##VIDEO ID:GvDt9ypOQqQ## has been given to the Jersey journal the Jersey City Reporter lalito and posted with the city clerk on Tuesday August 6 2024 we have the notices to be marked this is B1 for the record maybe have a roll call okay I see commissioner zi present commissioner shadid yes commissioner Patel yes commissioner Burns yes and acting chair Alan here we have a total of five Commissioners tonight can you swear in the staff do you swear or affirm the testimony or comments you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth the whole truth and nothing about the yes thank you any correspondents yes in new business item number item number 10 this is case z223 d19 the address is 136 Delaware Avenue they have requested to carry to the September 26 meeting with preservation of notice and item number 13 this is case z20 d43 the address is 2011 norc Avenue they've requested to carry to the October 10th meeting with preservation of notice and I do want to State for the record that our our meeting on September 12th uh this is our regular meeting it will be cancelled so we will meet on our regular meeting on September 26 please stand and salute the flag I pre allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay so the germs we have so we're going to start the meeting with case z202 4-30 a one-year site plan extension the address is 1012 Berkeley place and the attorney is Veronica sh sh sh okay all right good evening Veronica schme of Connell Foley uh for the applicant Patel Indo Pat grocery under case number Z 2024 0030 property being 1012 Berkeley place um I'm here to request on behalf of the applicant their final one-year extension of their approvals um that they obtained under z19 d57 this was approved on October 22nd of 2020 which took us to that date of 2022 thereafter the applicant got uh two additional extensions under [Music] z227 and z23 D 036 which took us to October 22nd of this year um applicant now respectfully requested this board its third and final extension which would take us to October 22nd of 2025 um the reason being twofold the first being the applicant is in the process of developing some other properties in Jersey City um in particular there's one phase development which has tied up a lot of their time and uh resources the second real Crux being here is they have um some residential tenants on the property at brookley place um my understanding is that they're also elderly so they took a little bit of time to help them to relocate and move out and looking down the barrel of the rest of the demolition uh in permitting process the applicant is anticipating needing a little bit of additional time staff staff uh staff recommends approval with prior conditions okay um no one from the public okay public uh comments are closed I have a motion extension I'll second it 2224 I will second it all right on a motion to approve commissioner shadid yes commissioner Patel yes commissioner Burns yes commissioner zooki yes and acting chair Allen yes motion carries all in favor thank you take care okay next case z202 4- 0042 a one-year site plan extension the address is 8 8 Highland Avenue the attorney is Michael Higgins uh good evening everyone Michael Higgins of castan qule cheramy here uh for the applicant um this is a one-year site plan extension uh for 88 Highland it was approvals are currently set to expire uh August 25th of this year uh if the approval is granted by the board it would uh extend us until August 25th 2025 um this is one of uh one of those projects where MTI Bajaj was the architect and and unfortunately she passed away so the applicant's been somewhat hindered by that um yeah staff recommendations staff recommends approval with prior conditions no no public comment uh public comment is close uh may I have a motion yes I would like to get a motion for approval case 22 2442 off for extension I'll second it on a on a motion to approve commissioner zi yes commissioner shadid commissioner Patel commissioner Burns acting chair Allan yes thank you everyone motion carries all in favor thank the next case is K z202 4-13 C and D variants the address is 212 hanock Avenue the attorney is James Burke I have a set here a few you wish okay no he he paid it he said he sent you the check I want he said he sent it certified or by overnight yeah yeah okay um we we believed at first it was a d variant and we were talking to staff today uh they determined it was only a c variance so um you know we we happy to accept that since you have six members and uh we would need affirmative votes so that leaves us that leaves us with C variances only right right so okay so yeah we have a number of C variances but by by way of background uh the building uh suffered a bit of a fire um so it's empty right now it's a three family building and um the applicant wishes to uh rebuild and and expand a bit uh there's several purposes for expanding uh one is some of the rooms they were so old they didn't fit the uh current standards for uh the building code they were smaller so he wishes to expand those rooms and uh then a new a better fire um uh fire escape will be built on the back of the building uh which is also going to be an improvement plus new wiring and so forth so that's what so to borrow from the Biden Administration it's going to be build back better that's what the that's what we're hoping here um so I've got two witnesses uh the first will be our architect and uh let me just say up front the architect that I'm introducing is a New Jersey licensed architect he's he has with him his associate who is not a licensed architect but we're hoping you would allow him to speak because he's more or less the project architect and he knows the details of the plans as well or better um so let's see okay come on up you stand here you ra your you swear orir the testimony your given proceeding the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes and could you state and spell your full name for the record sure Joseph cero c s t a r o would you give us the benefit of your background and state whether you're currently a New Jersey licensed architect sure I have a licensed in New Jersey um I graduated in 2011 from