##VIDEO ID:jb4aPNEBwds## I pledge allegiance to the flag United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible Li and justice for all thank you could we have a sunshine announcement please cam yes chairman good evening everyone today is Tuesday February 4th in the year 2025 this is a special Jersey City planning board meeting with a scheduled 5:30 p.m. start time and in accordance with the open public meetings act notice of this meeting has been given to the editor the Jersey journal the Jersey City Reporter and posted with the city clerk on January 31st of 2025 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 okay thank you could we have a roll call please yes chairman commissioner gangan here councilwoman priner here commissioner Torres commissioner Dr Desai and chairman Langston here all right we have five Commissioners present we have a quorum okay thank you uh could we swear in the staff please Mike I see the I see I see ER be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yesk all right thank you do we have correspondence cam yes chairman um we received correspondence with Stephen Joseph today regarding item 14 14 on the agenda and they have requested to carry to the next available meeting that the board finds suitable for them okay um obviously not the 11th so do so chairman my position regarding this application is we've carried this matter now multiple times and the reason we've been carrying the matter is because the applicant is attempting to get some uh documentation that they need to get in order to move forward with their application that being said uh would be my recommendation to the board and to staff that this get put on for the late February meeting or early March meeting so to preserve their notice and then at that time if everything is not in order and ready to proceed then I think they're going to have to R notice for a hearing date in the future uh I I think that that's the best way to proceed chairman okay Cam I'm comfortable with um March 11th okay so item 14 on the agenda will be carried with preservation of notice to March 11th okay thank you and that concludes correspondence okay thank you Cam so let's get into Old business item a is case p202 4 -221 is a one-year extension for 352 Marin Boulevard good evening Council uh good evening Commissioners and staff counsel uh my name is James mccan from the law firm of conell Foley in Jersey City I'm here on behalf of the applicant uh 352 Marin LLC um this is indeed an application for a um one-year extension of an existing preliminary site plan approval that was previously granted to block 11506 and 11509 uh lot one 10121 and three it's in the PowerHouse Arts District Redevelopment plan I'll just note uh for the board that the applicant did apply for a two-year extension after conversations with um Mr Ward from planning board staff we will Ex we we're fine with a one-year extension if the board is willing to grant us that extension as you know this is the final phase of provos square which is um very long very complicated and very detailed project of a thousand units um there's a theater art rated space that's presently um being dedicated to the city of Jersey City we've been working very hard on that hence the the application for one one more extension one for a one-year extension exension okay anybody any questions okay is there anybody here from the public that wants to comment anyone from public chair see no one from the public I wish to close the public portion second okay motion is made and second Matt anything yeah staff prepared a memo we dated it uh January 24th uh 2025 um in it we recommend three conditions uh to go along with this uh extension I just would ask if the uh Mr mccan has reviewed the the memo um and would agree to those conditions I've reviewed the memo dated uh January 24th 20 25 and on behalf of the applicant I agree to all three of the conditions y so staff uh views this fourth phase as crucial uh component of this four-phase project it's a mixed use midrise building comprised of 100% Workforce housing 32 units in total staff recommends approval okay thank you so I'll entertain a motion chair like to make a motion to approve case p2024 d221 as presented to the board together with staff conditions recommendation conditions second okay we have a motion and a second for approval acting Vice chair Kon I councilman preri I commissioner Torres I commissioner Dr Desai I and chairman linkston I motion carries all in favor okay thank you thank you Council sure we'll see you later uh okay I am going to move uh one item up real quick item 10 under new business is case p2024 d179 for a minor subdivision uh 32 Waverly Street good evening Council thank you chairman um this is Eugene oconnell appearing for the applicant wavely Street and this is a notice requirement so I have the notices thank you Council chairman I going re see the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing with respect to the application at 34 w Street 32 they say 34 you did 32 sorry does appear to be in order council is it 32 or 34 it's a there to address is 32 and 34 okay so for purposes of the record it is block 5802 lot 42 that's correct okay Mr chairman the notice follows 34 as being the address on the tax list which is why I said 34 but apparently it is 32-34 Waverly Street but it does appear to be an autogram Mark is A1 for the record okay thank you Council all right thank you very much U so this is an application for minor subdivision we're relying on the filed map with the application it is for 3234 Waverly Street lot 42 block 582 this is a vacant lot located on the north side of Waverly Street between Baldwin Avenue and palade Avenue the lot is 50 by 100 and we're going to create two lots 25 by 100 uh we will remove the existing driveway that is on the Block right now and we will use a shared driveway for the new homes that are built okay shared curb cut shared curb cut Shar curb cut Council shared Cur yes shared 10ft driveway we share share for the two as there's an existing curb cut that we're going to remove put a curb cut in the middle of the two lots to be shared by both properties Shar by both Lots okay any questions anyone no okay thank you Council you is there anybody here from the public that wants to comment anyone from public jery no one from the public I would like to close the public portion second okay motion is made as second it public is closed uh gen anything um I would just ask the applicant to agree to the conditions in the stth report yes we reviewed the amendment we agree to the conditions oh we St St recommend approval okay thank you chair i' like to make a motion to approve case speed 2024 0179 has presented to the board together with staff recommendation and conditions second okay a motion and a second for approval commissioner Dr Desai I I commissioner gon I commissioner Tes I councilwoman princei I chairman linston hi motion carries all in favor okay thank you counil thanks again for scheduling the special meeting appreciate it no worries thank you okay let's move uh back to item nine is case p2023 d005 I'm sorry 55 for a preliminary and final major site plan Amendment with C variances okay uh thank you uh Mr chairman for the record Charles Harington of conell Foley on behalf of the applicant this is a notice case so I want to provide these to councel thank you Council chairman I receive the affidavit and O proof publication for 326 to 328 Johnson Avenue here in the city it's block 17505 Lots 10 and 11 chairman it does appear that the notice is in order we're going to mark it as A1 for purposes of the record thank you Council okay thank you so uh the application before you tonight is for preliminary and final major site plane and we we we are requesting two deviations um for the minimum setback from the fifth and sixth floor for Corner lots and for deviation for uh with regard to the the the feat and the number of stories because we're asking for six stories and we're asking for a c variance with regard to height now a little history on on the the property and that what's before you tonight uh has been before this board in the past um my client is the owner of the property he's also the designated redeveloper of the property by the jcra uh there was a prior approval for five stories uh for this property it's at the corner of Pine Street and Johnston there's a lot of development that's already been completed on that uh tax block and this is probably one of the last new developments to go up um so uh we're coming back uh to to request the um the deviations uh it does take take um into consideration a bonus provision in the Morris Canal um so as part of this application there's 30 units but three will be uh affordable units and uh we will uh we've already have the checklist with the division of affordable housing and that will be an agreement that would be entered into with them uh with regard to the uh affordable housing and we do have an existing Redevelopment agreement in place with the jcra so with that said I have uh two uh Witnesses tonight um our architect Mr Patel and in Charles height to address the requested uh deviations okay thank you Council [Music] setting up got it yes I do avard Patel a a v a r t p a t e l Mr Patel good evening we've qualified you in the past is your license current tonight yes it is okay thank you you're qualified okay Mr pel take it way all right um going to quickly go through these sorry if you could for one second cam do we have are we okay with commissioner lipsky on this application 87 right no no we're not there yet okay what that's not on tonight Santa we haven't taken expert testimony yet yet we're about to start so okay so if we could let's let the record show that commissioner lipsky is here and is able to vote on this application just in time Steve no testimony taken yet we've just sworn the witness and we are about to begin testimony on the application Council as always as we go through any slides I see that this is a seven deck slide I don't know if any of this uh is going to need to be marked but if it does you want mark it as as A2 record just in the event anything is different from what was submitted okay so A2 is the 7 deck slideshow presentation and you'll submit all seven decks s slides after the hearing yep thank you okay thank you Mr patella go ahead um the site is located at the uh corner of Pine Street in Johnston um site is 50 ft along Johnston and 95 ft along Pine Street uh total about uh 4750 Square ft um going to quickly move to the first floor plan um the main entry or the residential Lobby is uh access through the Johnson Street uh there's a retail of about 1,000 square ft uh uh at the corner of the um the building the front corner uh and then um um building support spaces sprinkler room um you know trash room um along with the two staircase and elevator as well as a um a small gymnasium um supporting the the residential units above um we are proposing uh two parking spots um one of them uh being accessible parking and that would be uh dedicated for the for the retail use can I move to the second floor plan um uh the the units are are stacking from uh um second to fourth level uh fifth level is a little different so I'm going to quickly go over the uh the typical floor plans uh each uh uh level have uh uh seven units uh uh there are one bedroom starting from uh about 450 ft to uh to about 600 ft uh and and then there are three Studios proposed uh uh they're about 420 ft to um 4 410 to about 460 uh Square ft in total um the the two staircases with the the flank with the uh with the oliv in the middle and a and a trash shot is what the the typical circulation quor uh contains and uh uh the the units are are stacking from as I said from uh second to the fourth level um fifth level there is a uh there's a change in the in the middle of the building where there three Studios were uh this level has a one three-bedroom unit which is required as a uh as part of the affordable program uh and then uh um one-bedroom units and then uh the corner units uh uh uh towards the front and the back of the building would be uh like a duplex units um they are two bedroom two bath uh and uh ranging from about uh uh 950 ft to uh about 1180 Square ft um going to quickly go to the sixth floor um again the corner uh units as I said they're duplex unit so that's uh continuing over here and then the rest uh uh uh units are again one bedroom uh ranging from about 460 to uh 800 square ft uh um and then uh there is a amenity uh rooftop ameni is proposed um as both staircases come up there's a small vestile uh giving handicap access to the rooftop area uh the roof deck itself is about uh 1600 square ft um which which will be occupied roof and then the rest would be uh dedicated to the equipment and uh some of the green components as required part as part of the the development um about the uh the staircase and the uh elevator bulkhead uh there is a uh roof that would be a green roof as well um as required by by um the storw Water Management standards going to quickly move through the uh building elevations and and their materials um this elevation is along the Johnston Street uh which is the front of the building um typical storefront at the bottom uh for the retail as well as the residential Lobby uh there will be a appropriate signage uh uh in conformance with the ordinance um and then uh overall the upper stories have uh uh two materials uh two material combination here um a part of the facade is a is a um brick um and then the rest would be uh vertical um uh siding system um going to quickly go to the elevation along the Pine Street which is uh also um uh major elevation uh uh that is also the the longer Frontage of the building and as you can see the this is the um storefront system as part of the the corner retail space and then uh the treatment on the upper stories is similar to the front facade where we have a um brick uh vertical siding and then uh some portion would be um horizontal hearty panel type siding um at the bottom along the first floor would be um masonry split face uh type of block um and uh the the two side doors are are access to the garage as well as the um utility spaces the the trash room and uh uh water meter sprinkler room uh the other two sides are are pretty um straightforward this is along the uh property line which is uh which would be covered with a uh with a Hardy uh horizontal siding uh and then this is the rear elevation which is uh uh set back from the proper line about 5 ft uh uh and we are able to provide the windows uh for the units and uh similar treatment here the Hardy siding will wrap around and towards the front corner it would be the vertical siding coming down to the um second floor level the first floor is uh uh parking which is going up to the uh up to the proper line so um that side would not be visible uh basically we we're proposing uh for material combo um the split face masonry block along the uh the uh retail or the first level commercial level um modular brick vineer um Brown uh redish round brick uh Hardy panel would be on a on a lighter color um as uh it's selected over here and then the vertical siding would be again a lighter color uh little contrast to the uh Hardy panel siding um I guess that's about it uh I'll answer any questions yeah okay anybody any questions uh how many bicycle RS you have uh so we are providing uh the bicycle uh rack are are located along the in the garage along the wall here uh they are Walmart RX and uh we are providing I believe it's uh uh 15 uh 15 bikes uh indoors and then there there are four bikes uh provided on the sidewalk as part of the sidewalk Improvement um I got a quick question just uh I'm trying to understand you have 30 units yes and you're only allowing two parking spots uh yes the parking spots are for retail uh uh retail use only not for the residential use so how does the Post that's just for the person that owns the retail spots correct that is not for the customer cuz the customer is not going to know there's a parking spot around the corner inside the building right yes and um what other purpose would that be for taking out garbage for taking out cuz it seems you're going to give up a parking spot Cove spot which would be one car we're going to let you have a CO spot just to gain one car that's a lot of a lot of stuff for just to have one extra car I mean um I so how would they move in would they be using that same facility that big open space that you I see there the garage to move in to get deliveries or stuff like that or no uh the the no the deliveries would be done uh directly from the outside but uh this is for um uh the commercials space you know if that becomes a um think we're pushing for someone from within the neighborhood would would occupy so uh they can have a access to the handicap