get answered for you just in the matter of time let's get all your questions listed yeah I guess the only other one maybe has to do with Shadow I mean I looked at the shadow study I think since it's the North to the north of my property I don't think it's going to have a huge impact as opposed to if it was to the south and east um I'm more concerned about living in a canyon over the long term um with the potential new construction on the corner of gbrand and uh Johnston um hopefully the buildings on Johnston Avenue remain intact over the long time all right thank you sir we appreciate it um so council is there a timeline I I I believe my my client's hoping to start construction in the middle of the first quarter of uh 2024 so um you know he wants to mobilize you know rather quickly and um I don't know what what specifically you know the staging uh plan I don't know if Jennifer has has information on that but it would be similar he's it's the same GC as as has um uh that built the other two buildings um on G Brandt and and at the end of Monitor Street so it would be you know similar operations Mr Harrington we just ask obviously that you get Mr herrick's contact information pass it along to your client and uh you know as best you can and in keeping with the Good Neighbor approach reach out to him and and provide him with with some information obviously survey everything else so absolutely um I can also offer that um the the property across the street at 125 monitor the distort building um is I believe now currently um under the control of the city and um we could certainly try to request uh some access to that to allow us to get some of our St aging off the street to be good neighbors under the Redevelopment agency all right thank you miss m um Council this has no bearing on the application tonight but who is uh who's your developer there it's John fioro okay Mr F Fido is already develop the the baker building and then and the two adjacent buildings okay um yeah I just listen you never stop learning I've never seen a a hilal pile so I'm very interested but uh yeah I'll reach out um okay so we're in public comment right now anybody else from the public if you'd like to comment please raise your hand and uh if you're calling in press star n to raise your hand CH seeing no public I move to close the public second okay motion is made and secutive public is closed uh Matthew I'm sorry sorry not Matthew I jumped ahead Matt this is still yours sure I go by Matthew too don't worry I'm trying to separate as much as I can so I know it doesn't help you guys I'm sorry about that uh so I just want to make sure um that uh I appreciate Mr Harrington putting on the record that uh they will comply with staff conditions I just wanted to put on the record we do have a version two staff memo here October 31st 2023 and just the only other thing that I would add to that um after uh I think I picked up one drawing set that might not have been updated um taking out the uh the former loading uh Bay on this addition so just make sure that we update the the plans and have a consistent and coherent uh drawing Set uh for the approval as proposed um this is in addition in the to North Zone uh this is kind of unique to see um and they are proposing application that has no uh variances on this very unusual through lot um staff recommends approval all right thanks Matt I appreciate it I'd like to make a motion to approve case p2023 d004 as presented to the board tonight second all right we have a motion and a second for approval okay uh Vice chair Dr Gonzalez hi commissioner Torres hi commissioner lipsky hi commissioner Cruz I commissioner Dr deay Dr we can't hear you okay I heard I commissioner green I and chairman linkston I motion carries all in favor onto a motion to approve with conditions okay thank you everybody um thank you all right Mike let's get you a break uh it's 9:23 we'll be back at uh 928 everybody thank you um all right let's come to order again please everybody and we'll call Item 19 is case p2023 D16 is a minor site plan for 135 months of Cav good evening everyone again Stephen Joseph for the applicant uh I see Carolyn raising her hand if we can get her promoted and I think Raul our architect is already promoted um this is a notice application can we confirm we have notices please thank you Council I in receive your affidavit publication proof of mailing for 135 Montello Avenue here in the city uh it does appear to be in order so chairman we can go ahead and Mark it as A1 for the record all right thank you Council wonderful thank you so much so 135 monello this is located in zone one of the Jackson Hill Redevelopment plan uh what the applicant's proposing here is a four-story mixed use building commercial on part of the ground floor and second floor and two dwelling units above the second floor in order to accomplish this we do need minor sight plan approval with a c variance for the bulkhead height um typically this wouldn't a notice application but because we have that c variance for the bulkhead height which brings the elevator to the roof deck uh we we did need to notice and we do have planning testimony surrounding that so uh let's get rul sworn in and have him testify about the plans hi R do you sp any testimony you give tonight it's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you please State and spell your name sure rul cabado cab B- a t thank you Mr cabado good evening uh your license is current tonight in the state of New Jersey yes sir it's still current all right thank you you're qualified okay let me share my screen um can everybody see the screen we can yes great okay so um the proposed product shall be located in the neighborhood mixus District of the Jackson Hill Redevelopment Zone we are proposing to demolish the existing three-story building uh it's a mix uh use structure and build a new four-story 41t mix use structure with commercial use on the first and second floor and two individual dwelling units one on the third floor and one on the fourth floor the existing lot is approximately 20.2 feet wide by 75 ft deep having an area of approximately 1,566 96 Square fet um one street Tre is proposed in this area uh it's the located in the East part of the uh site of the lot which is the only available location for the street tree note that the subject premisis is located directly in front of an existing crosswalk so this is the only location really that we could plant a tree the only variance we are seeking is for the height of the Elevator Shaft which is a roof of pertinence where 10 ft maximum is permitted we are requesting 14 ft which is the height required by our elevator company as far as the units the commercial units shall uh occupy most of the first floor back here and the entire second floor uh for a total of approximately 27948 Square ft both levels shall be accessible by the elevator which Services the entire building also a fully uh um a fully handicap accessible toilet shall be located on the first floor the third and fourth dwelling units um each shall have two bedrooms and one handicap accessible bathroom since this is an elevator building a kitchen and living room each dwelling unit shall have their own laundry appliances each dwelling unit shall be approximately 1,732 Square ft in area the entire building sh shall be protected by an automatic sprinkler system um we are proposing a roof deck which shall be aail available to both dwelling units the roof deck shall be approximately 32.93 ft in area it shall be set back 10 ft from the front property line and 2 feet from the East side property line the elevator bulkhead shall be uh set back 23 F 8 in from the front property line also proposed on the roof are uh is a 336 Square F feet of green roof elements back here the green roof the green elements consist of self- draining plant trace this particular system was selected for its ease of installation reasonable cost and easy maintenance the modular nature of the system ensures that replacing Parts become effortless the benefits include storm water management reduction of the heat island effect reduction of energy usage noise reduction in addition to the visual aesthetic benefits okay the entire front facade shall be clad in a red brick and we have a sample here on sheet a-301 the building's Cornish shall be wood with a white finish the window frames and storefront metal uh framing shall have a black finish the lower portion of the rear uh shall be clad with gray stco and the upper levels clad in Fiers cement sighting material samples and descriptions as I as I mentioned as well as um are are found on sheet a-301 um finally we also um have uh calculations for proposed signage for the commercial space we have um um non-illuminated signs and we have shown the calculations