New Jersey Institute of Technology um I have a firm and located in woff New Jersey a four-person firm for about four years all right have you appeared before other boards or is this the first time you're appear yes dozens can you state a few names of towns um mostly burn County but around here Montclair Newark um [Music] Livingston wof Ridgewood All righton County not at all not at all he'll answer that question he'll answer that question later after he finishes so uh we'll okay thank you yes yes this gentleman is Colin McArdle yeah Colin mcnell now you right do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes and St Colin McArdle it's c o l i n and then McArdle is MC a r DL e so just give the board the benefit of some of your credentials you're not a licensed architect but I understand you're in the process of becoming one we've been working on this project I'm too fast too fast fast let me speak one at a time all right U you're not a licensed architect correct correct all right but you have a degree in architecture correct all right and you are studying to taking the the various tests to become an architect correct okay and uh so you are the project manager in essence on this yes all right so what I'd like you to do is just walk through you've heard that there is no D variance it's just the C variances but just walk through uh what the uh the uh uh project entails sure do you want me to hook up the laptop please do yes there we go all right so uh this was a previously existing three family it had three bedrooms um The Unfinished seller was just unfinished there was some owner storage in there but pretty much it was just mechanical space the ground floor had a existing three-bedroom second floor had existing three-bedroom third floor had a existing three bedroom um we were requesting six variances now it's down to five with the elimination of the D variant and they are in our chart here they're the sidey yard setback which we're just expanding the non-conforming use uh condition um the combined side yard set back the rear yard set back and then two encroachments one for the fire escape and then one for a set of stairs that are going to the backyard um as far as the proposed plans as you can see so in the basement or seller we're keep keeping it unfinished as well we're just providing some tenant storage down there as well as a trash room the mechanical equipment will be located down there as well as well as some owner storage that he's going to keep down there um this we are requesting to keep as a three-bedroom on the ground floor um the previous one of the previous bedrooms here in this corner that bedroom was only um 8T 1 by 7 fo2 it was only 55 S ft so it's um too small for today's standards so we are doing the addition so we can have three bedrooms that can form with today's standards and codes all just reference the page number on that sure that is on page V2 okay and then on the next page on page V3 we have the same conditions a very small bedroom in this corner here that bedroom is 67 by 88 which is only 58 s ft so again the addition is just to create two uh bedrooms in the rear that will be conforming to today's standards and codes and then likewise the same thing on the third floor the small bedroom up there is only 63x 810 and that's 56 ft and then we just get more space so we can have again three conforming bedrooms and any changes on the roof or any is there a green roof or what is there the roof will just be uh partly mechanical but it's going to be a flat roof just as it is now um just open we're proposing a two-sided fire a two stair fire escape um so each unit has an Escape Route um and then the elevations I can walk through the addition this Gray Line on page v41 this is what is getting extended past that Gray Line and you can see the fire escape that we are proposing v4.2 shows the fire escape a in a little bit more detail um that's going to have a retractable stair that will pull down as needed um just for some security concern so it's not a permanently fixed to the ground any other comments yeah do you want me to walk through the materials or anything we have it on v4.1 just stucko and siding Hardy siding um pretty standard I think for the area any other comments I don't think so okay all right any questions in general from the board any I just have one question or do we want to let the public go first no public okay so my one question is the the current extension that's on it will that be Dem mode or you're just adding on to the extension adding on yeah yeah that that's my only question uh any any I do we have a plan okay all right thank you thank you both go back to the last slide with the look no problem SW do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth the whole truth and nothing about the truth yes I do spell your sure Samuel Bellamy last name b l l a m y I think you know Mr Bellamy and just for the record your license is still current yes my uh professional planner's license is current and a good standing um this actually is my first time in person in front of this board so it's nice to see all you guys um getting right into the testimony this project is located in the neighbor housing R1 District um as you heard from our AR our architect it's really just a square off the back of the building add some square footage to provide um adequate room sizes uh for all the bedrooms in the back to meet modern building codes um this previously would have been an expansion of non-conforming use variants but with the change of zoning U multifamilies now permitted so we have an existing density that's going to remain the same um we were previously conservatively calling it out but um after discussions with City Planning as mentioned a minute we were previously we were previously at non-conforming density um but we're maintaining the same um so there's there's no density variants being requested here tonight after those discussions um we do have several bulk C variances that we're asking for they're really all related to the uh fire escape the balcony deck and stairs from the from the rear of the building um we do have an expansion of the um existing non-conforming sidey yard