parking okay okay so it's not dedicated only to the retail it could be available for rent sale something um I mean right now it's dedicated for retail but if let's say if they don't use it and uh if the ownership uh is willing to give it to a residential unit then that would be their discretion but the owner of the retail development yeah okay okay this thank you all right anybody else any questions all right thank you Mr Patel thank you okay then I'll proceed with Mr height with regard to the requested deviations we might they might want to up that's okay thank you back ton truth the TRU truth I do yes Charles height last name spelled h y DT Mr height good evening this is the first time we're seeing you you in February your license is current still it is current thank you very much okay thank you you're qualified okay um good evening board members um I will be appearing uh tonight as well as uh next week and I'm pretty sure in two weeks because just of the projects we're working on so it's always a pleasure um I'm going to jump right into the deviation requests uh needed um to reiterate we are in the to that's trans Transit oriented development so um being that we're near the the Liberty um Liberty Harbor Light Rail uh we have a lot of focus on decreasing automobile dependency encouraging higher levels of density uh and all in a walkable uh near mass transit uh environment so um I am pulling up the visual impact assessment that our office prepared um just to reiterate a couple points with respect to um the building height and rear yard setback uh deviation request so um the to North uh does allow for building Heights upwards of eight stories that's on larger properties 99,999 Square ft but uh on this property which is only 4,750 um we are taking advantage of what's the affordable housing bonus um section of of to which allows you greater stories of height and greater um densities than what would be the residential zoning requirements um so we are Mi use building that is a permitted use with the affordable housing you increase your permitted Building height to five stories 59 ft um part of our initial design was a was a taller structure than 59 ft uh we realized that we are in a flood plane so part of the revisions to this application had to deal with flood plane management with the D um flood proofing the lowest level uh and also making sure that our finished floor elevations of residential floors are above the flood plane uh in working with the Florida ceiling elevations of all the stories we are allowed to take advantage of the city's ordinance which increases the permitted height from 59 ft to 62 feet uh so we do comply with the feet but we were realizing with the predominantly commercial ground floor um we are able to accommodate a six story of residential um on that on that six story so I hope I didn't run through that too quickly but that's the detail and evolution of um this this application in terms of the design what is important to um reference is that in terms of impacts in the six story um they're kind of uh related so I'm going to draw your attention to what is the development of the adjacent property along Pine Street uh this is the eight story development on a lot greater than 9,000 sare ft this is our uh what what would be our rear yard or side yard um which again we're marrying a blank facade to the back of our building um the Redevelopment plan uh is doesn't allow for us to go up to eight stories um but again this is just contextual with respect to the zoning um in terms of the rear yard setback the new zoning ordinance requires a a rear yard Point um which is basically creating light and air interior to the block here we have a bit of a unique block given this structure is really the dominant structure on the Block um what we've done is created relief from the whole rear yard opposite um Johnston Avenue and created that 3 foot setback uh 3 fo2 in setback along this rear yard here so you can kind of see it from an aerial standpoint um that allows us ESS windows in the rear it doesn't meet the intent of the rear point uh rear yard setback point but we actually are generating more light and air in terms of 150 square feet additional above what would be required we're just spreading it along that rear yard so that was some of the design intent in terms of the the rear yard setback um and not having that uh setback on the fifth and sixth stories I spoke about the uh the building height um Building height deviation we are able to still accommodate a mix use ground floor um we are accommod we are meeting the intent of the affordable housing overlay uh this is the statement of principal points that we prepared um I can leave it up there's no issue with it um all that really amounts to the design of the project and how we're balancing development in the area the intent of the Redevelopment plan in terms of the benefits um in terms of the negative impacts um I don't see any impairment to the general welfare uh again we are in a TOD District uh this Redevelopment plan oddly requires commercial parking so we're meeting the minimum standards of commercial parking that's why we have the the off street parking there is no requirement for residential we're in a TOD environment so that's I guess that's an answer to one of the earlier questions um I do believe we're meeting the purposes of the Redevelopment plan and the ml um with respect to guiding appropriate development for development in a flood plane also uh allowing for um the inclusion of the pable housing bonus um we're an appropriate density for this area we are in a TOD so that's an establishment of appropriate population densities uh and we are providing a desirable visual environment with the facades of the building uh and the mixed use nature um again I think the biggest impact uh when you talk about setbacks and additional stories is on light and air to adjacent properties the visual impact assessment um did identify that the main impacts are going to be uh upon that eight-story blank wall that's going to be behind us so given that I don't see any substantial impacts from the relief needed um again I do think we're uh promoting the intent of the Redevelopment plan to provide for higher density mid-rise development and lower parking standards in proximity to uh the hudsen BG and Light Rail station in order to take advantage of the mass transit opportunities these are this is language from the Redevelopment plan um um so with that be happy to answer any questions um but I do think we tried to balance the application in terms of the relief needed all right thank you Mr height um I may have a question but Matt I want to go to you real quick certainly so on the parking yes those two spots are required for the retail space um under a strict reading of the Redevelopment plan correct okay um I mean it could certainly you know be deemed appropriate that you know I think um that the developer might want to ask for a variance for that especially if for a small retail space such as that but um there's additional context here in the sense that ground floor residential development is essentially um is invasible over here due to the height of the flood plane um and this is a reckoning we're going to have to have basically in the entire city east of Bergen H in the Palisades going forward um and um in you know given the restricted allowable uses um a small amount of parking um to provide for um loading for the retail space and the like especially um taking deliveries and the like is a fairly rational use uh understood it's um but if it's deemed appropriate for loading in the retail space I don't know that it should be allowed for residential use as well so Mr Patel's testimony was maybe the intent could be for that retail space owner or operator to possibly rent that space out to the public yeah I guess with regards to potentially flexing the parking over to the residential side um and the legality of that or lack thereof um um how do Council might have some clarification there how do we calculate the two Mr Height's testimony is under the Redevelopment plan that commercial space requires two parking spaces your testimony is that under a strict reading of the Redevelopment plan that's true I don't think the board's question is whether or not a variance could be granted as to the parking parking is being offered parking is being provided in conjunction with the commercial retail space the resolution is going to be conditioned on those spaces being in connection with the commercial retail space yes we the applicant would be okay if the condition also provided that in the event they wanted to use it for residential that we come back to the board or go to the planning division but they are specifically being offered to be used as part of the retail space but they have to be under the Redevelopment plan if I'm understanding correctly um so I have to confirm the square footage just to clarify that's my understanding of the the requirement uh so I can confirm if it's one required to provideed or two required to provideed in one second and I think that's important um so let me do that so it it is a scenario where uh based on the square footage of retail one is required and two are provided um just to clarify just trying to bring up the rate okay so so that'll be a condition of approval that it's in conjunction in conjunction with the commercial space that's what those spots are are used for okay yes okay anybody else any questions for Mr height all right thank you Mr height I appreciate it my pleasure thank you Council anything else uh no that completes our presentation okay is there anybody here from public that wants to comment on this application anyone from public seeing no one from the public wishing to speak CH I move to close second okay motion is made and executive public is closed Matt you have anything else you want to add um so planning staff um uploaded a memo dated October 17th 2024 um perhaps a testament to why this special meeting was necessary um with the project um in that memo it contained um a list of six conditions um and then in addition to the six conditions um it sounds like it is the intent of the board to offer a seventh condition related to um the use of the parking spaces if applicant would be willing to agree those to abide by those condition yes all those conditions would be acceptable um certainly um you know staff um agrees with Mr Height's testimony that the variances are appropriate here and staff recommends approval okay thank you Matt sure I'd like to make a motion to approve case p2023 d55 as presented to the board together with the additional condition of the use of parking second okay we have a motion made and seconded for approval with conditions acting Vice chair gangadin I commissioner councilwoman Prince AR I commissioner Torres I commissioner lipsky I commissioner Dr Desai I and chairman Langston yeah I agree with uh Mr Height's testimony I think the deviations are well within reason and uh the case is there for them so I'm going to vote I motion carries all in favor okay thank you thank you and thank you again for listing this tonight sure thank you Council okay so we are going to move on uh I'm going to bring one case up that's out of order uh we're going to call Item 13 is case p2024 d204 is a minor site plan for 50 Mo Drive good evening again everybody James mccan from the left arm of Connell Foley appearing on behalf of the applicant Dick Sporting Goods Inc uh as stated this is a minor site plan application it involves the former Sears robu building at the Newport Mall um Dick Sporting Goods is going to take over the lease there and take over the building and up and own and and uh operate a store there uh in conjunction with that um we're here for an approval of signage all of which is permitted under the Newport Redevelopment plan and uh exterior and facade upgrades and renovations to change the character of the outside of the building to the dicks um look so to speak um I have I can make a presentation but I'm more than willing this evening if the board is comfortable with it and the chairman and staff to allow the board to decide on the papers because this really is um a paper application everything complies with the Redevelopment plan um so if staff and the commissioner are willing to do that I will uh I will agree to have a decision on the papers um I agree but I'll ask cam are you comfortable with that yes PL stff is comfortable with that okay so yeah everything's on the portal um you know we've had a chance to review the the application it is in conformance with the plan what one thing Mr Sure forget uh Council this is a notice case uh I submitted my notice uh David of service to the portal but I'm going to hand you the original thank you Mr mcen chairman receive the Affidavit of publication proof of mailing it does appear to be the same one that was posted to the portal had the opportunity to review it on the portal it does appear to be in order mark Market is A1 for purposes of the record okay thank you Council so once again I have no problem uh just you know voting on The Merit of it if you're comfortable with that term Council I'm comfortable okay if everybody else is okay with that we'll just move on and open up public comment Y Eddie good no up to you as long as the outside facade of the facility is meeting all the Redevelopment plan Co um things then I'm okay with it with the siage and size of it colors of it and stuff like that or in within the Redevelopment plan then I'm okay with it yeah complies that's the part that the other neighbor in stores and we are going to see from the outside basically yeah so as long as that part is in come with the Redevelopment plan then I'm comfortable with moving along and cam you could confirm that that that it complies with the Redevelopment plan definitely okay thank you all right with that said uh let's open it up for public comment is anybody here from the public that wants to comment on this application seeing no one from the public Mr I move to close second okay motion is made and second a public is closed cam um have your recommendation already yes the signage is customary to the this Zone in the plan and planning staff only ask that the applicant agree to the conditions if you haven't already in your opening statement um in the staff memo dated January 30th of this year conditions agreed to okay thank you CH like to make a motion to approve case b224 d204 as presented together with staff recommendation and condition second okay motion is made and seconded with staff comments and conditions commissioner Gan I councilwoman Prince every hi commissioner Torres hi commissioner lipsky the architectural drawings look fine to me so at the house of sport open I vote I commissioner Dr Sai hi and chairman Langston hi all in favor motion carries okay thank you thank you uh Council you're next to do we want to call them together uh yes I think I think customarily the way we do it is we call the subdivision and the site plan we'll do one presentation and at the end you'll vote on each one separately sure okay let me uh get my crew what do you think an hour for this we we're going yes an hour Mike do you want a break yeah let's let's do a yeah let's do a break while you set up so uh we'll be back in about 10 minutes all right thank you all right okay could we come to order again everybody and we'll call item 11 and 12 uh item 11 being case p2024 d141 it's a preliminary and final major subdivision item 12 is a preliminary and final major site plan with variances uh the address for both is 72 Montgomery Street floor is yours Council uh good evening again everybody James mccan from the law firm of conell Foley in Jersey City appearing on behalf of the applicant on both applications called um I've tendered my Affidavit of service and publication on each one of the applications to council and I believe they've been marked A1 for the subdivision and A1A for the site plan application um just one other piece of housekeeping the Redevelopment uh plan for this project is the one 106 I'm sorry 11606 Redevelopment plan and that Redevelopment plan does require the applicant to have um been designated as a redeveloper and have signed a Redevelopment agreement in advance of a site plan hearing and for the record the applicant has done that there's a signed executed Redevelopment agreement with the jcra which has been tendered to the planning division um in the past um Ryan can you put the first slide up and Council I believe that is on the portal correct I think I saw the but I'm not sure but I know we did file it with planning um so uh just as a refresher this Redevelopment plan was reviewed by this board in February of 2024 and as you may recall that's an aerial view site um go back one that's an aerial view um of the