uh that show that we are in compliance it's all on sheet z- 102 um that concludes my presentation all right thank you Mr appreciate it um yeah I have no questions anybody else okay thank you sir we appreciate it right let's get Carolyn's war in hi Carolyn you swear any testimony give tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do for the record can you state spell your name please it's Carolyn worstell w r s t l l thank you m worstell good evening uh always a pleasure is your license as a planner current tonight it is this yes it is okay thank you you're qualified great good evening everyone um so happy to see you all this is a pretty simple application in terms of the variance um the only variance we're seeking this evening for this application relates to that rooftop a pertinence height for the elevator bulkhead um as both Stephen and Raul mentioned we're proposing an elevator bulkhead that needs a height of 14 feet um where the Jersey City Land Development ordinance permits a maximum bulkhead height of 10 feet for building Heights up to 45 feet um the elevator bulkhead is proposed at the center of the building um which is over 23 feet setback from the front facade so it more than meets the required setbacks um and it really is necessary in order to allow for ADA Compliant access to the roof for both of those residential units um I think that this project uh granting the deviation in this case really advances um purchas a Redevelopment plan um and that the benefits of providing and allowing the access to the roof uh via the the elevator uh substantially outweighs any detriments from that additional 4 feet of height um additionally granting the deviations will advance the purpose of Municipal land use law um consistent with purpose a I promote um an appropriate use of the property uh consistent with purpose e um it has an appropriate population density with the two units in this uh mixed use building um it's consistent with purpose ey a more desirable visual um environment through the development of this uh new building on this site that has the attractive um brick facade um and then um I think overall um um you know the project won't have any substantial impairment to the zoning plan or zoning ordinance um and that it will not result in a substantial detriment to the general welfare uh for the granting of deviation for the uh rooftop apperance height um and that overall I think this project really advances um uh numerous is really consistent with the purposes of the neighborhood mixed use Zone uh which it's in um to continue the existing pattern of Main Street type commercial building with ground floor retail uses throughout the corridor while providing for new construction and increased housing and employment opportunities um and I think it just advances overall the Redevelopment plan uh to reestablish Jackson Hill Corridor as a vibrant neighborhood commercial District uh to providing a wide variety of retail amenities to the surrounding area creation of additional employment housing educational recreational commercial and Retail opportunities for residents of Jersey City and providing increased variet and opportunity for housing types and sizes and price points um so I really think that overall this this application and the the uh variance can be granted um and that both the positive and negative criteria can be met all right thanks M worstell um I have no questions anybody else no okay thank apprciate it that does conclude our direct testimony even all right thank you Council uh so at this time let's open it up for a public comment if anybody's here from the public that wants to comment on this application please raise your hands and if you're calling in you can press star9 to raise your hands chair seeing no one from the public wishing to speak on this application I move to close second okay motion is made and second it public is closed um Matt do you want to add anything um certainly chairman um staff substantiates and agrees with the applicants test testimony regarding the positive and negative criteria for the variance staff supports the granting of this variance in this case um as Miss worstell mentioned um the inclusion of an elevator in this project um creates housing units compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act um advancing um opportunities for folks with Mobility impairments um to have living options here in the ja on the Jackson Hill Main Street Corridor um the bulkhead side from height is otherwise compliant um with our code including the all important setback requirement um staff supports this application I am free to answer any questions if you'd like all right thank you um uh yeah I'm sorry for the just for the record uh applicant is in receipt of the staff report dated October 11th 2023 um there are six conditions standard conditions in the report and the applicant does agree to those conditions uh I also just want to say this is my first first time working with Matt on a project in Jersey City we got approved it was excellent experience Matt uh made a lot of really great suggestions for changing and modifying the project we had a great time he's a good addition that's great great to hear Matt congratulations thank you thank you for the kind words first Out Boy um yes all right if there's no other questions I'll entertain a motion chair I'd like to make a motion uh to approve case P20 23-0 016 as presented to the board tonight I okay we have a motion in a second for [Music] approval uh great I'll take roll please uh Vice commissioner Dr Gonzalez I excuse me Vice chair Dr Gonzalez my apologies um commissioner Torres I commissioner Dr Desai hi commissioner lipsky hi commissioner Cruz commissioner Cruz David we can't hear you you hear me now hold on you hear me now yeah I okay thank you commissioner green I and chairman Langston yeah I think the the case for the variance is there uh opening up to you know Ada units is uh is a great additions in the neighborhood so I'm going to vote I motion carries 60 okay thank you everybody thank you thank you everyone have good evening you too all right let's move on to item 20 is case p2023 d67 uh this is for the review and discussion of amendments to the Newport Redevelopment plan and harith Cove station Redevelopment plan regarding plan boundaries permitted uses and other standards uh changes to barus Coast station are limited to boundary change uh this was petitioned by Newport Associates development company and this is uh this was referred to us by city council under resolution 23- 676 formal action may be taken tonight all right I'm just going to do a short introduction before uh handing it over to uh I believe Adam Fela uh with the petitioners team uh we staff did notice for this Amendment uh we sent notice to the county uh the county representative for the planning board um Kevin force and the the clerk for Hoboken uh as it is uh within 200 feet from the municipal border uh we just like to uh have uh Council take a look at that M did have an opportunity to review it uh let's just go ahead and Mark it as A1 for the record all right and with that I'll just had it I'll um probably be speaking later but I'll hand it over to Adam thank you thank you very much good evening Adam fella of sales coms and gross we are the attorneys for Newport Associates development company which submitted an application for proposed amendments to the Newport Redevelopment plan the Amendments allow more permissive uses and parking standards to modernize the standards in the Redevelopment plan and encourage the development of the Redevelopment area this will also allow the applicant to be able to build a pedestrian Plaza in the future although the plaza is not part of the proposed amendments right now the applicant sought these changes in the aftermath of the master plan revisions the city had a Herculean effort with its master plan reexamination and land use element there were some conversations of the mall potentially closing and while the Redevelopment plan does not necessarily say that it will this amendment will send the clear message to potential tenants that the mo mall is not closing vacating or otherwise going away in fact the mall is thriving and continues to be a place that the residents of Jersey C City gather the proposed amendments also include as mentioned uh by the chairman a boundary change to both the Newport Redevelopment plan and the harus Cove station Redevelopment plan to more accurately reflect the current conditions of the streetcape and as mentioned the substance the actual substantive provisions of the haramis Cove station Redevelopment plan is not proposed to change the applicant has met with the city planning staff multiple times starting I believe in April and after formally submitting