setbacks um one of them is 2 feet 2 in on the south side of the building and then zero feet on the north side of the building so the minimum is is 2 feet um and the the maximum uh minimum combined is 5' 1 in so we're asking for both the minimum one side and and combined sidey yard setbacks um we're not actually ex expand extending beyond the building to the north um so we're not creating a a condition where there's um blockage of light air and open space on on that adjacent building um the other variances as I mentioned are related to the fire escape um fire escapes and balconies are permitted to extend 5 ft beyond the beyond the building into the required re yard the building itself we're proposing does meet the minimum rear yard setback we have a 30 fo 8 in uh rear yard setback to the building line where 30 ft's um required what doesn't mean is that we're actually proposing a deck which by definition it it's part of the fire escape but it really um it extends to the ground so that's where the rear yard setback comes in because that's where the rear yard setback has to be measured from so what we're asking for there is 24.7 ft to the edge of that that deck which is essentially and when you view it really part of the fire escape that we're asking for um the fire escape itself extends uh I believe it's 5' 8 in from from the rear of the building so about um 8 in um Beyond what's permitted into the required re yard so it's very minor it's really just to provide a little bit more space and some separation between the actual fire escape and the building um we're also asking for a variance for the projection of the stairs into the rear yard um from our ground floor um you could kind of see it here we have a landing and then stairs that go into the rear yard um there is a slight um I would say pretty significant um topographic trffic grade change in the back there so the stairs are really required to provide for that access into the rear yard um and then to provide a little bit of a landing space um that's that's where the variance comes in so we're asking for um 10 10t 10.8 ft where uh four FTS permitted to encroach into the rear yard um I believe the last uh variant we have is for the balcony um this aligns with the fire escape it IT projects from the third floor here and you can see it's it's not attached at all to the fire escape so by definition that's a balcony and again we're we're exceeding that by approximately 8 in into the the required uh rear yard setback area I think overall all these variances can be granted pursuant to the flexible C2 standard where the um benefits would substantially outweigh the detriment here um overall I think the project does promote the purposes of the municipal land use law I think we continue to be in appropriate use and development of the property consistent with purpose a um as I stated we're maintaining the density um which is an appropriate density for the building consistent with purpose e and I think we are providing adequate um setbacks and and we're meeting the coverage standard um consistent with purpose C at the municipal land use law um I don't see any substantial detriments to the general welfare here I think we're actually promoting it um we're improving some of the conditions on the property including the existing non-conforming front yard coverage um I did have a chance to visit the site in almost entirely impervious concrete area so we are adding pretty significant Landscaping as well as one street tree um which I think will be a nice addition to the to the streetscape um increasing the size of the the bedrooms um to meet modern building codes I think also um is a positive here um given the history of the site an unfortunate fire that happened here I think meeting all modern a building codes is a is great aspect of this project um likewise I don't see a substantial impairment to the uh Zone plan or zoning ordinance I think we meet the purposes of the R1 District as well as the purposes of the master plan um with that I would say the project meets both the positive and negative criteria um and that would conclude my direct testimony unless the board has any questions uh anyone from the public have comments [Music] ra your right you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth truth yes Christopher L 210 Hancock Avenue L A L L O um I have a driveway uh sh Tom you have it okay you have two minutes I have a driveway on the South Side I believe um and there's an Alleyway on two on 212 uh my understanding is that you need to keep that 3T margin for an Alleyway is that correct my understanding is that you want to expand 2 feet and take away so how would how are the people getting from the fire escape and from the backyard how are they going to get to the front of the house if they don't have an Alleyway I have also have an adjacent fence there on my property line that I want protected and if they're going to do any construction if they could put any type of barrier sheet barrier to prevent uh nails and Etc going into my driveway so cuz I'm always accessing my driveway I have garages in the back I'd like to um the architect back up to just answer the one question and then of course uh we could put that as a condition the barrier and so forth to make sure because I know that that can be a real problem you know yeah I got a nail on my tire the other day you know so and how far back you plan on hang on hang on let me have him address that one question sure so the existing you can see it on the front page the existing your name again Colin MC Arnell can we get access to this sure as yeah um that's my land right so the existing Alleyway you can see here we have this fence here and this so This setback already is 2.2 feet we're just um proposing to maintain that same setback so nothing would really change spacewise it's the same same as it just a little bit further back I just want to be clear you're not encroaching onto that no okay no so you're you're going deep as opposed to width correct and how far how far so from that side we are going back 19 ft and then 7 feet from from this other side can you bring up that backyard picture again please sure it's going to