site it's the batter r view existing afford senior citizen affordable housing and that aial shows the different areas of that uh lot that are going to be developed pursuant to this application should the board vote in favor of it um I put that up there just as a refresher because I think most of you have seen this already um next slide please Ryan and this is the actual concept plan that is adop that was adopted with the Redevelopment plan by the city council and just really briefly it has a couple of major component on one going from going from Green Street uh across to Washington Street a portion of the properties being reserved for a dedication of a sidewalk to the city a new building will be constructed on the project that will have 90 affordable housing units on it in accordance with the io an open space Plaza um on Christopher Columbus that will be not less than that must be not less than 3,500 square ft seat um must be constructed on that corner and then a larger open space must be constructed on the um on the adjacent lot which will be the subject of the subdivision that's to be a publicly accessible Green Space as um as is the uh the open space Plaza um back on the corner of Christopher Columbus and green both are to be publicly accessible instructed by the applicant and um and operated by the applicant in perpetuity um okay uh my first uh witness for my subdivision is um from jesna Robin they they were in charge of the subdivision component of this application I have Gabby gorelli um who I'm going to ask be sworn in and qualified Jim can I just just a quick question it has on this it says propose West District and then to the right of it propose East district is that an Annex or is it uh just space for the East district is the site where a new building will be developed 600 units with affordable with the 90 affordable housing units and then the West District site is the existing senior citizens um building and as as obviously as part of um after the subdivision is perfected as part of this approval the developer will be will be constructing the open space on that that site and reconfiguring the parking there for for the existing Senor citizens um complex so Council the reference to West District and East district is within the Redevelopment plan itself that's where the reference yes it is I apologize it is it's all part of the Redevelopment plan it's just a way of separating the new from the old councilman uh lipsky so Council for purposes the record we've marked as A1 the proof of publication notice of mail with respect to the subdivision we've marked as A1A the proof of publication NOA mailing with respect to the site plan on the screen is the slide deck it purports to be 48 slides I'm going to ask that we Mark that as A2 for purposes of the record I don't know if it's this witness that you've alluded to or some other witness that's going to go through the majority of the slide deck but we should Mark it at this point so just for housekeeping the slide deck is a combination of the filed plans um and renderings that have been prepared based upon the filed plans also um there were revision plans submitted to this board in November of 2024 this entire presentation will be based upon the revisions also okay thank you Council okay and uh Matt I think the only thing on the portal is the draft Redevelopment agreement can you confirm that we have a a signed redevelopers agreement uh that's what they've communicated to to staff um I do not recall if uh we have a signed RDA but um but I can reach out to jca okay I I have it I have it with me I can tender it as a as an exhibit Council will accept the representation we mark it as 83 for purposes of the record it is the executed Redevelopment agreement Council I suspect that that is or will be recorded yes the redevelop so my client is presently the contract purchaser of the site the Redevelopment agreement itself is being held in escrow by the JC Council they are recording it at the closing of title for this property which is anticipated to be around April of 2025 so yes it will be recorded against the property okay against against the property with the new construction yes to be clear all of which has been agreed to by the JC okay thank you Council truth I do sure it's Gabrielle gell g a b r i e l l e gell g o r n l l I miss cornelli good evening uh your license is current tonight yes okay thank you you're qualified thanks um so we're going to go through both the subdivision and the site plan together um so what's on the screen now this is the cover sheet from the Civil Engineering drawings as Jim mentioned we have a preliminary and final site plan with subdivision 72 Montgomery we block um 11606 lot one it's a full block development with Columbus on the North Green Street on the East Montgomery on the south and Washington Street Street on the west um existing on the property is a 15-story um H um residential building with some surface parking and as Jim mentioned we're in the block 11606 residential dist um Redevelopment plan which is split up into the East district and the West District you could flip the slide so what's on the screen now this is a colorized version of the filed subdivision plan so the the red lot which is our development lot where our proposed building is is um lot 1.02 this lot is 24,6 24993 Ft um the blue lot is where the existing building is that will be lot 1.01 it's 54,5 5437 4are ft and that yellow color on the on the subdivision is the piece of the RightWay Dedication that will go back back to Green Street um all these lot areas comply with the minimum lot size in the Redevelopment plan which is 24,000 ft you could flip the slide so what's on the screen now this is the Civil site plan it's sheet c301 in our in our drawing set I'll start with so Gabby let's let's just take one minute so that was our subdivision presentation so Council why don't we just go back put the previous screen with the color rendering it's pretty clear to me but right two lots and then the uh portion for the right of way on green yes Council and that concludes Gabby's testimony but I do have Carol worell the planner to come up just to give a brief um brief testimony on the subdivision application so let's do her now and then we'll go back to the site plan okay okay ttim truth truth I do it's Carolyn worstell w r s t l l miss worstell good evening it's been a while uh your license is current tonight yes it's been a whole seven days it's good to see you all okay you're qualified thank you yes car you've reviewed the Redevelopment plan correct yes I have and you've reviewed the subdivision plan that's up on the screen yes I have um okay can you just confirm for us uh that the subdivision complies with the Redevelopment plan requirements for both Lots uh yes so we're seeking no variances for this proposed subdivision um both of the proposed Lots exceed the minimums um so for I'm going to starting on the East District which is uh proposed lot 1.02 um that is the over 24,000 square F feet which is the minimum that is required in that uh East District on our webs District which is the blue lot um we are exceeding the minimum square feet which is 50,000 square feet that's the minimum for that um that District um and so both Lots exceed the minimum that is required um and in addition um there is an existing building on proposed lot 101 which is in the West District um and that District was uh designed to maintain the permitted use of and uh use and uh occupation of that building um so that everything about the the proposed um the Redevelopment plan with a subdivision everything remains conforming with regard to the bulk for the use and bulk for that building so um it is a conforming use it's still a conforming density conforming height coverages setbacks off street parking and curb cut so everything about uh the proposed subdivision is conforming with what was uh written into the Redevelopment plan what's the use in the West District uh the existing use in the West District uh is a it's permitted to be uh senior citizen housing is it that affordable senior C affordable senior citizen housing and Carolyn that's the only permitted use in that District uh yes that's the only permitted use uh for a building I think the only other permitted use would be the open space but yes that's the only permitted use for a building in in that District right and that and the purpose of making that the only permitted use is to preserve the existing senior citizen affordable housing on that site yes one of the goals the Redevelopment plan correct yes that was the the purpose and intent of that West District is to maintain that existing uh building so the permitted use of both the principal and accessory structures was to continue that uh a senior affordable housing and in fact the same principle applies for the bulk standards correct the bulk standards once the subdivision is granted and those bulk standards apply that building will be a permitted structure under the zoning correct yes exactly that another attribute of continuing the affordable housing on that site correct and in fact it even quotes the same number of units correct correct and you've done some due diligence on its property for like over two years now um do you know what the permitted what the current permitted use on lot 101 is right now yeah it's affordable senior housing thank you that's under the current zoning prior to the adoption of the Redevelopment plan Council under the prior Redevelopment plan it's it's a permitted use yes and it is a permitted use under this new Redevelopment plan yep but under the prior it's as for the entire lot one because the subdivision obviously that's correct didn't occur yes yes sir and Council I can you tell us the number of units or can the witness tell us the number of units and if uh my understanding it's 237 units of affordable housing that complies both in terms of the prior Redevelopment plan and the new Redevelopment plan in terms of any density variance or anything of that nature yes sir thank you okay thank you Carol any questions for Mr yeah I I I just want to some clarication on the uh the once we go through the subdivision the new building that's going to be built uh the highrise mhm and the existent building uh we still have a 90 affordable house in in the high-rise building or that is being counted on to the fif from the 15 story building no CH uh no commissioner the they're totally independent the 237 units referenced on the blue area which is the existing project that's 237 units when this project in the red area is built there will be an addition 90 more additional as required by the io thank you that's let to be clear so Commissioners just so everyone's clear the purpose of asking the questions with respect to the current use of the property and the use going forward in the Redevelopment plan is because God forbid you attempted to subdivide property and create a use that's not permitted that's problematic this board doesn't have jurisdiction over such an application in a Redevelopment plan you can't have a use that's not permitted but generally speaking under the ml if you were to try to subdivide property and you create a non-conforming use as a result of that Andor you now have a use that's not permitted then this board wouldn't have jurisdiction over a use that's not permitted so we need clarification to make sure that in conjunction with the subdivision uh the use is permitted as it exists and will continue to be permitted after the subdivision council do you take any issue with any of those statements I do not thank you okay thank you Mr worell okay recall uh Miss cornelli for site plan testimony okay so onto the site plan this is the 301 sheet from the Civil drawing starting with our development lot lot 1.02 um the proposed building um it's a mixed use building with uh residential retail the residential Lobby is located on the south of the building um the utilities rooms generally wrap the east side of the building and then there's retail on the North and um on the southern no there's nothing on the southern um there is a access drive to the west of the building which um is for parking access there is off Street loading and there's entrance to the parking garage off of that um this parking garage will include uh 120 parking spaces for the residents there's 600 units in the building that complies with the parking requirements the parking will also include 61 spaces for battery view residents um which will be located on the first and second floors of the building um the the garage parking includes EV parking which is in compliance with um EV standards um the building coverage is 67.9% which complies the lot coverage is 94.4% which complies with um the requirements um we do have a minor deviation um along the access drive to the west where a sidewalk is required the full length of that um due to the grade change of the site there's significant grade change from the south to the north um where Montgomery Street is about elevation 13 and Columbus Drive is about elevation five um so with that grade change in order to have a sidewalk there you would need to eat up a lot of that required open space to make it work with ramping and and such um and in discussions with City Planning um you know we opted to um request this deviation in order to preserve the required amounts of open space per the Redevelopment plan as Jim mentioned um the open space Plaza which is located to the north of the building as well as the open space on um lot 1.01 which includes a dog park and some open space areas the landscape architect talk a little bit more about um those open space areas um other parts of the development include um we're we're um proposing some drop off zones on Montgomery Street and on Columbus um in front of the lobby and in front of the retail space this will be mostly for a short-term drop off um as the off Street loading is is um will be used for for larger um deliveries um and then we have a access drive from the um lot 1.01 which will come from the parking lot there um the proposed plans on lot 1.01 include a reconfiguration of that existing parking lot um to service the residents there so the total number of parking spaces between the parking garage and the surface spaces to remain on the battery View lot will remain the same as they are now uh for the battery view residents so you have the 61 in the garage and you have 24 on the surface lot um the garage spaces for the battery view residents there is a sidewalk along the southern portion of that access drive so that any residents that are you know parking in this garage can walk along that sidewalk into their building and there's an elevator um across that crosswalk right there for for battery view residents that are parking in that garage um you could flip to the next sheet so Council just to be clear the seniors are going to have to cross that access driveway to get to the parking spaces so yes they are um they would they would exit they would exit from their own building which is on in the middle of Montgomery right walk along the public sidewalk then walk along the sidewalk on the private Drive to the crosswalk and enter the lobby and elevators um for the parking for the portion of the parking garage that garage that's reserved for their use and basically the way the sites laid out now they have to walk out of their building and walk over to the um um the parking lot that's presently there so it's pretty much the same distance of a walk depending on where your car is parked but they're going to be able to park their cars indoors now instead of Outdoors many of them and also this drive it's going to be decorative treatment a decorative uh pavement treatment which lends itself to being more pedestrian friendly so cars driving on it will will feel like it's a pedestrian Zone it's not a public Street that's just a drive for the project is there going to be access how do you prevent the public from trying to cut through through from Montgomery to Christopher Columbus or vice verse I assume it's oneway traffic but oneway traffic from Montgomery to Columbus but there'll be signage there that says it's a private driveway no access residence only but just signage no barrier or anything there wasn't a plan for a gate at this point in time now and there is an existing curb cut in in the general area of the proposed one on Montgomery so the elevation from Montgomery to the crosswalk to the elevator is still about the same so so that yeah that portion is is accommodating a sidewalk it's it's fairly flat and then from that point on it gets fairly steep yep yeah yeah you have one 181 garage parking or it is combined with the surface parking 181 inside the garage good and how about the surface packing how many you have 20 24 so um 24 surface spaces those are all