the proposed amendments in June the applicant continued to meet with the planning staff and revised the terms and language of the Redevelopment plan the city council move the matter forward on September 5th we're here tonight seeking a recommendation from the planning board that the proposed amendments are consistent with the master plan pursuant to the uh requirements of the local Redevelopment and Housing law the applicant submitted a memorandum from its planner dated October 25th which details how the proposed amendments are consistent with the master plan the city's planning staff issued a memo dated November 3rd which concludes that uh with a recommended floor Amendment which we will get to later the uh staff finds that the proposed text was acceptable and consistent with the master plan so we have a professional planner here today to testify as to the consistency of the proposed amendments with the Jersey City master plan and at this time I'd like to call Charles height of trasar so chairman just before we turn it over to Mr height uh I think council's remarks were very appropriate in terms of what is being petitioned or asked of the board this evening as the board is aware and for those members of the public in attendance this is a request for amendments to a Redevelopment plan under the law whenever a amendment to a re development plan takes place first and foremost uh that's something that only the governing body can do they are the only ones that have the power and authority to actually amend a Redevelopment plan but in order for them to do that they do have to send it to this body to hear whether or not that amendment is consistent with the master plan it is not an applic ation it is not a site plan review nothing is being proposed it is a proposed amendment to the Redevelopment plan uh and a recommendation to the council as to whether or not the proposed amendments are consistent with the master plan and as I have told this body in the past and for those members of the public in attendance the governing body can move forward even if this body were to find that it is not consistent with the master plan the governing body has the ability to choose to overrule this board's recommendation and adopt the Amendments as they see fit so uh it is advisory and with that if we can have Mr Height's testimony and if Mr height could really focus in on the consistency what the proposed changes are and how they are consistent with the master plan it will very much be appreciated help guide this body all right thank you Council and just for the record uh Mr height has already been sworn in and qualified he is still under oath and if you could just uh admit that you're still under oath that you know that I do recognize I'm am still under oath thank you all right thank you Mr H go ahead all right um so we thought it might just be helpful to quickly share the the boundary because a lot of the changes are related to the proposed boundary change um so just for the board's benefit to understand the physical nature of the changes um I'm going to be sharing the Newport boundary um and as was mentioned earlier by Mr fiela the southern boundary of the Newport Redevelopment plan is shared with the harith co station Redevelopment plan so um currently there are several properties um on the Eastern portion of the Redevelopment plan that are split zone between both plans so from a physical standpoint this is where we're trying to um transition the southern boundary to accommodate and have all the all these Parcels within one Redevelopment plan uh that being the New Port Redevelopment plan so um this is what it looks like today um with this southern boundary coming straight across um and to acknowledge the the properties and the streetscape um we're looking to accommodate a more southerly boundary that jogs to accommodate the parcels that are are part of the New Port Redevelopment plan so that um from a physical standpoint is one aspect of the proposed amendments um part of this process because we're dealing with land changing from one Redevelopment plan to another we did uh coordinate with the um City Planning Department um to confirm that the metrics um with respect to density F and open space are in kind one for one in terms of that transition so we did go through that analysis the board and the public do have that evaluation that's that's what we included um if there are any other questions on the mapping I'd be happy to go go through it but um an interest of time that was just something we wanted to run through the board with respect to the physical boundary change no I uh Mr Heyde I think the the map is self-explanatory uh yeah let's just get right into it then all thank you Mr hey for the uh boundary aspects um and now can you uh discuss why the proposed amendments uh the substantive amendments for the Newport Redevelopment plan are consistent with Jersey City master plan yes so just from a timing standpoint the Redevelopment plan was initially adopted in February of 1985 um since it's in adop adoption there was three amendments the latest being in uh June of 2020 um as uh Mr lampy referenced the local Redevelopment Housing law does give way to two roots to amend uh the Redevelopment plan um either by way of a finding that the proposed amendments are consistent um with the red with the master plan and master plan elements um or as Mr lampy said um even if they're not consistent there are specific reasons as to why to advance the Redevelopment plan amendments so we are working under um that thresold of the local Redevelopment Housing law under Section A2 a-4 B2 um we uh did do a relatively thorough um review of the master plan um we coordinated with uh City Planning with respect to the specific elements that we were also um being asked to review uh so we included the bicycle master plan in terms of circulation um there is also a general circulation elements uh of the master plan uh and open space and resource elements of the master plan so we did review all of those documents as well as the uh 2021 master plan which is the the city's new master plan um that we're seeking com consistency with um so just to highlight a few uh and I do recognize that it's it's late in the evening um but we did want to cover some of the consistency elements so um with respect to goals and principles of the land use element um we are aiming to um one moment continue uh efforts to enhance residential neighborhood hoods uh the proposed Redevelopment plan amendments aim are maintain uh existing land uses so we're we're dealing with residential uses transferring from one zone to another um keeping with the zoning rights adopted by the city uh and to ensure the continuity of the vision of the parcels um at Hand by integrating compatible residential and mixed use developments into the Newport neighborhood fabric um so really it's that that part of that transition for these properties to be wholly within one Redevelopment Redevelopment plan um we are also uh consistent with the principle of promoting the development of a diversified economy um the proposed Redevelopment plan amendments substantially exp expand and update the list of permitted uses to allow for a more Diversified commercial and Retail environment uh to serve the growing population of the Newport and surrounding neighborhoods um the expanded permitted uses mirror the retail and Commercial mix of what is seen through much of the downtown Jersey City Journal Hill Jackson Hill and other mixed use corridors throughout the city uh that Advance the development of a diversified economy so you'll see many of the additional uses that are being proposed um in the direct text amendments um we are also furthering or consistent with uh strengthening neighborhood oriented commercial areas uh again as stated the proposed Redevelopment plan uh amendments Su substantially expand the list of permitted uses as specific to retail commercial and recreational uses um and this is all aimed at uh attracting a strong and div diverse mix use mix of commercial businesses um we believe that this will uh help Foster a strong commercial commercial area throughout Newport um within that 15minute neighborhood uh surrounding the the the heart of Newport um we are also consistent with providing flexibility that that allows for large format retail and offices to adapt um so specifically for this uh principle the proposed amendments offer a more range of diverse uses that are compatible with existing large format envelopes that may need to be adapted while also offering uh opportunity for future infill uh of commercial floor plates that remain flexible and agile in nature to accommodate use commercial uses at varying scales so we did contemplate a variety of uses not only for small ground floor