match this it's doesn't quite go as far as this this your house the side of your house correct so it's matching the adjacent uh it's matching almost this would be the north side right sorry correct repeat the question uh this house would be the north side that you were referring to corre correct okay so I'm imagining that you're just you're going to extend the house to equal with the house on the north side correct not quite as far but almost it's a little less in that house uh what about all the the grass that's so where the building is is going to be building but we're proposing grass as much as we can we'll have a little walkway but we're conforming with the impervious coverages is someone going to trim that because the the weeds are all along the fence and what I I would assume I think that absolutely but that's because I think the building's been uh you know yeah empty for so long so I mean I on the record the architect has said that there will be Landscaping you know and improvements to the back to make it look better and a tree will be planted in the front is that correct yeah that was on the record I have a question too you have to be swor in okay you raise your right hand do you swear or affirm the testimony your proceeding will be the truth yes truth and nothing but the truth yes you your full name and provide your my name is Carlos Sanchez I from 214 I just woring about the um deck in the back they going to have a deck balcony balcony yeah just a small balcony how how small is because and then then I don't know what kind of neighbor we know you um um tenants we're going to have my window is next almost to the house some people they like to hang out outside and really nobody like to have a noise I'm the middle of the night or in the morning we can't control who's that's why I say you know how is that you know so it's going control that yeah but the AR attorney um Mr Sanchez um the city does have a noise ordinance this on um and I believe there is a deum l i don't know off the top of my head but this this is separate from any land user zoning conations um the city does regulate noises a nuisance I already have experence with this house before it's they have ATT tenant and they have a party every Friday Saturday and Sunday I think on the record it's 6 by6 so I don't know how many people are going to party on that deck but 6x6 is 6x6 is a good side to be four people at a side four people yes we we talking about six six like okay any any more questions oh that's that that's my Waring about you know balcony okay that they they'll answer it um anybody want to answer the question about the the party on the deck and I mean it's pretty uh you know simple answer and when would Christopher Lo again uh when would the con construction begin um it's tough to say but you know if this board approves the matter then it has to go to the building department uh you know and show the plans to the building department and then when the permits are issued then the construction will commence and the front of the house is a driveway or no you can plant trees right sorry what was your question uh the front of the house what are your plans for the front of house tree just some Landscaping yes and no no parking there's just going to be this is all concrete right now and we're just proposing a landscaping you can see out to the front also this is just low going to keep it empty as is yeah it's empty yeah the front won't change we're just proposing you know Landscaping along the front just to get rid of some of the concrete that's there so it's not 100% covered just want to make sure that my fence doesn't get destroyed in the process no no that that wouldn't cuz uh it's right on the the property there yeah any more question that's my any other um comments from the public you object the building extending or not oh no they extending they going not cover this just the that's a like I see that it's like they're going to cover this part over here to make another yeah they come out toward your house right that's this is all off the Record is it not no conversations going on like this okay okay thank you uh questions from the board we're just going to send this gentleman a set of the prints uh you know architectural points you know hard copy not a not a just it just seems like um actually nice hearing the Neighbors come out and with concern of your properties next door um but most of the issues that you brought up obviously a concerning but really are issues that occur after the fact like the noise ordinances and things like that but it is going to be in a record obviously as conditions as they mentioned before so I you know thank you for that but you know this is like right now we talking about this but later on with everything is R Construction and then who you call this person he never answered I have a the house was on fire it was never clean on the top the roof they break my wind shelf I had to I had to report to my insuring I have a I have a a recording that piece of uh wood come from the roof we never answer about that so what's going on when everything is ready who you had to call well it certainly seems like now you'll have at least from what we could tell a better house next door a better project and hopefully we more than likely better tenants so you know at least everything would indicate that we talking about this that going to happen well we'll hope so I hope so Mr B yeah yeah gentlemen you're done yeah okay all right uh that concludes our presentation and um I think the only thing we revealed is that someone could be on a deck you know being loud and again there are no noise ordinances to prevent that or at least provide a remedy and if I'm not invited then probably won't be that loud so yeah how about from staff let's here um certainly thank you Council um so before I get into my staff report um I just want to note and put on the record that um perr balconies are an allowed feature in the R1 Neighborhood Housing District um a 5ft balcony would be allowed as of right um in this case we have a 6-ft balcony because it's integrated with the fire escape um but that's a Dom Minimus difference and functionally it'll be a