for battery view plus 61 inside the garage for battery view that that's equivalent to the number of surface spaces they have now and those spaces P pursuing to the Redevelopment plan will be free of charge to the residents of the battery View and they'll the spaces will be Reserve to them pursuant to an easement between the owner of the existing senior citizen affordable housing project and the applicant and with the senior building you have surface parking H how much surface parking you have 20 24 121 is in the senior building no 24 24 senior spaces 24 24 show the the commissioner where the see commissioner the side the where the arrow is that's where the the senior citizen surface parking will be proposed huh proposed proposed yes sorry for the uh for the residents of that project so that one is free for everybody or you charge for that no that's not our that's not the applicant's property there my understanding is there's no charge for that either but that's not really that that's a up to the owner of the senior citizen affordable housing project I don't believe they charge for the parking but across in the new building there will be no charge to the senior citizens even the garage there is no charge even the garage there's no charge that's a requirement to the Redevelopment plan that my client is complying with from your client though from my client yes but that's only for the senior the I'm sorry that's only for the battery view spots only for the battery r view the the remainder of the spots will be market rate yes for the residents of the new proposed project yes and no senior um spaces will be deeded to the uh they will not be deeded but they will be um memorialized by a written easement agreement between the owner of the two buildings saying that the first two floors of the garage will be reserved to the batter r view residents and they will have a separate elevator that only goes to those two floors so that they can have access and some security um for their own cars and that the residents of the other part of the project will have separate elevators for them for their part of the project make sense sure y thank you Council I guess I'll ask if there's any other questions because we're going to flip off the site plan onto the lighting plan just uh AB G Gabby did you say this build this building will be the new proposed building will be 600 units 600 units 90 of which are affordable and the the retail space do you have that number uh I don't have the number of the retail the AR the square feet yeah it's on the application 2788 33 3,3 no that's the plaza yeah 2788 2788 thank you thank you everybody that was a test and Council in addition to that parking agreement there'll also be various easement agreements with respect to I suspect the drive aisle the open space and and things of that nature yes which I was planning to discuss after the rest of the presentation fair if required sure okay go ahead Miss Cornell could flip to the lighting plan so this is the the lighting plan from the Civil drawings l 71 um there's there's really four main elements of of lighting here there's the access drive to the west of the building the surface parking lot for for the senior building um the open space areas along the north and the sidewalks um we do comply with the lighting ordinance for for all of these areas um the standard Jersey City um standard light is is used for the sidewalks um I gu something else to mention too along the sidewalks which I didn't mention on the prior slide we do comply with the minimum sidewalk width inside the Redevelopment plan of 5 ft um and then yeah the all the lighting complies with um in the parking lot the drive a and and the open space areas next slide please so the lighting there is an upgrade or is it new installment for for the West District property it it it will be new because the the parking lot is being reconfigured so this this is our um grading and drain plan I'll just speak briefly to this uh the site is located in a flood zone so we are required to raise our residential Lobby above the flood elevation um which we are doing we're compliant with that um we are in with the njd actually we're we're hoping we have an approval this month um non-residential spaces are being flood proofed in accordance with the flood Hazard rules um the site because it's in a flood zone we're required to meet the green area ratio on the site which we are compliant with um and um we are compliant with the Jersey City storm waterer Control Ordinance um we are a major development so we are compliant with that um I can speak to other utilities if if there's interest there's existing Mains in you know um Montgomery Street and Green Street which we are connecting to with our Building Services yeah I don't think anybody want to hear about Connections sewer connections water connections Taps okay thank you that concludes my testimony unless there's questions okay anything else from Miss gorelli okay thank you appreciate it architectural testimony from Mr Gary Handel of H Handel architecture truth the truth I do Gary Handel g- a r y h n d l Mr Handel good evening we've qualified you in the past uh your license is current tonight it is thank you okay thank you you're qualified again uh so it's good to see you again um and it's a pleasure to present this project um we'll go next um so this image shows two of the key features of the project architecturally one is a highly crafted um well detailed brick base um which um um creates a a nice pedestrian scale for the project as it meets Columbus green and Montgomery and the slide to the right is a skyline image of the project which shows another feature which is a a distinctively shaped crown for the building um which will allow this building to take its place on the Jersey City skyline and go next um before we dig deeper into the plans we wanted to address a few deviations and variances that are part of the application in the IM image on the left you can see the signage hung vertically from the Northeast and Northwest corners of the podium in our application we refer to these signs as A2 and A3 we're seeking a deviation from the signage requirements of the Land Development ordinance for these two signs to be located above the ground floor additionally these signs exceed the 30in maximum vertical Dimension um for building identification signs permitted by the Redevelopment plan each individual letter complies they're just organized vertically as opposed to horizontally um Carolyn Rell of drar Robin will cover all of the deviations and variances more extensively later in the presentation but I just wanted to point them out as part of the application of the architectural presentation just as a practical matter that the thought there is a little bit of creativity this because of the open space the signage could become a a beacon for a meeting place things like that so that's really the reason for the request for the deviation yes correct okay on the left is a pedestrian view from the southeast corner of Christopher Columbus in green we wanted to note that part of our application proposes fabric awnings can't deliver from the facade for the Redevelopment plan we're permitted to have these awnings can't delivered beyond the setback line provided that there's 20 ft of vertical clearance um between um maintained between the sidewalk and the underside of the awnings we're proposing 12T of vertical clearance between grade of the open open space Plaza um and the bottom of the fabric awnings on the right is a pedestrian level view of the intersection of Montgomery Street and Green Street illustrating what pedestrians walking along Montgomery Street would see on their walk back from The Exchange Place PATH station in this view you can see the corner of the residential Lobby wrapped by Brick arches and protected from the elements by a coral aluminum awning Gary the the 12T awning that's still safe for pedestrians to pass there correct clearance and it's not and it's not over a sidewalk it's you know basically this is really more of a clarification the the the Redevelopment it it talks about clearance above a sidewalk this is above an open space Plaza um the clearance for that is less defined um we feel it's actually more appropriate um at the 12 feet um in order to actually be useful um you know like an you know if it's was at 20 ft um it would be too high to be um to be useful thank you um and here you have a closer view of the corner of Montgomery and green streets um after conversations with representatives of the historic paace hook Association and Powerhouse Arts we came up with a revised design for the podium that responds to their feedback about creating a pedestrian scaled series of elements on the ground floor level we've designed a continuous awning that wraps around the corner of Montgomery and green marking the residential lobby while planter boxes add vibrancy and warmth to The Pedestrian experience part of this application seeks a few variances from the Jersey City Land Development ordinance that restrict architectural elements projecting across the lot line to 6 in or less we're proposing planter boxes along the Green Street facade that'll project 11 in across the lot line more than 20 feet above the sidewalk grade and we're proposing a metal awning that protects uh projects no more than 6t across the lot line into the public rway way no less than 17 ft above the sidewalk rate all design deviations that you believe will enhance the character of the building on that corner correct yes and part of our our series of conversations with the neighborhood associations we had a much higher um base um with those elements up higher and in compliance um and you know and so the the lowering in scale which we think was a good thing um brings it um more in the scale of a pedestrian actually is more um useful um slight additional projection of the planter boxes came out of conversations with our landscape architect in order to have planting that would actually live thank you um these are two sections through the building highlighting the locations of the various uses P the Redevelopment plan and the Land Development ordinance were permitted to build 600 ft high from the base flood elevation plus one foot with an exception for rooftop apperences of up to 30t above that height our application proposes a building height of 597 ft 6 in and ask for a variance to include uh to include a rooftop apperance of 37 6 in which is necessary to accommodate um one enclosed mechanical bulkhead and screened Open Air Mechanical U roof spaces bringing the total height of the project to to 635 ft above the base flood elevation plus one foot the podium is about 105 ft tall from the ground floor housing the residential lobby at grade retail spaces and six stories of parking as well as the mechanical and back of house spaces at floors 9 and 10 we've designed a break between the podium and the tower where our primary amenity spaces and landscaped amenity decks are located above the podium and amenity floors are 44 residential floors housing the 600 residential units mentioned topped by a sky a Sky Lounge floor 55 and mechanical B mechanical bulkhead about that Mr hell the the allowance is 30 feet we're asking for 376 so we're really asking for a 7 foot variance correct which is required to enclose all of the mechanical equipment that we have and you're going to you're going to show the board two more variances and all of these variances the purpose is going to be to enclose the Mechanicals and have a better looking building at the top correct correct okay from that height it steps down Council yeah yeah at the top of the building we've designed the crown of the building to have a distinctive Pro profile that's both identifiable on the skyline and to accommodate a variety of mechanical and amenity spaces focusing on the mechanical portion of the crown the Land Development ordinance um um permits a maximum rooftop coverage of 20% of tower roof area for all rooftop apperences and require setbacks from Street facing facades part of our application ask for a variance to these requirements such that we do not have setbacks from Christopher Columbus and Green Street um Tower facades resulting in a rooftop pertinence coverage of about 65% at the most as the crown steps back the higher we go the apperance coverage area shrinks at each level from 65% to 53% to 41% the design of the crown has integrated all of these variances into one sculptural element free of unsightly mechanical bulk heads or visible equipment and is sized appropriately to house and Screen these mechanical elements that are typical for a residential building of this size and um here you can again see you know the resultant um of that an aerial perspective of the building um with Hudson River um in the background and really the idea to shape all of that required mechanical equipment into a sculptural element which will create that distinctive crown and really create a building that'll have a distinctive um signature on the skyline and here next you can see a detail of that crown with our decorative uh lighting um element um which should be um again you know creating something that is distinctive on the skyline and then go next and then a view um from Battery Park at you know at um um at Sunrise basically showing how this building will take its place on the future skyline of Jersey City now that we've taken a general overview of the project and mentioned the variances and deviations we'll do a quick walk through the proposed plans um on the ground floor as Carolyn you know as Gabby had mentioned um um we have the lobby located at the southern um aspect of the site off of Montgomery that's where the site actually meets um the flood prooof elevation so that's really where we are at 13 ft so the entrance is right at where we um come above of the um flood the flood level plus one um into the um into into the lobby into the lobby element um to the north um you can see that 2780 um square feet of leasable commercial space that will look out onto the landscaped open space Plaza across Christopher Columbus uh this will energize and enhance The Pedestrian experience along Columbus which you'll hear more about from our landscape architect and create a welcoming feature to people coming and going from The Exchange Place PATH station at the northwest corner of the building there's a a direct connection from the new open space along Christopher Columbus um to a secure residential entrance point and and the open space Plaza um you can see the required mechanical Open Spaces located along Green Street um this is the proposed um parking level there will be six um levels as mentioned two dedicated to the battery view tenants um and our proposal also incorporates storage for over 300 bicycles in the parking garage as required by the RDP um bike racks will be provided on each level of the parking as indicated in the plan above an ammenity floor um we have the residential floor plans the building has an overall unit mix of 22% Studios 41% one-bedrooms 31% two-bedrooms and 6% 3bedrooms adding up to the 600 unit total total in the building as mentioned um you can see here the primary elevations of the building um the southeast north and west um with the base and Tower elements clearly delineated separated by the amenity spaces and then here we'd like to show you the material samples um which we have on the table um and so for the exterior of the tower we've chosen a lightly tinted glass for um in a curtain wall system with painted metal Mion and an integrated Contin Lou Band to screen high efficiency heat pumps behind we actually have some samples the nice to to pass them around see them or you brought them let's nice nice to be in person right like the yeah um at the break between the brick Podium and the Glass Tower we're proposing stainless steel column covers and sopit with Flor to ceiling storefront glazing system um we're mean louvers are glazed in where necessary um we're very proud of the articulated um brick base and so different so uh this is a blend of cloud Ceramics terra cotta and Cherokee Cherokee blend um which will create which will be integrated to form those Coral elements in the facade that we've been showing you um and so each of those will of those Coral elements will be um highly detailed with the planter boxes um set into them um um with uh painted sight proof louvers filling in between the brick Piers um at the base of those brick Piers will be the granite base to provide a water course for those buildings um and that all of the planted materials um will be irrigated and maintained by ownership I already saw it to keep the plantings healthy and to preserve the natural visual enhancement to the street this is this is I'm building one near my office so I'll have so the the