commercial spaces but Al also larger Footprints um and that flexibility in between um we are also improving open space assets and connect them to each other and into the community um we did do uh an open space inventory throughout the Redevelopment plan and Incorporated some of the findings into the amendment uh open space Incorporated throughout the New Port Redevelopment plan will have the greatest utilization giving the accessibility for existing and future residents so again we are transitioning uh residential uses from harith Cove into Newport so the added future residential base um will likely benefit from the existing and future required open space uh in addition the amendment proposes an increase in open space requirements currently the New Port Redevelopment plan um requires a minimum 10% where we elected to propose a commitment of 15% so that's an increase um with respect to that requirement uh increasing the capacity of overall open space and reinforces which reinforces a better connected Network through the neighborhood another principle of the 2021 master plan is with respect to upgrading Community pH facilities and infrastructure to accommodate population growth and address changing needs and ensure that major institutions can continue to thrive the proposed amendments to the Redevelopment plan expand potential for future commercial and mix use infill in turn providing for a more viable and adaptable future um this also includes um the relationship to the Newport Center shopping mall um which is a valuable asset in the neighborhood um and the residents of Jersey City um with significant employment opportunities and access to essential Resource Services uh with which is envisioned um within the the 15minute neighborhood uh surrounding the Newport area um we are also consistent with the principle of undertaking zoning revisions to consolidate districts clarify regulations and address current issues uh this is a very um appropo uh purpose of of the land use element um we are essentially uh going through that process with this amendment the proposed amendments resolve existing issues related to multiple split Zone Parcels by adjusting the Redevelopment area boundary to consolidate consolidate the existing zoning rights for said Parcels under one plan the amendment the map Amendment maintains the scale and intent of the original zoning rights while offering the affected Parcels of a path forward for cohesive development um in under one set of zoning requirements um so with that um I do want to confirm that we are we did specifically evaluate um the properties uh with respect to the book um the boundary uh Amendment um including block 7302 blocks 52 54 55.0 1 55.0 2 56 and 43.019609 in harith Cove and transitioning into Newport um they were really the the fact the the square footage of each of these properties was really a common metric used in that uh that evaluation um Mr height I I want to move now to the uh planning staff memo dated November 3D did you have a chance to review that memo yes I did and the planning staff recommended a floor amendment to change the terms may not to shall not when discussing the the the residential floor area in the commercial office district and the Waterfront commercial District can you discuss this floor Amendment and whether that affects the master plan consistency if this change is made or if it's not made yes we we did review the the comment um as it stands it it as you said it it uh is a requirement that um says that the residential floor area may not uh exceed commercial office commercial area in the commercial office District um so that requirement as I read it um is uh appropriate and clear in terms of the intent uh and the specific aspects of the requirement um I also will say that it doesn't change um whether the applicants uh amendments with respect to the boundary the uses um and other aspects of the amendments are consistent with the master plan so it it's not critical that that Flo Amendment be incorporated into this uh overall Amendment um and the floor amendment is actually distinct from um the other elements of the the applicant or the petitioners Amendments so uh that concludes our direct testimony I just have a very brief summation after any um any questions um Matt I think you wanted to speak as well do you want to jump in here or do you want to sure so I think the uh item regarding the staff memo that I speak to and I'll and I'll bring more Focus to it because it it seems to not be covered very well yet but it is in furtherance of the master plan goal to undertake zoning revisions to consolidate districts clarify regulations and address current issues um that's exactly what we're speaking to in the staff memo uh so the scope of this amendments are largely focused on expanding the list of permitted uses in the New Port Redevelopment plan and master plan consistency memo was prepared and we just heard testimony to IT staff recommends that the board incorporate a floor Amendment to the text ahead of making any motion to recommend adoption of the amendment and lead up to the scheduling of the amendment before the planning board the petitioner had proposed striking the in Clauses from uh the development requirements and regulation section of the commercial office district and the Waterfront commercial District um and I quote residential development may be included with or may follow commercial development but may not exceed the gross floor area of commercial space so developed that's in the commercial office district and very similar the residential development may be included with or may follow commercial development but may not exceed one half of the gross floor area so developed and that is the standard in the Waterfront commercial District although these two standards are worded slightly different these two closets has have the same effect these closets prohibit residential floor area in these respective districts from exceeding the amount of commercial floor area the usage of may not is a requirement rather than a recommendation in any residential floor area area in excess of the requirements would not be cognizable the planning board as it would constitute a D4 variance Amendment two or removal of these Clauses in opinion of Staff would trigger the inclusionary zoning ordinance uh as as reviewed and as proposed this application this amendment doesn't trigger the inclusion Aries ordinance but the omission of these Clauses would so they remain but in furtherance of clarifying the regulation we recommend changing the language may not to shall not to remove any ambiguity or am ambiguity over the applicability or future enforcement of those standards all right thanks Matt yeah I agree um you know shall and may are always a big thing for me I'd rather things be black and white um with no guess work whatsoever so I I would entertain the floor Amendment changing that language um anybody else any questions for Matt a question I mean I don't know uh a concern that when I see this new development plan um has been brought up in the past on this board by Newport um open space area any changes in this to the master plan that open space area on the waterfront side have no access private access um it's I not sure if I'm on here but I'm just concerned about that that um we've taken up hope in Newport would have access to everybody from that still be the same are you asking that of of me uh commissioner that of that well I'm mening that of um there's nothing uh on the waterfront side that's being changed in the open space and we're not reducing the open space requirement um anywhere uh over there uh in the residential district the open space requirement is actually being increased so I think that I think that um H Mr h brought it up the open space area of the development plan that's why Chen be to make sure that it was clear anything on the waterfront side over there always have access to everybody in judg city and nothing understood y yes so the answer is we're not restricting any access to the Waterfront by any of the changes that's the question correct commissioner yes thank you yes correct we are not we're not we're not restricting any type of access there correct the the Hudson Waterfront walkway as designated by the D is still um in place so that that will be coordinated as future developments come online for this area just as far as far as the floor Amendment Matt we're proposing changing what was may not to shall not that's correct so as it's written right now it's may not yes and we and we're of the opinion that as a may not because that sentence could be written just as may but because of the fact that it says may not it is to be interpreted and and applied as a shall not um but because of our normal usage we want to change it