The City Council is TWO votes away from approving 12, 14 AND 16 Story Buildings!
On February 18th, The Hoboken City Council introduced a ordinance to approve a Western Edge Redevelopment Plan for the western edge of Hoboken near ShopRite. The Redevelopment Plan is the document which would create new zoning for the area (as shown below). The existing zoning allows for office, manufacturing, research labs, warehouses, factory outlets and commercial and public parking facilities. The maximum height for buildings is four stories. Under the proposed Redevelopment Plan, the zoning would be substantially changed to predominately multifamily residential condos with a small amount of corner retail. The maximum building height would be increased to 16 stories. Although the plan was not posted on the city’s website as 2/27/2009 (UPDATE: This is still the case as of 3/10/09), the administration is attempting to quickly pass this wide-reaching plan which will add as many as 1000 new condos and 3000 new residents to Hoboken.
The plan calls for 3 buildings with heights of 12, 14 and 16 stories.
The next step in the process is a vote by the council on a resolution to send the Redevelopment Plan to the planning board for review, which is expected to happen at an upcoming City Council meeting. If this vote If this vote passes, it will be extremely difficult for the council shift directions away from this flawed plan. Once the planning board signs off on the plan, the plan will go back to the city council for a final vote for approval.
Area of the Redevelopment Plan (between 9th and 14th Street; Monroe & Madison)
Building Zone 1- The maximum height permitted is 12 stories (120 feet).
Building Zone 2- The maximum height permitted is 14 stories (140 feet).
Building Zone 3- The maximum height permitted is 16 stories (160 feet).
You can read the plan in the Documents section. Draft 2 is the version up for vote.
Development is not a bad thing for Hoboken when it is handled carefully and with the current residents in mind. However, the plan before the Council incorporates little to none of what residents asked for and it is full of unanswered questions about how infrastructure and services will be modified to accommodate this level of population and traffic growth. For more see: Unanswered Questions.