idea really is to craft the base so that it can anchor itself into the context you're using that highly detailed brick base the granite water course you know and the and the detailing there to really create a wonderful experience for the pedestrians uh this is a street level perspective from Montgomery looking North at the entrance to the residential lobby at The Pedestrian level we POS those articulated brick facades with brick arches corals and a variety of textures along the residential Lobby storefront at the corner we're proposing to have the planter boxes integrated into the stone base between the brick piers in addition to the plant the boxes at each Bay above the ground floor in the two bays left of the main entrance we're opposing additional articulation and texture um with those brick elements along the sidewalk along the residential Lobby is uh the res is that metal awning and canopy which is designed to Echo the coral uh nature of the brick work and to indicate the building identification um this will wrap up the architectural portion of the presentation um showing the perspective from Christopher Columbus illustrating the landscaped open space Plaza um and Commercial storefront um with landscaped elements integrated into the design of the of the facade enhancing the environmental along Christopher Columbus um thank you g all right thank you Mr Handel um just a couple quick questions the signage on the uh Podium of the building um is that illuminated I think the the we're having that'll that'll show up in the deviations I think it's the idea is that it would be back that it would be back lit okay to spill light onto the brick facade okay yeah I have a question sure ahead uh how do you differentiate between parking lot and the upper stor is is it the red one which is parking lot so the you know the the parking lot you garage yeah so outside the red tiles is the parking garage yeah so the so the parking garage you can see starts um with the Square Windows in the in the and how many floors are there six stories each story has approximately 30 um 30 cars um you know a little and so that with two of those floors for the battery view tenants um served by their own parking structure for above that for the residents of the building okay and uh the planter boxes uh on the upper you know the second floor and up you mentioned that it's Management's responsibility to maintain those boxes to be let me in on how yeah so the you know so the the um so there will be maintenance protocol for the entire base facade terms of it's all reachable by um You by Street by cherry picker um and um and then the but the and they'll be irrigated um you know um you know basically so they shouldn't require that much maintenance but should we need to get them um they're all they would all be accessible from um Street um Street um Cherry Pickers okay all right anybody else yeah I have a quick question I I I really like your brick design but as they brought it around um question I'm asking the um are those full-size bricks you're using they are fulls siiz so it's not what I'm seeing glued on to something yeah so we're still yeah so those are real bricks yeah real brick yeah full size water okay the question I asked was they're going to be that skinny and and I I got kind of like a yes answer and I was like okay okay how is that going to work you know U especially with this design that you have I don't see that we need we need to use stick because of the stepping yes we couldn't use the thing you could use it you know like so that the um so this this going to be nice you know like we're so I got the I got the wrong knot or I saw it the wrong way okay but yes it's a very nice design that you're doing too with it so look that way all thank you real brick real brick imagine that no so another question on Montgomery and green so you have that fire hydrant and you're saying that's the principal entrance what the drop off entrance so the uh so let's go to so the the the the principal entrance for the lobby will be midpoint um on Montgomery um so the the street actually crowns up there you know and so that's really where we come to the you know one foot above the you know the DFE you know like so in order to manage the grades that's the best place place to enter you know to enter the building so what's a drop off Lane that's it's really just a place to put you know to if you're if you were being dropped off with you know in an Uber or lift you know or something like that you know or um but the idea really is that if you're coming if you're coming um into the parking lot you would use the dedicated Drive turn into the parking um the parking lot yep the reason I asked that is is that there are parking uh meters there and there also on your drawings and also on um Google Maps uh White hashtags you know for City acknowledgement so I don't know how you kind of work that in with the city or yeah so we'll be work you so so Dr our Dresner team you know on the Civil side has been in conversation with everybody to basically make sure that everything fits and can come back and you know and work and be and be worked out thank you so Council that begs the question that drop off lanee that's depicted on this ground floor plan drawing that's obviously in the right of way of Montgomery Street correct uh I believe so yes go that would go to gab I think yeah I think I think maybe Miss gorelli can answer those questions but I can tell you we have gotten comments from traffic engineering for this project and Dresner has been working with them um regularly and we're prepared to say tonight that we're going to continue to work with them to comply with their comments to the project off the top of my head I don't remember if they commented on the component that you're asking about but they did Gabby come come back up yeah of course yeah so we we actually met last week with um division of tra Transportation Planning and traffic engineering and and we spoke about the loading zones and um you know they they had indicated in their letter that they want some treatment to the bike Lanes in the area which we said we would work with them to to figure that all out um as well as you know looking at the loading zones which you know right now the parking spaces go very close to the corner so that was really the intention was to um you know have and have the loading zone closer to the corner to kind of not have parking so close to the corner and um they had agreed with with that so Gabby I don't know if you can see the I guess you can't see uh where's the loading zone well or the drop off Lane I should I should call it is what yeah loading is done off of the the dedicated access there is off Street loading yeah you were referring to the drop off correct yeah that yeah the drop off Zone there's there's two to be clear it's one's not labeled on this drawing but one is on asked for and proposed for along Christopher Columbus as well it's normal for any sort of on Street loading areas or drop off Lanes whatever we may call them to seek and need uh Council approval right so uh regardless of whether or not they're shown here they would need to seek that but I guess my question is does the plan require it the Redevelopment plan no I don't believe so and if it doesn't then it's completely within the discretion of the council okay thank you Mr cornelli I have a question to that um when you say the drop off is um closer to the corners and I know mgy street is two lanes uh that in that turn um as you work with engineering and trafficking we still have to um keep in mind the emergency vehicles of course the once you put something on close to a corner and and that in that in that area it'll make it very difficult for emergency vehicles to maneuver of of course yeah any any emergency vehicles that would need to that stays Us in that compensation of safety for the emergency vehicles that's all also noted and you know is there's a fire hydrant there so yes okay thank you Miss cornelli anybody else architectural questions anything somebody um I have a quick question I know Council you said that the west and property uh the West District basically is a separate owner yes Comm yes okay so as you do the open space in those areas um those if I'm not mistaken that whole area is fenced off it's a 6 foot fence like around that property that's my recollection yes currently are they planning to bring the six foot fence around to the thing or this the section where your private access drive is not going to continue with a fence or closed in area on that side you do you might not be able to answer I was going to say I think I'm going to defer that question to either miss gorelli or the landscape architect could he hasn't we they haven't done their presentation yet but they could probably okay if we didn't then I'll wait for that I can wait for that okay okay thank you Mr handall thank you appreciate it Council all right next Witnesses um are uh Mr Rick aof and Rick perzy both from mpfp landscape architecture um what we're going to do is we're gonna um oh let me just start this up Rob um you have to get sworn intim ton truth truth truth I do Rob r ouof o s t r l f Mr Oster are you a New Jersey licensed landscape architect yes and are you familiar with the Redevelopment plan that we're discussing tonight yes and the Jersey City Land Development ordinance yes and did your firm prepare the landscape plans that are filed with the board and that your firm gonna is going to present tonight yes and when you did your work did you also work with your colleague Rick paresi who's also a member of the firm yes and are you requesting that Mr paresi give the presentation on your behalf tonight under your license if it pleases the board okay and that license is current yes okay thank you yes you're qualified thank you uh Rick please come up this this is Mr Peri he is also a landscape architect uh for the same firm who prepared and worked on these plans along with Mr asof and he's going to give us the presentation um he's never testified before this board so um Mr Peri um once you're sworn in would you give your um qualifications ttim I don't need qualifications right yes I do Rick r i p a r II Mr pzy we know you're not licensed in New Jersey but could you tell the board how many places you are licensed uh nine states um why not Jersey that's what I I will explain well my partner is from New Jersey and has always dealt with you know a lot of the uh where where we needed license in in New Jersey I I started in New York um The Firm was started in New York in 1958 I have 39 years experience um and I started with the New York license a Florida license Taxas everything but but I have filed for New Jersey so I don't need to make Mr OV come out although he lives in New Jersey so it's okay and you also have a lot of experience in urban landscape architecture Chris our our firm for those of you who are familiar with Urban designers our firm was founded by Paul Friedberg so it's m Paul freedberg and partners mpfp um we we you know we our roots are in Urban Design clearly founded in New York City um most of our work is is you know either in urban areas on top of buildings or or creating new urban areas okay um that said we we we did do Randall's Island in New York City all of it request that uh you accept Mr pre's uh experience as a landscape architect yes we do okay thank you thank you um you know one of the interesting things and I have to applaud the Redevelopment plan because as Landscape Architects we don't have the opportunity to have the full block be in open space right and it's it's a wonderful thing for us right when we were brought onto the project this was an easy project for us right so um we're usually carving open space out of places we don't have it um the requirement is for 15,000 ft of open space we're providing over 177,000 square feet of open space and as Gary mentioned you know the the goal of this project is to have this building land in the open space be a human scale you know be a touchy Fey scale with the brick Coral brick and and you know be part of the neighborhood right and as you see the the slide that's up now still that that's the plaza as Gary mentioned those those honey Locus trees will be limed up over 12 feet so we have clear visibility into the open space the the uh open space is V is envisioned as as kind of a a potentially programmable space it has movable tabl and chairi for the public it has a retail base so we hope it to you know that it's very active and becomes the Cornerstone of the neighborhood and very inviting Cornerstone uh next uh the enlargement of of the open space you can see that it's about 115 ft long 38 ft deep it's 3820 ft the requirement is 3500 ft again the Honey Locust trees one of the other requirements of the of the re development plan is that the paving be distinctive we are using you know two distinctive granates Granite Pavements uh and the planter walls that we do have are very low because we have about a 1ot to 1 and 1/2t grade change and so we have a low level of planter walls Granite steps invite you right in multiple openings into the open space and as Gary mentioned the base of the building is granite so it all ties together seamlessly and just for the record just to be clear this is the open open space Plaza which has to be a minimum of 3500 Square ft and the open space Plaza is adjacent to the new building on the on the site where the new building will be so the East District East District yep okay uh next uh just again the materials we're using very quickly two granates right and the granite steps Granite Planters we are using um uh tree grates to you know under these honey locusts to like expand the usable space rather than having plant ERS there uh you know an interesting Seux um contemporary pole light in between the trees um again you can see the tree canopy these these trees are honey locust and you know one of the requirements is that the tree the shade trees be minimum of 40 feet not end all day but but be a species that grows to that and they all comply uh next uh the planting really quickly one important thing you see the Hedge along the driveway you know the one thing that that kind of interrupts our open space is the driveway uh and one of the requirements for that driveway is that it be screened uh with a minimum of 4ft hedge the pathway from the street is is about a 1 and 1/2t grade change in there so there's a very subtle grade change along that access point and you see the Hedge that screens the uh the drive uh next so this this view is is really interesting because everybody's spoken about how how the building is human scale and the green on the building which which is you know a wonderful thing that we have a developer that will do that and we we are you know bringing that human scale down into the plaza this this kind of formal um Alay of trees you know transitions into a very informal open space and the entire length of this is the whole length of this block is 390 ft only interrupted by that drive and I think this view really starts to illustrate what people in the neighborhood will how they'll see this building and this development next uh again we have uh a requirement of uh 15,000 square ft we we are providing over 177,000 Square ft we are exceeding the dog run requirement of 2500 square ft we're in the 3,334 range uh and we have what we've working with uh City Planning over a period of time speaking about the passive space there was a request and a thought that we do something a little more active and so we created a kind of a playful mounded area that has a a play a play Trail on it that's wood right and um and then it has these safety surface Mounds with trees coming out of it so it's a little playful space throughout this uh passive open space we have seating that is uh built in it's all very fluid and organic and it's built into the little alcoves the again the dog run has three entrances uh there was some mention of the gray change if you note on the driveway you're much higher so you enter in on the upper elev elevation of the dog run around 11 and then the dog run area is gently sloped so you can transition back down to nine and part of that sloping is made up with a with a sloping seat wall that's a very playful wall again that you see in white there so is the play area for children or is it for seniors it's for everybody right because strollers and skateboards everybody yeah yeah it's for everybody right and and I I think you know it's this this type of linear space you know really doesn't call for a piece of play equipment right we wanted this to be a place where people will meet and hang out and and kids could run and have fun so kids like to run on lawns they like to run up and down things so we provided a little bit of uh entertainment there right um you