to shall not um and we just in leadup to this amendment being finalized and pencils down uh there was disagreement over that small change so that's why I Incorporated in a memo and provided it to the Commissioners for their review we are so I guess it wasn't being proposed to be change because that was the language existing in the Redevelopment plan but in looking at it it's planning's position that it should be changed because it makes the intent clearer uh From planning's perspective right yeah and our position is that it was clear and unambiguous before and the change is not necessary um it's not um it won't change whether this these amendments overall are consistent with the master plan so Council would you be opposed to that change we we're not opposed to it no we we are not proposing it and uh don't think it's necessary but we're not opposed to it okay understood council do you believe that as written it provides more flexibility to you and that the way planning would like it to be Rewritten it kind of solidifies it no I don't think it's any different I don't think it's any different I think it's the same I I don't think it's changing the requirement that's why we don't believe it's necessary I'm not sure if there's any additional flexibility one way or the other well if if we're changing the language in the plan you know now would be the time to update from May to sh as far as I'm concerned it's you know it's a minor change yeah nobody's disagreeing so yeah so I agree with with I I agree yeah I agree with mat if there's no opposition to it you know I don't see the problem with it would like to add that floor amendment in another thing to just expand upon going back to the prior question from commissioner tor is um on page 11 of their Amendment there's a new Clause that is introduced and it it says all Waterfront development along the Hudson River shall develop maintain and manage a section of the Hudson Waterfront walkway coincident with the shoreline of the development property as approved by the city of Jersey City city planning board all right all right okay anything else Matt no that's it um staff recommends approval with that floor Amendment okay for recommendation to the city council okay thank you and Council uh that's your case you've made your case yes uh okay I very brief summation um just to say that uh thank you guys I know it's late I'm not going to take long I just want to say we're here for uh just a reminder we're here for uh master plan consistency and uh we put in proofs uh for as test ified by our planner and stated in our planner memo and the City Planning staff memo uh and just stated by Mr Ward right now that the proposed amendments are consistent with the master plan so we respectfully request that the planning board issue a recommendation to the city council that the proposed amendments are consistent with the master plan thank you all right thank you Council so at this time let's open it up for public comment I see one hand raised already if anybody from the public wants to comment on this change three chairman okay promoting Bob Garner and if you're calling in please press star n hello Bob uh hi um hi Bob are you able to turn your video on start my video yes I see you you did something but I don't see you but I appreciate the effort do you have um a little slide on your M your camera this looks like it's [Music] software okay sign in should I sign in I don't know what that means no I wouldn't do that um what is it all right to proceed without video I'm fine with it all right so yeah Bob instead of video just swear in uh do you swear any testimony you give tonight will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do and for the record could you state and spell your name and give us your home address please my name is Bob Garner I live at 167 and a half Cole Street thank you all right Mr Garner good evening we have three minutes for you sir thank you for the opportunity to speak briefly before this board is a trustee for the Hamilton Park neighborhood association I would like to express my opposition to the proposed amendment Lang anguage that suddenly leaves our residential Community with a horrible helicopter landing area that is to say this board should not allow the curveball in section six that not so subtly changes from allowing a helicopter landing area in the general Waterfront region to dropping a bomb in our immediate backyard that is the Newport Redevelopment area which adjoins the unsuspecting residential downtown community accordingly the corresponding lot should not be suddenly rezoned as outlined in section 7 as Waterfront commercial to be used as a revenue generating toy rather than part of the Waterfront walkway for all to enjoy you see our community is already chock full of helicopter landing sites of all shapes and sizes just a short Pleasant fairy ride away are several horts including the one one at 335 12th Street next to the Highline the East 34th Street heliport as well as the most famous downtown Manhattan Hort not to mention the several nearby sites located in our Garden State yes this area is already loaded with places for the likes of the Donald and Melania to land all of these I must mention are in nonresidential areas I'm going to repeat that n nonresidential areas many residents have long since noticed the onsite glorious plated sign regarding the Newport helis stop as well as the accompanying beautiful website Newport hop.com that has for several months included weather conditions and such one must readily admire the arrogance involved here evidently seeing this planning board as a mere nuisance or mly group that's already bought and paid for in closing if this proposed amendment is not a done deal I wish to express that as New York City has largely successfully kept horts from residential areas this board should strive to do as well for the citizens of Jersey City subsection J of section six before this board pays mere lip service to the Hudson River Waterfront walkway but actually using this lot as an active and passive Recreation spot surrounded by the walkway could serve as a crowning Jewel for Newport and Jersey City as well as a glorious starting point for the long awaited East Coast Greenway that would benefit everyone rather than yet another ugly loud helicopter landing area for the benefit of the Donald and Melania Mr gner thank you for your time thank you before uh before we let you go uh you are under oath tonight I will remind you do you have any evidence of this board being bought and paid for I don't believe it is I don't believe it is I just want to indicate that why would they put up a sign several months ago and have a I'm not s I'm not speaking I'm not speaking to that I'm I'm defending my board right now I'm not saying it is I'm saying why would they put up a sign and a website when it hasn't even gone before the board yet sir that's not that's not before this board so thank you for your comment you have no evidence for the accusation lodged against the board I'm not making an ACC I'm not making thank you sir Cameron thank you sir thank you have a nice night sir I I I just want to make a clarification regarding the htop um it actually has uh it's been pre-existing um and it's was part of an application back in that was submitted back in 2020 uh and these amendments are actually uh are expressing some sensitivity to this matter and uh they are uh it's including a reduction in the amount of helis stops allowed saying that there's only one permitted in all of Newport Redevelopment plan area or Redevelopment area thank you Matt thanks for the clarification all right anybody else from public I see number of hands raised Underwood has been promoted thank you do you SAR any testimony give tonight it's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do and for the record can you state by your name and give us your home address please Aaron Underwood u n d r w o d and I reside at 264 9th Street Jersey City thank you Mr Underwood good evening we have three minutes for you sir thank you I am the President of the Hamilton Park neighborhood association I want to speak on three specific topics related to the amendments to the Newport Redevelopment plan the first is the topic of the hellis stop invert aort the proposed amendments are capping the number of helops to one however having helicopters traveling around over and through a mixed use residential commercial and Retail area represents a real quality of life and safety concern this is a permitted use that benefits the few and harms the many because of the noise and pollution that these helicopters force on the surrounding communities does this promote enhancements to the residential areas of the Redevelopment plan it is for this reason that the hpna