very similar balcony um which is an as of right allowed feature on buildings here um so staff filed a report dated August 1st 2024 um and much of the content of this report um really just substantiates um Mr Bell bam testimony regarding the suitability the variances and the um um and greatly outweighing the detriment involved um as mentioned before this application had previously applied for a D5 variance for density um it was determined that as the structure is being expanded as opposed to demolished and rebuilt um the pre-existing density of 52.3 units per acre which works out to a three-unit building here um is is grandfathered and so um they are allowed that 3unit use as of right without a variance um this is a somewhat of a change from the way we previously our zoning previously interacted with sites like these um previously when we had a hard cap of two units um that would be a distinct use from three or more units which is under New Jersey's Municipal annus law called a multif family use and previously you would need what's called a D2 use variance um D1 excuse me thank you Francisco um for expanding a non-conforming use but because now that multif family is an explicitly allowed use in the R1 uh Neighborhood Housing District um there is no use variance here and the density is grandfathered so the only variances at hand are the 5c variances mentioned um staff supports the granting of these variances and uh with that I would just like to note um uh staff is recommending several conditions related to this approval so there are five conditions laid out in my memo um related to keeping testimony binding addressing or complying with all comments from Municipal review agents um keeping the material and color selections as shown in these plans um as accurate and providing an affida from the architect a record um that the constructed project is consistent with the final approved plans and of course that all Street Trees and Landscaping complies with our Jersey City forestry standards additionally um I believe um uh Mr Burke expressed interest in adding a condition related to um um installing during construction installing some sort of barriers or other features to minimize the potential for Det from the construction site to find its way into adjacent properties um so um I'm recommending that as a sixth condition the applicant agrees to those conditions um and with that um Commissioners if you have any questions I'm all ears may I have a motion I would like to make a motion case 22413 with condition I second it all right taking roll commissioner shadid yes commissioner zi yes commissioner Patel yes commissioner Burns yes and acting chair Allen yes motion carries 5- Z all thank you chairman and board welcome next case next case is z20 24-28 minor site plan with c and d variances the address is 53 Bergen Avenue the attorney is Ronald sh shaan did I get it right yes perfectly which is very unusual I might add Mr Shan we do have your notices for this case your affidavit proof of service notice of publication so Bridget will Mark that as A1 for this application thank you Mr Le Point number one point number two you do have a d variance and we only have five Commissioners uh so the D variance is so minimal that we're going to go with the five Commissioners uh the reason for the D Varian is this is a reuse of an existing Bank building M and the use of the second floor as uh I guess other than storage required Ires a d variance and that's why planning suggested that we file for a d variance and that's why we're here um before uh we begin I just like to say that um my client is uh the new city kids church and uh I've been representing them for about 20 years when we started uh they they had a facility on monacello and Fairmount and ever since then they've evolved and now they've come into possession of this beautiful Bank building that Provident was so gracious enough to donate to them and um they're going to turn this into something that's going to be absolutely beautiful so instead of my giving any more opening re remarks I have something that I'd like to present to you and it'll just take a couple minutes and you'll better understand what we do this is Sean Hopkins he's the director of new city kids what's that oh no you don't Mark you me no no Urban poverty is putting a generation of Youth at risk violence drugs lack of higher education and abuses of all kinds are rampant in poor urban areas across the US children from first to 12th grade face great obstacles every day can I just living in poverty puts there seems to be a delay sorry you want to time out so we can uh go off the record for a moment oh okay I think we be good I apologize I'm just going to push only 9% of lowincome students will graduate college by 24 but there is hope new city kids breaks the cycle of poty you challenged to see themselves as leaders and change makers charting A New Path both for themselves and for the children who look up to them new city kids creates a community like no other through a network of after school programs in urban communities these centers serve children from first to 8th grade fostering an environment where young people are loved seeing not as the problem but the solution we hire local high school students to teach music and tutor younger children after school we train our students Mentor them Tut them and pray for them every day the results Amaze everyone our teams find themselves surrounded by Ling in a safe and creative environment and they flourish their grades improve they gain self-confidence and joy this new community filled with music and fun creates a window to a brighter future new city kids impacts high school students profoundly every senior we have employed in the past eight years has graduated high school and gone to college and 90% of new city kids alumni have earned a degree or are on tractor graduate new city kid lives families and communities join us today let's Empower a generation of Youth to break the cycle of poverty and make their cities [Music] new that's who we are I'd like to call as a first witness uh the associate director of new city kids I've uh instructed him to only speak for one minute