know it's it's again if you go to the next slide you'll see I think again what I've been speaking about and what Gary was speaking about you know we have a a landscape Terrace that goes through a landscape facade that lands in a landscape Plaza right and that transitions to this really natural free form flowing open space with a with many many openings in it there's like five openings and ways to get in this there's multiple ways mid block to get into this open space go next so this is an enlargement plan you see the Rolling Hills there you see the arrows those are the entry points in you can see the grade changes you're at 7.5 on the corner to the left right you're at elevation 9 in the middle right and then you come into the dog run at N9 there and the dog run slopes to 11 and then it goes back down and there's a set of stairs that drops down to Elevation 7 so you know we have a we have a lot of grade change occurring within the site while the streets level so we're mitigating that with these rolling mounds and rolling planted areas and and you know that's how we kind of arrived at the very natural free form uh you know layout of this whole whole Plaza so a question on that is the uh Adventure area U marked off by Hedges and so the it so kids can't come running or playing a fence okay yeah so there's not a fence to towards the street side that's open right the Mounds are there right and then there's a fence from because I think this question was brought up before there's a fence along the whole parking lot along the back and along the back of the dog run in there and then it's open okay so it's commissioner I think your question is is there offense on the no no no he answered it because my concern was is if kids come adventuring into the parking lot and there are seniors who are not 2020 Vision or not adventur they adventuring their own everybody's adventuring become a uh bad situation so no it's good good question there's a fence it's all fenced I think it was commissioner Torres had a question about a fence on the other side did you not commissioner yeah I was just I can see it clearly now but the um my concern wasn't that the fence that's existed will continue across the front of the walkway part up from mtgy Street to uh Christopher Columbus Drive oh Montgomery okay yeah yeah you're going on that side on the on the sidewalk area the walk area that they didn't put a fence on that one between your building and the existing building you no there there's no fence that St is open then that's open so this fence will basically end somewhere all that dog one well they have a fence around their parking lot right and and the whole parking lot is the whole park is f off so it's a good question because we know that they're going to continue to fence the opposite side right we we know that they want access on this side so there has to be an opening and that's what we've shown yeah cuz the whole property right now even the property that you are going to build on is fenced in yeah yeah you know so I'm just wondering on the east side are you going to Li you eliminating the fence from what I can see on the jwan right there'll be no fence there no fence so uh they're going to be putting a fence on the east side of their property where their property ends uh but you could not answer that because it's a different order yes well if you you have to go if you want to see you have to go to the overall plan if you want to if we can point to it right yeah so the drive is open and as you go up the drive you want they want access right there so we have a fence we have have a fence that they could put a gate further back and have access there but I don't I don't know what they're how they're going know what T are okay yeah right okay the red Dash on this the red dash line on this is the proposed fence yeah correct it's a the red dots are the fence that you're going to put up which would be basically safety for people to run into that walkway right that's perfect that's good yeah okay um we'll go back okay so some materials and I think I've already spoken about this the safety surface Mounds you see some pictures of that we're doing a very light uh Oro Grill dog run fencing we've used that many times in dog runs it's it's light and open it's not chain link it's much more decorative uh the dog run itself is is going to be Synthetic Turf it will be irrigated and flushed you know multiple times a day uh and there will be stations for you know the bags and to pick up after yourself um all of the concrete and I think um Gabby mentioned this that there was distinctive pavement on the drive all the concrete within our site and in this in this open space is is going to be an exposed aggregate concrete with a with a more distinctive scoring um again I I think I mentioned the seat walls some of those are concrete uh either pre-cast but they're all free form and natural and they go with the slopes uh next and I guess the planting uh we will have again some honey locust over here and some other shade trees we are introducing a whole level of flowering trees in there too because we like we like this open space to have a really fluid kind of organic natural feel to it with some seasonal interest we do have Evergreens we are screening the parking lot not with a a an evergreen hedge but with a series of Evergreen plantings along that back Edge okay uh next uh and the other story um again a mixture of Evergreen Native Native materials some grasses um some you know perennials and bulbs for seasonal interest but a good mix of material materiality for seasonal interest uh next so I think this is one of the most inviting view so this is right as you come off where the plaza is you can see the the gate to the dog run a few steps up to Elevation 11 from from 9 right or from Seven sorry and then you see the entry sign you'll start to see the curving walls built into niches and you see a few dogs in the back uh next there's a view inside the dog run uh and you can see you can kind of see the grade change here because we're standing around elevation 11 and it's sloping down to Elevation 9 and that seat wall slopes with it and then you see the fence against the the property next this is the last slide so this is this is at the corner uh there'll be signage here as well uh you can start to see you can see right into the fluid space there and you start to see the play Mounds in the background I think that's it okay thank you sir um believe it or not the only question I have out of this and I I hate that I'm going to ask if this I'll never hear the end of it from s though um is there a separate section for small dogs versus large dogs in the dog park no no and and look I have we don't discriminate against dogs I I know I know the situation I used to have big dogs I have small dogs and and it's a it's a big difference huge difference right um there is not because it's not big enough unfortunately right you know typically when we do that even in the urban spaces the each one wants to be at least 2,000 square for okay understood yeah all right thank side just got to keep it on the side let them run around that adventure thing so I I do have a question for you um about the tree grates yeah uh we no longer allow tree grates as per our forestry standards certainly since 2023 possibly going back to 2018 um so can we replace the tree grates with the tree um tree tree the with the tree oops a border um yeah yeah th those are uh I think they it might have not been clear in the presentation but I think the tree grates were in their Plaza space in the plaza okay not in the public RightWay okay yeah so I'm not sure if that changes the that comment if we could just check on that that would be great just because that's for the overall health of the tree over time um and then also when I think it's great that you've got a lot of native plants just we also have a native plants ordinance so just check that as well yes we have and the one thing that um with the tree Gates you know we we can do structured soil underneath this okay right um because you know we want these trees yeah do you do just um our for our City's Forester is great he works very well with planning so just I would just if you can check on that and they'll be irrigated you know you know so okay y I actually do have one more question um the adventure area mhm not for dogs I know that it's everything's the whole thing is everything's for dogs um what type of material is that is it heat resistant if it's you know if that sits in the sun all day does that get hot it's a it's a safety surface which is heat resistant I mean it's typical for all playgrounds okay yeah it's made for play um so when you fall and having these Adventures you don't fall but when you fall off that two- foot Mound and get hurt you don't get hurt okay what's the lifod what's the lifespan on that type of material U well you know so it's interesting right so we we did a project in in San Francisco called y bua we put them on these BMS and and we were wondering CU we built this custom play equipment and they run up and down all day long we were wondering how long it would last last and it lasted about 8 years before it started to wear out into the to the tracks right okay anybody else anything okay thank you sir appreciate it thank you have a slice of pizza before you go back to New York all right it's better here I heard that where do I go razza it might be closed by now 2017 the New York Times said for the best New York Pizza go to Jersey City yes last witness Miss Carolyn worell from Jen robin our professional planner okay thank you Council hello uh good evening I guess I'm still under under oath still under oath my in good in good standing um so I think we're going to start off with um our first uh we have a couple of bulk deviations and from the Redevelopment Plan and there's a couple of variances and we're going to sort of group them by type um but I'll I'll go through those um so our first uh bulk deviation we're requesting is from the Redevelopment plan and that relates to the sidewalk um so there is a requirement in the Redevelopment plan that states that in the East District we are required to provide a 5ft sidewalk walk along the western lot line so directly adjacent to the existing building and that sort of interal lot line the intent was of course to provide pedestrian access from Montgomery to Christopher Columbus um as we develop the site plans further um it was determined that it is too steep from essentially where um the access from you know East into the West District it gets too Steep and the only way to provide a sidewalk there would be to provide stairs um the only other option other than stairs would have been to carve out more space within the public open space which would have been in the West District uh so right there on that aspect we're already would would require a deviation um through discussions with City Planning it was determined that they really would prefer that we provide more active space uh less walkways and more of the active space so a larger dog park more space dedicated to you know the the play area so we essentially stop our sidewalk where the drive is um so you can still for the residents of um the existing building they can still access and cross and and and provide some access there um so we we are requesting that that deviation um we are providing and still maintaining access um via alternative Pathways you know the the existing sidewalks are still there people can still access and walk around this entire site so um Ada access to um the open space uh all of those things are still maintained through that existing sidewalk condition um so we we just felt that the design as is it's a better planning alternative um because it allowed for that increased landscaping and for the increased dog park SI while still meeting the intent of the requirement which was to make sure that ADA access was provided throughout the whole site um our second uh deviation is for the minimum awning clearance um so there's requirements in the Redevelopment plan for that would have Lous an awning over the public Plaza um and the intent of this regulation uh the the requirement was that you had to have a minimum of the the 20 foot clearance when we wrote uh and and developed the Redevelopment plan the intent there there was some discussion and intent of creating a very large awning that would have extended from the facade of the building and covered the entire Plaza that was one of the potential design items that that was being considered at that time we're no longer proposing that we are now proposing instead these smaller awnings that really function more as signage they have a dual function of signage as well as to provide some shade and and protection for The Pedestrian elements um and they have a a vertical clearance of only 12 feet um so we do believe that these that the 12T does still provide um sufficient clearance uh for uh you know uh Public Access and and pedestrian access um and we believe actually that this height is more appropriate given the fact that these awnings are designed to function more as signage um so that overall uh the intent uh again is still maintained um that we're providing sufficient clearance but that the 12 feet height is more appropriate given how these awnings are functioning versus how the intent of the or uh intent of the Redevelopment plan was [Music] written so moving on to signage um so we're requesting uh deviation for two signs um originally when we we submitted this application I believed we had a couple more additional signs we've eliminated some of our signs uh through our our more recent submissions so we're really requesting variances now for two signs um these are signs A2 and A3 located in the Northeast and Northwest corners of the building and the these are those vertical signs um overall these two A2 and A3 exceed the maximum veral vertical Dimension uh for signage which was 30 in um and again that's sort of due to the orientation uh when we the ordinance was the intent was that you would have you know a horizontal sign with 30in letters um the these signs do have their letters are minimum of the the maximum 30 in but instead of doing it as a horizontal until we've chosen to to put them vertically um and go up the building um so overall the sign themselves are still you know we we believe that they're proportional to the overall building facade um but we are just sort of reorienting how how these signs are um we also need a variance from the Jersey City Land Development ordinance related to the signage um the ldo STI stipulates that no building identification signs can be located above the second floor um we that's in the ldo um the Redevelopment plan does have some language that says signage above the ground floor shall be required shall require site plan approval so we are asking for the uh variance uh from the ldo for the vertical signage um but the Redevelopment plan does have language in there that states that this board has the right um to approve signs above the ground floor um so overall we believe that these two signs um are appropriate in scale and location for this building um that they create a very sort of distinctive uh design element to the facade and uh Aid in neighbor neighborhood um navig navigability uh for both vehicular way finding and pedestrian way finding um so you know they've been integrated into the building design um and we think that overall they they present a better planning alternative um and create a more distinctive look for this Building Council I'm I'm just unclear I understand the letters are 30in letters are we asking for seven letters on each facade I don't believe that we have finalized the name of the project name of the project um I believe that we have we we have like a certain square footage uh so so the way the ordinance was written let me see what's the exact language we have a maximum square footage that we're allowed to provide um with no more than so horizontally you would have a you know you prescribe the Box around the signage you get a maximum square footage and then within that maximum square footage each letter couldn't be more than than 30 in we're essentially taking that horizontal box and we're turning it vertical if I could if this helps um we don't know how many letters there is there are going to be for this for the name of this building yet but will'll stipulate that the however many letters there are they will not go beyond the top letter where the where they're shown on this rendering that's exactly okay I'm sorry my mic wasn't on yeah that's acceptable yeah I think so anybody else is there um knowing that the should be from the second floor and I've been around where this conversation has come up this question has come up before with signage above especially