requests that no hops or vorts be allowed in the Redevelopment plan and that the language permitting those uses be struck second the current language in section 6 subsection L regarding public access to the Pavonia PATH station is too General and weak the communities west of Newport have only seen their access to the PATH station reduced and restricted in the last few years the surrounding communities need guaranteed pedestrian walkways through the mall at both points of ESS at 8th and nth streets both of these walkways should be secured and open 24 hours the current 24-hour access is located only at the 8th Street ESS and is not guaranteed with an easement therefore the hpna recommends that section six subsection L be amended to include both points of egress specifically and include stronger language regarding unobstructed access 2 24 hours a day 365 days a year since creating access and safe Passage way through the mall is an essential part of the master plan's goals of a pedestrian friendly City a guarantee would make this consistent with the master plan lastly the changes to the plan indicate the anticipation of increases in the number and types of permitted uses and the general increase in development of the area therefore the hpna recommends that a traffic study be conducted once a certain parking and density threshold is reached if thousands of new units and Retail entertainment uses are constructed alongside a reduction in the required parking it will have significant impact on traffic in the area and surrounding neighborhoods and these changes should be monitored and adapted going forward in conclusion the hpna request that the planning board take a second look at the topics of the hellis stop PATH station access and the reduction of parking when evaluating whether these amendments are consistent with the master plan thank you for your time and consideration all right thank you Mr under would we appreciate it Miss Diane Atwell is promoted hi Diane I'll SAR you in if you could raise your right hand youping testimony again tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes and for the record can you state and spell your name and give us your home address please Diane Atwell d a n Atwell a w l l address 299 Pavonia Avenue thank you Miss Atwell good evening we have three minutes for you uh good evening would like to congratulate you on your real election thank you I appreciate it you've done a fine job over the years I would just like to say that I understand that this is in line with the master plan but the devil is in the details they are saying they're going to limit the Hort to one which you see as a win and yet you open the door for verp ports unlimited number of them which are basically things such as drone delivery the master band clearly states about realigning and providing access from the West in Hamilton Park neighborhood through to the Waterfront and yet this Redevelopment plan language is even weaker than what it was before I understand that there's an intent to try to introduce City bikes and walking to the area but to wholesale allow them to Simply strike out the whole sections on providing any type of parking to hotels or residents from a minimum standpoint does not seem in line with the master plan and that doubling down on the saying that they're going to use the the parking mall parking as a double for to be counted twice towards the these residents and hotels just does not seem correct to me and not in line with what the master plan is saying the gentleman earlier tonight talked about increasing the open space from 10 to 15% great but what I would like to see is that they allow their residents to have parties in their open space right now Hamilton Park is dying because there are so many residents from Newport that come to Hamilton Park to hold a birthday party because they're not allowed to do it there or the fees are exorbitant so while they're providing open space they are so controlling the use of it that residents are not using it they do not allow Farmers Market down there the master plan needs to respond to these issues and this Redevelopment plan needs to be relooked at again thank you all right thank you Miss Atwell we appreciate your time Matt just for the record uh farmers markets are now a permitted use in this plan correct there's a long list of them one moment yeah that is correct uh many of the uses that then in fact adding to this Redevelopment plan fall under more broad standards that we would generally have to make an interpretation on if they made a zoning determination request okay um but they're trying to ask for and and cify um some you know straightforward categories here sure y okay thank you uh so if we could let's continue with public comment once again if uh anyone would like to comment tonight please raise your hand and if you're calling in you can press R9 oh sorry cam hi Katherine you tonight it's going to be the truth the whole truth nothing got the truth yes and for the record could you please State and spell your name and give us your home address uh Katherine k a t h r YN Moore m o o r e uh and 140 Bay Street thank you Miss Moore good evening always a pleasure uh we have three minutes for you uh I just had just one quick question um the the folks brought it up before but the the verti ports I just wanted a little more explanation to that because that I don't know if that's something that um the city in general allows that's just for the future I just would like a little more clarification on what that entails and how different and is there noise and is is it just more of a traffic thing I just was curious about that that's my only question okay thank you um I'll leave it up to anybody here who wants to answer that I can speak to it um I don't know if Mr wanted to so so a ver Port um in concept is an area that's uh defined to support uh the landing and takeoff of what's referred to as electric vertical um vertical takeoff and Landing Vehicles so it's a it's a growing um type of aircraft industry um and it's it's really specified around electric vertical and takeoff um Vehicles so that's that's a general concept now it's it's very forward thinking because it's it's a relatively new type of aircraft so I don't know if that answers the question but that's that's a general framework of it um I think we should get a little more clarification so that that's for electric helicopters correct essentially yes yeah anything I wouldn't call them helicopters that's the an older term but yes it's similar analogy so these carry passengers uh in time they can I don't know if there's any uh electric fleets of helicopters um I think more commonly it's it's used to transport goods and goods and things like that on delivery but um in time I think with with the industry as it grows it could possibly expand to that as of the news yesterday there was no electric helicopters process being done maybe for deliveries or a drone but but I've watched on news yesterday and saw that that that there is no pass yeah I I just take pauses defining it so loosely at this point if it turns into a passenger helicopter we'll call it for tonight um you know I I think we should know that and have that information before we just approve the ports everywhere I agree well a major difference is a Hort I mean the essentially the same except that a Hort allows for refueling storing maintaining of CFT whereas a ver point doesn't just a touchdown Touch and Go yep that's accurate or it could be a drone but they're not to do anything other than take a break or to drop off or pick up is there any uh we don't know that yet though they're not they any charging of you know recharging them up if it's electrical might not be refueling but it's the same thing if it's recharging the same same concept well then it wouldn't be a road report but that's splitting the hairs I mean the botom line I think is that um you know in this hell report I think I heard Matt said it is pre-approval my question is I mean Diane Atwell has been on a number of U uh Community meetings to offset a lot of the disruption from helicopters through our community I mean I know from personal experience living on the 17th floor in Jal square area how inconvenient it was um so let me I mean so Matt with regard to the Hort does it allow for um Recreation or for tourism you know stops sort of like the Hort over in Carney or is it just for medical media and corporate use security also there's there's language like that I believe in the the standards that are uh let's see here in section six there in that the chapter that speaks to land use I believe that it's insinuating that it's more for business travel um but there is nothing in the plan that that specifies it further than um like a loose loose language that speaks