just to describe the program and really why we're here David do you swear or affirm the testimony you're to this proceeding truth yes yep David Carman d a v d c a r m n t my other job is a pastor so one minute really means five but I'll keep it to one I promise um the video was a little glitchy but I'll give it to you in a nutshell we employ uh over 100 high schoolers this past year we have another 90 that we're going to be sorry employ we employ over 90 high schoolers this upcoming year another 20 to 30 that volunteer so we're talking about 120 youth that are served and they help us run three after school programs for first to eighth grade students so we're serving hundreds of kids every single day uh through music through tutoring um and our teen life intern ship is our lifeblood and so this building project is going to be a space for them uh it'll will offer lowcost music lessons to kids in the community it'll be a teen uh Lounge for them with a kitchen uh and amenities and most importantly it'll have a basketball court area and a Performing Art Space so our teens can hang out shoot hoops as well as perform for performances um but my main purpose of why I'm sharing is that we are on a critical deadline uh we have a funer the Simon Foundation that's sunsetting uh and so we have to hit a deadline of December otherwise we're going to lose out on a half a million dollars of funding for our building project and as a nonprofit We fundraise everything we have and so we don't just have another half a million dollars that we can get uh through Investments or things like that and so for us getting your approval here tonight as well as the building Department's approval is critical uh to help serve the Youth of Jersey City and to really be a safe haven for many of our high schoolers and I'll just close with this we target our lowest performing high schools in Jersey City and so we we look at Lincoln Snyder Dickinson um as as the places where we want to hire Our Youth and make sure that not only is High School uh complete for them but they have a trajectory to college and a career ahead of that uh 75% of our youth are first gen College Bound students when they graduate I hope I hit a minute but that's all I have to sh you just a little bit under all right appreciate it okay um our first witness is Mike Higgins the architect Mike is going to put a exhibit on the board and explain what we're trying to doy proedu yes Michael Higgins m i c h a l hi i g g i ns I don't believe I've testified before the zoning board before so I was at the planning board here Tuesday night and I've testified before zoning boards and planning boards throughout New Jersey I'm a licensed architect it's active in New Jersey I'm the managing principal of MHS architecture uh where I've been for over 30 years accept thank you nice to see nice to see you all um okay so this is uh I have a slide deck that's included in the submission package for that we've submitted uh this building is uh 533 Bergen AV it's formerly The Provident Bank building uh it's a historic building um at the corner of Harrison and uh bergena um we are essentially just renovating the entire interior to make it function for the new city kids program these are some uh the slid is this the current uh condition of the building the exterior wise will be changing the windows putting a new roof making sure the building is watertight uh repairing some of the brick and putting an entrance uh on the Harrison Street side so that people aren't entering through the front door which was on Bergen which is busier and also it wasn't handicap accessible go to the let's see here okay next slide this is a demolition page that just shows the walls it's going to be basically a full gut renovation to bring everything up to code and um make it fully handicap accessible these plans show the ground floor uh the basement and also the second floor the second floor is just a partial floor um and let me just go through some of the things that we've noted as deviations uh so this a existing two-story building with a basement it's approximately 33 feet uh9 ft a building height the site itself is 6458 square ft it's roughly 51 by 126 the lock coverage currently was uh or proposed is 86.6% it's an additional 1.3% for this just lost the page for this sidewalk that we've added for accessibility to the to the uh back area and also to the lower level of the basement so it's just a small little increase in a sidewalk width now is that is that a deviation of a variance that we need it's not a variance it's just a change in the loot coverage okay yep the variances here that we're asking for is the use variance for the second floor space and then also I think there's a existing minimum front yard deviation but it's an existing building it just doesn't conform with what the requirements are and then there was a signage deviation so I should actually go back to the first page just to show you the sign we're talking about on the front of the building there's sort of it's a stone facade and if you see there's an engraved sort of sign that says something like Provident institution Savings Bank it's a nice historical element of the building we'd like to keep that but it exceeds the signage requirement there is a new sign proposed that I'll show you in the documents very small sign that does conform to the requirements um and but this sign is just there we prefer not to remove it it brings in some of the historical character the the plan includes at the ground floor I'll walk you through the entrance this is the entrance off Harrison there's a small vestibule Reception Area an existing bathroom uh there's a storage in the previous uh vault Vault and then you have the ground floor large Bank space where the teller stations were which is all being removed but the uh we have a halfcourt basketball and an area for performance sort of a multi-purpose Recreation space for the for the kids uh we're also adding an elevator to provide handicap accessible uh path of travel to the second floor and the ground floor and the basement uh there is also a handicap accessible bathroom on this ground floor and you see at the rear yard there's