in Windows on the third floor that's what the plan was trying to avoid why are we starting them on the bottom of the third floor um I see that there's um I can understand the tree I I believe a lot of it has to do with visibility that if they're lower than that they're going to be obscured by the uh vegetation that's going to be proposed around this building so by putting them higher they become visible because you're asking to we we're saying nothing about the second floor but you already started them right above the second yeah we are we're starting above the second floor it's really more of a design concept commissioner it's it's I think the Architects and the team thought it this would be a nice feature for the building kind of the way some other projects around the city have um signage that kind of draws people to open space really that concept Council I think the only issue of different being the fact that we're looking for a deviation and we have to somehow categorize and Define what that deviation is I understand we don't know what the verbiage on the signage is going to be I don't know if perhaps you know it's something that uh we're able to box out and clarify or if maybe it's something yeah so I we have a we have a sign get to a name but if we have the dimensions I'm trying to think we have oh hold on I'm looking at the wrong gesture so on sheet g003 of this the site plans um submitted by our office there is a signage type there's a a table and within that it includes uh the signs A2 and A3 and it includes the maximum square footage of 160 square feet for each of those signs so the there is a maximum square footage that's aign that that would be that would limit the size of those signs so however many letters they wouldn't go beyond 160 L it's your feet right Carol it's square footage square footage is that and the maximum you know so if it's an anagram of signage it will be exactly the same if there's more letters than signage the letters will get smaller or closer together battery's running low um but you you you you rais a good point I mean so you know there's S I mean so they they they chose the letters s i g n a g e sign so put it right in your face signage but if these are seven or eight nine 10 distinct letters are they not symbols you know I mean we would have to kind of put it together is there a way getting around I mean to Santo's point in terms of identifying it if these are 30inch letters yep and they're if each letter but a I get it's above the second floor that the sign is prohibited but is lettering not permitted the lettering is a Max of 30 in um if and the square footage is 160 if they choose to put a logo in there I don't believe that what we're approving would stop them from doing that but they'd have to fit it into the 160 well we're talking about a building identifier you're saying yeah it's building technically it's signage but it's also a building identifier so that would be where an aggregate of all the letters yes okay y well because we break down different kinds of signs within the plan right so building identifier can be a total of 336 Square fet yes yes we so that's what's proposed yes that's the two signs it's three signs all three combined all three combined all three comine okay yeah so the the yes yes you're right what is what is the max though I guess is the question yeah it was number and Max on the identification building identification I believe it was one per facade and so we have three was it okay yeah it was one perade and a maximum of 5% of the ground floor area and let me yeah yeah so it's um see yeah that that was another kind of um difficulty in this it's like on a chamford edge right so it was also kind of unclear on how we we do that um but I I just I like the scale how reads in the rendering I think that's the the appropriate scale and the size of of the letters I'd hate to see them but then they have to do a seven letter name great seven letter names and there's an anagram oh can I solver you can put signage in and see what you come up with I I think that they can do smaller letters that just are limited to the max Chairman's concerned about the uh the scale of I'm not that concerned I'm not that concerned I just I just think that's you know spot on that's a good I like I like I I'm going agree with the chair I like the styling of it but can we go back to that rending um the only thing is for me uh what I for myself is that above that top window of the above the top garage uh layer there's beautiful brick work mhm being done there to put letters in between that brick work would not look good so to not to under any other circumstances never go any higher than the window uh if we're looking at the the design uh any letter and above that would for me I'm saying would take away from that design of brick work that the architect has done and that and I think that's gorgeous design so uh so that we could stipulate too yeah yeah I agree and I hate to say it but I agree wholeheartedly that's fine think the brick work is gorgeous we can Sate to that and uh if it's 160 square feet if it has seven letters or eight can we can we we could go down a little and then just trim the tree the tree or find a Tre doesn't grow to 43 yes it I think what they're saying is that the letters either will get smaller or the spaces between the letters will get closer together yes yes okay okay we're in agreement on the signage then uh it's gonna be fun reading that transcript but yeah I think so okay um anything else yes so there's a couple more all right uh so uh we're going to move on to projections um so this these are variances the Jersey City Land Development ordinance uh permits a maximum projection of 6 in for Sills laders and similar ornamental or structural features into any required yard or Beyond front lot lines um so as was described to you um there are planters that are going to be integrated into the building facade um and we're requesting a variance for the Planters along Green Street only um because those Planters would extend 11 in into over the the lot line um and into the public right of way um they're going to be um the other one we're requesting the projection variance for would be again for that continuous awning um so that was uh integrated along the Montgomery and around to Green Street and that would extend approximately 6 feet into the public right of way um so both of these uh projections are very integral to the design of the building um they've been done to provide uh you know visual uh relief and and interest to the building um the awning has been designed to sort of uh highlight that residential entrance to the building and sort of separate it from the commercial Frontage that is on you know um Columbus and and from the uh other portions of the facade which are more uh utility focused so it really sort of highlights that corner um all of these projections there is no interior floor space added by any of these projections they all occur above that first floor would have absolutely no impact on pedestrian access at grade um so we really believe that that these projections provide that V visual benefit uh without a substantial detriment to the public good um so we would request the variants to allow those addiction projections rooftop right Y and our final uh a group of them yes so there there are three variances related to the uh essentially to the rooftop um so as this was described we are requesting uh relief from the rooftop per pertinence height requirements we are permitted 30 ft and reposing 37t 6 in um we're requesting a rooftop set rooftop apperance setback variants uh where there is no setback for that sort of uh rooftop apperances along Christopher Columbus and Green Street and we're also requesting a variance for the maximum rooftop coverage uh where that sort of integrated uh bulkhead mechanical bulkhead um as well as the other mechanical areas are going to of a coverage of approximately 65% of the uh overall Tower um roof um all three of these variances um we believe you know there won't be a substantial detriment to the public good here they are all integrated into the Steep sort of zigurat design um that is sort of a feature of the design of this building um and they're all consistent with uh there's language in the Redevelopment plan um that specifically um talks about um creating that requires that rooftop mechanical equipment be screened with a material complimentary with the facade of the structure and shall resemble an upper level extension of the building and be designed to contribute to the building top design um so we are requesting the relief from the redevelop from the the uh City's uh zoning ordinance um but we do overall feel that you know there won't be a substantial detriment building itself is you know significant height um the additional height is only about 1.3% of the overall Building height um and it really helps to contribute to the requirement in the Redevelopment plan to create the sort of integrated uh uh screening and facade for the mechanical equipment um I think overall all of the requested deviations and variances Advance the purposes the municipal land use law um you know it's going to provide and guide the appropriate use and development of the property uh consistent with purpose a uh through the provision of a new mixed use development in accordance with the Redevelopment plan um and overall we're providing and complying with all the community benefits required under that Redevelopment plan um including that um open space Plaza in the East District the open space with the dog park in the West District uh the replacement part work for the senior citizens uh housing that that currently exists and the Green Street uh dedication of the the sidewalk along Green Street um the project is consistent with purpose B uh it will help to secure from safety and flood and other natural man-made disasters um the new building will be consistent with current flood Hazard uh requirements um with all the residential areas at uh lifted above um the uh uh base flood Hazard uh base flood elevation um as well as we're creating a lot more open space which uh will help to mitigate some sort of water runoff from what is currently right now a parking lot uh we're consistent with purpose C the height and setbacks uh of the the the building um we're meeting all of the height uh front yard side yard rear yard setback requirements coverage requirements uh so I believe this this project will provide adequate light air and open space uh to adjacent properties um and it will promote a visual desirable visual environment consistent with purpose ey um through the the new um green spaces that are going to be added on Christoper Columbus the new um sidewalks uh along both of those Frontage and really activating what is currently a fenced in uh parking lot um along the entire Christopher Columbus uh site of the block as well as onto green and part of Montgomery so I think this really will activate three three sides of this block uh which are currently pretty pretty dead um I don't think that this will result in a substantial detriment to the general welfare um we are uh providing a conforming use and we're providing over 15,000 square F feet of new public open space uh that will be accessible to The Wider community uh and we're really sort of tearing down some of those walls that exist here and creating a more open uh and accessible uh Frontage on on three frontages of this block um and I I believe that there's no uh result in substantial impairment to the Redevelopment plan the Zone plan or the zoning ordinance um we're providing the community benefits we're consistent with the Redevelopment plan objectives uh underly redeveloping under utilized parking constructing mixed use development with open spaceage which activate the streetcape providing mixed income housing creating new open space on Christopher Columbus Drive and reducing autod dependency through development uh of residential near Transit uh so I think overall both the deviations and variances uh can be granted that they meet both the positive and negative criteria um for this for this project so that that ends my testimony unless anyone has questions okay thank Miss worstell anybody anything okay thank you we appreciate it Council I can't imagine there's anything else there's not okay Le you want to talk about signs some more maybe um no I think uh we can open it up for public now sure sure okay so uh please come on up uh let's open it up for public comment anybody that wants to comment from the public please come on up yes Katherine Moore k a t h r y n m o o r e 140 Bay Street Miss Moore good evening we have three minutes for you okay just a c just a few little points just to um uh just want to confirm that the trash will be picked up on and uh off street so it'll be like inside and all move in and move outs will also be you know in internally in in the the driveway uh inside the building um making sure that there's ada8 access to the dog run just to kind of be specific about that I know there's a lot of stairs that are around there but I think I saw but I would wasn't quite sure um is there going to be any retail parking available for the um in the parking garage for any retail that is there um any of the spaces will be devoted to for the retail parking um and then the lighting around the garage at night how does that look cuz like right now all the panels are dark is there any light that's going to be Illuminating from the parking garage especially um adjacent to where the um uh building is right up against the affordable housing that's already exists so what kind of light will be leaking out um from that just to kind of get an idea um and uh well they changed the address from 72 gy to something else um CU I know like 151 Bay Street ended up having to change its number after the fact so just kind of you know what will be the new number for that so we can call it something else um move in move out retail uh yeah and hopefully we might be able to have a sculpture opportunity within the um the the the open space the Green Space um so we'll talk with uh Exchange Place Alliance if they're going to have anything to do with with um any kind of um additional par uh sculpture along there and one last question uh as far as the signage I know 25 uh Columbus or house 25 they still have um signage on the side of their building as an awnings so you know when you guys were talking about that I don't know if that's something that's supposed to be coming off the side of that building as far as temporary signage I guess it's temporary but it's still there okay so um it's like their website and uh it's promotion stuff but it's still there five years later um but I think the signage that will go alongside um if if anything it'll bring attention to the design of the brick um as opposed to detracting from it so um I think that's probably a fine idea okay um but those were my questions okay we'll get them answered for you thank you oh overall looks great just give us one sec we're going to get those questions answered first I don't I don't know if I can answer all those questions but I can bring up some experts I think who can um as far as the trash removal and recycling goes um that's all going to be done on the internal driveway that's between the two projects so none of that will be done on the public right of way okay um and I think we covered movein there move in the same thing interior yes uh I don't think anything was allocated for retail parking there it's not required by the Redevelopment plan correct no no spaces have been allocated for retail parking commit uh chairman we we did not receive a comment from the tax assessor who would be assigning an address um okay they but they would be later down the line okay and that's nothing that we have control over no yeah we have no control over that and often don't know it um ad Ada access to the dog run is there any uh the Ada the dog run is definitely Ada accessible for sure yes and can we address the light leakage from the garage at night I'm going to have the architect come up and address that yeah so they directly across from the the the legal windows for battery view um there was actually a solid wall with green planted on it so there is no visual connection between the garage and those windows okay very good all right thank you okay anybody else from public please come on up oh yeah yes uh my name is name is y and last name is JN my home address is 105 Green Street your name y a n g yeah good evening we have three minutes for you thank you uh so I have some comments on the slides um could you please turn to the page six uh so it looks like the drop off area is just taking the public road and I see there are there are bik lane or not and uh you know this is a 600 units building