to that um because it's relating to other land uses um which uh tourism is not a specific land use uh I would say um it's more of a commercial activity um so I'm I'm not sure if there's a a clear answer on that uh I do believe that verp ports are controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration um but I do not know if there's there's no further language beyond what what they intend to use it for um in their proposed language we do not intend to use it for tourism um that there's no intention to use either of these uses for tourism and the um the verp port is a really a more cleaner uh efficient way to move people around and it's really more for the for the future um and uh for the future of the electric he well maybe they're not technically helicopters but electric helicopters for shorthand it's that's where the future is going and and they will be quieter so my understanding is as you're saying is that this thing won't be used until Evol come or um Electric helicopter that that's the um that's the verp port correct and then the heliport there is a Hort that exists today and the language that is being done there in the amendment is restricting it where it's it's only one Hort is permitted for the entire Redevelopment uh area and while um it has it allowed in multiple districts each of those districts are along the Waterfront and then there's the language that says the entire Redevelopment area only one Hort is permitted yeah and I just want to clarify I think we've been throwing out the word Hort but where it's actually hell stop in the in the language um so it it that would be of a like a lesser intensity than a Hort okay so if tourism isn't the intended use are we comfortable putting that language in the plan well I like Mr fiel's suggestion or was Matt's about commercial if you know because the mean the community that I've heard and my experiences commercial could be problemsome I mean if it's you know something other than you know military news medical I don't know is that did I hear you correctly Mr f i I believe so the the intent is not to use it for tourism that's that's what I had said previously I think that's consistent with what you had just said I hope so chairman I'm not sure anybody knows how they're going to be used because I'm not sure they're in use and if the FAA has started regulating so I am sure that you have to get some kind of FAA clearance and then the question becomes obviously how many are you even permitted in a certain radius etc etc so uh you know we're talking about permitting a use that is futureistic and future thinking and I don't know that any of the fullon regulations are in place yet the technology is in place my understanding of of these is that the hope so to speak is we're going to get to a point where you go up on the roof of a building and you get in one of these almost like a taxi and it building hops to the other side of of town uh you know not longdistance traveling but really quick short distances I don't know that that's ever going to happen I'm I'm envisioning the Jets right uh exactly we got to get through the FAA with all of that so yeah question is is it something that we want to allow that's somewhat a new idea in term there's going to be further regulation that goes into this well beyond this board and you know our jurisdiction it's going to it's going to be the FAA that's going to determine a lot of this agreed but why put the use in there there when we don't know what those regulations are yet that's the question I why are we BR this up that info sure because the FAA can't regulate what a municipality or a county or a state does with its property yeah it can regulate what happens in the air well it regulates what happens in the air so if you have you can't have the the vertiport not be able to lift up off the ground if the FAA doesn't ow you to right no but to your point let's just use the Hort in Carney the faa's there and right we got the only way we got any relief has been dealing with the owner of the heliport and the owner of the uh helicopter companies to try to uh mitigate all the noise and pollution the FAA has been useless and we've petitioned congressmen and senators offices so anyway long story I don't want to bu this all I'm saying is is if Mr fo is saying want to work with him is saying and the community and saying hey look you know if this is the master plan and Matt I think you're saying is it's limited to one and I don't you know is that and that's the case h stops are limited to One verp Ports are not similarly limited or specified by saying that they cannot be used for touris okay but the hell stop is limited or it's limited to commercial it it doesn't it's not very specific okay it just limits it to one in the plan area maybe this particular council's testimony that the intent isn't tourism correct Council correct okay so why not put that in there that it's tourism is excluded that's perfectly fine and would you want that same specification for ver reports yes that that's fine as well is there is so just so I could be clear on S so we say no tourism but business-wise people come uh is there the H Stop's doing that now or is it am I am I look at two different things or is that the same thing well uh it it's the same sure good question I mean for my experience is when when we worked with the company and had the um helicopter Roots altered except for military medical and media uh 3M uh my experience on the 17th four I no longer feel like a a victim of Paparazzi with these helicopters coming at 130 140 feet off the ground if they come once every two weeks or something it's about right I don't I don't feel I come bombarded before when we had all the tourism you know it was horrible so no I don't know if that completely speaks to Diane's or I don't live in Hamilton Park but I think that that's certainly moves in uh a very good uh Direction yeah I think I think we definitely should limit tourism in both uses um sounds like the petitioner has already agreed to that yeah okay so if if everybody's I'm sorry somebody started to speak there I just said uh we we still have some public our hands raised yeah that's where I was getting to next if we let's continue on with public comment please Eduardo nunz has been promoted hello hello Eduardo are you able to turn your video on you good evening I'm great how are you I'm doing well thank you wonderful are you able to turn your video on um see my battery is going low all right all right great I see you I hear you I just want to swearing before you speak all right if you could raise your right hand yes sir do you swear any testimony you give tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes sir and for the record can you state and spell your name and give us your home address please my name is l Nunes I live in 31 High Street I uh work in Newport my job title is I'm a superintended right now just got promoted it's a great job at Newport and it's a great place to work I supposed to Redevelopment plan of mment because I want my job and others like it to be available in the future okay thank you sir we appreciate it thank you for your time thank you promoting Roger hello Roger I just want to swear you in if you could raise your right hand do you swear any testimony you get tonight is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir for the record can you state and spell your name and give us your home address please okay so my name is Roger Vasquez R OG r v a z quu z my home address is 460 fth Street in hobok New Jersey thank you good evening sir we have three minutes for you good evening um so I'll keep my statement brief uh I work in Newport as a door manc conier I'm a member of the Union 621 and I support this Redevelopment plan Amendment because Newport is a great place to work and I want my job and others to be available in the near future thank you for your time guys thanks R all right thank you sir appreciate it okay once again we're in public comment if anybody else wants to comment please raise your hand and if you're calling in you bre star 9 to raise your hand Mr see no no public I move to close the public second okay motion is made and seconded public is closed um Matt I'll go back to you I guess yeah so it it seems as though we've landed a couple of floor amendments changing those Clauses from may not to clarify them with shall not and to uh limit vert ports and the Hella stop um sections where they're listed as permitted uses to um exclude tourism uh and the final formation of that language will uh work with the petitioner on uh but that's the the goal in mind before we send it up uh to uh to council with hopefully a favorable recommendation from planning board staff recommends approval one thing is Mr unw Underwood also mentioned about