the new emergency exit and uh that additional sidewalk that increased the lock coverage a small percentage go to the next page oh the basement so this is the basement plan the basement is uh 3,968 Square ft down in this basement we have four music rooms uh accessible bathrooms and a small storage area including some mechanical equipment we'll be doing some improvements to the basement for um you know ventilation and other things to bring it up to code and also some waterproof treatment and cleaning out the drains all the basic stuff required this uh space is access from that stair and there's also a rear exit for emergency purposes only uh that takes you back out to that sidewalk where the new uh uh sidewalk was in the rear yard the second floor is just a partial space and it's going to house a ba break room and an office for the staff it'll also have uh an accessible bathroom up there a a little small mechanical room and is that what triggered the D variant yes and that's the space we're talking about this space I'll Zoom it in a little bit so you can see it um but it's an existing uh mezzanine platform that the bank used for as a storage area uh but for this program they need a small office and a breake area for the staff a little kitchenet uh not real high occupancy I'll go to the elevations next so existing everything on the elevation is going to remain the new door is being put in this location uh on Harrison um again so that it can be an ex accessible entrance there'll be a small sign there that confirms the signage I have some details on the sign let me just get to that okay so this is just named after the donor and it's a small conforming sign that'll be just above the door in the transom panel the windows will be replaced um there'll be some improvement to the waterproofing of the exterior uh recoding the uh base there had been a blue coating on the base of the building that'll be something that's a paint new finished coating that sort of matches the stone color like a limestone type of color um new windows will have black frames um and everything else will just be existing repaired to to match the existing building that's the intent okay I think that concludes my testimony thank you very much anyone have any questions of the architect okay okay Mr Bellamy um hello again for the record Samuel Bellamy and I do recognize I'm still on their oath B walk us through the justification for the D variance and whatever C variances are Trigg sure so this property is located within the R3 uh multi-unit midrise District in the city um we are asking for the D1 use variance with this application um as testified to it's it's really related to that mezanine level where um the community center use actually falls within the retail services and office category within the city um and that's not permitted above the ground floor so that's that's what's triggering the D1 use variants um we're also asking for a bulk C variant for the impervious lock coverage um just to clarify Mr Higgins previous testimony there's a slight increase to an existing non-conforming condition there so that slight increase triggers a new C variance request um with related to the signage and front yard setback there there's no changes to those ex existing non-conforming use um non-conforming bolk conditions so we don't believe we need new variances for those as we're not intensifying those previous conditions at all um with respect to the use variance um so as I testified too it's it's related to the small mezanine level um of the building which is approximately 40% of the Interior area um as you could see from the the prior um side elevations that were up it's the building itself really appears as a one-story building um so unless you're interior to the building you really don't realize it's it's two stories with that mezanine level um government uses are permitted use with the within the zone and they're actually permitted on all all floors um within that that definition of a government use includes community centers um but it's related to public community centers so since this is actually a private um private ownership of of the non uh nonprofit Community Center use it doesn't fall within that category so it's really a technical um use variance that that we're asking for um so I think from from a zoning and use perspective it's really in line with what the zoning calls for here um you heard where adaptly reusing the existing Bank building that also was a pre-existing non-conforming use where it also had that mesing level with offices retail so you know we're we're going from essentially the the same similar condition um but I think we're bringing into more Community aspect by providing the community center use um within the building I think overall the site is particularly well suited um for the community center use um the the project site itself is located along Bergen Avenue with which is a mixed use Corridor within the city so I think providing Community Center use is a nice aspect and kind of a different mix of use um that could be enjoyed by the uh surrounding area um with respect to the bulk C variants that we're asking for it's a 1.3% increase um that increases it the overall coverage to 88.6% um 80% the max that's permitted again that increase is really related to the rear yard area the sidewalks retaining wall that's going to be uh implemented to meet all Ada access to the the rear yard and and cell levels of the building um to kind of mitigate that increase we are adding four new new Street trees along the streetscape in addition to the trees that some of the trees that are already out there um and those uh also tree pit areas that kind of manages storm water um themselves um the project is consistent with the uh Municipal land use law again I think it is an appropriate use and development of the site as a community center use um I think it is an appropriate location and appropriate size property and and building for the community center use consisting with purpose G I think by adaptably reusing this uh currently vacant building bringing it back to life on a no problem by ad reusing reusing this uh existing Bank building for Community