and uh also I just heard there's no retail parking space that means there will be a lot of drivers Uber drivers do Dash bik bikes and uh plus we will have many drop off and pick up in front of uh that's the Montgomery Street besides that there's a bus lane coming from Exchange Place go going on the mtom streets so that will be a really dangerous area when the building coming up and you don't have any uh internal dve uh drop off area to hold all the all the you residents drop off I think that's that's a that will be a huge problem in the future for the traffic on the Montgomery Street um I don't know have they ever thought about having a driveway inside the building or don't take the public streets that's my comment on the slide six also I have a another comment is about the traffic analysis I saw online I don't know when did they do the traffic analysis have they ever thought about there are two buildings coming up next to the Goldman sex and that will be break all the uh traffic pattern analysis which will just invalidate all their assumptions on the traffic and also we have uh hobo conation shutdown so there are more and more buses taking the passengers from Exchange Place and that will also take the green streets and the Montgomery streets uh with that I I don't know in the future how the St how the P station operate but I think there will be more and more bus coming uh around that cross road so it will also in uh impact a lot on the traffic uh in that area and also I have the comment on the signage I I think in the application they only mention about the two dimensional the square foot they didn't mention anything about the weight material how uh and how they mount those signage I think there will be a hazard uh of them falling down and hit the pedestrians uh you know Exchange Place is a really really windy area in the winter and I don't like any signning about the second floor and also for the Dark Run an open space I don't I want to know who will be the maintenance for those space in case of uh broken parts or uh uh to uh maintain the trees and vegetarians okay thank you that was your agreement uh okay thank you Council can we address a few of those issues uh sure can you unless you want me to call more public and we'll just get back to it I'm sorry my mic is off um do you want me to finish up public address everything yep that would be good idea I'm sure some somebody's keeping track of the comments I am but from the team yesy the truth truth I do name okay my name is lingu my home address is 105 Green Street uh leading l i l i n g b name gu good evening we have three minutes for you okay okay yeah so uh since the you know we know about this project I've collected a few comments from my from my neighbors and the the the most of them is about public infrastructure uh somebody mentioned that the school enrollment enrollment at ps6 is already kind of super crowded so the the preschoolers are already being bustled El elsewhere due to lack of space uh and also the exchange pass station is also super crowded and this will includ increase the flow a lot and uh some somebody mentioned the sewage system and that's all thank you okay thank you is there anybody else here from public that wants to comment anyone else see no one from public I like to close the public por second okay motion is made and seconded public is closed Council anything we can address okay so as far as far as um as far as sewage um the applicant is working with the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority as they always do they have open dialogue to make sure that all the wastewater treatment and um and uh storm sewer treatment complies with all d and local Municipal regulations and jcma mua regulations and we will um stipulate that that's ongoing and we're going to comply with comments from those agencies um Gabby will address some of those other issues I think regarding traffic and uh and the parking issue okay excellent yeah I I think just as I stated before we are working with traffic and transportation regarding the the drop off zones and and you know what shown on the plan now may not be the final um design of that the bike Lanes will will remain they we are not intending to you know get uh disturb the bike Lanes um traffic and transportation had you know suggested some hardening of the bike Lanes which we're open to that that's on the plan now but again we're working with them um so the the final plan you know may look a little bit different than what's on on the screen now which is you know would be with support of traffic and transportation and M Corelli just for the record I I do agree with your earlier testimony I think I'd rather see the drop off spaces there rather than parking Dr you know in in case of an emergency vehicle that has to get through there or something like that a drop off vehicle is more easily and quickly moved than a parked car so I I think that's the perfect spot for the drop off okay thank you appreciate it I do I can address the signs you the signs will be individually pin mounted um and the connections will be designed and engineered by our structural engineer uh they will not fall off okay when you say pin mounted so there'd be several points several points of mount for probably four to six points of Mount per letter um you know and basically engineered um to take whatever wind load that there is as well as the gravity load imposed by the sign and I would assume that they're anchored to the concrete behind the brick will almost certainly be you know going with the pin comment true okay thank you Council I think that takes care of everything unless we we did just for the record we did do a traffic evaluation and it is posted on the portal sure um okay thank you Matt all the it's a good that was a good reminder all the open space areas that we have shown you tonight meaning the open space Plaza which is in the East District as well as the open space Plaza which is in the West District will be constructed operated managed and maintained by the applicant as the owner of the building in the East district and that will be memorialized via an easement between the applicant and the owner of the West District property that will be memorialized by an easement that gives them the right to construct maintain operate and manage that area in the West District for to be publicly accessible open space and um the applicant will sign a development agreement with the city of Jersey City um that will have some more specific maintenance requirements in it um just those that are typically required of the city of Jersey City for this type of open space because there is other publicly accessible privately operated open space in the city and um I'm familiar with the form of development developer agreement that the city usually uses and it's posted on the web portal as part of our application now it still has to be approved by the city council but there's a form of agreement there that covers the entire West District open space the East District open space which is the plaza will be subject to the same developers agreement or if the city council prefers a separate Redevelopment agreement that just covers that area whatever the council prefers but the form of agreement again subject to the city approving it finally is on the portal and as far as the open space Plaza goes the applicant has agreed to give the city a public access easement directly to the city to that area excellent okay thank you Council okay Matt do you want to wrap us up sure um just along the same lines there uh there are uh several conditions that also kind of speak to that or and um kind of bootstraps some of of uh of those agreements um whether they be the reciprocal easement agreement the easement to the city or the developers agreements uh this is again it's a subdivision application and a site plan uh there's a separate staff memo um prepared for both of these applications and post to the portal both dated January 24th 2025 in addition there's a jcmua memo uh from December 20th 2024 and a uh division of Transportation Planning division of traffic engineering memo dated October 28th 2024 um there is not a uh Memo from the division of engineering um uh so uh the applicant has testified that they will comply with the jcmua uh comments and uh I assume the same for the transportation planning and division of traffic engineering comments but we're weary of of signing on or complying uh blindly to any comments that might come at a later date from the division of engineering uh which we understand uh regarding the uh testimony put on the record tonight um with uh respect to the their professional planner staff agrees with uh the reasoning to justify uh the the granting of the variances uh uh this application um includes components um affordable housing uh replacement of uh senior parking spaces uh open space uh areas uh and plazas uh that will be open to the general public um uh this is an application that came about from a new uh creation of Redevelopment plan um and they are meeting the community benefits that are enumerated in that Redevelopment plan uh the staff conditions that are uh in the Cy oh I'll just address I'll go first for the subdivision there are um there are actually Four recommended conditions um in uh the memo for the subdivision um upon review with Council uh we are recommending that we remove the fourth condition um and uh recommend that the board entertain and make a motion uh for the subdivision uh that includes the the three those three conditions number one two and three um moving on to the memo for and recommended conditions for the site plan uh there are a lot this is many moving parts and uh I think the grand total we came up with since 19 um many of them might just be uh you know single sentences but uh and kind of good long but uh we recommend that all of these move forward if the board makes a motion to approve this application um this is a quite a um an attractive uh project for many reasons not only for the immense amount of affordable housing but all the other community benefits and and architecturally and design wise as well uh staff recommends approval thank you Matt Council on the conditions sure so on the conditions on the subdivision application um conditions one through three the applicant will agree to and um thanks the board and councel and Mr Ward for waving condition four we appreciate that very much as far as the site plan conditions go I've reviewed all 19 of them Mr Ward and I have worked very hard on getting that language in a manner that is acceptable to both parties um and on behalf of the applicant I can agree to all 19 of those conditions great okay with that said I'll entertain a motion on the subdivision first on the subdivision first thank you Council chair i' like to make a motion to approve case p2024 d141 as presented to the board together with staff recommendation and the revised conditions of three conditions only instead of four second okay we have a motion and second for approval of the subdivision acting Vice chair gengan I councilwoman priner hi commissioner Torres I commissioner Dr Desai I'm sorry yeah Comm yeah I like the presentation it subdivision subdivision subdivision you do the project next subdivision dividing the property okay you get a phone hi hi uh commissioner lipsky hi chairman linkston hi for the subdivision yeah I I do like the presentation great presentation and the color of the building was great red and black up there parking spaces 181 which I love it and of course affordable housing 90 which is a past thing so I say I we didn't make the motion as yet yeah we need a second on the motion do we call that the motion no we didn't call the we didn't call the case no all right I'll I'll make the mo chair I'd like to make the motion to approve case p2024 d0140 as presented to the board with staff recommendation and conditions second okay we have a motion and second with uh 19 SC staff conditions for the site plan the one and two doing separately it's okay uh acting Vice chair genan yeah very detailed presentation great teamwork I can see that um I'm excited to see this building as well um this will certainly enhance Jersey City skyline love the brick big eye for me uh councilwoman pzer yeah again great presentation I like that you all have considered the open space on the exterior and in the public space and not regulating it to a rooftop which we always appreciate this always comes up in meetings that we have um also you know Carolyn great job in presenting both negative and positive criteria and I love that you use zigarette that is so often regulated to ancient architecture not modern architecture so thank you for that I vote I uh commissioner Torres I um will agree with u commissioner last to with the uh drop off uh instead of parking spots if that could be worked out um I love the fact that you um Incorporated the open space on the bottom part um and um the best therapy for the senior citizens is to watch families playing in an open space you know when they sit down in their section over and they can see that life I know it meant a lot to my father to see the kids and the family always playing uh so uh the whole job is gorgeous and I already commented so much on the brick work so I'm not going to come again but it's a nice job and I will vote I uh commissioner Dr Desai doc li no you you're not voting when he calls me sorry I went out of Border in okay commissioner lipsky yes so the uh proposed building in the amenities are nice but those signs wow I vote I chairman likes them um so I just want to address I'm sorry I just want to address a few of the variances here um so the awning I I think the awning on the the plaza um I like the smaller scale I think it's a more inviting look uh it doesn't overpower the plaza I think the desage Blends in well with the the design of the brick work I think if it was in a different spot it just it wouldn't work um and you know I think all the variances we discussed here tonight I don't think there's any detriment to the public good or the Redevelopment plan and just you know in Layman turns it makes it a better project everything we saw tonight every variants that came up makes sense everything flows better with those variances in place place I definitely think it makes it a better project um the building itself yes absolutely I think it's a great project um it's it's a good look it's a good design it's functional um Mr paresi hats off the The Plaza the the open space it's one of the most inviting Open Spaces I've seen in all my years on the board and I I love it um it's got you know elements that just draw you in draws the eye in I I love the open space um so with that it's an eye for me and best of luck thank you for coming down everybody motion carries all in favor all right thank you so let's move on with resol appreciate it CH I have seven resolutions resolution of planning board for the city of Jersey City for approval and recommendation of amendments to chapter 345 zoning resolution of planning board for the city of Jersey City approving a site plan extension of the preliminary and final major site plan approval with deviations and conditions the applicant is Joe Paul G LLC dvsr Road LLC for approval of a one-year site plan extension of the previously approved preliminary and final major site plan with deviations and conditions property addresses 248-250 Academy Street block 12204 Lots 1 and 30 case number is p2024 d174 this one resolution of planning board for the city of Jersey City approving an extension of final major site plan approval applicant 362-364 6 Street LLC for extension of final major site plan approval C variance 364 463 block 9803 Lots 8 case number p024 d114 resolution of the planning board for the city of Jersey City applicant is Dix Sporting Goods Inc for major site plan approval block 7303 Lots 2 and 325 address is 50 Mall Drive West case number p024 d020 four resolution of the planning board for the city of Jersey City applicant is Joan bathia for final major site plan approval 54 Cottage Street Jersey City New Jersey 07306 block 7902 lot 58 case number is p02 4-34 resolution of a planning board for the city of Jersey City applicant Newark Avenue 721 LLC for final major site planning approval 721 Nork Avenue Jersey City New Jersey 07306 block 7902 lot 15 case number p023 d33 resolution of the planning board for the city of Jersey City for approval and recommendation of amendments correction to chapter 345 zoning review fee commissioner gangadin hi councilwoman priner hi commissioner Tes hi commissioner lipsky hi commissioner Dr zai hi and chairman L hi motion carries all in favor okay thank you do we need Executive session Santo no motion motion tojn seconded second okay thank you we're adjourned right but this is a special oh it's special