accessibility to path I don't know if that's something that councilor fola might be able to speak to or we can um I'd like to bring up U Mr hay again to discuss the accessibility the access uh real briefly and just how this these amendments enable the um the next steps of uh of the access and how it will allow it to thrive and uh and keep the access thank you so Charles you're onute there you go thank you so um there's I guess two two contexts that we can answer that um one in terms of circulation um there are many different pathways through the Newport area with respect to pedestrian bicycle um the the PATH station is obviously a regional circulation um facilities so those have all been um many of those uh circulation routs are already implemented in um in and around the areas of Newport along Washington Boulevard and things like that um they're also is uh the the aspect of um increasing the land uses um and different areas uh to accommodate uh more of a pedestrian um connection uh across the overall uh districts so the variety land uses will just encourage more active um pedestrian activity so um with respect to uh the Newport pass station um in terms of of hours I I I don't know any I'm not aware of the limitation on hours I think that was the comment raised um but I do know from uh a connectivity point the Newport Newport pth station is is a node um that all of the um circulation routs are designed to uh pass and either start end or pass um to make those connections so we did take a look at that yeah as well as the light rail I mean so I think if I understood Mr Underwood I mean it it's the hours and I get you know Staffing cost money or security measures and I don't know what they are but I think you know how great it is down there and pardon I have a sore throat but how great it is down there and you hit the nail on the head mide it's a regional point so people love coming and going it's it's bubbling you know so um so I don't know if there's any specific language we can add in there it doesn't sound like we're there yet uh but no I I think that that that's a very uh valid uh point from somebody who's uh a uh ahead of or a participant a leader in a group downtown so sure um yeah I mean maybe we can just make that recommendation to to City Council in this that um you know we try and maintain and even expand access across to the Waterfront from Hamilton Park um I hesitate to put any language in right now I think it's something that uh councilman Solomon's been working on for some time and um you know I'm certainly not up to speed on on his fight going forward if you know there is one so uh you know I think we can put that recommendation on record uh but I hesitate to put any language in there right now stepin prepare a memo that um summarizes uh some of those comments from Commissioners okay thank you hey Mr yeah I'd like to make a motion uh to approve and accept uh the review and discussion of amendments to the Newport Redevelopment plan and the harus co station Redevelopment plan regarding plan boundaries permitted uses and other standards changes to haram's Cove station are limited to to boundary change uh and to include the two floor amendments that we had uh this evening to change the language from may not to shall not and to limit vertiport and heliports to exclude tourism um and the exact language will be um ironed out with planning and uh send a favorable recommendation uh to city council for formal adoption a second it okay we have a motion in a second for a referral positive referral to city council and just to clarify the motion when we said hella stop I mean hell ports we we were're talking about H stops uh okay on a motion to uh recommend for city council adoption Vice chair Dr Gonzalez I vote I uh commissioner Torres I vote I commissioner lipsky I vote I commissioner Cruz I vote I commissioner Dr Desai hi commissioner green I chairman linkston so I I am gonna vote I um I I would like to give that positive recommendation um with a comment to city council that um you know the ver stops aren't something that's well defined at this point I don't think it's been well defined tonight um and maybe look into you know limiting those uses until a point where we're comfortable with the technology um you know what are they used for now what are they used for in the future I I I think just to give a a blanket approval to unlimited vertiport I I I don't see that being the way forward I I'm you know I don't want to hold up progress obviously but um you know I think those uses should be explored further uh by city council so again with that I'm going to vote I but uh you know just with a little trepidation on the uh ver report uh motion carries uh all in favor okay thank you everybody thank you everyone good evening point and a question point is I love you John Mayor photo above your behind your shoulder there secondly are you related to alella the one from Newark not the one from Union City is my father oh okay the one from New York is the guy from moror right yeah yep that's where I uh was born and raised Maro tell Steve wisky sends always his best I will thank you commissioner thank you best wishes okay so uh given the time I do have an email that uh Santo Cameron everybody's copied on here um that Mr mccan is agreeing to carry two items uh he still has one un resolved I believe in front of us that is uh case p2023 p2023 d002 uh the preliminary and minor site plan with variances for 177 Grand Street I don't think that's right he carried that too in a separate email okay there it is he carried all three all right remember to open two different emails next time Langston all right so uh we'll be carrying case p2023 d002 uh to a date certain uh 1128 uh we're carrying case p2023 d65 uh for 650 grow Street to a date certain I believe those are also to the 28th correct cam yeah yeah and um case p23 I'm sorry p2023 d66 for 659 gr Street that's being carried to a date certain in uh November 28th and before we move on to memorialization of resolutions you guys are killing me with these case numbers totally changed what they used to read um all right let's move on to memorialization of resolutions please sure I'd like to make a motion to memorialize the following resolutions I believe I have eight total uh resolution number one city of Jersey City planning board 20 uh 2024 fiscal year planning board agreement for stenographic services resolution number two of the planning board of the city of Jersey City authorizing and approving the appointment of legal council resolution number three of the planning board of the city of Jersey City authorizing and approving agreement for Legal Services number four resolution of the planning of the city of Jersey City uh planning board case number p23 di 069 applicant is buku culture LLC address 390 Tunnell AV Jersey City New Jersey block 4601 lot 42 application for conditional use approval resolution number five of the city of Jersey City planning board in the matter of DF Jersey City Donuts Incorporated at 402 Grand Street block 12605 lot one uh p2023 00003 is an application for preliminary and final U site plan approval and a deviation from the Montgomery Gateway Redevelopment plan resolution number six is resolution of the planning board of the city uh for of the city of Jersey City approving an extension of minor s plan approval applicant Third Street JC LLC for extension of minor s plan approval 3513 street block 110004 lot four case number p2023 0052 resolution number seven of the planning board of the city of Jersey City extending time to file previously approved preliminary and final major subdivision submitted by 417 communa Oz LLC 417 communa Avenue and 139 Woodward Street block 18901 Lots 23 and 29 case number p2023 d42 and number eight City uh resolution of the city of Jersey City planning board in the matter of 124 Glenwood Holdings LLC application number P22 d197 2023 application for minor site plan approval uh block 13204 Lot 56 all right do I have a second all right could we have a roll call please cam Vice chair Dr Gonzalez hi commissioner lipsky hi commissioner Cruz hi commissioner Dr Desai uh one more time uh okay I commissioner green I commissioner Torres hi and chairman Langston hi motion carries all in favor to memorialize resolutions all right thank you everybody um I don't need an executive session um I I just want to State on the record in front of the public uh I appreciate the support from the board and uh all the kind words it's it's always appreciated and uh let's kill it in 2024 everybody um so if we could I'll entertain a motion for adjournment motion to adjourn second all right we have a motion in a second we are adjourned everybody get enjoy your night thank you guys Thanksgiving Happy Thanksgiving to everybody thank you