Center use um on a prominent corner on on bargain Avenue I think it's it's appropriate location consistent with purpose G um the the C variance as I testified to I think the benefits there would substantially outweigh the detriment um with respect to the negative criteria I don't see any substantial detriment to the general welfare here um again this this community center use is going to be uh available for after school and summer programming for local youth I think you heard the story and I I think that does have a tremendous positive impact on the area um I don't see a substantial impairment to the intent and purpose of the Zone plan or zoning ordinance I think it's consistent with the master plan with respect to upgrading Community facilities adding Community facilities to the area um while also adaptively reing a existing building um overall I think both the positive and negative criteria have been met again I think the site is particularly well suited for the for the use and that the benefits would substantially outweigh the detriments here um with that that would conclude my direct testimony um unless you have any questions for MEK any questions from the board okay that that would be it um we will open up the public comment anyone from the public have any comments that concludes uh our case Mr chairman okay so I'm assuming the public is here in support yes yes yes they [Laughter] are they want to go home early too get all their names no all right um staff recommendations in addition to the applicants testimony I would like to say that the proposed use is according to the Jersey City master plan identified alongside a neighborhood Corridor and a neighborhood Corridor is defined as a corridor with some mixed use character with higher densities compared to neighboring streets this is evident on the street and on the uh block where the site is located on itself and so it will strengthen the character of a neighborhood Corridor in addition to that the purpose of the district is to provide a broad range of multi-unit housing in areas served by arterial streets mass transit neighborhood commercial uses and Community facilities given that this is a youth Community Center it will further the goal of this District too and so planning staff does recomend amend approval of this application under the conditions outlined in the planning memo dated August 5th 2024 I have a copy of that report and the applicant agrees to be bound by the conditions set forth in the August 5th 2024 report um may I have a motion on a motion to approve I'll second it on a motion to approve commissioner zisy I want to say that uh it's always great to see um a corner property be turned into something uh so good because it does as she said set up neighborhoods in different directions not just Bergen Avenue now it sets up the rest of the block but obviously um the use that you guys have there I think uh makes it even better so obviously I vote Yes commissioner shadid yes I would like to add to my but I have the pleasure attending one of the after school session in school number 11 in 19 2018 around that and I really enjoyed it very much I'm suppor of the program it's going to add a lot to the area and the area especially around that area inun commun is very crowded and many many immigrants will really benefit from that session so good luck my best wishes and yes commissioner Patel yes commissioner Burns i' just like to say it's a beautiful building it's a great program and I wish you all the best welcome to the neighborhood of course it's a yes an acting chair Allan um I'm so happy for you guys um I wish you the best the project looks good I'm a yes motion carries all in favor thank you I would I I just have a silly question is there still a vault in there a lot of these old banks have these old vaults they're really kind of cool oh wow okay well we we have to write a condition and if they find any money they have to split it with the ball just ready to say we better go through that hopefully no people in it but yeah it's underneath the uh Francis congratulations any uh resolutions to be memorialized yes we have five okay yep no yeah these first two resolutions uh these cases were heard on July 11th and present on July 11th were chair person coil Commissioners aoo Burns Allen Baron and shadid both of these cases that I'm about to say pass Six in favor none opposed so the first case is z 2024 d36 Angela and Michael last name is j a i k i SS o o n jackone it's uh 294 296 Union Street it was an application for an extension which was granted six in favor none opposed all in favor of memorializing that I I next case was also an application for an extension of time and again same six Commissioners same six in favor none opposed and it was z202 24-35 the applicant was was farhead beIN that's b h i n the address was 297 street again an application for an extension that pass Six in favor none opposed all in favor of memorializing that is I I and the next three cases were heard on July 25th on July 25th the uh chairperson was Sonia aroyo and the Commissioners were Bole shadid Baron zii and Allen all three of the three of these cases uh passed six in favor none opposed and the first case was z22 D 069 it was a preliminary and final major s plan approval with variances the applicant was mudra ventes LLC and the address was 59 montros Avenue and again that pass Six in favor none opposed all in favor of approving that is I I I and the next case again July 25th same six Commissioners same six votes six in favor none opposed the case was Z 224-688-1987 19 Bergen Avenue all in favor of approving that is I I I and again next case July 25th same six Commissioners same six in favor none opposed case z 2024 D 0037 and amended preliminary and final major site plan approval submitted by John and Maryanne LLC for 3443 Kennedy Boulevard all in favor of memorializing that is I I I and that concludes everything for this evening as far as the resolutions no other business right Francisco no just another reminder that the meeting for the September 12th is cancelled great so we'll move to close make a motion to close all in favor second second meeting the Jour thank you